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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The German War - Some Sidelights and Reflections - -Author: Arthur Conan Doyle - -Release Date: February 18, 2013 [EBook #42127] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GERMAN WAR *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Hulse, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - -THE GERMAN WAR - - - - -THE GERMAN WAR - - - -BY - -ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE - -AUTHOR OF "THE GREAT BOER WAR," ETC. - - - -HODDER AND STOUGHTON - -LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO - -MCMXIV - - - - -_Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.,_ - -_London and Aylesbury_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -These essays, upon different phases of the wonderful world-drama -which has made our lifetime memorable, would be unworthy of -republication were it not that at such a time every smallest thing -which may help to clear up a doubt, to elucidate the justice of our -cause, or to accentuate the desperate need of national effort, -should be thrown into the scale. The longest essay appeared in _The -Fortnightly Review_ and the shorter ones for the most part in _The -Daily Chronicle_. I have left them as written at the time, even -where after-events have caused some modification of my views. - - ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. - WINDLESHAM, CROWBOROUGH, - _November 1914._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - I. THE CAUSES OF THE WAR 1 - - II. THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY 32 - - III. THE DEVIL'S DOCTRINE 41 - - IV. THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT 55 - - V. THE "CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY" 65 - - VI. A POLICY OF MURDER 79 - - VII. MADNESS 89 - - VIII. GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR 99 - - IX. AFTERTHOUGHTS 144 - - - * * * * * - - - - -I - -THE CAUSES OF THE WAR - - - This article, stating the British case, was issued as a - recruiting pamphlet in Great Britain, but was used abroad - as a simple explanation which would enable neutrals to - understand the true facts. It was published in full by - fifty leading journals in the United States, and was - translated into Dutch and Danish, 25,000 copies being - distributed in each country. - -The causes of the war are only of moment to us, at this stage, in -that we gain more strength in our arms and more iron in our souls by -a knowledge that it is for all that is honourable and sacred for -which we fight. What really concerns us is that we are in a fight -for our national life, that we must fight through to the end, and -that each and all of us must help, in his own fashion, to the last -ounce of his strength, that this end may be victory. That is the -essence of the situation. It is not words and phrases that we need, -but men, men--and always more men. If words can bring the men, then -they are of avail. If not, they may well wait for the times to mend. -But if there is a doubt in the mind of any man as to the justice of -his country's quarrel, then even a writer may find work ready to his -hand. - -Let us cast our minds back upon the events which have led up to this -conflict. They may be divided into two separate classes--those which -prepared the general situation, and those which caused the special -quarrel. Each of these I will treat in its turn. - -It is a matter of common knowledge, one which a man must be blind -and deaf not to understand, that for many years Germany, intoxicated -by her success in war and by her increase of wealth, has regarded -the British Empire with eyes of jealousy and hatred. It has never -been alleged by those who gave expression to this almost universal -national passion that Great Britain had in any way, either -historically or commercially, done Germany a mischief. Even our most -bitter traducers, when asked to give any definite historical reasons -for their dislike, were compelled to put forward such ludicrous -excuses as that the British had abandoned the Prussian King in the -year 1761, quite oblivious of the fact that the same Prussian King -had abandoned his own allies in the same war under far more damaging -circumstances, acting up to his own motto that no promises are -binding where the vital interests of a State are in question. With -all their malevolence they could give no examples of any ill turn -done by us until their deliberate policy had forced us into -antagonism. On the other hand, a long list of occasions could very -easily be compiled on which we had helped them in some common cause -from the days of Marlborough to those of Blcher. Until the -twentieth century had turned they had no possible cause for -political hatred against us. In commerce our record was even more -clear. Never in any way had we interfered with that great -development of trade which has turned them from one of the poorest -to one of the richest of European States. Our markets were open to -them untaxed, whilst our own manufactures paid 20 per cent. in -Germany. The markets of India, of Egypt, and of every portion of -the Empire which had no self-appointed tariff, were as open to -German goods as to British ones. Nothing could possibly have been -more generous than our commercial treatment. No doubt there was some -grumbling when cheap imitations of our own goods were occasionally -found to oust the originals from their markets. Such a feeling was -but natural and human. But in all matters of commerce, as in all -matters political before the dawn of this century, they have no -shadow of a grievance against us. - -And yet they hated us with a most bitter hatred, a hatred which long -antedates the days when we were compelled to take a definite stand -against them. In all sorts of ways this hatred showed itself--in the -diatribes of professors, in the pages of books, in the columns of -the Press. Usually it was a sullen, silent dislike. Sometimes it -would flame up suddenly into bitter utterance, as at the time of the -unseemly dispute around the deathbed of the Emperor's father, or on -the occasion of the Jameson Raid. And yet this bitter antagonism was -in no way reciprocated in this country. If a poll had been taken at -any time up to the end of the century as to which European country -was our natural ally, the vote would have gone overwhelmingly for -Germany. "America first and then Germany" would have been the -verdict of nine men out of ten. But then occurred two events which -steadied the easy-going Briton, and made him look more intently and -with a more questioning gaze at his distant cousin over the water. -Those two events were the Boer War and the building of the German -fleet. The first showed us, to our amazement, the bitter desire -which Germany had to do us some mischief, the second made us realise -that she was forging a weapon with which that desire might be -fulfilled. - -We are most of us old enough to remember the torrent of calumny and -insult which was showered upon us in the day of our temporary -distress by the nation to whom we had so often been a friend and an -ally. It is true that other nations treated us little better, and -yet their treatment hurt us less. The difference as it struck men at -the time may be summarised in this passage from a British writer of -the period. - -"But it was very different with Germany," he says. "Again and again -in the world's history we have been the friends and the allies of -these people. It was so in the days of Marlborough, in those of the -Great Frederick, and in those of Napoleon. When we could not help -them with men we helped them with money. Our fleet has crushed their -enemies. And now, for the first time in history, we have had a -chance of seeing who were our friends in Europe, and nowhere have we -met more hatred and more slander than from the German Press and the -German people. Their most respectable journals have not hesitated to -represent the British troops--troops every bit as humane and as -highly disciplined as their own--not only as committing outrages on -person and property, but even as murdering women and children. - -"At first this unexpected phenomenon merely surprised the British -people, then it pained them, and finally, after two years of it, it -has roused a deep, enduring anger in their minds." - -He goes on to say, "The continued attacks upon us have left an -enduring feeling of resentment, which will not and should not die -away in this generation. It is not too much to say that five years -ago a complete defeat of Germany in a European war would have -certainly caused British intervention. Public sentiment and racial -affinity would never have allowed us to see her really go to the -wall. And now it is certain that in our lifetime no British guinea -and no soldier's life would under any circumstances be spent for -such an end. That is one strange result of the Boer War, and in the -long run it is possible that it may prove not the least important." - -Such was the prevailing mood of the nation when they perceived -Germany, under the lead of her Emperor, following up her expressions -of enmity by starting with restless energy to build up a formidable -fleet, adding programme to programme, out of all possible proportion -to the German commerce to be defended or to the German coastline -exposed to attack. Already vainglorious boasts were made that -Germany was the successor to Britain upon the seas. "The Admiral of -the Atlantic greets the Admiral of the Pacific," said the Kaiser in -a message to the Czar. What was Britain to do under this growing -menace? So long as she was isolated the diplomacy of Germany might -form some naval coalition against her. She took the steps which were -necessary for her own safety, and without forming an alliance she -composed her differences with France and Russia and drew closer the -friendship which united her with her old rival across the Channel. -The first-fruit of the new German fleet was the _entente cordiale_. -We had found our enemy. It was necessary that we should find our -friends. Thus we were driven into our present combination. - -And now we had to justify our friendship. For the first time we were -compelled to openly oppose Germany in the deep and dangerous game of -world politics. They wished to see if our understanding was a -reality or a sham. Could they drive a wedge between us by showing -that we were a fair-weather friend whom any stress would alienate. -Twice they tried it, once in 1906 when they bullied France into a -conference at Algeciras, but found that Britain was firm at her -side, and again in 1911 when in a time of profound peace they -stirred up trouble by sending a gunboat to Agadir, and pushed -matters to the very edge of war. But no threats induced Britain to -be false to her mutual insurance with France. Now for the third and -most fatal time they have demanded that we forswear ourselves and -break our own bond lest a worse thing befall us. Blind and foolish, -did they not know by past experience that we would keep our promise -given? In their madness they have wrought an irremediable evil to -themselves, to us, and to all Europe. - -I have shown that we have in very truth never injured nor desired to -injure Germany in commerce, nor have we opposed her politically -until her own deliberate actions drove us into the camp of her -opponents. But it may well be asked why then did they dislike us, -and why did they weave hostile plots against us? It was that, as it -seemed to them, and as indeed it actually may have been, we -independently of our own wills stood between Germany and that world -empire of which she dreamed. This was caused by circumstances over -which we had no control and which we could not modify if we had -wished to do so. Britain, through her maritime power and the energy -of her merchants and people, had become a great world power when -Germany was still unformed. Thus, when she had grown to her full -stature she found that the choice places of the world and those most -fitted for the spread of a transplanted European race were already -filled up. It was not a matter which we could help, nor could we -alter it, since Canada, Australia, and South Africa would not, even -if we could be imagined to have wished it, be transferred to German -rule. And yet the Germans chafed, and if we can put ourselves in -their places we may admit that it was galling that the surplus of -their manhood should go to build up the strength of an alien and -possibly a rival State. So far we could see their grievance, or -rather their misfortune, since no one was in truth to blame in the -matter. Had their needs been openly and reasonably expressed, and -had the two States moved in concord in the matter, it is difficult -to think that no helpful solution of any kind could have been -found. - -But the German method of approaching the problem has never been to -ask sympathy and co-operation, but to picture us as a degenerate -race from whom anything might be gained by playing upon our imagined -weakness and cowardice. A nation which attends quietly to its own -sober business must, according to their medival notions, be a -nation of decadent poltroons. If we fight our battles by means of -free volunteers instead of enforced conscripts, then the military -spirit must be dead amongst us. Perhaps, even in this short -campaign, they have added this delusion also to the dust-bin of -their many errors. But such was their absurd self-deception about -the most virile of European races. Did we propose disarmament, then -it was not humanitarianism but cowardice that prompted us, and their -answer was to enlarge their programme. Did we suggest a -navy-building holiday, it was but a cloak for our weakness, and an -incitement that they should redouble their efforts. Our decay had -become a part of their national faith. At first the wish may have -been the father to the thought, but soon under the reiterated -assertions of their crazy professors the proposition became -indisputable. Bernhardi in his book upon the next war cannot conceal -the contempt in which he has learned to hold us. Niebuhr long ago -had prophesied the coming fall of Britain, and every year was -believed to bring it nearer and to make it more certain. To these -jaundiced eyes all seemed yellow, when the yellowness lay only in -themselves. Our army, our navy, our Colonies, all were equally -rotten. "Old England, old, indeed, and corrupt, rotten through and -through." One blow and the vast sham would fly to pieces, and from -those pieces the victor could choose his reward. Listen to Professor -Treitschke, a man who, above all others, has been the evil genius of -his country, and has done most to push it towards this abyss: "A -thing that is wholly a sham," he cried, in allusion to our Empire, -"cannot, in this universe of ours, endure for ever. It may endure -for a day, but its doom is certain." Were ever words more true when -applied to the narrow bureaucracy and swaggering Junkerdom of -Prussia, the most artificial and ossified sham that ever our days -have seen? See which will crack first, our democracy or this, now -that both have been plunged into the furnace together. The day of -God's testing has come, and we shall see which can best abide it. - -I have tried to show that we are in no way to blame for the -hostility which has grown up between us. So far as it had any solid -cause at all it has arisen from fixed factors, which could no more -be changed by us than the geographical position which has laid us -right across their exit to the oceans of the world. That this -deeply-rooted national sentiment, which for ever regarded us as the -Carthage to which they were destined to play the part of Rome, -would, sooner or later, have brought about war between us, is, in my -opinion, beyond all doubt. But it was planned to come at the moment -which was least favourable for Britain. "Even English attempts at a -_rapprochement_ must not blind us to the real situation," says -Bernhardi. "We may, at most, use them to delay the necessary and -inevitable war until we may fairly imagine we have some prospect of -success." A more shameless sentence was never penned, and one -stands marvelling which is the more grotesque--the cynicism of the -sentiment, or the folly which gave such a warning to the victim. For -be it remembered that Bernhardi's words are to be taken very -seriously, for they are not the ravings of some Pan-German -monomaniac, but the considered views of the foremost military writer -of Germany, one who is in touch with those inner circles whose -opinions are the springs of national policy. "Our last and greatest -reckoning is to be with Great Britain," said the bitter Treitschke. -Sooner or later the shock was to come. Germany sat brooding over the -chessboard of the world waiting for the opening which should assure -a winning game. - -It was clear that she should take her enemies separately rather than -together. If Britain were attacked, it was almost certain that -France and Russia would stand by her side. But if, on the contrary, -the quarrel could be made with these two Powers, and especially with -Russia, in the first instance, then it was by no means so certain -that Great Britain would be drawn into the struggle. Public opinion -has to be strongly moved before our country can fight, and public -opinion under a Liberal Government might well be divided upon the -subject of Russia. Therefore, if the quarrel could be so arranged as -to seem to be entirely one between Teuton and Slav there was a good -chance that Britain would remain undecided until the swift German -sword had done its work. Then, with the grim acquiescence of our -deserted Allies, the still bloody sword would be turned upon -ourselves, and that great final reckoning would have come. - -Such was the plan, and fortune favoured it. A brutal murder had, not -for the first time, put Servia into a position where a State may be -blamed for the sins of individuals. An ultimatum was launched so -phrased that it was impossible for any State to accept it as it -stood and yet remain an independent State. At the first sign of -argument or remonstrance the Austrian army marched upon Belgrade. -Russia, which had been already humiliated in 1908 by the forcible -annexation of Bosnia, could not possibly submit a second time to the -Caudine Forks. She laid her hand upon her sword-hilt. Germany -sprang to the side of her Ally. France ranged herself with Russia. -Like a thunderclap the war of the nations had begun. - -So far all had worked well for German plans. Those of the British -public who were familiar with the past and could look into the future -might be well aware that our interests were firmly bound with those -of France, and that if our faggots were not tied together they would -assuredly be snapped each in its turn. But the unsavoury -assassination which had been so cleverly chosen as the starting-point -of the war bulked large in the eyes of our people, and, setting -self-interest to one side, the greater part of the public might well -have hesitated to enter into a quarrel where the cause seemed remote -and the issues ill-defined. What was it to us if a Slav or a Teuton -collected the harbour dues of Salonica! So the question might have -presented itself to the average man who in the long run is the ruler -of this country and the autocrat of its destinies. In spite of all -the wisdom of our statesmen, it is doubtful if on such a quarrel we -could have gained that national momentum which might carry us to -victory. But at that very moment Germany took a step which removed -the last doubt from the most cautious of us and left us in a position -where we must either draw our sword or stand for ever dishonoured and -humiliated before the world. The action demanded of us was such a -compound of cowardice and treachery that we ask ourselves in dismay -what can we ever have done that could make others for one instant -imagine us to be capable of so dastardly a course? Yet that it was -really supposed that we could do it, and that it was not merely put -forward as an excuse for drawing us into war, is shown by the anger -and consternation of the Kaiser and his Chancellor when we drew back -from what the British Prime Minister has described as "an infamous -proposal." One has only to read our Ambassador's description of his -interview with the German Chancellor after our decision was -announced, "so evidently overcome by the news of our action," to see -that through some extraordinary mental aberration the German rulers -did actually believe that a vital treaty with Britain's signature -upon it could be regarded by this country as a mere "scrap of paper." - -What was this treaty which it was proposed so lightly to set aside? -It was the guarantee of the neutrality of Belgium signed in 1839 -(confirmed verbally and in writing by Bismarck in 1870), by Prussia, -France, and Britain, each of whom pledged their word to observe and -to enforce it. On the strength of it Belgium had relied for her -security amidst her formidable neighbours. On the strength of it -also France had lavished all her defences upon her eastern frontier, -and left her northern exposed to attack. Britain had guaranteed the -treaty, and Britain could be relied upon. Now, on the first occasion -of testing the value of her word it was supposed that she would -regard the treaty as a worthless scrap of paper, and stand by -unmoved while the little State which had trusted her was flooded by -the armies of the invader. It was unthinkable, and yet the wisest -brains of Germany seem to have persuaded themselves that we had sunk -to such depths of cowardly indolence that even this might go -through. Surely they also have been hypnotised by those foolish -dreams of Britain's degeneration, from which they will have so -terrible an awakening. - -As a matter of fact, the General Staff had got ahead of the -diplomatists, and the German columns were already over the border -while the point was being debated at Berlin. There was no retreat -from the position which had been taken up. "It is to us a vital -matter of strategy and is beyond argument," said the German soldier. -"It is to us a vital matter of honour and is beyond argument," -answered the British statesman. The die was cast. No compromise was -possible. Would Britain keep her word or would she not? That was the -sole question at issue. And what answer save one could any Briton -give to it? "I do not believe," said our Prime Minister, "that any -nation ever entered into a great controversy with a clearer -conscience and stronger conviction that she is fighting, not for -aggression, not for the maintenance of her own selfish interest, but -in defence of principles the