SAIGNER A BLANC.

It would be superfluous to review here the history of Franco-German relations during the last half century; other writers have already performed the task. Yet the whole trend of development in the relations between the two powerful neighbours may be defined by two watch-words: saigner a blanc in Germany, and the revanche idée in France. But there is this difference: the former has become ever more and more, and the latter less and less, a factor in European politics.

While the German nation has been gradually and systematically leavened with the teaching that might alone is right, the French revenge party has been weakened year by year by national prosperity, colonial expansion and the growth of a powerful anti-military party. Whatever may be said of French chauvinists, this much remains an immovable fact the party was incapable of providing adequate national defences against the Germanic neighbour, while plans of reconquest can only be assigned to the domain of myths.

On every occasion that the revanche cry has been resuscitated, the direct cause is to be sought in Germany. Having displaced France in 1870 from her position of the first military power in Europe, Germany has endeavoured by fair and foul means to prevent her neighbour from again raising her head, and that policy alone is to blame for the suspicion and hatred which have marked Franco-German relations during the whole period and plunged Europe into an era of armaments, ending in a world war. England and Russia prevented Bismarck from annihilating France in 1875, an incident which aroused justified fear throughout France and gave an impulse to the revenge party.

In 1881 the Iron Chancellor told the French Ambassador: “Outside Europe you can do what you like.” Bismarck’s intention was to divert reviving French energies to colonial work, and if possible involve her in conflicts with the other Colonizing Powers. In both of these plans he succeeded, but the common sense and loyalty of Great Britain and Italy prevented the conflicts from assuming a dangerous form war as desired by the Government in Berlin.

As soon as the latter perceived that French genius and persistency were bearing fruit in a magnificent colonial empire, the innate jealousy and greed of the German nation led to a policy of colonial pinpricks on the part of the Kaiser’s Government. This seems the most probable explanation of Germany’s attitude during the last decade before 1914. The natural consequence was that those powers which had most to fear through German ill-will were welded together more firmly in a policy of self-protection.

Germany cannot, or will not, recognize that the causes of the above-mentioned development are to be found solely and alone in her own actions. On the contrary, she designates the “consequences” a world-wide conspiracy against German interests. In naval affairs she adopts the same naïve line of argument. First and foremost Germany committed herself to a policy of unlimited even provocative naval expansion. When the Power most concerned Great Britain took precautionary measures to guarantee British interests in view of Germany’s “peaceful” development, then the latter Power declared the consequences of her own actions to be a hostile initiative directed against her.

A defence of this kind may be convincing for those who observe events in the German perspective, but it will be unable to withstand impartial historical criticism. Boxers expect a rebound when they “punch the ball,” but none of them would be so foolish as to deny having delivered a blow when the rebound takes place. Yet that is the unscientific defence which Germany has adopted in her endeavours to explain away her aggressive attitude to Belgium, France, and Great Britain.

In a word, the principles underlying saigner a blanc have grown during the past four decades into a possible avalanche possessing huge potential energy; the momentum was given to it in August, 1914.

If it were necessary, a picture of German popular opinion might be projected, showing how that opinion was influenced and formed during the critical days at the close of July last year. But from considerations of space only the outlines of the picture can be given. Before the war German newspapers abounded in reports of French unpreparedness and chaos. The German public was informed that France dreaded and feared war with Germany.

“Without any exaggeration it may be said that a state of nerves has seized the French nation, such as we should seek for in vain at the time of Tangiers and Agadir. There is tremendous excitement, which in many reports suggests absolute panic."

The Paris correspondent of the Koelnische Zeitung (August 4th) on returning to Cologne wrote: “Conditions in France afford a striking picture of bad organization. War rage possesses the people; but such an enthusiasm as I found in Germany on my return is unknown to them.”

On the same day the Hamburger Nachrichten reported: “A German refugee who has returned from the French capital says that there is no enthusiasm in Paris. Men and women may be seen weeping in the streets, while the crowds are shouting: ‘Down with war!’ ‘We desire no war!’”

Probably there is no better way to incite a ferocious bully than to tell him that his opponent is weak, unprepared and afraid. Almost simultaneously false reports of French troops crossing the frontier and of French airmen dropping bombs on Nuremberg were spread by the Berlin General Staff, and thus an excuse found for a declaration of war on France.

