NEW LIGHT ON GERMAN TREACHERY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3193, 18 September 1917, Page 5

NEW LIGHT ON GERMAN TREACHERY

THE LIE OF AUGUST 3, 1914

NO THOUGHT OP ANYTHING

BUT WAR

Mr. W. H. Wilson in the Juno "Js Tjnetcentli Century and Aiteuy" gives tho substance of'a remarkable and most interesting work recently published in Paris, "Lβ ll.onsongo du Aout, 19U" (Tlio Lie of August 3, 1911). The German Government still persists in its claim that the war was not provoked by it, but forced upon it, alleging that it did not net aggressively until Ilussia mobilised, and that both Bussia and Franco committed overt acts of war before Germany began hostilities, or even declared war. Dr. Alichaelis is just as insistent upon tliis point as hie predecessor, or as the selfrighteous Kaiser himself. In a general way we Allied peoples have always known this to be deliberate falsification of history on the part of the rulers of Germany, but there was so much confusion at the time and there has been so much' sinister clouding of evidonce siuce, 0 that complete proofs of German mendac-' ity have not been available. Further information tending to confirm the impression made by the diplomatic correspondence given to the world by; Allied Governments has from time to time leaked out, but not until the publication of this French book was the whole series of German falseVocds exposed and critically examined. With the help of much irformation supplied by the Fiench War Office from ffs archives, supplementing that contained in the Allied diplomatic coii«spondence, the author of "Lβ Jten ? eonge" tells tho story with a wealth of new facts, all carefully "dooiinnnted," as tho French say, with depositions, official papers, photographs, and so an. The Secret Mobilisation. It is plain that when the Kaiser went off yachting to Norway on July 5 everything was in train, hngo supplies of corn had been bought, a large number of hospital beds and a quantity of hospital stores had been duly provided, aid, under the pretext of "exceptional yrand manoeuvres," arrangements had been mado for tho concentration of 500,000 men close to the French frontior. Iho Tvaiser's absence ,was obviously designed to throw the' Entente off its guard anil give the German staff an opportunity of stealthily mobilising tho German Army. That, in fact, was what ocourml. The published reports of the French Embassy in Berlin went to show thai: German secret mobilisation began on July 21. Among the aew facts now brought out are:—(l) That on July 24 <-he colonels of German Tegiments at Metz g<v?e their officers the ' secret instructions —never divulged till the eve of_war— as to the duty of the "covering force" on the outbreak of'war; (2); That on July 25 railway statipus throughout Germany wore , occupied by tho military, and the entraining of troops towards the Belfian frontier at once begaa; (3) That on uly 27 Gorman infantry commenced to lay barbed wire along the french frontier, men on leave were ordered to rejoin, officers of the reserve at Antwerp were secretly instructed to depart at once for their regiments, and five classes of reservists, numbering in all about 1,250,000 men, were called up, thus making, with the Army as maintained on a peace footing, a. total of well over two million men (or more than double the force used for the attack on. France in 1870), actually in process of mobilisation pn this date; (4) That on July 28 troops in war uniform were pouring through Frankfurt, and reservists from neighbouring countries wero arriving in Germany; and that on. July 29 the whole G&rman "covering force" was in position on the French frontier, thirty military trains passed between Metz and Treves, and another large category of reservists, tße Ersatz (about 1,500,000 strong) received special notices, bjj, which their mobilisation would be accomplished automatically on the issue of a proclamation. Thus by July 29 Germany had actually mobilised or was in process of mobilising 3,500,000 men. On the afternoon of that <!ny the famous War Council met at Potsdam, and at Petrograd the German Ambassador informed the Russian' Government of "tho decision of his Government to mobilise if Russia did not etop her military preparations, which, unlike the greater preparations of Cftrmony, had been, publicly announced, and wero, in fact, limited to tho military districts affected by the Austrian mobilisation of eight army corps." The Lust for War. It had evidently beea resolved at the Potsdam War Council to mako a public proclamation next day of the German mobilisation, on tho pretext that Russia would not stop her preparations; but late that evening the Tsar replied to an effusive porsonal appeal from the Kniaer with a message which the German Government has persistently suppressed. It asked why thero was such a difference in tone between tho Kaiser's telegram and the Ambassador's threat, and ended with an offer to submit tho AustroSerbinn question to The Haguo tribunal. Tho Kaiser and his Chancellor rejected tho offer off-hand, but they must, late that night, have- decided to delay tho mobilisation proclamation, probably because they feared Austria might break away. Here again "Lo Mensonge" throws new light on tho courso of events. It has always .been known that soon after noon on July 30 the "I.okal Anzeiger" published a s.pfcial edition announcing tho German mobilisation. The edition was seized, and at 2 p.m. the German Foreign Offico telephoned to the French ami Russian embassies to say tho news, was false. It alleged that the paper had been printed in advanco, "to bo ready for all eventualities," a very curious story in view of the tight hand the German Government keeps on its press. It now appears that four other Berlin newspapers also publisher] the news at 1 p.m. on that day. This simultaneous action of five newspapers can be explained only on one or other of tho following hypotheses :—The pnblication occurred (1) because some person present at the War Council had not been informed of the change of plan late at night; (2) or, having been informed, wished to force the Kaiser's hand; or because the German Government deliborately decided to lay a trap for Russia and forco her to mobilise. Vienna also was informed of the mobilisation as news received nby an Austrian correspondent from one of tho Emperor's staff." Further,' in the time nssiened on July 31 to the issue of the, Russian order of mobilisation the German Government deliberately falsified its own document? for publication in Germany. The above do not by any means exhaust tho talo of missing links which "Lβ Monsonge" sup- ■ plied to completo the chain of evidence against tho lying German Government, but they are enough to indicate the historical importance of the book.