maintenance of which is vital to the -civilisation of the world." So he spoke, and History will endorse -his words, for we surely have our quarrel just. - -So much for the events which have led us to war. Now for a moment -let us glance at what we may have to hope for, what we may have to -fear, and above all what we must each of us do that we win through -to a lasting peace. - -What have we to gain if we win? That we have nothing material to -gain, no colonies which we covet, no possessions of any sort that we -desire, is the final proof that the war has not been provoked by us. -No nation would deliberately go out of its way to wage so hazardous -and costly a struggle when there is no prize for victory. But one -enormous indirect benefit we will gain if we can make Germany a -peaceful and harmless State. We will surely break her naval power -and take such steps that it shall not be a menace to us any more. It -was this naval power, with its rapid increase, and the need that we -should ever, as Mr. Churchill has so well expressed it, be ready at -our average moment to meet an attack at their chosen moment--it was -this which has piled up our war estimates during the last ten years -until they have bowed us down. With such enormous sums spent upon -ships and guns, great masses of capital were diverted from the -ordinary channels of trade, while an even more serious result was -that our programmes of social reform had to be curtailed from want -of the money which could finance them. Let the menace of that -lurking fleet be withdrawn--the nightmare of those thousand hammers -working day and night in forging engines for our destruction, and -our estimates will once again be those of a civilised Christian -country, while our vast capital will be turned from measures of -self-protection to those of self-improvement. Should our victory be -complete, there is little which Germany can yield to us save the -removal of that shadow which has darkened us so long. But our -children and our children's children will never, if we do our work -well now, look across the North Sea with the sombre thoughts which -have so long been ours, while their lives will be brightened and -elevated by money which we, in our darker days, have had to spend -upon our ships and our guns. - -Consider, on the other hand, what we should suffer if we were to -lose. All the troubles of the last ten years would be with us still, -but in a greatly exaggerated form. A larger and stronger Germany -would dominate Europe and would overshadow our lives. Her coast-line -would be increased, her ports would face our own, her coaling -stations would be in every sea, and her great army, greater then -than ever, would be within striking distance of our shores. To avoid -sinking for ever into the condition of a dependant, we should be -compelled to have recourse to rigid compulsory service, and our -diminished revenues would be all turned to the needs of -self-defence. Such would be the miserable condition in which we -should hand on to our children that free and glorious empire which -we inherited in all the fulness of its richness and its splendour -from those strong fathers who have built it up. What peace of mind, -what self-respect could be left for us in the remainder of our -lives? The weight of dishonour would lie always upon our hearts. And -yet this will be surely our fate and our future if we do not nerve -our souls and brace our arms for victory. No regrets will avail, no -excuses will help, no after-thoughts can profit us. It is -now--_now_--even in these weeks and months that are passing that the -final reckoning is being taken, and when once the sum is made up no -further effort can change it. What are our lives or our labours, our -fortunes or even our families, when compared with the life or death -of the great mother of us all? We are but the leaves of the tree. -What matter if we flutter down to-day or to-morrow, so long as the -great trunk stands and the burrowing roots are firm? Happy the man -who can die with the thought that in this greatest crisis of all he -has served his country to the uttermost; but who would bear the -thoughts of him who lives on with the memory that he has shirked his -duty and failed his country at the moment of her need? - -There is a settled and assured future if we win. There is darkness -and trouble if we lose. But if we take a broader sweep and trace the -meanings of this contest as they affect others than ourselves, then -ever greater, more glorious are the issues for which we fight. For -the whole world stands at a turning-point of its history, and one or -other of two opposite principles, the rule of the soldier or the -rule of the citizen, must now prevail. In this sense we fight for -the masses of the German people, as some day they will understand, -to free them from that formidable military caste which has used and -abused them, spending their bodies in an unjust war and poisoning -their minds by every device which could inflame them against those -who wish nothing save to live at peace with them. We fight for the -strong, deep Germany of old, the Germany of music and of philosophy, -against this monstrous modern aberration the Germany of blood and of -iron, the Germany from which, instead of the old things of beauty, -there come to us only the rant of scolding professors with their -final reckonings, their Welt-politik, and their Godless theories of -the Superman who stands above morality and to whom all humanity -shall be subservient. Instead of the world-inspiring phrases of a -Goethe or a Schiller, what are the words in the last decade which -have been quoted across the sea? Are they not always the -ever-recurring words of wrath from one ill-balanced man? "Strike -them with the mailed fist." "Leave such a name behind you as Attila -and his Huns." "Turn your weapons even upon your own flesh and blood -at my command." These are the messages which have come from this -perversion of a nation's soul. - -But the matter lies deep. The Hohenzollerns and the Hapsburgs have -used their peoples as a great landowner might use the serfs upon his -estate. It was, and is, their openly expressed theory that they were -in their position by the grace of God, that they owed no reckoning -to any man, and that kingdom and folk were committed for better or -worse to their charge. Round this theory of the dark ages there -gathered all the forces of the many Courts of the Empire, all the -nobility who make so huge a class in Germanic countries, all the -vast army to whom strict discipline and obedience were the breath of -life, all the office-holders of the State, all the purveyors of -warlike stores. These and their like were the natural setting to -such a central idea. Court influence largely controlled the -teaching at schools and universities, and so the growing twig could -be bent. But all these forces together could not have upheld so -dangerous and unnatural a theory had it not been for the influence -of a servile Press. - -How that Press was managed, how the thoughts of the people could be -turned to the right or the left with the same precision as a platoon -of Grenadiers, has been shown clearly enough in the Memoirs of -Bismarck. Public opinion was poisoned at its very roots. The average -citizen lived in a false atmosphere where everything was distorted -to his vision. He saw his Kaiser, not as an essentially weak and -impetuous man with a dangerous entourage who were ever at his ear, -but as Germany personified, an angel with a flaming sword, beating -back envious assailants from the beloved Fatherland. He saw his -neighbours not as peaceful nations who had no possible desire to -attack him, but, on the contrary, lived in constant fear of him, but -as a band of envious and truculent conspirators who could only be -kept in order by the sudden stamp of the jackboot and the menacing -clatter of the sabre. He insensibly imbibed the Nietzsche doctrine -that the immorality of the Superman may be as colossal as his -strength and that the slave-evangel of Christianity was superseded -by a sterner law. Thus when he saw acts which his reason must have -told him were indefensible, he was still narcotised by this -conception of some new standard of right. He saw his Kaiser at the -time of a petty humiliation to Great Britain sending a telegram of -congratulation to the man who had inflicted this rebuff. Could that -be approved by reason? At a time when all Europe was shuddering over -the Armenian massacres he saw this same Kaiser paying a -complimentary visit to the Sultan whose hands were still wet with -the blood of murdered Christians. Could that be reconciled with what -is right? A little later he saw the Kaiser once again pushing -himself into Mediterranean politics, where no direct German interest -lay, and endeavouring to tangle up the French developments in -Northern Africa by provocative personal appearances at Morocco, and, -later, by sending a gunboat to intrude upon a scene of action which -had already by the Treaty of Algeciras been allotted to France. - -How could an honest German whose mind was undebauched by a -controlled Press justify such an interference as that? He is or -should be aware that in annexing Bosnia, Austria was tearing up a -treaty without the consent of the other signatories, and that his -own country was supporting and probably inciting her ally to this -public breach of faith. Could he honestly think that this was right? -And, finally, he must know, for his own Chancellor has publicly -proclaimed it, that the Invasion of Belgium was a breach of -international right, and that Germany, or rather, Prussia, had -perjured herself upon the day that the first of her soldiers passed -over the frontier. How can he explain all this to himself save on a -theory that might is right, that no moral law applies to the -Superman, and that so long as one hews one's way through the rest -can matter little? To such a point of degradation have public morals -been brought by the infernal teachings of Prussian military -philosophy, dating back as far as Frederick the Second, but -intensified by the exhortations of Press and professors during our -own times. The mind of the average kindly German citizen has been -debauched and yet again debauched until it needed just such a world -crisis as this to startle him at last from his obsession and show -him his position and that of his country in its true relation with -humanity and progress. - -Thus I say that for the German who stands outside the ruling classes -our victory would bring a lasting relief, and some hope that in the -future his destiny should be controlled by his own judgment and not -by the passions or interests of those against whom he has at present -no appeal. A system which has brought disaster to Germany and chaos -to all Europe can never, one would think, be resumed, and amid the -debris of his Empire the German may pick up that precious jewel of -personal freedom which is above the splendour of foreign conquest. A -Hapsburg or a Hohenzollern may find his true place as the servant -rather than the master of a nation. But apart from Germany, look at -the effects which our victory must have over the whole wide world. -Everywhere it will mean the triumph of reasoned democracy, of -public debate, of ordered freedom in which every man is an active -unit in the system of his own government; whilst our defeat would -stand for a victory to a privileged class, the thrusting down of the -civilian by the arrogance and intolerance of militarism, and the -subjection of all that is human and progressive to all that is -cruel, narrow, and reactionary. - -This is the stake for which we play, and the world will lose or gain -as well as we. You may well come, you democratic over-sea men of our -blood, to rally round us now, for all that you cherish, all that is -bred in your very bones, is that for which we fight. And you, lovers -of Freedom in every land, we claim at least your prayers and your -wishes, for if our sword be broken you will be the poorer. But fear -not, for our sword will not be broken, nor shall it ever drop from -our hands until this matter is for ever set in order. If every ally -we have upon earth were to go down in blood and ruin, still would we -fight through to the appointed end. Defeat shall not daunt us. -Inconclusive victory shall not turn us from our purpose. The grind -of poverty and the weariness of hopes deferred shall not blunt the -edge of our resolve. With God's help we shall go to the end, and -when that goal is reached it is our prayer that a new era shall come -as our reward, an era in which, by common action of State with -State, mutual hatreds and strivings shall be appeased, land shall no -longer be estranged from land, and huge armies and fleets will be -nightmares of the past. Thus, as ever, the throes of evil may give -birth to good. Till then our task stands clear before us--a task -that will ask for all we have in strength and resolution. Have you -who read this played your part to the highest? If not, do it now, or -stand for ever shamed. - - - * * * * * - - - - -II - -THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY - - -It is instructive and interesting now,[1] before fresh great events -and a new situation obliterate the old impressions, to put it on -record how things seemed to some of us before the blow fell. A -mental position often seems incredible when looked back to from some -new standpoint. - - [1] August 20, 1914. - -I am one of those who were obstinate in refusing to recognise -Germany's intentions. I argued, I wrote, I joined the Anglo-German -Friendship Society; I did everything I could for the faith that was -in me. But early last year my views underwent a complete change, and -I realised that I had been wrong, and that the thing which seemed -too crazy and too wicked to be true actually was true. I recorded my -conversion at the time in an article entitled "Great Britain and -the Next War" in the _Fortnightly_ of March, and reading over that -article I find a good deal which fits very closely to the present -situation. Forecasts are dangerous, but there is not much there -which I would wish to withdraw. What brought about my change of view -was reading Bernhardi's book on Germany and the next war. - -Up to then I had imagined that all this sabre-rattling was a sort of -boyish exuberance on the part of a robust young nation which had a -fancy to clank about the world in jackboots. Some of it also came, -as it seemed to me, from a perfectly natural jealousy, and some as -the result of the preaching of those extraordinary professors whose -idiotic diatribes have done so much to poison the minds of Young -Germany. This was clear enough. But I could not believe that there -was a conspiracy hatching for a world-war, in which the command of -the sea would be challenged as well as that of the land. No motive -seemed to me to exist for so monstrous an upheaval, and no prize to -await Germany, if she won, which could at all balance her enormous -risks if she lost. Besides, one imagined that civilisation and -Christianity did stand for something, and that it was inconceivable -that a nation with pretensions to either the one or the other could -at this date of the world's history lend itself to a cold-blooded, -barbarous conspiracy by which it built up its strength for a number -of years with the intention of falling at a fitting moment upon its -neighbours, without any cause of quarrel save a general desire for -aggrandisement. - -All this, I say, I could not bring myself to believe. But I read -Bernhardi's book, and then I could not help believing. I wrote an -article in the hope that others who had been as blind as myself -might also come to see the truth. For who was Bernhardi? He was one -of the most noted officers in the German army. And here was a book -addressed to his own fellow-countrymen, in which these sentiments -were set forth. You could not set such a document aside and treat it -as of no account. As I said at the time, "We should be mad if we did -not take very serious notice of the warning." - -But the strange thing is that there should have been a warning. -There is a quaint simplicity in the German mind, which has shown -itself again and again in the recent events. But this is surely the -supreme example of it. One would imagine that the idea that the book -could be translated and read by his intended victims had never -occurred to the author. As a famous soldier, it is impossible to -believe that he was not in touch with the General Staff, and he -outlines a policy which has some reason, therefore, to be looked -upon as an official one. It is as bright a performance as if some -one on Lord Roberts's staff had written a description of the -Paardeberg flank march and sent it to Cronje some weeks before it -was carried out. And yet it was not an isolated example, for Von -Edelsheim, who actually belongs to this amazing General Staff, -published a shorter sketch, setting forth how his country would deal -with the United States--an essay which is an extraordinary example -of bombastic ignorance. Such indiscretions can only be explained as -manifestations of an inflated national arrogance, which has blown -itself up into a conviction that Germany was so sure of winning -that it mattered little whether her opponents were upon their guard -or not. - -But Bernhardi's programme, as outlined in his book, is actually -being carried through. The whole weight of the attack was to be -thrown upon France. Russia was to be held back during her slow -mobilisation, and then the victorious legions from Paris were to -thunder across in their countless troop trains from the western to -the eastern firing-line. Britain was to be cajoled into keeping -aloof until her fate was ripe. Then her fleet was to be whittled -down by submarines, mines, and torpedo-boats until the numbers were -more equal, when the main German fleet, coming from under the forts -of Wilhelmshaven, should strike for the conquest of the sea. Such -were the plans, and dire the fate of the conquered. They were in -accordance with the German semi-official paper, which cried on the -day before the declaration of war: "We shall win--and when we do, -'Vae victis!'" With France it was to be a final account. Our own -fate would be little better. It needs a righteous anger to wage war -to the full, and we can feel it when we think of the long-drawn -plot against us, and of the fate which defeat would bring. - -However favourable the general trend of events, we can hardly hope -to escape some bad hours during this war. The Germans are a great -and brave people, with a fine record in warlike history. They will -not go down without leaving their mark deep upon the Allies. We must -not take the opening successes too seriously, or allow ourselves to -have the edge taken off our resolution by the idea that things will -necessarily go well with us. On land and sea vast efforts and -occasional disappointments will await us. But it will not be long. -It is, as it seems to me, absolutely impossible that it should be -long. The temper of the times will not brook slow measures, nor will -the enormous financial strain upon Germany be tolerated -indefinitely. How dangerous is prophecy, and these very words may -come back to mock me; but I cannot myself see how it can be over in -less than six months, or how it could extend for more than twelve. - -If it should happen that the military affairs of Germany are as -rotten as her diplomacy, then it certainly should not last long. -That, no doubt, is too much to expect, but there are many degrees of -incapacity which are short of that extreme limit. For of that, at -least, there can be no dispute. What has come from all this crazy -science of Real-politik and Welt-politik and the rest of it? Simply -that wherever it was possible to lose the trick Germany and her -partner have done so. An alliance with Italy so loose that it was -useless, a Mediterranean understanding with Austria so vague that it -only operated after it had become of no service to the German -cruisers, the drawing of Servia, Montenegro, and, finally, of -Belgium, into the field against them, the dealing with England in -the one fashion which must unite our ranks and cut the ground from -under the feet of any party which might cause dissension--these are -the results of the Wilhelmstrasse combinations, with Potsdam -embellishments. Was there ever so colossal a muddle? Is there any -one point which could have been worse handled? And then as a -by-product the universal distrust and anger which such policy has -aroused in the neutral countries--yes, it really is a thing -complete. - -But the German soldier may prove himself as good as ever. That he -will be as brave as ever I have no doubt at all. That he will be as -hardy as ever is less likely, as the population of the Fatherland -has drifted largely from fields to factories, and as the standard of -comfort, and even luxury, have greatly increased. The Westphalian -artisan of William is very different material from the Brandenburg -peasant of Frederick, even as the short-service soldier of 1914 is -very different from the ten-year man of 1750. I should expect to see -the German as good, but no better than his neighbours. But the whole -issue of this campaign depends, from his point of view, upon his -being better. He has to win against superior numbers. He must not -only win, but win quickly. If an equilibrium were established, the -strangulation from England must bring victory to the Allies. It is a -great deal that the Kaiser has asked from his men. - -And there is his much-vaunted military organisation. An American -friend of mine, who had means of forming an opinion, remarked to -me, "Yes, it is a huge and smooth-running machine, with delicate -adjustments. Like all such machines, if a few cogwheels stuck the -whole might racket itself to pieces." A cogwheel stuck at Lige, -another may stick before long, and it all depends on how the machine -can adjust itself. The lesson of history is ominous. The Prussians -of Jena and Auerstadt were men who had been swollen up by the -tradition of Frederick's prowess. Yet in a single day their defeat -was so great and their power of recuperation so slight that they -were utterly dispersed, and their country for seven years ceased to -exist as a factor in European politics. They have always been great -winners. They have not always been great in adversity. How will they -now stand this test if it should come their way? - - - * * * * * - - - - -III - -THE DEVIL'S DOCTRINE - - -I have been interesting and exasperating myself, during a most -untimely illness,[2] by working through a part of the literature of -German Imperial Expansion. I know that it is only a part, and yet -when I look at this