From the French point of view events appeared quite different. “This morning German troops have violated French territory at three different points: in the direction of Longwy by Lunéville, at Cirey and by Belfort. War has thus been declared, and the endeavours for peace as described in the President’s proclamation have been in vain. For the last eight days Herr von Schoen (German Ambassador in Paris) has lulled us to sleep with endearing protestations of peace. Meanwhile Germany has mobilized troops in a secret and malevolent manner.

“The war upon which we must enter is for civilization against barbarism. All Frenchmen must be united not merely by the feeling of duty, but also in hatred for an enemy who seeks no other goal than our annihilation the destruction of a nation which has always been a pioneer of justice and liberty in the world.

“To-night our five covering-corps will take up their positions and face the enemy till our plan of concentration is completed. Russia is with us.

“MESSIMY,

“Minister for War.”

From the moment that Germany declared war on France, new tactics were adopted in the Press. A campaign of calumny began which is the exact counterpart of that against Belgium and the Belgians. Uncorroborated tales of Germans having been ill treated in all parts of France were spread broadcast. According to one journal sixty to eighty Germans had been murdered on the platforms of the Gare de l’Est in Paris.

Still there is one accusation which even German newspapers have never dared to make, viz., that Frenchmen murdered and ill-treated Frenchmen, or that war delirium led them to destroy property on a wholesale scale. On the other hand, the picture obtainable of Germany during August, 1914, proves that similar peaceful conditions did not prevail in the great nation of “drill and discipline.”

France was even “convicted” of having caused the war; instead of being unprepared, she had laid the fuse and was the guilty power in causing the European explosion. “The German Government has now obtained absolute proof that France has been standing at arms, ready to fall upon Germany, for many weeks past."

Above all, President Poincare has been marked down in Germany’s senseless, unnecessary hunt for a scapegoat upon whom to fix her own guilt. Even in the year 1915 there is a section of the German public which believes that the French President a native of Lorraine has worked for years past in building up a revanche conspiracy ending in the European war.

Germany despised France and has tried in vain to patronize her. For many years past the average German has held that the French are a nation of “degenerate weaklings.” Inspired by these sentiments, with a mixture of hate, the German troops invaded France, and it is a promising symptom that during twelve months of war respect for French valour has taken the place of contempt.

The first engagements are described in the official telegrams from the German army head-quarters. “August 11th. Enemies’ troops, apparently the 7th French army corps and an infantry division from the Belfort garrison, were driven out of a fortified position by Muelhausen. Our losses were inconsiderable, those of the French heavy.

“August 12th. Our troops attacked a French brigade by Lagarde. The enemy suffered heavy losses and was thrown back into the Paroy forest. We captured a flag, two batteries, four machine guns and about seven hundred prisoners. A French general was among the killed.

“August 18th. The fight by Muelhausen was little more than a skirmish. One and a half enemy corps had invaded Upper Alsace before our troops could be collected and placed on a war-footing. In spite of their numerical inferiority they attacked the enemy without hesitation and hurled him back in the direction of Belfort.

“Meanwhile an artillery contingent from Strasbourg has suffered a check. Two battalions with cannon and machine guns advanced from Shirmeck on the 14th. They were attacked by hostile artillery fire while passing through a narrow pass. The cannon, etc., were badly damaged and therefore left. No doubt they were captured by the enemy.

“The incident is of no importance and will have no influence on our operations, but it should serve as a warning to our soldiers against over-confidence and carelessness. The men mustered again and reached the fortress in safety: they had lost their guns but not their courage. Whether treachery on the part of the inhabitants had any part in the affair has not yet been ascertained.

“August 22nd. Our troops are in pursuit of the French army defeated between Metz and the Vosges. The enemies’ retreat became a flight. Up till now more than ten thousand prisoners have been taken and at least fifty cannon captured. The French had eight army corps in the field.

“August 24th. Yesterday the German Crown Prince, advancing on both sides of Longwy, achieved a victory over the opposing forces and hurled them back.

“The troops under the leadership of the Bavarian Crown Prince have also been victorious and crossed the line Lunéville-Blamont-Tirey. To-day the 21st army corps occupied Lunéville.

“The pursuit has brought rich booty. Besides numerous prisoners and standards the left wing of the Vosges army has already captured 150 cannon.

“To-day the German Crown Prince’s army has continued the pursuit beyond Longwy.

