In Barbara W. Tuchman's book "The Guns of August," she discusses how the German approach to war declaration was influenced by their perception of events rather than actual occurrences. This reflects a tendency to rely on a form of logic where potential threats or imagined scenarios justified their military actions, eliminating the need for a formal declaration of war.

This perspective emphasizes the complexities of international relations and how misunderstandings or misinterpretations can escalate into conflict. Tuchman's analysis highlights that the German decision-makers believed they were acting preemptively in response to perceived aggressions that existed only in their imagination.