array--Treitschke and Bernhardi, Schiemann and -Hasse, Bley, Sybel, "Gross-Deutschland" and "Germania Triumphans"--it -represents a considerable body of thought. And it is the literature -of the devil. Not one kindly sentiment, not one generous expression, -is to be found within it. It is informed with passionate cupidity for -the writer's country and unreasoning, indiscriminate hatred and -jealousy towards everything outside it--above all, towards the -British Empire. How could such a literature fail to bring about a -world-coalition against the country which produced it! Were there no -Germans who foresaw so obvious a result? The whole tendency of the -doctrine is that Germany should, artichoke fashion, dismember the -world. Not a word is said as to the world suddenly turning and -dismembering her. But was not that the only protection against such -monstrous teaching as these books contain? - - [2] September 10, 1914. - -You may object that these Imperialists were but a group of -monomaniacs and did not represent the nation. But the evidence is -the other way. They represented that part of the nation which counts -in international politics--they represented the Kaiser and his -circle, Von Tirpitz and the Navy men, Krupp, von Bohlen and the -armour-plated gang, the universities where such doctrines were -openly preached, the Army, the Junkers--all the noisy, aggressive -elements whose voice has sounded of late years as the voice of -Germany. All were infected by the same virus of madness which has -compelled Europe to get them once for all into a strait-jacket. - -The actual policy of State was conducted on the very lines of these -teachings, where the devilish doctrine that war should be for ever -lurking in a statesman's thoughts, that he should be prepared to -pounce upon a neighbour should it be in a state of weakness, and that -no treaty or moral consideration should stay his hand, is repeated -again and again as the very basis of all state-craft. At the time of -the Agadir crisis we have the German Minister of Foreign Affairs -openly admitting that he took the view of the fanatical Pan-Germans. -"I am as good a Pan-German as you," said Kiderlen-Waechter to the -representative of the League. Each was as good or as bad as the -other, for all were filled with the same heady, pernicious stuff -which has brought Europe to chaos. - -Where, now, is that "deep, patient Germany" of which Carlyle wrote? -Was ever a nation's soul so perverted, so fallen from grace! Read -this mass of bombast--learned bombast of professors, vulgar bombast -of Lokal-Anzeigers and the like, but always bombast. Wade through -the prophetic books with their assumption that Britain must perish -and Germany succeed her; consult the scolding articles and -lectures, so narrow, ungenerous, and boastful in their tone, so -utterly wanting in the deeper historical knowledge or true reading -of a rival's character; see the insane Pan-German maps, with their -partitions of Europe for the year 1915 or thereabouts; study the -lectures of the crazy professors, with their absurd assumption of -accurate knowledge and their extraordinary knack of getting every -fact as wrong as it could possibly be--take all this together, and -then say whether any nation has ever in this world been so foolishly -and utterly misled as have the Germans. - -I have alluded to their knack of getting everything wrong. It is -perfectly miraculous. One would not have thought it possible that -people could be _always_ wrong. So blinded have they been by hate -that everything was distorted. Never even by accident did they -stumble upon the truth. Let us take a list of their confident -assertions--things so self-evident that they were taken for granted -by the average journalist: - - "The British Army was worthless; its presence on the Continent, - even if it could come, was immaterial. - - "Britain herself was absolutely decadent. - - "Britain's commerce could be ruined by the German cruisers. - - "The United States would fall upon us if we were in trouble. - - "Canada and Australia were longing to break away from the Empire. - - "India loathed us. - - "The Boers were eager to reconquer South Africa. - - "The Empire was an artificial collection of States which must - fly to pieces at the first shock." - -This was the nonsense which grave Berlin Professors of History -ladled out to their receptive students. The sinister Treitschke, who -is one of half a dozen men who have torn down Imperial Germany just -as surely as Roon, Bismarck, and Moltke built it up, was the -arch-priest of this cult. Like Nietzsche, whose moral teaching was -the supplement to the Pan-German Material doctrine, Treitschke was -not, by extraction, a German at all. Both men were of the magnetic -Slav stock, dreamers of dreams and seers of visions--evil dreams and -dark visions for the land in which they dwelt. With their magic -flutes they have led the whole blind, foolish, conceited nation down -that easy, pleasant path which ends in this abyss. - -Nietzsche was, as his whole life proved, a man upon the edge of -insanity, who at last went obviously mad. Treitschke was a man of -great brain power, who had an _ide fixe_--a monomania about -Britain. So long as he raved in Berlin, Englishmen took no more -notice than they do of an anarchist howling in the park; for it is -the British theory that a man may say and think what he will so long -as he refrains from doing. But Treitschke was always dangerous. He -was magnetic, eloquent, enthusiastic, flashing wondrous visions of -the future before his listeners, varying in beauty, but always alike -in that they were seen across our prostrate body. Those who are in a -position to judge, like the late Professor Cramb, say that his -influence on young Germany could only be compared with that of -Carlyle and Macaulay united in Great Britain. And now, after his -death, his words have all sprung to deeds to the ruin of his own -country and to the deep misfortune of ours. He used to visit -England, this strange and sinister man, but as he was stone deaf his -bodily presence brought him little nearer to us. With useless ears -and jaundiced eyes he moved among us, returning to Berlin for the -new Semester as ignorant as he had left it, to rail against us once -again. He worked to harm us, and he has done so, but Lord! what is -the worst that he has done to us compared with the irretrievable -ruin that he has brought to his own country! He and Von Tirpitz, -Count Bieberstein, Maximilian Harden and a few more, to say nothing -of the head plotter of all--a fine Germany they will leave behind -them! Treitschke is dead, and so is Bieberstein, but a good many of -their dupes may live to see the day when Indian princes ride as -conquerors down Unter den Linden and the shattered remains of the -braggadocio statues of the Sieges Alle, that vulgar monument of -bastard Imperialism, will expiate the honoured ashes of Louvain. - -But the stupidity of it all--that is the consideration which comes -in a wave to submerge every other aspect of the matter. For consider -the situation: as lately as 1897 the European grouping was clear. -The antagonists were already ranged. Russia had definitely taken her -side with France; against them, equally definitely, were Germany and -Austria, whilst Italy clearly was on an orbit by herself. War sooner -or later was a certainty. Unattached, but with a distinct bias to -Germany on racial, religious, and other grounds, lay Great Britain, -the richest Power in the world, the ruler of the seas, and a nation -which was historically tenacious and unconquerable in war. Was it -not clear that the first interest of Germany was to conciliate such -a Power and to make sure that if she were not an ally she would at -least never be an enemy? No proposition could be clearer than that. -And yet cast your minds back and remember the treatment and bearing -of Germany towards Britain since that date--the floods of scorn, the -libels, the bitter attacks, the unconcealed determination to do her -harm. See how it has all ended, and how this atmosphere of hatred -has put a driving force into Great Britain which has astonished -ourselves. This is the end of all the clever Welt-Politik. Truly -_Quos Deus vult perdere_--the gods must have willed it much, for no -nation was ever madder. - -Where were the sane Germans? Why was there no protest from them? -Perhaps there was, but we never heard of it amid the beating of -those great Pan-German drums. Did the whole nation, for example, -really agree in so harebrained a scheme as the Bagdad Railway? Think -of the insanity of such a project as that. Here is a railway -representing very many millions of German capital which is built in -the heart of Asia Minor, as far removed from any sort of German -protection or effective control as if it were in the moon. The next -step, vaguely thought out, was that German settlers were to be -planted along the line of the railroad, but upon that being advanced -the Turks, who had smiled most amiably at the actual railway -construction, put down their slippers in the most emphatic manner. -The net result, therefore, would seem to be that Turkey holds a -hostage of a great many millions of German capital which, so long -as Germany behaves herself, may or may not return some interest; but -if Germany goes against Turkish wishes could at once be confiscated. -Apart from Turkey, Russia in the Caucasus, and England in North-West -India regard with a good deal of interested attention this singular -and helpless German railway which projects out into space. - -There is one phase of their doctrines which has, perhaps, received -less attention than it deserves. It will be found very fully treated -in Professor Usher's book on _Pan-Germanism_, which, coming from an -American authority who seems to have studied his subject very -thoroughly, has the merit of impartiality. This proposition is that -just as a treaty is only a scrap of paper, so also is a bond or -debenture, and that just as the highest interest of a nation may at -any moment override ordinary morality, the same vital urgency may -justify anything in the nature of repudiation of debt. This is not -to be done on account of inability to pay the debt; but through a -deliberate, cold-blooded plot to weaken the creditor by robbing him -of his property. - -Modern Germany has been largely built up by foreign capital. In war, -if Germany is conquered the debt necessarily holds good. But if -Germany wins, part of her reward of victory is the complete -repudiation of all debts. Thus the glorious or inglorious prize of -success would be, that all her vast industrial plant would be freed -from every debenture and start without an encumbrance, a free -present from the enemy. This example, they hope, would lead other -nations to do the same, and so still further ruin the finances of -England and France, which are the great lending nations of the -earth. They frankly admit that such a _coup_ would make it very -difficult for their nation to borrow money again, but on the other -hand, they would have made such an immense profit over the -transaction that they would be able to go on for many years without -any need of more capital. "To secure so stupendous a result as -this," said the American Professor, "is well worth the expenditure -of money for building a fleet. That money, so far as the German -nation is concerned, is merely invested in an enterprise from which -they confidently expect returns perhaps a hundred-fold." - -As to the morality of this transaction, the Professor, who has -certainly no anti-German bias, expresses their views very plainly. -It is the same as Frederick the Great's views as to the morality of -treaties which have descended with such fatal effects upon his -successor on the Prussian throne. Once admit such anti-social -theories and there is no end to their application. Here it is in the -domain of economics just as shameless as in that of politics. "Once -more," says the Professor, "the Germans hear around them our cries -against the morality of this procedure. The Germans refuse to -recognise as moral anything which jeopardises their national -existence." They are to be the judges of what these are, and if -repudiation of debt is considered to be one of them, then all debt -may be repudiated. They will not put their views into practice this -time because they will not be the victors, but when the -reconstruction of Germany begins and she comes once again as a -chastened borrower into the market-place of the world, it would be -well to have some assurance as to how far she retains these views -upon commercial morality. - -But I have visions of a really chastened Germany, of a Germany which -has sloughed all this wicked nonsense, which has found her better -self again, and which is once more that "deep, patient Germany" with -which I began this essay. She never can be now what she could so -easily have been. She could have continued indefinitely to extend -from Poland to the Vosges, one vast community, honoured by all for -industry and for learning, with a huge commerce, a happy, peaceful, -prosperous population, and a Colonial system which, if smaller than -that of nations which were centuries older in the field, would at -least be remarkable for so short a time. None of these things would -the world have grudged her, and in the future as in the past she -would have found in the British Dominions and in Great Britain -herself an entry for her products as free as if she were herself -part of the Empire. - -All this must be changed for the worse, and it is just that she -should suffer for her sins. The work of sixty years will be -destroyed. But will not the spiritual Germany be the stronger and -better? We cannot say. We can but hope and wait and wonder. What is -sure is that the real Germany, of whom Carlyle spoke, can never be -destroyed. Nor would we desire it. Our wrath is not against Germany, -but against that Krupp-Kaiser-Junker combination which has brought -her to such a deadly pass. - - - * * * * * - - - - -IV - -THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT - - -It will be a fascinating task for the historian of the immediate -future to work out the various strands of evidence which seem to be -independent and yet when followed up converge upon the central -purpose of a prearranged war for the late summer of 1914--a war in -which Germany should be the prime mover and instigator and Austria -the dupe and catspaw. - -Of course, there are some great facts patent to all the world. There -is the sudden rapid acceleration of German preparations for the last -two years, the great increase of the army with the colours, and the -special emergency tax which was to bring in fifty millions of money. -Looking back, we can see very clearly that these things were the run -before the jump. Germany at the moment of declaring war had -accumulated by processes extending over years all the money which -by borrowing or taxation she could raise, and she cannot really -expect the rest of the world to believe that it was a mere -coincidence that a crisis came along at that particular and -favourable moment. All the evidence tends to show that the -long-planned outbreak--the "letting-go" as it was called in -Germany--was carefully prepared for that particular date and that -the Bosnian assassinations had nothing whatever to do with the -matter. A pretext could very easily be found, as Bernhardi remarks, -and if the Crown Prince of Austria were still alive and well we -should none the less have found ourselves at death-grips with the -Kaiser over the Belgian infraction. - -There are a number of small indications which will have to be -investigated and collated by the inquiring chronicler. There is, for -example, the reception of guns for a merchant cruiser in a South -American port which must have been sent off not later than July 10, -three weeks before the crisis developed. There is the document of -this same date, July 10, found upon a German officer, which is said -to have censured him for not having answered some mobilisation form -on that day. Then there is the abnormal quantity of grain ordered in -Canada and America in May; and finally there is the receipt of -mobilisation warnings by Austrian reservists in South Africa, -advising them that they should return at a date which must place -their issue from Vienna in the first week of July. All these small -incidents show the absurdity of the German contention that at a -moment of profound peace some sort of surprise was sprung upon them. -There was, indeed, a surprise intended, but they were to be the -surprisers--though, indeed, I think their machinations were too -clumsy to succeed. They had retained the immorality but lost the -ability for that sudden tiger pounce which Frederick, in a moment of -profound peace, made upon Silesia. - -I fancy that every Chancellery in Europe suspected that something -was in the wind. It was surely not a mere coincidence that the grand -Fleet lay ready for action at Spithead and that the First Army Corps -was practising some very useful mobilisation exercises at -Aldershot. After all, our British Administration is not so -simple-minded as it sometimes seems. Indeed, that very simplicity -may at times be its most deadly mask. At one time of my life I was -much bruised in spirit over the ease with which foreigners were -shown over our arsenals and yards. Happening to meet the head of the -Naval Intelligence Department, I confided my trouble to him. It was -at a public banquet where conversation was restricted, but he turned -his head towards me, and his left eyelid flickered for an instant. -Since then I have never needed any reassurance upon the subject. - -But there is another matter which will insist on coming back into -one's thoughts when one reviews the events which preceded the war. I -was in Canada in June, and the country was much disturbed by the -fact that a shipload of Hindus had arrived at Vancouver, and had -endeavoured to land in the face of the anti-Asiatic immigration -laws. It struck me at the time as a most extraordinary incident, for -these Indians were not the usual Bengalee pedlars, but were Sikhs of -a proud and martial race. What could be their object in -endeavouring to land in Canada, when the climate of that country -would make it impossible for them to settle in it? It was a most -unnatural incident, and yet a most painful one, for the British -Government was placed in the terrible dilemma of either supporting -Canada against India or India against Canada. Could anything be -better calculated to start an agitation in one country or the other? -The thing was inexplicable at the time, but now one would wish to -know who paid for that ship and engineered the whole undertaking. I -believe it was one more move on Germany's world-wide board.[3] - - [3] Two months later, according to _The Times_, official - evidence of this was actually forthcoming.--A. C. D. - -In connection with the date at which the long-expected German war -was to break out, it is of interest now to remember some of the -conversations to which I listened three years ago, when I was a -competitor in the Anglo-German motor competition, called the Prince -Henry Tour. It was a very singular experience, and was itself not -without some political meaning, since it could hardly have been -chance that a German gunboat should appear at Agadir at the very -instant when the head of the German Navy was making himself -agreeable (and he can be exceedingly agreeable) to a number of -Britons, and a genial international atmosphere was being created by -the nature of the contest, which sent the whole fleet of seventy or -eighty cars on a tour of hospitality through both countries. I -refuse to believe that it was chance, and it was a remarkable -example of the detail to which the Germans can descend. By the rules -of the competition a German officer had to be present in each -British car and a British officer in each German one during the -whole three weeks, so as to check the marks of the driver. It was -certainly an interesting situation, since every car had its foreign -body within it, which had to be assimilated somehow with the -alternative of constant discomfort. Personally we were fortunate in -having a Rittmeister of Breslau Cuirassiers, with whom we were able -to form quite a friendship. Good luck to you, Count Carmer, and bad -luck to your regiment! To you also, little Captain Trck, -_Fregattencapitn am dienst_, the best of luck, and ill betide -your cruiser! We found pleasant friends among the Germans, though -all were not equally fortunate, and I do not think that the net -result helped much towards an international entente. - -However, the point of my reminiscence is that on this tour I, being -at that time a champion of Anglo-German friendship, heard continual -discussions, chiefly on the side of British officers, several of -whom were experts on German matters, as to when the impending war -would be forced upon us. The date given was always 1914 or 1915. -When I asked why this particular year, the answer was that the -German preparations would be ready by then, and especially the -widening of the Kiel Canal, by which the newer and larger -battleships would be able to pass from the Baltic to the North Sea. -It says something for the foresight of these officers that this -widening was actually finished on June 24 of this year, and within -six weeks the whole of Europe was at war. I am bound to admit that -they saw deeper into the future than I did, and formed a truer -estimate of our real relations with our fellow-voyagers. "Surely -you feel more friendly to them now," said I at the end to one -distinguished officer. "All I want with them now is to fight them," -said he. We have all been forced to come round to his point of view. - -Yes, it was a deep, deep plot, a plot against the liberties of -Europe, extending over several years, planned out to the smallest -detail in the days of peace, developed by hordes of spies, prepared -for by every conceivable military, naval, and financial precaution, -and finally sprung upon us on a pretext which was no more the real -cause of war than any other excuse would have been which would serve -their turn by having some superficial plausibility. The real cause -of war was a universal national insanity infecting the whole German -race, but derived originally from a Prussian caste who inoculated -the others with their megalomania. - -This insanity was based upon the universal supposition that the -Germans were the Lord's chosen people, that in the words of Buy, -they were "the most cultured people, the best settlers, the best -warriors"--the best everything. Having got that idea thoroughly -infused into their very blood, the next step was clear. If they were -infinitely the best people living amidst such tribes as "the -barbarous Russians, the fickle French, the beastly Servians and -Belgians," to quote one of their recent papers, then why should they -not have all the best things in the world? If they were really the -most powerful, who could gainsay them? They need not do it all at -once, but two great national efforts would give them the whole of -unredeemed Germany, both shores of the Rhine down to the sea, the -German cantons of Switzerland, and, in conjunction with Austria, the -long road that leads to Salonica. All local causes and smaller -details sink into nothing compared with this huge national ambition -which was the real driving force at the back of this formidable -project. - -And it was a very formidable project. If such things could be -settled by mere figures and time-tables without any reference to the -spirit and soul of the nations, it might very well have succeeded. I -think that we are not indulging too far in national complacency if -we say that without the British army--that negligible factor--it -would for the time at least have succeeded. Had the Germans -accomplished their purpose of getting round the left wing of the -French, it is difficult to see how a debacle could have been -avoided, and it was our little army which stood in the pass and held -it until that danger was past. It is certain now that the huge sweep -of the German right had never been allowed for, that the French -troops in that quarter were second-line troops, and that it was our -great honour and good fortune to have dammed that raging torrent and -stopped the rush which must have swept everything before it until it -went roaring into Paris. And yet how many things might have -prevented our presence at the right place at the right time, and how -near we were to a glorious annihilation upon that dreadful day when -the artillery of five German army corps--eight hundred and thirty -guns in all--were concentrated upon Smith-Dorrien's exhausted men. -The success or failure of the great conspiracy hung upon the -over-matched British covering batteries upon that one critical -afternoon. It was the turning-point of the history of the world. - - - * * * * * - - - - -V - -THE "CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY" - - -Early last year, in the course of some comments which I made upon -the slighting remarks about our Army by General von Bernhardi, I -observed, "It may be noted that General von Bernhardi has a poor -opinion of our troops. This need not trouble us. We are what we are, -and words will not alter it. From very early days our soldiers have -left their mark upon Continental warfare, and we have no reason to -think that we have declined from the manhood of our forefathers." -Since then he has returned to the attack. With that curious power of -coming after deep study to the absolutely diametrically wrong -conclusion which the German expert, political or military, appears -to possess, he says in his _War of To-day_, "The English Army, -trained more for purposes of show than for modern war," adding in -the same sentence a sneer at our "inferior Colonial levies." He will -have an opportunity of reconsidering his views presently upon the -fighting value of our over-sea troops, and surely so far as our own -are concerned he must already be making some interesting notes for -his next edition, or rather for the learned volume upon _Germany and -the Last War_ which will no doubt come from his pen. He is a man to -whom we might well raise a statue, for I am convinced that his -cynical confession of German policy has been worth at least an army -corps to this country. We may address to him John Davidson's lines -to his enemy-- - - "Unwilling friend, let not your spite abate, - Spur us with scorn, and strengthen us with hate." - -There is another German gentleman who must be thinking rather -furiously. He is a certain Colonel Gadke, who appeared officially at -Aldershot some years ago, was hospitably entreated, being shown all -that he desired to see, and on his return to Berlin published a -most depreciatory description of our forces. He found no good thing -in them. I have some recollection that General French alluded in a -public speech to this critic's remarks, and expressed a modest hope -that he and his men would some day have the opportunity of showing -how far they were deserved. Well, he has had his opportunity, and -Colonel Gadke, like so many other Germans, seems to have made a -miscalculation. - -An army which has preserved the absurd _Paradeschritt_, an exercise -which is painful to the bystander, as he feels that it is making -fools of brave men, must have a tendency to throw back to earlier -types. These Germans have been trained in peace and upon the theory -of books. In all that vast host there is hardly a man who has -previously stood at the wrong end of a loaded gun. They live on -traditions of close formations, vast cavalry charges, and other -things which will not fit into modern warfare. Braver men do not -exist, but it is the bravery of men who have been taught to lean -upon each other, and not the cold, self-contained, resourceful -bravery of the man who has learned to fight for his own hand. The -British have had the teachings of two recent campaigns fought with -modern weapons--that of the Tirah and of South Africa. Now that the -reserves have joined the colours there are few regiments which have -not a fair sprinkling of veterans from these wars in their ranks. -The Pathan and the Boer have been their instructors in something -more practical than those Imperial Grand Manoeuvres where the -all-highest played with his puppets in such a fashion that one of -his generals remarked that the chief practical difficulty of a -campaign so conducted would be the disposal of the dead. - -Boers and Pathans have been hard masters, and have given many a slap -to their admiring pupils, but the lesson has been learned. It was -not show troops, General, who, with two corps, held five of your -best day after day from Mons to Compigne. It is no reproach to -your valour: but you were up against men who were equally brave and -knew a great deal more of the game. This must begin to break upon -you, and will surely grow clearer as the days go by. We shall often -in the future take the knock as well as give it, but you will not -say that we have a show army if you live to chronicle this war, nor -will your Imperial master be proud of the adjective which he has -demeaned himself in using before his troops had learned their -lesson. - -The fact is that the German army, with all its great traditions, has -been petrifying for many years back. They never learned the lesson -of South Africa. It was not for want of having it expounded to them, -for their military attach--"'im with the spatchcock on 'is -'elmet," as I heard him described by a British orderly--missed -nothing of what occurred, as is evident from their official history -of the war. And yet they missed it, and with it all those ideas of -individual efficiency and elastic independent formations, which are -the essence of modern soldiering. Their own more liberal thinkers -were aware of it. Here are the words which were put into the mouth -of Gntz, the representative of the younger school, in Beyerlein's -famous novel: - -"The organisation of the German army rested upon foundations which -had been laid a hundred years ago. Since the great war they had -never seriously been put to the proof, and during the last three -decades they had only been altered in the most trifling details. In -three long decades! And in one of those decades the world at large -had advanced as much as in the previous century. - -"Instead of turning this highly developed intelligence to good -account, they bound it hand and foot on the rack of an everlasting -drill which could not have been more soullessly mechanical in the -days of Frederick. It held them together as an iron hoop holds -together a cask the dry staves of which would fall asunder at the -first kick." - -Lord Roberts has said that if ten points represent the complete -soldier, eight should stand for his efficiency as a shot. The German -maxim has rather been that eight should stand for his efficiency as -a drilled marionette. It has been reckoned that about 200 books a -year appear in Germany upon military affairs, against about 20 in -Britain. And yet after all this expert debate the essential point of -all seems to have been missed--that in the end everything depends -upon the man behind the gun, upon his hitting his opponent and upon -his taking cover so as to avoid being hit himself. - -After all the efforts of the General Staff the result when shown -upon the field of battle has filled our men with a mixture of -admiration and contempt--contempt for the absurd tactics, admiration -for the poor devils who struggle on in spite of them. Listen to the -voices of the men who are the real experts. Says a Lincolnshire -sergeant, "They were in solid square blocks, and we couldn't help -hitting them." Says Private Tait (2nd Essex), "Their rifle shooting -is rotten. I don't believe they could hit a haystack at 100 yards." -"They are rotten shots with their rifles," says an Oldham private. -"They advance in close column, and you simply can't help hitting -them," writes a Gordon Highlander. "You would have thought it was a -big crowd streaming out from a Cup-tie," says Private Whitaker of -the Guards. "It was like a farmer's machine cutting grass," so it -seemed to Private Hawkins of the Coldstreams. "No damned good as -riflemen," says a Connemara boy. "You couldn't help hitting them. -As to their rifle fire, it was useless." "They shoot from the hip, -and don't seem to aim at anything in particular." - -These are the opinions of the practical men upon the field of -battle. Surely a poor result from the 200 volumes a year, and all -the weighty labours of the General Staff! "Artillery nearly as good -as our own, rifle fire beneath contempt," that is the verdict. How -will the well-taught _Paradeschritt_ avail them when it comes to a -stricken field? - -But let it not seem as if this were meant for disparagement. We -should be sinking to the Kaiser's level if we answered his -"contemptible little army" by pretending that his own troops are -anything but a very formidable and big army. They are formidable in -numbers, formidable, too, in their patriotic devotion, in their -native courage, and in the possession of such material, such great -cannon, aircraft, machine guns, and armoured cars, as none of the -Allies can match. They have every advantage which a nation would be -expected to have when it has known that war was a certainty, while -others have only treated it as a possibility. There is a minuteness -and earnestness of preparation which are only possible for an -assured event. But the fact remains, and it will only be brought out -more clearly by the Emperor's unchivalrous phrase, that in every arm -the British have already shown themselves to be the better troops. -Had he the Froissart spirit within him he would rather have said: -"You have to-day a task which is worthy of you. You are faced by an -army which has a high repute and a great history. There is real -glory to be won to-day." Had he said this, then, win or lose, he -would not have needed to be ashamed of his own words--the words of -an ungenerous spirit. - -It is a very strange thing how German critics have taken for granted -that the British Army had deteriorated, while the opinion of all -those who were in close touch with it was that it was never so good. -Even some of the French experts made the same mistake, and General -Bonnat counselled his countrymen not to rely upon it, since "it -would take refuge amid its islands at the first reverse." One would -think that the causes which make for its predominance were obvious. -Apart from any question of national spirit or energy, there is the -all-important fact that the men are there of their own free will, an -advantage which I trust that we shall never be compelled to -surrender. Again, the men are of longer service in every arm, and -they have far more opportunities of actual fighting than come to any -other force. Finally, they are divided into regiments, with -centuries of military glory streaming from their banners, which -carry on a mighty tradition. The very words the Guards, the Rifles, -the Connaught Rangers, the Buffs, the Scots Greys, the Gordons, -sound like bugle-calls. How could an army be anything but dangerous -which had such units in its line of battle? - -And yet there remains the fact that both enemies and friends are -surprised at our efficiency. This is no new phenomenon. Again and -again in the course of history the British Armies have had to win -once more the reputation which had been forgotten. Continentals have -always begun by refusing to take them seriously. Napoleon, who had -never met them in battle, imagined that their unbroken success was -due to some weakness in his marshals rather than to any excellence -of the troops. "At last I have them, these English," he exclaimed, -as he gazed at the thin red line at Waterloo. "At last they have me, -these English," may have been his thought that evening as he spurred -his horse out of the debacle. Foy warned him of the truth. "The -British infantry is the devil," said he. "You think so because you -were beaten by them," cried Napoleon. Like von Kluck or von Kluck's -master, he had something to learn. - -Why this continual depreciation? It may be that the world pays so -much attention to our excellent right arm that it cannot give us -credit for having a very serviceable left as well. Or it may be that -they take seriously those jeremiads over our decay which are -characteristic of our people, and very especially of many of our -military thinkers. I have never been able to understand why they -should be of so pessimistic a turn of mind, unless it be a sort of -exaltation of that grumbling which has always been the privilege of -the old soldier. Croker narrates how he met Wellington in his -latter years, and how the Iron Duke told him that he was glad that -he was so old, as he would not live to see the dreadful military -misfortunes which were about to come to his country. Looking back we -can see no reasons for such pessimism as this. Above all, the old -soldier can never make any allowance for the latent powers which lie -in civilian patriotism and valour. Only a year ago I had a long -conversation with a well-known British General, in which he asserted -with great warmth that in case of an Anglo-German war with France -involved the British public would never allow a trained soldier to -leave these islands. He is at the front himself and doing such good -work that he has little time for reminiscence, but when he has he -must admit that he underrated the nerve of his countrymen. - -And yet under the pessimism of such men as he there is a curious -contradictory assurance that there are no troops like our own. The -late Lord Goschen used to tell a story of a letter that he had from -a captain in the Navy at the time when he was First Lord. This -captain's ship was lying alongside a foreign cruiser in some port, -and he compared in his report the powers of the two vessels. Lord -Goschen said that his heart sank as he read the long catalogue of -points in which the British ship was inferior--guns, armour, -speed--until he came to the postscript, which was: "I think I could -take her in twenty minutes." - -With all the grumbling of our old soldiers there is always some -reservation of the sort at the end of it. Of course those who are -familiar with our ways of getting things done would understand that -a good deal of the croaking is a means of getting our little army -increased, or at least preventing its being diminished. But whatever -the cause, the result has been the impression abroad of a -"contemptible little army." Whatever surprise in the shape of -17-inch howitzers or 900-foot Zeppelins the Kaiser may have for us, -it is a safe prophecy that it will be a small matter compared to -that which Sir John French and his men will be to him. - -But above all I look forward to the development of our mounted -riflemen. This I say in no disparagement of our cavalry, who have -done so magnificently. But the mounted rifleman is a peculiarly -British product--British and American--with a fresh edge upon it -from South Africa. I am most curious to see what a division of these -fellows will make of the Uhlans. It is good to see that already the -old banners are in the wind--Lovat's Horse, Scottish Horse, King -Edward's Horse, and the rest. All that cavalry can do will surely be -done by our cavalry. But I have always held, and I still very -strongly hold, that the mounted rifleman has it in him to alter our -whole conception of warfare, as the mounted archer did in his day; -and now in this very war will be his first great chance upon a large -scale. Ten thousand well-mounted, well-trained riflemen, young -officers to lead them, all broad Germany with its towns, its -railways, and its magazines before them--there lies one more -surprise for the doctrinaires of Berlin. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VI - -A POLICY OF MURDER - - -When one writes with a hot heart upon events which are still recent -one is apt to lose one's sense of proportion. At every step one -should check oneself by the reflection as to how this may appear ten -years hence, and how far events which seem shocking and abnormal may -prove themselves to be a necessary accompaniment of every condition -of war. But a time has now come when in cold blood, with every -possible restraint, one is justified in saying that since the most -barbarous campaigns of Alva in the Lowlands, or the excesses of the -Thirty Years' War, there has been no such deliberate policy of -murder as has been adopted in this struggle by the German forces. -This is the more terrible since these forces are not, like those of -Alva, Parma, or Tilly, bands of turbulent and mercenary soldiers, -but they are the nation itself, and their deeds are condoned or even -applauded by the entire national Press. It is not on the chiefs of -the army that the whole guilt of this terrible crime must rest, but -it is upon the whole German nation, which for generations to come -must stand condemned before the civilised world for this reversion -to those barbarous practices from which Christianity, civilisation, -and chivalry had gradually rescued the human race. They may, and do, -plead the excuse that they are "earnest" in war, but all nations are -earnest in war, which is the most desperately earnest thing of which -we have any knowledge. How earnest we are will be shown when the -question of endurance begins to tell. But no earnestness can condone -the crime of the nation which deliberately breaks those laws which -have been endorsed by the common consent of humanity. - -War may have a beautiful as well as a terrible side, and be full of -touches of human sympathy and restraint which mitigate its -unavoidable horror. Such have been the characteristics always of the -secular wars between the British and the French. From the old -glittering days of knighthood, with their high and gallant courtesy, -through the eighteenth-century campaigns where the debonair guards -of France and England exchanged salutations before their volleys, -down to the last great Napoleonic struggle, the tradition of -chivalry has always survived. We read how in the Peninsula the -pickets of the two armies, each of them as earnest as any Germans, -would exchange courtesies, how they would shout warnings to each -other to fall back when an advance in force was taking place, and -how, to prevent the destruction of an ancient bridge, the British -promised not to use it on condition that the French would forgo its -destruction--an agreement faithfully kept upon either side. Could -one imagine Germans making war in such a spirit as this? Think of -that old French bridge, and then think of the University of Louvain -and the Cathedral of Rheims. What a gap between them--the gap that -separates civilisation from the savage! - -Let us take a few of the points which, when focussed together, show -how the Germans have degraded warfare--a degradation which affects -not only the Allies at present, but the whole future of the world, -since if such examples were followed the entire human race would, -each in turn, become the sufferers. Take the very first incident of -the war, the mine-laying by the _Knigin Luise_. Here was a -vessel, which was obviously made ready with freshly charged mines -some time before there was any question of a general European war, -which was sent forth in time of peace, and which, on receipt of a -wireless message, began to spawn its hellish cargo across the North -Sea at points 50 miles from land in the track of all neutral -merchant shipping. There was the keynote of German tactics struck at -the first possible instant. So promiscuous was the effect that it -was a mere chance which prevented the vessel which bore the German -Ambassador from being destroyed by a German mine. From first to last -some hundreds of people have lost their lives on this tract of sea, -some of them harmless British trawlers, but the greater number -sailors of Danish and Dutch vessels pursuing their commerce as they -had every right to do. It was the first move in a consistent policy -of murder. - -Leaving the sea, let us turn to the air. Can any possible term save -a policy of murder be applied to the use of aircraft by the Germans? -It has always been a principle of warfare that unfortified towns -should not be bombarded. So closely has it been followed by the -British that one of our aviators, flying over Cologne in search of a -Zeppelin shed, refrained from dropping a bomb in an uncertain light, -even though Cologne is a fortress, lest the innocent should suffer. -What is to be said, then, for the continual use of bombs by the -Germans, which have usually been wasted in the destruction of cats -or dogs, but which have occasionally torn to pieces some woman or -child? If bombs were dropped on the forts of Paris as part of a -scheme for reducing the place, then nothing could be said in -objection, but how are we to describe the action of men who fly over -a crowded city dropping bombs promiscuously which can have no -military effect whatever, and are entirely aimed at the destruction -of innocent civilians? These men have been obliging enough to drop -their cards as well as their bombs on several occasions. I see no -reason why these should not be used in evidence against them, or why -they should not be hanged as murderers when they fall into the hands -of the Allies. The policy is idiotic from a military point of view; -one