“The army under Duke Albrecht of Wuerttemberg has advanced on both sides of Neufchateau and completely defeated the French army which had crossed the Semois. Numerous cannon, standards and prisoners among the latter several generals were captured.

“West of the Meuse our troops are advancing on Maubeuge. An English cavalry brigade which appeared on their front was defeated.

“August 27th. Nine days after the conclusion of our concentration the armies in the West have gained victory after victory and penetrated the enemy’s territory from Cambrai to the Southern Vosges. At all points the enemy has been driven out of his positions and is now in full retreat.

“It is not yet possible to estimate, even approximately, his losses in killed, prisoners and booty; the explanation for this is the enormous extent of the battlefields, broken by thick forests and mountainous country.

“General von Kluck’s army defeated the English at Maubeuge and to-day has attacked them in an encircling move south-west of that place.

“After several days’ fighting about eight army corps of French and Belgian troops between the Sambre, Namur and the Meuse were completely defeated by the German armies under Generals von Buelow and von Hausen.

“Namur has fallen after two days’ cannonade. The attack on Maubeuge has commenced. Duke Albrecht’s army pursued the defeated enemy over the Semois and has now crossed the Meuse.

“On the other side of Longwy the German Crown Prince has captured a fortified enemy position, and thrown back a heavy attack from the direction of Verdun. His army is advancing towards the Meuse. Longwy has fallen.

“New hostile forces from Nancy attacked the Bavarian Crown Prince’s army during its pursuit of the French army before it. The attack failed.

“General von Heeringen’s army is pursuing the enemy in the Vosges, and driving him southwards. Alsace has been cleared of enemy forces.

“Up till the present the lines of communication have been guarded by the various armies; now the troops left behind for that purpose are urgently required for our further advance. Hence His Majesty has ordered the mobilization of the Landsturm.

“The Landsturm will be employed in protecting the lines of communication and for the occupation of Belgium. This land which now comes under German administration will be utilized for supplying all kinds of necessities for our armies, in order that Germany may be spared as much as possible.”

During the first month of hostilities on the Western front, the Germans claimed that their captures amounted to 233 pieces of heavy artillery, 116 field guns, 79 machine guns, 166 wagons and 12,934 prisoners. On September 8th General Quartermaster von Stein announced: “Maubeuge capitulated yesterday; 40,000 prisoners of war, including four generals, 400 cannon and immense quantities of war materials fell into our hands.”

A German war correspondent, who was present at the fall of Maubeuge, wrote: “The march out of the prisoners began on the same day at 2.30 p.m. and lasted over six hours. They were conducted to trains and despatched to Germany. Some of the infantry made a good impression, while the pioneers and artillery can only be classed as passable.

“To the great disappointment of our troops there were only a hundred and twenty English among the prisoners who had been cut off from the main army; young fellows about eighteen to twenty years of age. When marching out these English youths were so stupid as to offer the hand to their German victors in token of the gentlemanlike manner in which they accepted defeat. In accordance with Albion’s ancient boxing custom, they desired to show the absence of any bitter feeling by a handshake; just as one does after a football match.

“Our men returned a few cuffs for this warlike behaviour, whereupon the English richer in experience drew back astonished at German unfriendliness.”

Germany’s rush for Paris reached as far as the Marne; they claim that patrols penetrated to within seven kilometres of the French capital. The report announcing the turn of the tide is worthy of quotation.

“Chief Headquarters, September 10th. Our army in their pursuit of the enemy in the direction east of Paris had passed beyond the Marne. There they were attacked by superior forces between Meaux and Montmirail. In two days’ heavy fighting they have kept the enemy back and even made progress.

“When the approach of new, stronger hostile forces was announced our wing was withdrawn; the enemy made no attempt at pursuit. Up till now the booty captured in this battle includes fifty cannon and some thousands of prisoners.

“West of Verdun the army is engaged in an advancing battle. In Lorraine and the Vosges district the situation is unchanged.”

This seems to be all that the German nation has heard from official sources of the German defeat on the Marne and the hurried retreat to the Aisne. Almost every report issued by the German headquarters during the succeeding three weeks informed the world that a “decision had not yet fallen.”

Evidently the nation awaited and hoped for a decision which would leave Paris at the mercy of the invading army. They are still awaiting that decision, but whether the waiting is seasoned by hope cannot easily be determined.

