Talk:United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939)

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Declaration[edit]

If this was a joint Anglo-French declaration, could evidence be supplied, beyond the unverifiable 'Despite the speech's being ...', that confirms the joint nature of the declaration ? It is hard to believe that Chamberlain did not even allude to the joint nature of the declaration in his, admittedly, terse anouncement. (Pamour (talk) 20:44, 2 September 2016 (UTC))[reply]

Joint declaration??[edit]

Chamberlain was in no position to declare war on behalf of France. The ultimatum was British, not Anglo-French. Chamberlain was not even in a position to declare war on behalf of those Commonwealth countries with dominion status. The source mentioned - History Channel - is not particularly reliable. Norvo (talk) 18:30, 1 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

---As Norvo states. The British declaration was on behalf of the United Kingdom ONLY. France delivered their own SEPARATE ultimatum to the German Foreign Ministry, with a deadline of 5pm on 3rd September, 1939. According to British Foreign Office telegrams and memos, French PM Daladier preferred a joint ultimatum. Chamberlain could not comply with this request due to negative reaction in the House of Commons after his speech on the situation on 2nd September. British public opinion and the opinions felt by the Cabinet dictated that Britain honour their guarantees to Poland as soon as possible. The lack of action from the British Government, and the possible revolt of the Cabinet meant that Chamberlain had to deliver the British ultimatum much sooner than originally planned. I also agree that the History Channel can hardly be called a reliable source. (British Foreign Office Telegrams Source: Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, E.L Woodward HMSO) DarkLight753 (talk) 12:58, 5 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Full audio available[edit]

Just to make people aware. The full audio of Chamberlains speech is available on my YouTube channel - DarkLight 753. The recording also includes the government public service messages that followed after the PM's announcement.DarkLight753 (talk) 13:03, 5 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Status of Germany at 1918 Armistice (section Historical Context)[edit]

At the conclusion of the First World War, the German Empire signed the Armistice of 11 November 1918...

Did the German Empire officially exist at the time of the Armistice? The last Kaiser had abdicated as German Emperor and King of Prussia (one precondition sought by the Allies) on 9 November, a republic being proclaimed on the same day. It would strictly speaking have been a republic.Cloptonson (talk) 13:13, 19 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

An empire need not have a monarch - consider the French colonial empire, for which the head of state was the President of the Republic for a longer period than any kings or emperors. Napoleon III, the last French monarch, was deposed in 1870 but the empire lasted until at least 1960. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 19:35, 19 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I would argue that while the French colonial possessions in Africa were an empire, they were not the Second French Empire. The Second Empire was specifically the state ruled by Napoleon III. After his deposition, the Third Republic was declared, and lasted until 1939. Thus, Africa and Indochina were imperial possessions of the French Third and Fourth Republics. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:569:7D60:A100:48CF:EAEF:43FA:1186 (talk) 07:15, 1 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]