<Dd> "The verdict of popular culture is more or less unanimous . The First World War was stupid, tragic and futile . The stupidity of the war has been a theme of growing strength since the 1920s . From Robert Graves, through' Oh! What a Lovely War' to' Blackadder Goes Forth,' the criminal idiocy of the British High Command has become an article of faith ." </Dd> <P> On 4 August, the King took Britain (and his Empire) into the Great War with H.H. Asquith of the Liberal Party as British prime minister . Britain's reasons for declaring war were complex . </P> <P> The ostensible reason given was that Britain was required to safeguard Belgium's neutrality under the 1839 Treaty of London . The German invasion of Belgium was, therefore, the casus belli and, importantly, legitimized and galvanized popular support for the war . </P> <P> Strategic risk posed by German control of the Belgian and ultimately French coast was considered unacceptable . German guarantees of post-war behaviour were cast into doubt by her blasé treatment of Belgian neutrality . However, the Treaty of London had not committed Britain on her own to safeguard Belgium's neutrality . Moreover, naval war planning demonstrated that Britain herself would have violated Belgian neutrality by blockading her ports (to prevent imported goods passing to Germany) in the event of war with Germany . </P>

Which factor most directly resulted in great britain entering world war i