A soldier present at the battle of the Marne has chronicled his experiences. “We passed over long, undulating hills and valleys, and towards 1 p.m. obtained our first glimpse down the beautiful vale of the Marne. Standing on the heights of Chateau Thierry, we beheld the town nestling on both sides of the river in the valley below.

“Then we entered the town and saw on all sides the tokens of street fighting. All the windows were smashed by shell fire; some houses had been entirely gutted. Dead Frenchmen lay around in heaps, some corpses so mutilated by shrapnel as to appear hardly human. With a shudder we turned our eyes from this horrible scene.

“Crossing the Marne by a sand-stone bridge, we climbed the opposing heights under a burning sun. At the top we deployed, but for that day our artillery sufficed to drive the enemy in headlong flight to the south; the night we spent under the open sky.

“Sunday, September 6th. Before breakfast we intended to bathe in a stream, when our dreams of a rest-day were dispelled by an order to hold ourselves ready for the march. ’The 17th division is under heavy rifle fire and the 18th must advance to their support.’ Meanwhile, the chicken soup was almost ready, but the order ‘form ranks’ resounded, and with empty stomachs we marched through Neuvy up a hill and dug ourselves in behind a wood.

“The thunder of the enemies’ artillery is terrible; shrapnel is bursting on our left. Captain von Liliencron discusses the situation with the major and then turns to us. ’Our regiment attacks! go for the dogs, children!’ he exclaims with gleaming eyes.

“Next we advance round the wood and lie down behind a hedge; axes are held in readiness to hack a way through the latter. Five steps from me a machine gun hammers away at full speed; it is now impossible to hear commands, so they are roared from man to man it could not be termed shouting. ‘Ambulance to the right!’ somebody is severely wounded, but the ambulance men have more than they can do on the left.

“The hell-music is at its loudest; shrapnel is bursting in the wood behind us; suddenly there is an awful explosion half a dozen yards away; I hear the screams of my comrades, then we rush forwards. The rush across the field was awful flank fire from the right. Here and there a comrade bites the grass.

“At last I throw myself down, but there is no cover; the wounded crouch there too. None of my company are there; it seems that the two last shells have played havoc with them. The enemies’ (French) main position is nearly a mile away in a forest.

“Up the next slope our dead lie thick around, and here too a deadly bullet had found the breast of our heroic captain. But in the strip of forest French and Turko bodies are still thicker. The cat-like Turkos have climbed into the trees and are shot down like crows. A maddening infantry and artillery fire greets us as we reach the top. Every ten to twenty yards shells strike, and shrapnel bursts, filling the air with earth, dust, smoke and smell.

“Forward! till almost exhausted I throw myself down again; a hundred to a hundred and fifty Fusiliers form a firing-line. Columns of infantry pour a murderous fire on to us from the forest. It cannot go on thus; one after the other is wounded or killed. We have advanced nearly eight hundred yards over open ground. On the right there is a small thicket of reeds. Some of the company have already sought shelter there, and I make a rush there with the same hope.

“‘For heaven’s sake, lie down, corporal,’ screamed a man as I came up. In fact, the reeds afford no cover whatever. Wounded and dead lie there and bullets keep hitting them. In front of me lay a man from the fourth company; a bullet had entered his chest and passed out of his back; the blood was oozing out of a wound about the size of a shilling. The horror was too much for me, and I crept to the other end of the strip.

“There I found everything far worse, but I cannot describe the terrors which I saw. One poor fellow begs for a drop of water; there is just another draught in my bottle. With grateful eyes he hands it back to me, and in the same moment I feel a stinging pain in the shoulder. My arm is numbed and helpless; hardly one of us who is not wounded.

“We can offer no resistance to the enemy; but the awful way back! At last the run back over eight hundred yards of open field begins. Now and again a comrade sinks to the ground, never to rise again. My breath is nearly gone; one last effort, and in truth I have escaped from the hail of bullets.”

It is remarkable and noteworthy that German writers charge the French armies with looting and destruction in their own country. Probably this is merely a device to get rid of unpleasant accusations raised against the German army. Furthermore, the most reckless charges of uncleanliness are made. In commenting on the lot of the Landsturm troops quartered in the villages of Northern France, one author writes: “The Landsturm men pass their time as best they can in these holes, whose most conspicuous quality is their filth.”

The same author gives his impressions of a visit to Sedan. “Only one house has been completely and another partly destroyed, otherwise appearances are peaceful, and as far as possible, life goes on as usual. Here, too, many of the inhabitants have left their homes and fled. The stupidity of this flight becomes evident at every step. In numerous small hotels whose proprietors have remained, one sees German soldiers buying bottles of splendid Burgundy wine at a shilling a bottle.

