Time and more than time, to acknowledge that britain played a necessary part in the great war. Our participation was rewarded by only a few worthless new colonies together with financial ruin. But 19 14, germany as ruled by the kaiser represented a malign force whose triumph had to be frustrated. More than 700 thousand british servicemen who perished between 19 14 and 18 didn't die for nothing. All debths in all wars are just cause for lamentation but if germany had been dictating the terms, there could have been no return to honey for tea at granchester. I believe that we had to fight. Thanko much.
For this week's Sunday Debate, we're dipping back into the archive to 2014, when we gathered a panel of expert historians to debate whether Britain was right to fight in the First World War, a tragedy that laid the foundations for decades of destructive upheaval and violence across Europe. To debate the issue, we invited leading historians Margaret MacMillan, Max Hastings, John Charmley and Dominic Sandbrook to an event hosted by journalist, columnist and national security expert, Edward Lucas.
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