Bells will be rung at public buildings in France today to mark the 100th anniversary of the country’s general mobilisation for the First World War.
The French Government says participation is voluntary and should be decided locally
Bells summoned soldiers to join their units at four o’clock on the afternoon of August 1st 1914.
Mobilisation was ordered on the day that war was declared between Germany and Russia, France’s ally in the Triple Entente with Britain.
Two days later, France was at war with Germany, its soldiers leaving for the front in their distinctive uniform of blue coats and red trousers.
Within a month, tens of thousands of French soldiers had been killed in the opening battles of the First World War as the German Army advanced towards Paris.
Sources: French Government; Mission Centenaire 14-18
Image: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News