“But in another hotel whose proprietor had fled, is it a matter for surprise that the men caroused on discovering a cellar containing three thousand bottles of wine? On the route I have myself purchased some of the oldest and best wines from our men at a price of three cigars a bottle, and the recollection of them belongs to the pleasantest memories of my sojourn at the front.

“Certainly the owner of Chateau Frenois, situated a few minutes’ walk from the town, will be more unpleasantly surprised on his return than the hotel proprietor. In his home, French marauders and plunderers have destroyed and devastated the entire contents. It is impossible to comprehend the senselessness of this conduct, for which no reasons of military necessity can be advanced.

“Ancient family pictures which could not be taken out of their frames have been ruined by bayonet stabs, and from the shape of the cuts they were certainly the work of French bayonets. Even the library, which contained a valuable collection of old prints, had been robbed.

“Not far from this scene of desolation stands Chateau Bellevue, where King William met Napoleon in 1870. There, too, the traces of French plunderers are painfully evident; it was left to the ‘Hun-Kaiser’ to save this historic spot from complete annihilation. In September Wilhelm II. visited the chateau and seeing the signs of rapacity, ordered the place to be strictly guarded to prevent further desecration."

It did not occur to Herr Koehrer to connect the carousals with the plundering; in one sentence he admits that French soldiers respected the wine-cellars and in the next accuses them of stealing books, etc. Every German writer, in describing the German advance, comments on the immense number of haversacks, weapons and equipment thrown away by the French in their “wild flight.” Yet they desire their readers to believe that the same soldiers had time to rob and destroy, indeed, carry their plunder with them!

Since September no French troops have been in the district, yet the Kaiser found it necessary to place guards round Chateau Bellevue. Is it not more reasonable to assume that the precaution was taken against the predatory instincts of his own soldiery, who, admittedly, are in occupation of the province?

Herr Koehrer finds it almost beneath his dignity to reply to charges of barbarism and Hunnism; yet he devotes several pages to the art of white-washing. “The inhabitants who remained in their homes, and those who have returned since the flight unfortunately it is only a small part of the entirety have recognized long ago that the German soldier is not a barbarian. The terrible distress which prevails among the French is often enough relieved by the generosity of the German troops. Throngs of women and children from the filthy villages of the Argonne and the Ardennes gather round our field-kitchens and regularly receive the remains of the meals; while many a German Landsturm man, recollecting his own wife and children, fills the mouths of dirty French children instead of completely satisfying his own hunger."

No one disputes the presence of kindly Germans in the Kaiser’s armies, and it is pleasing to read about these acts of generosity in relieving distress which is entirely the result of Germany’s guilt. But the point which all German writers miss is the explanation of positive evidence of brutal deeds. Their kindly incidents and proofs of German chivalry are all of a negative character, and do not overthrow one jot or tittle of the opposing positive evidence.

Iron crosses have fallen in thick showers on the German armies; during the month of July, 1915, no fewer than 3,400 of these decorations were awarded to the Bavarian army alone. Still, as far back as November of last year, Herr Koehrer wrote: “In the villages on the slopes of the Argonnes and on the banks of the Aisne, nearly every second soldier is wearing an iron cross. One has the certain conviction that it is not an army of fifty or sixty thousand, but a nation of heroes which occupies the plains of France and fights for us.

“They are all heroes at the front, including those who do not wear the outward symbol of personal bravery. When we see how our men live, it would seem that the earliest days of the human race have returned. They have become cave-dwellers, troglodytes in the worst form. Our heavy batteries are placed on the slopes of the Argonne forest, while the light field-howitzers occupy the summits.

“Near them holes have been dug in the wet clay or chalk, and meagrely lined with straw; these dark, damp caves are the dwellings of our officers and men for weeks at a time, while the shells from the enemy’s artillery whiz and burst around. In them the differences of rank disappear, except that one sometimes sees a couple of chairs provided for officers. When duty does not call them to the guns, they are free to remain in the open exposed to a sudden and awful death, or to spend their time in the womb of mother earth. Yet one never hears a word of complaint; rather the hardships of this strange existence are borne with rough good-humour."

