HOW THE WAR WAS WON.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 January 1922, Page 4

HOW THE WAR WAS WON.

WdRK. GEitMAft Y’S lN l EEßii)ilh\ r TO grlAt ftftlTlM. EAllfcY PLANS tiED ASTftAt. The efficloney of 'the British Ifil’eflighrice l)e’piWthVeh't dlir’iWg fifie WAr And the lgnorA'hce of the GeriViAn Intelligence S'erVice weV'e filTiVstrate'd by LieiVt-cuant-General Sir G. Ad. AliVcVfdndgh, Abjittani-G'enoral to the Eo'rccs, fin a lecture at the Soya 1 ! A'l-tillery institution, WoViUVicTi. GoVier'A! AlacdpiVogh \m D'iVecfd'r bf Military Melligehce

h'A'til ahhbiiVtod to his Reseat D'Ast. : GeiVerhi Macdonog'fi AAid the liVt-clli-ge'iice ftcp AV tViVefit had vvofi the \vai, blit 'they might fi'd't swallow that, sb lie vVoilTd SAy i't \V!\i the Gorinat) bad intelTrg’ericS Which caused tlfeiA to lose the fVar. He tWbVigfilV cMd'efnh'cd the GerhVAn iiit’elligbiice - Department, inasmuch th'At frohf the first it grossly bveve'sti'mated tlie time Russia w'ould take tb mobilise'- They did eStiffiate accurately t'h'e date o'f the first b'Attlc. They fiked it at September 9th, and that Actually Was .the date the British' recroSsed the Marne oii the last day of the first battle of that river- But they were much out on the Eastern fiont, for by the end of August'the. Austrians had substantially withdrawn. In the Wost', too', they knew riotbiiig of the lancTiiig of the British Expeditionary Force, and actually did not know at Mens that the .British Voye. there. Only a few days before von Iyluck was told by Ins cavalry that there were no eiie&y. Uitbip JO,miles, of., him.., VON KLUCK’S BAD INFORMATION The German general believed the British were .based oil Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne, and developed his movements accordingly. The fact was that the British Intelligence Department in England had not been asleep, for on the declaration of war all the German agents were arrested except one, who succeeded in escaping. Von Kluck’s ignorance led him to diroe’ his army as ho did with the idea of cutting off the British. Again the Germans blundered as to the Eastern

front, withdrawing troops from the West under, the belief they had won

decisively. Once niore tlie German Intelligence failed to understand the importance of Marioury’s arriving or tlio value of tho garrison of Paris. Bad intelligence also led to von Kluck turning south-east, His belief that . tho British Army 'had boen rendered ineffective caused him to open a gap in the German line through which L-> British advanced and led directly, to the German retirement from the Marne. In fact at an earlier stage had the German intelligence not been had von Kluck would never have been allowed to blunder into the battle of. Mons. General Macdonogh dealt with tho original German , plan and liow it was ruined by mistaken information. The Germans might not have been able to learn all The had stated, but lie thought they should have knows a great deal more than they did. OUR OWN DEPARTMENT.

Coming to our own Intelligence Department, he spoke of the period of 1917-18. Sir Philip Chetwode had told him that in Palestine he had had to meet with his corps a heavy attack by two Turkish corps. But Sir Philip was in possession of every intended move of the enemy beforehand obtained by our Intelligence. General Allanby could take risks because of the excelence of our Intelligence staff. He was hot going to detract from the credit of the man who 5 won the tvar —• that was the British soldier, from what ever part of the Empire he came. Without hirn the best headquarters of the best Intelligence Departrn’eh’t would be useless. He claime'd to hafie 'originated in home ways the secret service and the essence of it was that it was secret. Everything had to he investigated, for many of the reports emanated from the enemy. MR ASQUITH REASSURED.

He gave. an instance. About the middle of November, 1914 he received a message from Lord Kitchener giving a ropqrt which caused, the greatest depression in London when it, was com,municatecl to the Cabinet. The report dame from Armsterdain, and was to the qffect that the Germans had sent large reinforcements to their front at Y-pres. Mr Asquith came into the general’s room ait So Onier to discuss this report, i\nd the general was able to reassure him by stating that the truth was the Germans were actuallly withdrawing troops to send to Poland, and tlie report was spread to hide the fact. Ho told Mr Asquith that the first battle of Ypres was pi acticaHy over. Lord Home added a tribute to the wonderful efficiency attained by the Intelligence Department. He remarked that oine of their great difficulties was to realise how very bad the Germans really fibre ih military' work in file field. ‘ i