could conceive nothing which would stimulate and harden national -resistance more surely than such petty irritations. But it is a -murderous innovation in the laws of war, and unless it is sternly -repressed it will establish a most sinister precedent for the -future. - -As to the treatment of Belgium, what has it been but murder, murder -all the way? From the first days at Vis, when it was officially -stated that an example of "frightfulness" was desired, until the -present moment, when the terrified population has rushed from the -country and thrown itself upon the charity and protection of its -neighbours, there has been no break in the record. Compare the story -with that of the occupation of the South of France by Wellington in -1813, when no one was injured, nothing was taken without full -payment, and the villagers fraternised with the troops. What a -relapse of civilisation is here! From Vis to Louvain, Louvain to -Aerschott, Aerschott to Malines and Termonde, the policy of murder -never fails. - -It is said that more civilians than soldiers have fallen in Belgium. -Peruse the horrible accounts taken by the Belgian Commission, who -took evidence in the most careful and conscientious fashion. Study -the accounts of that dreadful night in Louvain which can only be -equalled by the Spanish Fury of Antwerp. Read the account of the -wife of the burgomaster of Aerschott, with its heart-rending -description of how her lame son, aged sixteen, was kicked along to -his death by an aide-de-camp. It is all so vile, so brutally -murderous that one can hardly realise that one is reading the -incidents of a modern campaign conducted by one of the leading -nations in Europe. - -Do you imagine that the thing has been exaggerated? Far from it--the -volume of crime has not yet been appreciated. Have not many Germans -unwittingly testified to what they have seen and done? Only last -week we had the journal of one of them, an officer whose service had -been almost entirely in France and removed from the crime centres of -Belgium. Yet were ever such entries in the diary of a civilised -soldier? "Our men behaved like regular Vandals." "We shot the whole -lot" (these were villagers). "They were drawn up in three ranks. The -same shot did for three at a time." "In the evening we set fire to -the village. The priest and some of the inhabitants were shot." "The -villages all round were burning." "The villages were burned and the -inhabitants shot." "At Leppe apparently two hundred men were shot. -There must have been some innocent men among them." "In the future -we shall have to hold an inquiry into their guilt instead of merely -shooting them." "The Vandals themselves could not have done more -damage. The place is a disgrace to our army." So the journal runs on -with its tale of infamy. It is an infamy so shameless that even in -the German record the story is perpetuated of how a French lad was -murdered because he refused to answer certain questions. To such a -depth of degradation has Prussia brought the standard of warfare. - -And now, as the appetite for blood grows ever stronger--and nothing -waxes more fast--we have stories of the treatment of prisoners. Here -is a point where our attention should be most concentrated and our -action most prompt. It is the just duty which we owe to our own -brave soldiers. At present the instances are isolated, and we will -hope that they do not represent any general condition. But the -stories come from sure sources. There is the account of the -brutality which culminated in the death of the gallant motor-cyclist -Pearson, the son of Lord Cowdray. There is the horrible story in a -responsible Dutch paper, told by an eye-witness, of the torture of -three British wounded prisoners in Landen Station on October 9. - -The story carries conviction by its detail. Finally, there are the -disquieting remarks of German soldiers, repeated by this same -witness, as to the British prisoners whom they had shot. The whole -lesson of history is that when troops are allowed to start murder -one can never say how or when it will stop. It may no longer be part -of a deliberate, calculated policy of murder by the German -Government. But it has undoubtedly been so in the past, and we -cannot say when it will end. Such incidents will, I fear, make peace -an impossibility in our generation, for whatever statesmen may write -upon paper can never affect the deep and bitter resentment which a -war so conducted must leave behind it. - -Other German characteristics we can ignore. The consistent, -systematic lying of the German Press, or the grotesque blasphemies -of the Kaiser, can be met by us with contemptuous tolerance. After -all, what is is, and neither falsehood nor bombast will alter it. -But this policy of murder deeply affects not only ourselves but the -whole framework of civilisation so slowly and painfully built -upwards by the human race. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VII - -MADNESS - - -We have all, I suppose, read and marvelled at the wonderful German -"song of hate." This has been so much admired over the water that -Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria (who had just stated his bitter hatred of -us in a prose army order) distributed copies of the verses to his -Bavarians as a stimulant in their long, unsuccessful tussle with our -troops at Ypres. In case the reader has forgotten its flavour, I -append a typical verse: - - "We will never forgo our hate. - We have all but a single hate. - We love as one, we hate as one, - We have one foe and one alone-- - ENGLAND." - -This sort of thing is, it must be admitted, very painful and odious. -It fills us with a mixture of pity and disgust, and we feel as if, -instead of a man, we were really fighting with a furious, screaming -woman. Germany used to be a very great nation, mentally and morally -as well as in material ways, and many of us, even while we fight -her, are honestly pained by the depths of degradation into which she -has fallen. This shrill scream of hate and constant frenzied ranting -against Great Britain may reach its highest note in this poem, but -we know that it pervades the whole Press and every class of national -thought. It is deliberately fed by lying journals, which publish -bogus letters describing the imaginary sufferings of German -prisoners, and also by the Government itself, which upon receiving a -Socialist report partly favourable to Britain, excised those -passages and circulated the rest as a complete document, so as to -give the idea that it was wholly condemnatory. Wherever we touch -Germany in its present phase, whether it be the Overlord himself -with his megalomaniac messages, the princes with their looting of -chteaux, the Foreign Office with its trick of stealing American -passports for the use of German spies, the army with its absolute -brutality, the navy with its tactics of mine-laying in neutral -waters, the Press with its grotesque concoctions, the artists with -their pictures, which are so base that the decent Germans have -themselves at last rebelled against them, or the business men with -their assertion that there is less economic disturbance in Germany -than in Great Britain--wherever, I say, you touch them you come -always upon what is odious and deceitful. A long century will have -passed before Germany can wash her hands clean from murder, or purge -from her spirit the shadow of this evil time. - -If the words of one humble individual could reach across the seas, -there are two things upon which I should wish to speak earnestly to -a German: the one, our own character, the other, the future which he -is deliberately preparing for the Fatherland which he loves. Our -papers do get over there, even as theirs come over here, so one may -hope it is not impossible that some German may give a thought to -what I say, if he is not so bemused by the atmosphere of lies in -which his Press has enveloped him that he cannot recognise cold -truth when he sees it. - -First as to ourselves: we have never been a nation who fought with -hatred. It is our ideal to fight in a sporting spirit. It is not -that we are less in earnest, but it is that the sporting spirit -itself is a thing very largely evolved by us and is a natural -expression of our character. We fight as hard as we can, and we like -and admire those who fight hard against us so long as they keep -within the rules of the game. Let me take an obvious example. One -German has done us more harm than any other in this war. He is -Captain von Mller of the _Emden_, whose depredations represent -the cost of a battleship. Yet an honest sigh of relief went up from -us all when we learned that he had not perished with his ship, and -if he walked down Fleet Street to-day he would be cheered by the -crowd from end to end. Why? Because almost alone among Germans he -has played the game as it should be played. It is true that -everything that he did was illegal. He had no right to burn -uncondemned prizes, and a purist could claim that he was a pirate. -But we recognised the practical difficulties of his position; we -felt that under the circumstances he had acted like a gentleman, and -we freely forgave him any harm that he had done us. With this -example before you, my German reader, you cannot say that it is -national hatred when we denounce your murderers and brigands in -Belgium. If they, too, had acted as gentlemen, we should have felt -towards them as to von Mller. - -If you look back in British history, you will find that this absence -of hatred has always been characteristic of us. When Soult came to -London after the Napoleonic wars, he was cheered through the City. -After the Boer War, Botha, de Wet, and Delarey had a magnificent -reception. We did not know that one of them was destined to prove a -despicable and perjured traitor. They had been good fighters, the -fight was done, we had shaken hands--and we cheered them. All -British prize-fights ended with the shaking of hands. Though the men -could no longer see each other, they were led up and their hands -were joined. When a combatant refuses to do this, it has always been -looked upon as unmanly, and we say that bad blood has been left -behind. So in war we have always wished to fight to a finish and -then be friends, whether we had won or lost. - -Now, this is just what we should wish to do with Germany, and it is -what Germany is rapidly making impossible. She has, in our opinion, -fought a brave but a thoroughly foul fight. And now she uses every -means to excite a bitter hatred which shall survive the war. The -Briton is tolerant and easy-going in times of peace--too careless, -perhaps, of the opinion of other nations. But at present he is in a -most alert and receptive mood, noting and remembering very carefully -every word that comes to him as to the temper of the German people -and the prospects of the future. He is by no means disposed to pass -over all these announcements of permanent hatred. On the contrary, -he is evidently beginning, for the first time since Napoleon's era, -to show something approaching to hatred in return. He--and "he" -stands for every Briton across the seas as well as for the men of -the Islands--makes a practical note of it all, and it will not be -forgotten, but will certainly bear very definite fruits. The -national thoughts do not come forth in wild poems of hate, but they -none the less are gloomy and resentful, with the deep, steady -resentment of a nation which is slow to anger. - -And now, my problematical German reader, I want you to realise what -this is going to mean to you after the war. Whether you win or -lose--and we have our own very certain opinion as to which it will -be--Germany will still remain as a great independent State. She may -be a little trimmed at the edges, and she may also find herself with -some awkward liabilities; but none the less she will be a great -kingdom or republic--as the Fates may will. She will turn her hand -to trade and try to build up her fortunes once more--for even if we -suppose her to be the victor, she still cannot live for ever on -plunder, and must turn herself to honest trade, while if she loses -her trade will be more precious to her than ever. But what will her -position be when that time has come? - -It will be appalling. No other word can express it. No legislation -will be needed to keep German goods out of the whole British -Empire, which means more than a quarter of the globe. Anything with -that mark might as well have a visible cholera bacillus upon it for -the chance it will have of being handled after this war. That is -already certain, and it is the direct outcome of the madness which -has possessed Germany in her frantic outcry of hatred. What chance -they have of business with France, Russia, or Japan they know best -themselves; but the British Empire, with that wide trade toleration -which has long been her policy (and for which she has had so little -gratitude), would have speedily forgiven Germany and opened her -markets to her. Now it is not for many a long year that this can be -so--not on account of the war, but on account of the bitterness -which Germany has gone out of her way to import into the contest. It -is idle to say that in that case we should lose our exports to -Germany. Even if it were so, it would not in the least affect the -sentiments of the retail sellers and buyers in this country, whose -demands regulate the wholesale trade. But as a matter of fact, what -Germany buys from the British Empire is the coal, wool, etc., which -are the raw materials of her industry, with which she cannot -possibly dispense. - -But the pity of it all! We might have had a straight, honest fight, -and at the end of it we might have conceded that the German people -had been innocently misled, by their military caste and their Press, -into the idea that their country was being attacked, and so were -themselves guiltless in the matter. They, on their side, might at -last have understood that Britain had been placed in such a position -by her guarantees to Belgium that it was absolutely impossible that -she could stand out of the war. With these mutual concessions, some -sort of friendship could possibly have been restored, for it is no -one's interest, and least of all ours, that the keystone should be -knocked right out of the European arch. But all this has been -rendered impossible by these hysterical screamers of hate, and by -those methods of murder on land, sea, and in air with which the war -has been conducted. Hate is a very catching emotion, and when it -translates itself into action it soon glows on either side of the -North Sea. With neither race, to use Carlyle's simile, does it blaze -like the quick-flaming stubble, but with both it will smoulder like -the slow red peat. Are there not even now strong, sane men in -Germany who can tell these madmen what they are sowing for the next -generation and the one that comes after it? It is not that we ask -them to abate the resistance of their country. It is understood that -this is a fight to the end. That is what we desire. But let them -stand up and fight without reviling; let them give punishment -without malice and receive it without wincing; let their press cease -from lying, and their prophets from preaching hatred--then, lose or -win, there may still be some chance for their future. But, alas! the -mischief is already, I fear, too deep. When the seeds are sown, it -is hard to check the harvest. Let the impartial critic consider von -Mller of the _Emden_, and then, having surveyed our Press and -that of Germany, let him say with whom lies the blame. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VIII - -GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR[4] - - [4] Published, _Fortnightly Review_, February 1913. - - - This essay is of some interest, as it was written two - years before the war, and was one of the first attempts - to make the public realise the importance of Bernhardi's - notorious book. The author follows it by an unpublished - essay called "Afterthoughts," in which he examines how - far his reading of the future has been justified by the - event. - -I am a member of the Anglo-German Society for the improvement of the -relations between the two countries, and I have never seriously -believed in the German menace. Frequently I have found myself alone -in a company of educated Englishmen in my opinion that it was -non-existent--or at worst greatly exaggerated. This conclusion was -formed upon two grounds. The first was, that I knew it to be -impossible that we could attack Germany save in the face of -monstrous provocation. By the conditions of our government, even if -those in high places desired to do such a thing, it was utterly -impracticable, for a foreign war could not be successfully carried -on by Great Britain unless the overwhelming majority of the people -approved of it. Our foreign, like our home, politics are governed by -the vote of the proletariat. It would be impossible to wage an -aggressive war against any Power if the public were not convinced of -its justice and necessity. For this reason we could not attack -Germany. On the other hand, it seemed to be equally unthinkable that -Germany should attack us. One fails to see what she could possibly -hope to gain by such a proceeding. She had enemies already upon her -eastern and western frontiers, and it was surely unlikely that she -would go out of her way to pick a quarrel with the powerful British -Empire. If she made war and lost it, her commerce would be set back -and her rising colonial empire destroyed. If she won it, it was -difficult to see where she could hope for the spoils. We could not -give her greater facilities for trade than she has already. We could -not give her habitable white colonies, for she would find it -impossible to take possession of them in the face of the opposition -of the inhabitants. An indemnity she could never force from us. Some -coaling stations and possibly some tropical colonies, of which -latter she already possesses abundance, were the most that she could -hope for. Would such a prize as that be worth the risk attending -such a war? To me it seemed that there could be only one answer to -such a question. - -It still seems to me that this reasoning is sound. I still think -that it would be an insane action for Germany deliberately to plan -an attack upon Great Britain. But unfortunately an attack delivered -from mistaken motives is as damaging as any other attack, and the -mischief is done before the insanity of it is realised. If I now -believe such an attack to be possible, and it may be imminent, it is -because I have been studying _Germany and the Next War_, by General -von Bernhardi. - -A book written by such a man cannot be set aside as the mere ravings -of a Pan-Germanic Anglophobe. So far as appears, he is not a -Pan-German at all. There is no allusion to that Germania _irredente_ -which is the dream of that party. He is a man of note, and the first -living authority in Germany upon some matters of military science. -Does he carry the same weight when he writes of international -politics and the actual use of those mighty forces which he has -helped to form? We will hope not. But when a man speaks with the -highest authority upon one subject, his voice cannot be entirely -disregarded upon a kindred one. Besides, he continually labours, and -with success, to make the reader understand that he is the direct -modern disciple of that main German line of thought which traces -from Frederick through Bismarck to the present day. He moves in -circles which actually control the actions of their country in a -manner to which we have no equivalent. For all these reasons, his -views cannot be lightly set aside, and should be most carefully -studied by Britons. We know that we have no wish for war, and desire -only to be left alone. Unfortunately, it takes two to make peace, -even as it takes two to make a quarrel. There is a very clear -statement here that the quarrel is imminent, and that we must think -of the means, military, naval, and financial, by which we may meet -it. Since von Bernhardi's book may not be accessible to every reader -of this article, I will begin by giving some idea of the situation -as it appears to him, and of the course of action which he -foreshadows and recommends. - -He begins his argument by the uncompromising statement that war is a -good thing in itself. All advance is founded upon struggle. Each -nation has a right, and indeed a duty, to use violence where its -interests are concerned and there is a tolerable hope of success. As -to the obvious objection that such a doctrine bears no possible -relation to Christianity, he is not prepared to admit the validity -of the Christian ethics in international practice. In an ingenious -passage he even attempts to bring the sanction of Christianity to -support his bellicose views. He says:-- - - "Again, from the Christian standpoint, we arrive at the - same conclusion. Christian morality is based, indeed, on - the law of love. 