Contrary to the expectations of other nations, the war seems only to have increased the popularity of the military Moloch. Writers who look upon the Allies as deliverers who will free Germany from the degrading slavery imposed upon that country, will be disappointed to learn that Germans worship the bunte Rock (gay uniform) more than ever.

At a meeting of the National Liberal leaders held in Dortmund, July, 1915, a resolution was passed calling upon the Government to pursue a still greater naval and army programme. Both the Liberals and Conservatives have adopted the motto: Deutsche Machtpolitik frei von Sentimentalitaet (A German policy of might free from sentimentalism).

“This war of the nations, which has overthrown so many accepted standards and created new ones, will also give a new basis to the privileged position of German officers in public life. Millions of German men have seen how in this war the German lieutenant has again merited his special position for some generations to come. I wish to emphasize this point over and over again.

“During the first two months of hostilities nearly forty thousand iron crosses were awarded. To many of those at home this appeared to be overdoing it, like the many exaggerations in the domain of orders and honours with which we have become familiar during the last decade. As a matter of fact, the number of crosses given was too small.

“Not forty thousand heroes are at the front, but a nation of heroes. In emphasizing why the work of our officers is so splendid I must lay down these premises. The bravery and joyous spirit of self-sacrifice in our men is above all praise, but the officers have higher and more responsible duties. They have not only to set an example of physical courage, but they must possess the mental capacity to lead and spur on their men and that under conditions so hard and rude that the man at home has no conception of them.

“I have been in the trenches on the slopes of the Argonnes, where officers lie side by side with the men in clay and chalk, unwashed and filthy cut off from the outside world, exposed to continuous fire and thrown entirely upon themselves. I have seen them in the artillery positions on the Aisne, in the mud-caves of the heavy batteries, where they sit in the dark on empty packing-cases, listening to the music of exploding shells and whistling bullets. And everywhere I received the same impression: the men are enthusiastic in praise of their leaders.

“Many a one who has never voted for any other party than the Social Democrats has exclaimed: ’Lieutenants! Donnerwetter, yes! Hats off to them!’ For the lieutenant is not only the first in the fight, but he is the soul of the company; untiring in his efforts to keep up their spirits in the intervals between the fighting.

“And when we again witness the scenes which often disgusted us before the war the monocled young gentlemen in gay uniform, walking through the streets, nose in the air when we see all this again, and perhaps a bit of iron pinned on the breast, then we must remember that for their life of danger and hardship in Argonnes clay, and Russian mud, no earthly compensation can be too great.

“No nation can ever imitate our lieutenant, and in this war of masses and technical perfection it is still the value of individual personality which will decide the issue. We may affirm that this value stands very high in our army both as regards officers and men.

“Only he who has seen for himself the burnt villages, devastated towns and desolate land of France can comprehend the full meaning of the awful word Krieg (war). Mere words cannot express what it means to Germans and Germany that the horrors of war have been carried almost alone into the enemy’s territory.

“But then a spirit of irresistible ardour goes through the ranks of our warriors. From every eye, in every word, burns the deepest, most unbounded faith in victory. In the trenches, batteries and hospitals there is no doubt, no fear. One great thought hovers victoriously above all hardships, distress and suffering: Germany to the front in the world!

“And from out the blood which flows and that is shed plenteously, very plenteously (this is the sacred faith which I brought back from the battlefields) out of this blood the proud harvest will grow, whose blessings we shall all feel the world dominion of the German idea!"

In spite of Koehrer’s assurances that the relationship between officers and men in the German army is an ideal one, there is evidence that such is not always the case. The Social Democratic paper Karlsruhe Volksfreund (July 23rd, 1915) contained a long article by “comrade” Wilhelm Kolb, attacking the anti-annexation fraction of his party. Kolb accused the opposition with “speculating on the question of food-prices and the ill-treatment of soldiers at and behind the front. The power of the censor makes it exceedingly difficult, or even impossible, to ventilate this matter.”

German writers are careful to impress their readers that the losses of the French were appalling, but here and there a stray word or sentence lifts the veil and discovers their own.

“Just before me are the graves of some German officers adorned with wooden crosses and helmets, and a little farther on a Massengrab (large common grave) containing several hundred German soldiers. At this point (Sedan) the battle raged with awful fury, and the Germans had to make heavy sacrifices. It seems almost incredible that the Germans could have forced the position.

