The Dutch government judged that the recent political and diplomatics events since the tragic murder of Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Serbia in June, and the growing tensions since July in Europe, made a war between Russia and Germany inevitable.
There for to protect their neutrality it deiced on July 31 ar 12 o'clock for a general mobilization.
This was a day earlier than Germany and two days earlier than France and Belgium.
The same day at 14:00 the mobilization order was made public.
In contrast of the mobilization of 1870 which was a shambles, this mobilization went excellent. The next day coastal and border units were complete and on place.
Since 1912 there were new filed gray uniforms for the field army and artillery, but the fortification troops still were dressed in dark blue uniforms.
The army it self was well equipped for the standards of the day. How ever a modernization plan was not executed. Main flaw of the Dutch army in 1914 was there limited size and limited numbers of machine guns and artillery.
On 3 August the field army had taken their positions, at the same day the Belgian government had received an ultimatum of the German government. The German government promised to the Dutch government to obey the neutrality of the Netherlands.
The Belgian government refused the demands of the German ultimatum and on August 4th German troops violated Belgian neutrality, prompting the British government to mobilize and to declare war on Germany.
In the night of 3 to 4 August German troops (accidental ?) crossed the border of the Netherlands in the province of Limburg in their advance to Belgium. Dutch troops started to shoot at these for them unknown troops. In this very confusion night, short but fierce fierce fight evolved during the morning in some serious engagements. Urgent diplomatic exchange and tensed debates within the Dutch cabinet followed at the same time. The out come was that German troops withdraw imidiate from Dutch territory, and damage would be compensated by the German empire, neutrality of the Netherlands will be respected, in exchange the Netherlands will not give any publicity to the events.
Unfortunately things were picked up by British news papers and published next to the war reports from Belgium. The initial tone of the news reports was that the Huns also violated Dutch neutrality. But since the Dutch government denied the whole event even to British officials who demanded information and offered assistance, the tone changed. The next publications inside the newspaper reports of atrocities of German soldiers in Belgium were also some lines which mentioned Dutch support of transport of Germans troops and free passage of German troops through Dutch territory.
Although denied and later even fully explained by the Dutch government to British diplomats the story was grown out of proportions. British diplomats reported to London that they had serous believes that the German troops invading Belgium had free passage to the Dutch province of Limburg.
On August 7th British government declared war on the Netherlands.