'Love God above all things, and thy - neighbour as thyself.' This law can claim no significance - for the relations of one country to another, since its - application to politics would lead to a conflict of - duties. The love which a man showed to another country as - such would imply a want of love for his own countrymen. - Such a system of politics must inevitably lead men - astray. Christian morality is personal and social, and in - its nature cannot be political. Its object is to promote - morality of the individual, in order to strengthen him to - work unselfishly in the interests of the community. It - tells us to love our individual enemies, but does not - remove the conception of enmity." - -Having thus established the general thesis that a nation should not -hesitate to declare war where a material advantage may be the -reward, he sets out very clearly what are some of the causes for war -which Germany can see before her. The following passages throw a -light upon them:-- - - "Strong, healthy, and flourishing nations increase in - numbers. From a given moment they require a continual - expansion of their frontiers, they require new territory - for the accommodation of their surplus population. Since - almost every part of the globe is inhabited, new - territory must, as a rule, be obtained at the cost of its - possessors--that is to say, by conquest, which thus - becomes a law of necessity." - -Again:-- - - "Lastly, in all times the right of conquest by war has - been admitted. It may be that a growing people cannot win - colonies from uncivilised races, and yet the State wishes - to retain the surplus population which the mother country - can no longer feed. Then the only course left is to - acquire the necessary territory by war. Thus the instinct - of self-preservation leads inevitably to war, and the - conquest of foreign soil. It is not the possessor, but - the victor, who then has the right." - -And he concludes:-- - - "Arbitration treaties must be peculiarly detrimental to - an aspiring people, which has not yet reached its - political and national zenith, and is bent on expanding - its power in order to play its part honourably in the - civilised world." - -And adds:-- - - "It must be borne in mind that a peaceful decision by an - arbitration court can never replace in its effects and - consequences a warlike decision, even as regards the - State in whose favour it is pronounced." - -To many of us it would seem a legitimate extension of the author's -argument if we said that it would have a virile and bracing effect -upon our characters if, when we had a grievance against our -neighbour, we refrained from taking it into the law courts, but -contented ourselves with breaking his head with a club. However, we -are concerned here not so much with the validity of the German -general's arguments as with their practical application so far as -they affect ourselves. - -Brushing aside the peace advocates, the writer continues: "To such -views, the off-spring of a false humanity, the clear and definite -answer must be made that, under certain circumstances, it is not -only the right but the moral and political duty of the statesman to -bring about a war. The acts of the State cannot be judged by the -standard of individual morality." He quotes Treitschke: "The -Christian duty of sacrifice for something higher does not exist for -the State, for there is nothing higher than it in the world's -history--consequently it cannot sacrifice itself to something -higher." One would have hoped that a noble ideal and a moral purpose -were something higher, but it would be vain to claim that any -country, ourselves included, have ever yet lived fully up to the -doctrine. And yet some conscious striving, however imperfect, is -surely better than such a deliberate negation. - -Having laid down these general propositions of the value of war, and -of the non-existence of international moral obligations, General von -Bernhardi then proceeds to consider very fully the general position -of Germany and the practical application of those doctrines. Within -the limits of this essay I can only give a general survey of the -situation as seen by him. War is necessary for Germany. It should be -waged as soon as is feasible, as certain factors in the situation -tell in favour of her enemies. The chief of these factors are the -reconstruction of the Russian fleet, which will be accomplished -within a few years, and the preparation of a French native colonial -force, which would be available for European hostilities. This also, -though already undertaken, will take some years to perfect. -Therefore, the immediate future is Germany's best opportunity. - -In this war Germany places small confidence in Italy as an ally, -since her interests are largely divergent, but she assumes complete -solidarity with Austria. Austria and Germany have to reckon with -France and Russia. Russia is slow in her movements, and Germany, -with her rapid mobilisation, should be able to throw herself upon -France without fear of her rear. Should she win a brilliant victory -at the outset, Russia might refuse to compromise herself at all, -especially if the quarrel could be so arranged that it would seem as -if France had been the aggressor. Before the slow Slavonic mind had -quite understood the situation and set her unwieldy strength in -motion, her ally might be struck down, and she face to face with the -two Germanic Powers, which would be more than a match for her. - -Of the German army, which is to be the instrument of this -world-drama, General von Bernhardi expresses the highest opinion: -"The spirit which animates the troops, the ardour of attack, the -heroism, the loyalty which prevail among them, justify the highest -expectations. I am certain that if they are soon to be summoned to -arms their exploits will astonish the world, provided only that they -are led with skill and determination." How their "ardour of attack" -has been tested it is difficult to see, but the world will probably -agree that the German army is a most formidable force. When he goes -on, however, to express the opinion that they would certainly -overcome the French, the two armies being approximately of the same -strength, it is not so easy to follow his argument. It is possible -that even so high an authority as General von Bernhardi has not -entirely appreciated how Germany has been the teacher of the world -in military matters and how thoroughly her pupils have responded to -that teaching. That attention to detail, perfection of arrangement -for mobilisation, and careful preparation which have won German -victories in the past may now be turned against her, and she may -find that others can equal her in her own virtues. - -Poor France, once conquered, is to be very harshly treated. Here is -the passage which describes her fate:-- - - "In one way or another _we must square our account with - France_ if we wish for a free hand in our international - policy. This is the first and foremost condition of a - sound German policy, and since the hostility of France - once for all cannot be removed by peaceful overtures, the - matter must be settled by force of arms. France must be - so completely crushed that she can never again come - across our path." - -It is not said how Germany could permanently extinguish France, and -it is difficult to think it out. An indemnity, however large, would -eventually be paid and France recover herself. Germany has found the -half-German border provinces which she annexed so indigestible that -she could hardly incorporate Champagne or any other purely French -district. Italy might absorb some of Savoy and the French Riviera. -If the country were artificially separated the various parts would -fly together again at the first opportunity. Altogether, the -permanent sterilisation of France would be no easy matter to -effect. It would probably be attempted by imposing the condition -that in the future no army, save for police duties, would be allowed -her. The history of Prussia itself, however, shows that even so -stringent a prohibition as this can be evaded by a conquered but -indomitable people. - -Let us now turn to General von Bernhardi's views upon ourselves; -and, first of all, it is of interest to many of us to know what are -those historical episodes which have caused him and many of his -fellow-countrymen to take bitter exception to our national record. -From our point of view we have repeatedly helped Germany in the -past, and have asked for and received no other reward than the -consciousness of having co-operated in some common cause. So it was -in Marlborough's days. So in the days of Frederick. So also in those -of Napoleon. To all these ties, which had seemed to us to be of -importance, there is not a single allusion in this volume. On the -other hand, there are very bitter references to some other -historical events which must seem to us strangely inadequate as a -cause for international hatred. - -We may, indeed, congratulate ourselves as a nation, if no stronger -indictment can be made against us than is contained in the book of -the German general. The first episode upon which he animadverts is -the ancient German grievance of the abandonment of Frederick the -Great by England in the year 1761. One would have thought that there -was some statute of limitations in such matters, but apparently -there is none in the German mind. Let us grant that the premature -cessation of a campaign is an injustice to one's associates, and let -us admit also that a British Government under its party system can -never be an absolutely stable ally. Having said so much, one may -point out that there were several mitigating circumstances in this -affair. We had fought for five years, granting considerable -subsidies to Frederick during that time, and dispatching British -armies into the heart of Germany. The strain was very great, in a -quarrel which did not vitally affect ourselves. The British nation -had taken the view, not wholly unreasonably, that the war was being -waged in the interests of Hanover, and upon a German rather than a -British quarrel. When we stood out France did the same, so that the -balance of power between the combatants was not greatly affected. -Also, it may be pointed out as a curious historical fact that this -treatment which he so much resented was exactly that which Frederick -had himself accorded to his allies some years before at the close of -the Silesian campaign. On that occasion he made an isolated peace -with Maria Theresa, and left his associates, France and Bavaria, to -meet the full force of the Austrian attack. - -Finally the whole episode has to be judged by the words of a modern -writer: "Conditions may arise which are more powerful than the most -honourable intentions. The country's own interests--considered, of -course, in the highest ethical sense--must then turn the scale." -These sentences are not from the work of a British apologist, but -from this very book of von Bernhardi's which scolds England for her -supposed adherence to such principles. He also quotes, with -approval, Treitschke's words: "Frederick the Great was all his life -long charged with treachery because no treaty or alliance could -ever induce him to renounce the right of free self-determination." - -Setting aside this ancient grievance of the Seven Years' War, it is -of interest to endeavour to find out whether there are any other -solid grounds in the past for Germany's reprobation. Two more -historical incidents are held up as examples of our perfidy. The -first is the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, when the British -took forcible possession in time of peace of the Danish fleet. It -must be admitted that the step was an extreme one, and only to be -justified upon the plea of absolute necessity for vital national -reasons. The British Government of the day believed that Napoleon -was about to possess himself of the Danish fleet and would use it -against themselves. Fouch has admitted in his Memoirs that the -right was indeed given by a secret clause in the Treaty of Tilsit. -It was a desperate time, when the strongest measures were -continually being used against us, and it may be urged that similar -measures were necessary in self-defence. Having once embarked upon -the enterprise, and our demand being refused, there was no -alternative but a bombardment of the city with its attendant loss of -civilian life. It is not an exploit of which we need be proud, and -at the best can only be described as a most painful and unfortunate -necessity; but I should be surprised if the Danes, on looking back -to it, judge it more harshly than some more recent experiences which -they have had at the hands of General von Bernhardi's own -fellow-countrymen. That he is himself prepared to launch upon a -similar enterprise in a much larger and more questionable shape is -shown by his declaration that if Holland will not take sides against -England in the next war it should be overrun by the German troops. - -General von Bernhardi's next historical charge is the bombardment of -Alexandria in 1882, which he describes as having been affected upon -hypocritical pretences in a season of peace. To those who have a -recollection of that event and can recall the anti-European movement -of Arabi and the massacre which preceded the bombardment, the charge -will appear grotesque. But it is with a patchwork quilt of this sort -that this German publicist endeavours to cover the unreasoning, but -none the less formidable, jealousy and prejudice which inflame him -against this country. The foolish fiction that the British -Government declared war against the Boers in order to gain -possession of their gold mines is again brought forward, though one -would have imagined that even the gutter-Press who exploited it -twelve years ago had abandoned it by now. If General von Bernhardi -can explain how the British Government is the richer for these -mines, or whether a single foreign shareholder has been dispossessed -of his stock in them, he will be the first who has ever given a -solid fact in favour of this ridiculous charge. In a previous -paragraph of his book he declares that it was President Kruger who -made the war and that he was praiseworthy for so doing. Both -statements cannot be true. If it was President Kruger who made the -war, then it was not forced on by Great Britain in order to possess -herself of the goldfields. - -So much for the specific allegations against Great Britain. One can -hardly regard them as being so serious as to wipe out the various -claims, racial, religious, and historical, which unite the two -countries. However, we are only concerned with General von -Bernhardi's conclusions, since he declares that his country is -prepared to act upon them. There remain two general grounds upon -which he considers that Germany should make war upon the British -Empire. The first is to act as the champion of the human race in -winning what he calls the freedom of the seas. The second is to -further German expansion as a world-Power, which is cramped by our -opposition. - -The first of these reasons is difficult to appreciate. British -maritime power has been used to ensure, not to destroy, the freedom -of the seas. What smallest Power has ever been hindered in her -legitimate business? It is only the pirate, the slaver, and the -gun-runner who can justly utter such a reproach. If the mere fact of -having predominant latent strength upon the water is an encroachment -upon the freedom of the sea, then some nation must always be guilty -of it. After our mild supremacy we may well say to Germany, as -Charles said to James: "No one will assassinate me in order to put -you on the throne." Her mandate is unendorsed by those whom she -claims to represent. - -But the second indictment is more formidable. We lie athwart -Germany's world ambitions, even as, geographically, we lie across -her outlets. But when closely looked at, what is it of which we -deprive her, and is its attainment really a matter of such vital -importance? Do we hamper her trade? On the contrary, we exhibit a -generosity which meets with no acknowledgment, and which many of us -have long held to be altogether excessive. Her manufactured goods -are welcomed in without a tax, while ours are held out from Germany -by a 20 per cent. tariff. In India, Egypt, and every colony which -does not directly control its own financial policy, German goods -come in upon the same footing as our own. No successful war can -improve her position in this respect. There is, however, the -question of colonial expansion. General von Bernhardi foresees that -Germany is increasing her population at such a pace that emigration -will be needed soon in order to relieve it. It is a perfectly -natural national ambition that this emigration should be to some -place where the settlers need not lose their flag or nationality. -But if Great Britain were out of the way, where would they find such -a place? Not in Canada, Australia, South Africa, or New Zealand. -These States could not be conquered if the Motherland had ceased to -exist. General von Bernhardi talks of the high lands of Africa, but -already Germany possesses high lands in Africa, and their -colonisation has not been a success. Can any one name one single -place upon the earth's surface suitable for white habitation from -which Germany is excluded by the existence of Great Britain? It is -true that the huge continent of South America is only sparsely -inhabited, its whole population being about equal to that of -Prussia. But that is an affair in which the United States, and not -we, are primarily interested, and one which it is not our interest -either to oppose or to support. - -But, however inadequate all these reasons for war may seem to a -Briton, one has still to remember that we have to reckon with the -conclusions exactly as if they were drawn from the most logical -premises. These conclusions appear in such sentences as follows:-- - - "What we now wish to attain must be fought for and won against - a superior force of hostile interests and Powers." - - "Since the struggle is necessary and inevitable, we must fight - it out, cost what it may." - - "A pacific agreement with England is a will-o'-the-wisp, which - no serious German statesman would trouble to follow. We must - always keep the possibility of war with England before our - eyes and arrange our political and military plans accordingly. - We need not concern ourselves with any pacific protestations - of English politicians, publicists, and Utopians, which cannot - alter the real basis of affairs." - - "The situation in the world generally shows there can only be a - short respite before we once more face the question whether we - will draw the sword for our position in the world, or renounce - such position once for all. We must not in any case wait until - our opponents have completed their arming and decide that the - hour of attack has come." - - "Even English attempts at a _rapprochement_ must not blind us - to the real situation. We may at most use them to delay the - necessary and inevitable war until we may fairly imagine we - have some prospect of success." - -This last sentence must come home to some of us who have worked in -the past for a better feeling between the two countries. And this is -the man who dares to accuse _us_ of national perfidy. - -These extracts are but a few from a long series which show beyond -all manner of doubt that Germany, so far as General von Bernhardi is -an exponent of her intentions, will undoubtedly attack us suddenly -should she see an opportunity. The first intimation of such attack -would, as he indicates, be a torpedo descent upon our Fleet, and a -wireless message to German liners which would bring up their -concealed guns, and turn each of them into a fast cruiser ready to -prey upon our commerce. That is the situation as he depicts it. It -may be that he mistakes it. But for what it is worth, that is his -opinion and advice. - -He sketches out the general lines of a war between England and -Germany. If France is involved, she is to be annihilated, as already -described. But suppose the two rivals are left face to face. Holland -and Denmark are to be bound over to the German side under pain of -conquest. The German Fleet is to be held back under the protection -of the land forts. Meanwhile, torpedoes, submarines, and airships -are to be used for the gradual whittling down of the blockading -squadrons. When they have been sufficiently weakened the Fleet is to -sally out and the day has arrived. As to the chances of success, he -is of opinion that in material and _personnel_ the two fleets may be -taken as being equal--when once the numbers have been equalised. In -quality of guns, he considers that the Germans have the advantage. -Of gunnery he does not speak, but he believes that in torpedo work -his countrymen are ahead of any others. In airships, which for -_reconnaissance_, if not for actual fighting power, will be of -supreme importance, he considers also that his country will have a -considerable advantage. - -Such, in condensed form, is the general thesis and forecast of this -famous German officer. If it be true, there are evil days coming -both for his country and for ours. One may find some consolation in -the discovery that wherever he attempts to fathom our feelings he -makes the most lamentable blunders. He lays it down as an axiom, for -example, that if we were hard-pressed the Colonies would take the -opportunity of abandoning us. We know, on the other hand, that it is -just such a situation which would bring about the federation of the -Empire. He is under the delusion also that there is deep commercial -and political jealousy of the United States in this country, and -that this might very well culminate in war. We are aware that there -is no such feeling, and that next to holding the trident ourselves -we should wish to see it in the hands of our American cousins. One -thing he says, however, which is supremely true, which all of us -would endorse, and which every German should ponder: it is that the -idea of a war between Germany and ourselves never entered into the -thoughts of any one in this country until the year 1902. Why this -particular year? Had the feeling risen from commercial jealousy -upon the part of Great Britain, it must have shown itself far -earlier than that--as early as the "Made in Germany" enactment. It -appeared in 1902 because that was the close of the Boer War, and -because the bitter hostility shown by the Germans in that war opened -our eyes to the fact that they would do us a mischief if they could. -When the German Navy Act of 1900 gave promise that they would soon -have the means of doing so, the first thoughts of danger arose, and -German policy drove us more and more into the ranks of their -opponents. Here, then, General von Bernhardi is right; but in nearly -every other reference to our feelings and views he is wrong; so that -it is to be hoped that in those matters in which we are unable to -check him, such as the course of German thought and of German action -in the future, he is equally mistaken. But I repeat that he is a man -of standing and reputation, and that we should be mad if we did not -take most serious notice of the opinions which he has laid down. - -I have headed this article "Great Britain and the Next War," since -it looks at the arguments and problems which General von Bernhardi -has raised in his _Germany and the Next War_ from the British point -of view. May it prove that the title is an absurdity and the war an -imaginative hypothesis. But I should wish, before I close, to devote -a few pages to my view upon the defensive measures of our country. I -am well aware that I speak with no expert authority, which makes it -the more embarrassing that my opinions do not coincide with those of -any one whom I have encountered in this controversy. Still, it is -better to be a voice, however small, than an echo. - -It would simplify the argument if we began by eliminating certain -factors which, in my opinion, simply darken counsel, as they are -continually brought into the front of the question to the exclusion -of the real issues which lie behind them. One of them is the -supposed possibility of an invasion--either on a large scale or in -the form of a raid. The former has been pronounced by our highest -naval authorities of the time as being impossible, and I do not -think any one can read the Wilson Memorandum without being convinced -by its condensed logic. Von Bernhardi, in his chapter upon the -possible methods of injuring Great Britain, though he treats the -whole subject with the greatest frankness, dismisses the idea either -of raid or invasion in a few short sentences. The raid seems to me -the less tenable hypothesis of the two. An invasion would, at least, -play for a final stake, though at a deadly risk. A raid would be a -certain loss of a body of troops, which would necessarily be the -flower of the army; it could hope to bring about no possible -permanent effect upon the war, and it would upset the balance of -military power between Germany and her neighbours. If Germany were -an island, like ourselves, she might risk such a venture. Sandwiched -in between two armed nations as strong as herself, I do not believe -that there is the slightest possibility of it. - -But if, as Von Bernhardi says, such plans are visionary, what is the -exact object of a Territorial Army, and, even more, what would be -the object of a National Service Army upon compulsory lines for home -defence? Is it not a waste of money and energy which might be more -profitably employed in some other form? Every one has such an -affection and esteem for Lord Roberts--especially if one has the -honour of his personal acquaintance--that one shrinks from -expressing a view which might be unwelcome to him.