“The country is hilly; not a tree or bush offered cover from the French bullets. French trenches at distances of from thirty to fifty yards, stretched across the land, and between them were wire entanglements and other obstacles. Besides which they had an open firing-range of over a mile in extent, with their artillery to cover them from a steep hill on the other side of the Meuse.

“At 5 a.m. the attack commenced, and by the afternoon the French had been hurled across the river. Then came the most difficult part of the operations. From the Meuse the ground rises gradually to a steep hill, on which the French artillery and machine guns were placed. The only bridge over the river, at Donchery, had been blown up at the last moment by the enemy, and although our pioneers had hastily constructed a bridge of tree-trunks what was this for so many regiments!

“Many tried to ford or swim the stream. The French fire was murderous in its effect. Several times the ranks wavered, but again and again they pressed forward, till the heights were stormed and the enemy in flight. The battle raged on into the night and then the remains of the regiments gathered at the foot of the hill. They had won a costly but glorious victory. Those who have seen the successes which our troops have gained, even under the most difficult conditions, need have no fear as to the ultimate result of this war.

“I stood long at this spot on the blood-drenched soil of France, just where the regiments from Trier had fought so bravely and suffered so heavily. Serious thoughts arose in me as I gazed at the battlefield. What a dispensation! Two gigantic battles on the same spot in such a short space of time; two great victories over the French. And most remarkable of all, the nation which for forty-four years had desired revanche for Sedan, was again completely defeated at the same place almost on the anniversary of the first battle.

“Twilight shadows fall deep upon the quiet fields where the dead rest. Squadrons of white clouds drift down the valley, as if to cover the sleeping heroes with a shroud of white. Above Sedan’s heights appears the shining crescent of the moon and sheds a ghostly light over the wide field of death the battlefield of Sedan."

“At last we arrive at our destination Somme-Py. But what a sight! Nothing remains of the once beautiful, spacious village but a heap of rubbish. A few black-burnt walls are still standing and about three houses; among them, fortunately, the house occupied by Kaiser Wilhelm I. in 1870-71, when the victorious German army was marching on Paris. At present it serves as a field-hospital. Yes, this is the second time that a German army has marched this way; but the battles were never so bloody as this time.

“Somme-Py and the country round has a special meaning for us folk in Trier. For here our Trier regiments above all the 29th and 69th have fought with splendid valour, and here they have buried many a dear friend and comrade. Immediately before Somme-Py one of the largest mass-graves of the whole campaign may be seen.

“A simple iron railing surrounds the spot where hundreds of those rest who lived so happily in our midst, who marched so gaily and to whom we waved farewell greetings as they tramped through our streets.

“The fight for the village had been particularly fierce and bloody; the inhabitants had no time to flee. Half-burnt men and animals, soldiers and civilians, filled the houses and streets, or lay buried under the ruins awful sacrifices to the war Fury! We must thank God and our brave soldiers that they have preserved our hearths and homes from such horror and misery."

It is cheering to find a growing feeling of respect for the French in German war literature. One of many such expressions will be sufficient to quote here. The writer of it is a German author who enjoys much esteem in his own country, and was a guest at the German Crown Prince’s headquarters in May, 1915.

“In conversations with numerous French prisoners I have found no traces of hate and rage either in their looks or words. The most are glad to have escaped in an honourable manner from the nerve-racking, trench warfare. In an honourable manner? Yes, for I have heard on all sides from the highest officers and the simplest soldiers that the French have fought well. For the most part they are well led and always filled up with lies."

“Then we dined with the Crown Prince; soup, roast goose, fresh beans and dessert. The conversation was lively. In our small company although the bravery of the enemy and his excellent leadership receives full recognition there is not one who does not reckon with absolute conviction on complete victory on both fronts."

Herr Presber’s book is free, neither from adulation nor hero-worship. He is a poet, sentimentalist, and evangelist for Greater Germany. His book is a collection of incidents, reflections, and conversations, carefully assorted and arranged, so as to allow the limelight to glare on the statuesque figure of a mighty Germanic hero, fresh from Walhalla incarnated in the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince’s birthday dinner-party affords an excellent opportunity for the German nation to see the mighty one replying to the toast of his health. Presber affirms that the moment when his royal host raised his glass and uttered the words: “Ein stilles Glas den Toten!” ("A glass in silence to the memory of the fallen”) will for ever be “most solemn and sacred” in his memory.

With genuine German inquisitiveness Herr Presber hunted through the various cupboards and drawers in his room and found a map of France as it was before the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. “The map is wrong and useless, and so I use it to line a drawer before placing my linen therein. This makes me think of the many changes which will be marked in the atlases which German children are now carrying to school in their satchels after the cannon have ceased to roar. How the colouring of the maps has changed since I went to school, and yet once more a great ‘unrest of colour’ is about to change the map of Europe. And as far as I can see, large notes of interrogation must be placed not alone round the Poles and in Central Africa!"

“I spoke of the good understanding between the natives and our soldiers. Probably that is not so easy to attain everywhere. We drove long distances from the Prince’s headquarters and once passed through a famous town which sees the German conquerors for a second time. (No doubt Sedan is meant. Author.)

“Most of the inhabitants know it is the Crown Prince by the signs of reverence shown him on all sides, by officers and men alike. But the citizens of the twice-conquered town bite their lips, turn their heads aside, and pretend indifference. The women too many of them in deep mourning turn away, or sometimes stand and stare as if with suddenly aroused interest. Here the ancient hate glowers in silence.

“It seems as if a parole of mute non-respect has been passed round. This town, which has become world-famous on account of the debacle of the Third Empire, lives to see with gnashing of teeth the downfall of the Republic. But they do not believe it yet."

“French and Russian prisoners are working on the roads, wheeling barrows of stone and filling the holes made by shell fire. Some of them, without thinking, touch their caps when their guards stand stiffly at the salute. (And how few guards are necessary to watch this tame herd!) Others gaze at our car as it rushes past without giving any salute; their faces express astonishment, curiosity, but no excitement."

Another illuminating page tells of the Crown Prince’s anger on hearing that Italy had joined the Allies, and how they went for a motor-ride as an antidote to the royal rage.

German humour is generally unconscious and mostly unintentional. After a policy of bullying towards France for forty-four years, Germany has discovered during the course of the war that France is the cat’s-paw of Russia and Great Britain principally the latter.

One writer, in some fifty pages of venom, endeavours to show that England is France’s executioner. Another gives our ally the advice “awake!” After Germany has played the saigner-a-blanc game in Northern France for more than a year, the advice seems rather belated.

Herr Heinemann writes, : “France is not fighting for herself, but for England and Russia.

“Poor deceived France! She has given fifteen milliards of francs to Russia so that she may at last draw the sword in defence of Russo-Serbian and British commercial interests. She has placed her money and her beautiful land at the disposal of her so-called friends for the sake of a mad idea which these friends have cleverly exploited (revanche idée).

“England has declared that she will continue the war for twenty years, twenty years on French soil. If under these circumstances the French broke with their allies who have exploited France for the last twenty-five years, and who have plunged her into this war –­in order to arrive at a reasonable understanding with Germany; then they would only show that they do not intend to accept the final consequences of the mistakes committed by the French Government.

“No one is compelled to eat the last drop of a soup prepared by false friends. In this sense, to seduce France to a direct breach of faith with her allies, would in truth, only mean the protection of France’s best interests” (pp. 51-2).

One other writer deserves mention a lecturer in history, Bonn University because he presents an opinion the exact contrary to the one last quoted. According to Dr. Platzhoff, France herself is the guilty party, who has tricked Russia and Great Britain into the service of revenge for 1870.

“Therefore France found it necessary to extract herself from isolation, and acquire allies against her neighbour (Germany). In several decades of painful effort, French diplomacy has solved the problem in brilliant fashion. Revanche and alliance policy are inseparable conceptions."

In contrast to most German authors, Platzhoff admits that the Entente Cordiale was called into being by Germany herself. “This development caused great anxiety in Germany. But it seems certain that Germany could have prevented it by one means alone an open agreement with England. And Berlin, after considering the matter carefully, had declined the latter."

“That France would enter the field on Russia’s behalf is a logical consequence not only of the Dual Alliance treaty, but also of the policy pursued during recent decades. In vain French ministers have protested their love of peace and their innocence in causing this war. The policy of alliances and revenge was certain to end in a world conflagration.

“Already voices make themselves heard which prophesy a revolution in French policy and a later entente with Germany."

Many such passages might be cited to prove that Germany would like to see a split among the allies. But France’s honour and welfare are in her own hands, and it appears a futile hope that Germany, after failing to bring France to submission and self-effacement by threats of saigner a blanc, will succeed in her purpose by the reality.