[5] And yet he -would be the first to admit that it is one's duty to add one's -opinion to the debate, if that opinion has been conscientiously -formed, and if one honestly believes that it recommends the best -course of action for one's country. So far as his argument for -universal service is based upon national health and physique, I -think he is on ground which no one could attack. But I cannot bring -myself to believe that a case has been made out for the substitution -of an enforced soldier in the place of the volunteer who has always -done so splendidly in the past. Great as is Lord Roberts's -experience, he is talking here of a thing which is outside it, for -he has never seen an enforced British soldier, and has, therefore, -no data by which he can tell how such a man would compare with the -present article. There were enforced British sailors once, and I -have seen figures quoted to show that of 29,000 who were impressed -27,000 escaped from the Fleet by desertion. It is not such men as -these who win our battles. - - [5] More now, alas! than ever.--Nov. 26, A. C. D. - -The argument for enforced service is based upon the plea that the -Territorial Army is below strength in numbers and deficient in -quality. But if invasion is excluded from our calculations this is -of less importance. The force becomes a nursery for the Army, which -has other reserves to draw upon before it reaches it. Experience has -shown that under warlike excitement in a virile nation like ours, -the ranks soon fill up, and as the force becomes embodied from the -outbreak of hostilities, it would rapidly improve in quality. It is -idle to assert that because Bulgaria can, in a day, flood her troops -into Turkey, therefore we should always stand to arms. The -Turko-Bulgarian frontier is a line of posts--the Anglo-German is a -hundred leagues of salt water. - -But am I such an optimist as to say that there is no danger in a -German war? On the contrary, I consider that there is a vast danger, -that it is one which we ignore, and against which we could at a -small cost effect a complete insurance. Let me try to define both -the danger and the remedy. In order to do this we must consider the -two different forms which such a war might take. It might be a -single duel, or it might be with France as our ally. If Germany -attacked Great Britain alone, it may safely be prophesied that the -war would be long, tedious, and possibly inconclusive, but our -_rle_ would be a comparatively passive one. If she attacked -France, however, that _rle_ would be much more active, since we -could not let France go down, and to give her effective help we must -land an expeditionary force upon the Continent. This force has to be -supplied with munitions of war and kept up to strength, and so the -whole problem becomes a more complex one. - -The element of danger, which is serious in either form of war, but -more serious in the latter, is the existence of new forms of naval -warfare which have never been tested in the hands of competent men, -and which may completely revolutionise the conditions. These new -factors are the submarine and the airship. The latter, save as a -means of acquiring information, does not seem to be formidable--or -not sufficiently formidable to alter the whole conditions of a -campaign. But it is different with the submarines. No blockade, so -far as I can see, can hold these vessels in harbour, and no skill or -bravery can counteract their attack when once they are within -striking distance. One could imagine a state of things when it might -be found impossible for the greater ships on either side to keep the -seas on account of these poisonous craft. No one can say that such a -contingency is impossible. Let us see, then, how it would affect us -if it should come to pass. - -In the first place, it would not affect us at all as regards -invasion or raids. If the German submarines can dominate our own -large ships, our submarines can do the same for theirs. We should -still hold the seas with our small craft. Therefore, if Great -Britain alone be at war with Germany, such a naval revolution would -merely affect our commerce and food supply. What exact effect a -swarm of submarines, lying off the mouth of the Channel and the -Irish Sea, would produce upon the victualling of these islands is a -problem which is beyond my conjecture. Other ships besides the -British would be likely to be destroyed, and international -complications would probably follow. I cannot imagine that such a -fleet would entirely, or even to a very large extent, cut off our -supplies. But it is certain that they would have the effect of -considerably raising the price of whatever did reach us. Therefore -we should suffer privation, though not necessarily such privation as -would compel us to make terms. From the beginning of the war, every -home source would naturally be encouraged, and it is possible that -before our external supplies were seriously decreased, our internal -ones might be well on the way to make up the deficiency. Both of the -two great protagonists--Lord Haldane and Lord Roberts--have declared -that if we lost the command of the seas we should have to make -peace. Their reference, however, was to complete naval defeat, and -not to such a condition of stalemate as seems to be the more -possible alternative. As to complete naval defeat, our estimates, -and the grand loyalty of the Overseas Dominions, seem to be amply -adequate to guard against that. It is useless to try to alarm us by -counting in the whole force of the Triple Alliance as our possible -foes, for if they came into the war, the forces of our own allies -would also be available. We need only think of Germany. - -A predominance of the submarine would, then, merely involve a period -of hard times in this country, if we were fighting Germany -single-handed. But if we were in alliance with France, it becomes an -infinitely more important matter. I presume that I need not argue -the point that it is our vital interest that France be not -dismembered and sterilised. Such a tragedy would turn the western -half of Europe into a gigantic Germany with a few insignificant -States crouching about her feet. The period of her world dominance -would then indeed have arrived. Therefore, if France be wantonly -attacked, we must strain every nerve to prevent her going down, and -among the measures to that end will be the sending of a British -expeditionary force to cover the left or Belgian wing of the French -defences. Such a force would be conveyed across the Channel in -perhaps a hundred troopships, and would entail a constant service of -transports afterwards to carry its requirements. - -Here lies, as it seems to me, the possible material for a great -national disaster. Such a fleet of transports cannot be rushed -suddenly across. Its preparation and port of departure are known. A -single submarine amid such a fleet would be like a fox in a poultry -yard destroying victim after victim. The possibilities are -appalling, for it might be not one submarine, but a squadron. The -terrified transports would scatter over the ocean to find safety in -any port. Their convoy could do little to help them. It would be a -debacle--an inversion of the Spanish Armada. - -If the crossing were direct from the eastern ports to Antwerp, the -danger would become greater.[6] It is less if it should be from -Portsmouth to Havre. But this is a transit of seven hours, and the -railways from Havre to the Belgian frontier would be insufficient -for such a force. No doubt the Straits of Dover would be strongly -patrolled by our own torpedo craft, and the crossing would, so far -as possible, be made at night, when submarines have their minimum of -efficiency; but, none the less, it seems to me that the risk would -be a very real and pressing one. What possible patrol could make -sure of heading off a squadron of submarines? I should imagine it to -be as difficult as to bar the Straits to a school of whales. - - [6] This, of course, would presuppose that Holland was - involved in the war.--A. C. D. - -But supposing such a wholesale tragedy were avoided, and that in -spite of the predominance of submarines the army got safely to -France or to Belgium, how are we to ensure the safe passage of the -long stream of ships which, for many months, would be employed in -carrying the needful supplies? We could not do it. The army might -very well find itself utterly isolated, with its line of -communications completely broken down, at a time when the demand -upon the resources of all Continental countries was so great that -there was no surplus for our use. Such a state of affairs seems to -me to be a perfectly possible one, and to form, with the chance of -a disaster to the transports, the greatest danger to which we should -be exposed in a German war. But these dangers and the food question, -which has already been treated, can all be absolutely provided -against in a manner which is not only effective, but which will be -of equal value in peace and in war. The Channel Tunnel is essential -to Great Britain's safety. - -I will not dwell here upon the commercial or financial advantages of -such a tunnel. Where the trade of two great nations concentrates -upon one narrow tube, it is obvious that whatever corporation -controls that tube has a valuable investment, if the costs of -construction have not been prohibitive. These costs have been placed -as low as five million pounds by Mr. Rose Smith, who represents a -practical company engaged in such work. If it were twice, thrice, or -four times that sum it should be an undertaking which should promise -great profits, and for that reason should be constructed by the -nation, or nations, for their common national advantage. It is too -vital a thing for any private company to control. - -But consider its bearing upon a German war. All the dangers which I -have depicted are eliminated. We tap (_via_ Marseilles and the -tunnel) the whole food supply of the Mediterranean and the Black -Sea. Our expeditionary force makes its transit, and has its supplies -independent of weather or naval chances. Should anything so unlikely -as a raid occur, and the forces in this country seem unable to cope -with it, a Franco-British reinforcement can be rushed through from -the Continent. The Germans have made great works like the Kiel Canal -in anticipation of war. Our answer must be the Channel Tunnel, -linking us closer to our ally. - -Though this scheme was discarded (under very different naval and -political conditions) some twenty years ago, no time has, as a -matter of fact, been lost by the delay; as I am informed that -machinery for boring purposes has so enormously improved that what -would have taken thirty years to accomplish can now be done in -three. If this estimate be correct, there may still be time to -effect this essential insurance before the war with which General -von Bernhardi threatens us breaks upon us. - -Let us, before leaving the subject, glance briefly at the objections -which have formerly been urged against the tunnel. Such as they are, -they are as valid now as ever, although the advantages have -increased to such an extent as to throw the whole weight of the -argument upon the side of those who favour its construction. The -main (indeed, the only) objection was the fear that the tunnel would -fall into wrong hands and be used for purposes of invasion. By this -was meant not a direct invasion through the tunnel itself--to invade -a nation of forty-five million people through a hole in the ground -twenty-five miles long would stagger the boldest mind--but that the -tunnel might be seized at each end by some foreign nation, which -would then use it for aggressive military purposes. - -At the time of the discussion our relations with France were by no -means so friendly as they are now, and it was naturally to France -only that we alluded, since they would already hold one end of the -tunnel. We need not now discuss any other nation, since any other -would have to seize both ends by surprise, and afterwards retain -them, which is surely inconceivable. We are now bound in close ties -of friendship and mutual interest to France. We have no right to -assume that we shall always remain on as close a footing, but as our -common peril seems likely to be a permanent one, it is improbable -that there will be any speedy or sudden change in our relations. At -the same time, in a matter so vital as our hold upon the Dover end -of the tunnel, we could not be too stringent in our precautions. The -tunnel should open out at a point where guns command it, the mouth -of it should be within the lines of an entrenched camp, and a -considerable garrison should be kept permanently within call. The -latter condition already exists in Dover, but the numbers might well -be increased. As an additional precaution, a passage should be -driven alongside the tunnel, from which it could, if necessary, be -destroyed. This passage should have an independent opening within -the circle of a separate fort, so that the capture of the end of the -tunnel would not prevent its destruction. With such precautions as -these, the most nervous person might feel that our insular position -had not really been interfered with. The strong fortress of the -Middle Ages had a passage under the moat as part of the defence. -This is our passage. - -Could an enemy in any way destroy it in time of war? - -It would, as I conceive, be sunk to a depth of not less than two -hundred feet below the bed of the ocean. This ceiling would be -composed of chalk and clay. No explosive from above could drive it -in. If it were designed on a large scale--and, personally, I think -it should be a four-line tunnel, even if the cost were doubled -thereby--no internal explosion, such as might be brought about by -secreting explosive packets upon the trains, would be likely to do -more than temporarily obstruct it. If the very worst happened, and -it were actually destroyed, we should be no worse off than we are -now. As to the expense, if we are driven into a war of this -magnitude, a few millions one way or the other will not be worth -considering. - -Incidentally, it may be noted that General von Bernhardi has a poor -opinion of our troops. This need not trouble us. We are what we are, -and words will not alter it. From very early days our soldiers have -left their mark upon Continental warfare, and we have no reason to -think that we have declined from the manhood of our forefathers. He -further calls them "mercenaries," which is a misuse of terms. A -mercenary is a man who is paid to fight in a quarrel which is not -his own. As every British soldier must by law be a British citizen, -the term is absurd. What he really means is that they are not -conscripts in the sense of being forced to fight, but they are -sufficiently well paid to enable the army as a profession to attract -a sufficient number of our young men to the colours. - -Our military and naval preparations are, as it seems to me, adequate -for the threatened crisis. With the Channel Tunnel added our -position should be secure. But there are other preparations which -should be made for such a contest, should it unhappily be forced -upon us. One is financial. Again, as so often before in the history -of British wars, it may prove that the last guinea wins. Everything -possible should be done to strengthen British credit. This crisis -cannot last indefinitely. The cloud will dissolve or burst. -Therefore, for a time we should husband our resources for the -supreme need. At such a time all national expenditure upon objects -which only mature in the future becomes unjustifiable. Such a tax as -the undeveloped land tax, which may bring in a gain some day, but at -present costs ten times what it produces, is the type of expenditure -I mean. I say nothing of its justice or injustice, but only of its -inopportuneness at a moment when we sorely need our present -resources. - -Another preparation lies in our national understanding of the -possibility of such a danger and the determination to face the -facts. Both Unionists and Liberals have shown their appreciation of -the situation, and so have two of the most famous Socialist leaders. -No audible acquiescence has come from the ranks of the Labour Party. -I would venture to say one word here to my Irish fellow-countrymen -of all political persuasions. If they imagine that they can stand -politically or economically while Britain falls, they are woefully -mistaken. The British Fleet is their one shield. If it be broken, -Ireland will go down. They may well throw themselves heartily into -the common defence, for no sword can transfix England without the -point reaching Ireland behind her. - -Let me say in conclusion, most emphatically, that I do not myself -accept any of those axioms of General von Bernhardi which are the -foundation-stones of his argument. I do not think that war is in -itself a good thing, though a dishonourable peace may be a worse -one. I do not believe that an Anglo-German war is necessary. I am -convinced that we should never, of our own accord, attack Germany, -nor would we assist France if she made an unprovoked attack upon -that Power. I do not think that as the result of such a war, Germany -could in any way extend her flag so as to cover a larger white -population. Every one of his propositions I dispute. But that is all -beside the question. We have not to do with his argument, but with -its results. Those results are that he, a man whose opinion is of -weight, and a member of the ruling class in Germany, tells us -frankly that Germany will attack us the moment she sees a favourable -opportunity. I repeat that we should be mad if we did not take very -serious notice of the warning. - - - * * * * * - - - - -IX - -AFTERTHOUGHTS - - -So it was so after all. I write after perusing what was written two -years ago. I lean back in my chair and I think of the past. "So it -really was so after all," represents the thought which comes to my -mind. - -It seems hardly fair to call it a conspiracy. When a certain action -is formulated quite clearly in many books, when it is advocated by -newspapers, preached by professors, and discussed at every -restaurant, it ceases to be a conspiracy. We may take Bernhardi's -book as a text, but it is only because here between two covers we -find the whole essence of the matter in an authoritative form. It -has been said a thousand times elsewhere. And now we know for all -time that these countless scolding and minatory voices were not mere -angry units, but that they were in truth the collective voice of -the nation. All that Bernhardi said, all that after long disbelief -he made some of us vaguely realise, has now actually happened. So -far as Germany is concerned it has been fulfilled to the letter. -Fortunately so far as other nations have been concerned it has been -very different. He knew his own, but he utterly misjudged all else, -and in that misjudgment he and his spy-trusting Government have dug -a pit for themselves in which they long may flounder. - -Make war deliberately whenever you think that you may get profit -from it. Find an excuse, but let it be an excuse which will give you -a strong position before the world and help your alliances. Take -advantage of your neighbour's temporary weakness in order to attack -him. Pretend to be friendly in order to screen warlike preparations. -Do not let contracts or treaties stand in the way of your vital -interests. All of these monstrous propositions are to be found in -this _vade mecum_ of the German politician and soldier, and each of -them has been put in actual practice within a very few years of the -appearance of the book. Take each of them in turn. - -Take first the point that they made war deliberately, and took -advantage of the imagined weakness of their neighbours in order to -attack them. When was it that they backed up, if they did not -actually dictate, the impossible ultimatum addressed as much to -Russia as to Servia? When was it that they were so determined upon -war that they made peace impossible at the moment when Austria was -showing signs of reconsidering her position? Why so keen at that -particular moment? Was it not that for the instant each of her three -antagonists seemed to be at a disadvantage? Russia was supposed not -to have recovered yet from her Japanese misadventure. France was -torn by politics, and had admitted in the Senate that some important -branches of her armies were unprepared. Britain seemed to be on the -verge of civil war. It was just such a combination as was predicated -by Bernhardi. And his country responded to it exactly as he had -said, choosing the point of quarrel against the Slav race so as to -conciliate the more advanced or liberal nations of the world. - -Then again they pretended to be friendly in order to cover hostile -preparations. To the very last moment the German Minister in -Brussels was assuring the Government of King Albert that nothing but -the best intentions animated those whom he represented, and that -Belgian neutrality was safe. The written contract was deliberately -dishonoured on the false and absurd plea that if they did not -dishonour it some one else would. Thus, of the five propositions -which had seemed most monstrous and inhuman in Bernhardi's book in -1912, every single one had been put into actual practice by his -country in 1914. Those of us who advised at the time that the book -should be taken seriously have surely been amply justified. - -It is a singular thing that Bernhardi not only indicated in a -general way what Germany was contemplating, but in his other book -upon modern warfare he gives a very complete sketch of the strategic -conception which has been followed by the Germans. He shows there -how their armies might come through Belgium, how their eastern -forces might mark time while the western, which were to consist of -the picked troops, would travel by forced marches until they reached -the neighbourhood of the coast, or at least the west of Paris, after -which the whole line should swing round into France. The chance that -by these movements the German right would come into the region of -the British expeditionary force is dismissed lightly, since he -entirely underestimated the power of such a force, while as to the -Belgian army it is hardly admitted as a factor at all. A comparison -of the opinions of this great military authority with the actual -facts as we have recently known them, must weaken one's faith in the -value of expert judgment. He is, for example, strongly of opinion -that battles will not as a rule last for more than one day. He has -also so high an opinion of the supreme fighting value of the German -soldiers, that he declares that they will always fight in the open -rather than behind entrenchments. It makes strange reading for us -who have seen them disappear from sight into the ground for a month -at a time. - -In what I have said in the previous article of the naval and -military position, I find nothing to withdraw, and little to modify. -I write with the Germans at Ostend, and yet the possibility of -either a raid or an invasion seems to me as remote as it did two -years ago. I do not of course refer to an aerial raid, which I look -upon as extremely probable, but to a landing in these islands. The -submarine which has been used so skilfully against us is an -all-powerful defensive weapon in our hands. As to the submarine, I -think that I may claim to have foreseen the situation which has -actually come upon us. "No blockade," I remarked, "can hold these -vessels in harbour, and no skill or bravery can counteract their -attack when once they are within striking distance. One could -imagine a state of things when it might be found impossible for the -greater ships on either side to keep the seas on account of these -poisonous craft. No one can say that such a contingency is -impossible." It is largely true at the present moment as regards the -North Sea. But the submarine will not shake Great Britain as -mistress of the seas. On the contrary, with her geographical -position, it will, if her internal economic policy be wise, put her -in a stronger position than ever. - -The whole question of the Channel Tunnel and its strategic effect, -which is treated of in the last essay, becomes entirely academic, -since even if it had been put in hand when the German menace became -clearer it could not yet have been completed. The idea of an -invasion through it has always seemed and still seems to me to be -absurd, but we should have been brought face to face at the present -moment with the possibility of the enemy getting hold of the farther -end and destroying it, so as to wreck a great national enterprise. -This is a danger which I admit that I had not foreseen. At the same -time, when a tunnel is constructed, the end of it will no doubt be -fortified in such a fashion that it could be held indefinitely -against any power save France, which would have so large a stake in -it herself that she could not destroy it. The whole operation of -sending reinforcements and supplies to the scene of war at the -present instant would be enormously simplified if a tunnel were in -existence. - -There remains the fiercely debated question of compulsory national -service. Even now, with the enemy at the gate, it seems to me to be -as open as ever. Would we, under our constitution and with our -methods of thought, have had such a magnificent response to Lord -Kitchener's appeal, or would we have had such splendid political -unanimity in carrying the war to a conclusion, if a large section of -the people had started by feeling sore over an Act which caused -themselves or their sons to serve whether they wished or not? -Personally I do not believe that we should. I believe that the new -volunteer armies now under training are of really wonderful material -and fired with the very best spirit, and that they will be worth -more than a larger force raised by methods which are alien to our -customs. I said in my previous essay, "Experience has shown that -under warlike excitement in a virile nation like ours the ranks soon -fill up, and as the force becomes embodied from the outbreak of -hostilities it would rapidly improve in quality." Already those -Territorials who were so ignorantly and ungenerously criticised in -times of peace are, after nearly three months of camp-life, -hardening into soldiers who may safely be trusted in the field. -Behind them the greater part of a million men are formed who will -also become soldiers in a record time if a desperate earnestness can -make them so. It is a glorious spectacle which makes a man thankful -that he has been spared to see it. One is more hopeful of our -Britain, and more proud of her, now that the German guns can be -heard from her eastern shore, than ever in the long monotony of her -undisturbed prosperity. Our grandchildren will thrill as they read -of the days that we endure. - - - * * * * * - - - _Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.,_ - _London and Aylesbury._ - - - * * * * * - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - -Italic text has been denoted by _underscores_. - -Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. - -The non-printable characters have been replaced as shown below: - - 'oe' ligature --> oe - -This book was written in a period when many words had not become -standarized in their spelling. Numerous words have multiple spelling -variations in the text. These have been left unchanged unless noted -below: - - p 29 - typo: missing 'the' added (in the future) - - p 75 - typo: at --> as (he exclaimed, as he gazed) - - p 86 - typo: missing 'the' added (in the future) - - p 111 - typo: missing 'the' added (in the future) - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The German War, by Arthur Conan Doyle - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GERMAN WAR *** - -***** This file should be named 42127-8.txt or 42127-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/1/2/42127/ - -Produced by Richard Hulse, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The German War - Some Sidelights and Reflections - -Author: Arthur Conan Doyle - -Release Date: February 18, 2013 [EBook #42127] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GERMAN WAR *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Hulse, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - -THE GERMAN WAR - - - - -THE GERMAN WAR - - - -BY - -ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE - -AUTHOR OF "THE GREAT BOER WAR," ETC. - - - -HODDER AND STOUGHTON - -LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO - -MCMXIV - - - - -_Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.,_ - -_London and Aylesbury_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -These essays, upon different phases of the wonderful world-drama -which has made our lifetime memorable, would be unworthy of -republication were it not that at such a time every smallest thing -which may help to clear up a doubt, to elucidate the justice of our -cause, or to accentuate the desperate need of national effort, -should be thrown into the scale. The longest essay appeared in _The -Fortnightly Review_ and the shorter ones for the most part in _The -Daily Chronicle_. I have left them as written at the time, even -where after-events have caused some modification of my views. - - ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. - WINDLESHAM, CROWBOROUGH, - _November 1914._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - I. THE CAUSES OF THE WAR 1 - - II. THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY 32 - - III. THE DEVIL'S DOCTRINE 41 - - IV. THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT 55 - - V. THE "CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY" 65 - - VI. A POLICY OF MURDER 79 - - VII. MADNESS 89 - - VIII. GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR 99 - - IX. AFTERTHOUGHTS 144 - - - * * * * * - - - - -I - -THE CAUSES OF THE WAR - - - This article, stating the British case, was issued as a - recruiting pamphlet in Great Britain, but was used abroad - as a simple explanation which would enable neutrals to - understand the true facts. It was published in full by - fifty leading journals in the United States, and was - translated into Dutch and Danish, 25,000 copies being - distributed in each country. - -The causes of the war are only of moment to us, at this stage, in -that we gain more strength in our arms and more iron in our souls by -a knowledge that it is for all that is honourable and sacred for -which we fight. What really concerns us is that we are in a fight -for our national life, that we must fight through to the end, and -that each and all of us must help, in his own fashion, to the last -ounce of his strength, that this end may be victory. That is the -essence of the situation. It is not words and phrases that we need, -but men, men--and always more men. If words can bring the men, then -they are of avail. If not, they may well wait for the times to mend. -But if there is a doubt in the mind of any man as to the justice of -his country's quarrel, then even a writer may find work ready to his -hand. - -Let us cast our minds back upon the events which have led up to this -conflict. They may be divided into two separate classes--those which -prepared the general situation, and those which caused the special -quarrel. Each of these I will treat in its turn. - -It is a matter of common knowledge, one which a man must be blind -and deaf not to understand, that for many years Germany, intoxicated -by her success in war and by her increase of wealth, has regarded -the British Empire with eyes of jealousy and hatred. It has never -been alleged by those who gave expression to this almost universal -national passion that Great Britain had in any way, either -historically or commercially, done Germany a mischief. Even our most -bitter traducers, when asked to give any definite historical reasons -for their dislike, were compelled to put forward such ludicrous -excuses as that the British had abandoned the Prussian King in the -year 1761, quite oblivious of the fact that the same Prussian King -had abandoned his own allies in the same war under far more damaging -circumstances, acting up to his own motto that no promises are -binding where the vital interests of a State are in question. With -all their malevolence they could give no examples of any ill turn -done by us until their deliberate policy had forced us into -antagonism. On the other hand, a long list of occasions could very -easily be compiled on which we had helped them in some common cause -from the days of Marlborough to those of Bluecher. Until the -twentieth century had turned they had no possible cause for -political hatred against us. In commerce our record was even more -clear. Never in any way had we interfered with that great -development of trade which has turned them from one of the poorest -to one of the richest of European States. Our markets were open to -them untaxed, whilst our own manufactures paid 20 per cent. in -Germany. The markets of India, of Egypt, and of every portion of -the Empire which had no self-appointed tariff, were as open to -German goods as to British ones. Nothing could possibly have been -more generous than our commercial treatment. No doubt there was some -grumbling when cheap imitations of our own goods were occasionally -found to oust the originals from their markets. Such a feeling was -but natural and human. But in all matters of commerce, as in all -matters political before the dawn of this century, they have no -shadow of a grievance against us. - -And yet they hated us with a most bitter hatred, a hatred which long -antedates the days when we were compelled to take a definite stand -against them. In all sorts of ways this hatred showed itself--in the -diatribes of professors, in the pages of books, in the columns of -the Press. Usually it was a sullen, silent dislike. Sometimes it -would flame up suddenly into bitter utterance, as at the time of the -unseemly dispute around the deathbed of the Emperor's father, or on -the occasion of the Jameson Raid. And yet this bitter antagonism was -in no way reciprocated in this country. If a poll had been taken at -any time up to the end of the century as to which European country -was our natural ally, the vote would have gone overwhelmingly for -Germany. "America first and then Germany" would have been the -verdict of nine men out of ten. But then occurred two events which -steadied the easy-going Briton, and made him look more intently and -with a more questioning gaze at his distant cousin over the water. -Those two events were the Boer War and the building of the German -fleet. The first showed us, to our amazement, the bitter desire -which Germany had to do us some mischief, the second made us realise -that she was forging a weapon with which that desire might be -fulfilled. - -We are most of us old enough to remember the torrent of calumny and -insult which was showered upon us in the day of our temporary -distress by the nation to whom we had so often been a friend and an -ally. It is true that other nations treated us little better, and -yet their treatment hurt us less. The difference as it struck men at -the time may be summarised in this passage from a British writer of -the period. - -"But it was very different with Germany," he says. "Again and again -in the world's history we have been the friends and the allies of -these people. It was so in the days of Marlborough, in those of the -Great Frederick, and in those of Napoleon. When we could not help -them with men we helped them with money. Our fleet has crushed their -enemies. And now, for the first time in history, we have had a -chance of seeing who were our friends in Europe, and nowhere have we -met more hatred and more slander than from the German Press and the -German people. Their most respectable journals have not hesitated to -represent the British troops--troops every bit as humane and as -highly disciplined as their own--not only as committing outrages on -person and property, but even as murdering women and children. - -"At first this unexpected phenomenon merely surprised the British -people, then it pained them, and finally, after two years of it, it -has roused a deep, enduring anger in their minds." - -He goes on to say, "The continued attacks upon us have left an -enduring feeling of resentment, which will not and should not die -away in this generation. It is not too much to say that five years -ago a complete defeat of Germany in a European war would have -certainly caused British intervention. Public sentiment and racial -affinity would never have allowed us to see her really go to the -wall. And now it is certain that in our lifetime no British guinea -and no soldier's life would under any circumstances be spent for -such an end. That is one strange result of the Boer War, and in the -long run it is possible that it may prove not the least important." - -Such was the prevailing mood of the nation when they perceived -Germany, under the lead of her Emperor, following up her expressions -of enmity by starting with restless energy to build up a formidable -fleet, adding programme to programme, out of all possible proportion -to the German commerce to be defended or to the German coastline -exposed to attack. Already vainglorious boasts were made that -Germany was the successor to Britain upon the seas. "The Admiral of -the Atlantic greets the Admiral of the Pacific," said the Kaiser in -a message to the Czar. What was Britain to do under this growing -menace? So long as she was isolated the diplomacy of Germany might -form some naval coalition against her. She took the steps which were -necessary for her own safety, and without forming an alliance she -composed her differences with France and Russia and drew closer the -friendship which united her with her old rival across the Channel. -The first-fruit of the new German fleet was the _entente cordiale_. -We had found our enemy. It was necessary that we should find our -friends. Thus we were driven into our present combination. - -And now we had to justify our friendship. For the first time we were -compelled to openly oppose Germany in the deep and dangerous game of -world politics. They wished to see if our understanding was a -reality or a sham. Could they drive a wedge between us by showing -that we were a fair-weather friend whom any stress would alienate. -Twice they tried it, once in 1906 when they bullied France into a -conference at Algeciras, but found that Britain was firm at her -side, and again in 1911 when in a time of profound peace they -stirred up trouble by sending a gunboat to Agadir, and pushed -matters to the very edge of war. But no threats induced Britain to -be false to her mutual insurance with France. Now for the third and -most fatal time they have demanded that we forswear ourselves and -break our own bond lest a worse thing befall us. Blind and foolish, -did they not know by past experience that we would keep our promise -given? In their madness they have wrought an irremediable evil to -themselves, to us, and to all Europe. - -I have shown that we have in very truth never injured nor desired to -injure Germany in commerce, nor have we opposed her politically -until her own deliberate actions drove us into the camp of her -opponents. But it may well be asked why then did they dislike us, -and why did they weave hostile plots against us? It was that, as it -seemed to them, and as indeed it actually may have been, we -independently of our own wills stood between Germany and that world -empire of which she dreamed. This was caused by circumstances over -which we had no control and which we could not modify if we had -wished to do so. Britain, through her maritime power and the energy -of her merchants and people, had become a great world power when -Germany was still unformed. Thus, when she had grown to her full -stature she found that the choice places of the world and those most -fitted for the spread of a transplanted European race were already -filled up. It was not a matter which we could help, nor could we -alter it, since Canada, Australia, and South Africa would not, even -if we could be imagined to have wished it, be transferred to German -rule. And yet the Germans chafed, and if we can put ourselves in -their places we may admit that it was galling that the surplus of -their manhood should go to build up the strength of an alien and -possibly a rival State. So far we could see their grievance, or -rather their misfortune, since no one was in truth to blame in the -matter. Had their needs been openly and reasonably expressed, and -had the two States moved in concord in the matter, it is difficult -to think that no helpful solution of any kind could have been -found. - -But the German method of approaching the problem has never been to -ask sympathy and co-operation, but to picture us as a degenerate -race from whom anything might be gained by playing upon our imagined -weakness and cowardice. A nation which attends quietly to its own -sober business must, according to their mediaeval notions, be a -nation of decadent poltroons. If we fight our battles by means of -free volunteers instead of enforced conscripts, then the military -spirit must be dead amongst us. Perhaps, even in this short -campaign, they have added this delusion also to the dust-bin of -their many errors. But such was their absurd self-deception about -the most virile of European races. Did we propose disarmament, then -it was not humanitarianism but cowardice that prompted us, and their -answer was to enlarge their programme. Did we suggest a -navy-building holiday, it was but a cloak for our weakness, and an -incitement that they should redouble their efforts. Our decay had -become a part of their national faith. At first the wish may have -been the father to the thought, but soon under the reiterated -assertions of their crazy professors the proposition became -indisputable. Bernhardi in his book upon the next war cannot conceal -the contempt in which he has learned to hold us. Niebuhr long ago -had prophesied the coming fall of Britain, and every year was -believed to bring it nearer and to make it more certain. To these -jaundiced eyes all seemed yellow, when the yellowness lay only in -themselves. Our army, our navy, our Colonies, all were equally -rotten. "Old England, old, indeed, and corrupt, rotten through and -through." One blow and the vast sham would fly to pieces, and from -those pieces the victor could choose his reward. Listen to Professor -Treitschke, a man who, above all others, has been the evil genius of -his country, and has done most to push it towards this abyss: "A -thing that is wholly a sham," he cried, in allusion to our Empire, -"cannot, in this universe of ours, endure for ever. It may endure -for a day, but its doom is certain." Were ever words more true when -applied to the narrow bureaucracy and swaggering Junkerdom of -Prussia, the most artificial and ossified sham that ever our days -have seen? See which will crack first, our democracy or this, now -that both have been plunged into the furnace together. The day of -God's testing has come, and we shall see which can best abide it. - -I have tried to show that we are in no way to blame for the -hostility which has grown up between us. So far as it had any solid -cause at all it has arisen from fixed factors, which could no more -be changed by us than the geographical position which has laid us -right across their exit to the oceans of the world. That this -deeply-rooted national sentiment, which for ever regarded us as the -Carthage to which they were destined to play the part of Rome, -would, sooner or later, have brought about war between us, is, in my -opinion, beyond all doubt. But it was planned to come at the moment -which was least favourable for Britain. "Even English attempts at a -_rapprochement_ must not blind us to the real situation," says -Bernhardi. "We may, at most, use them to delay the necessary and -inevitable war until we may fairly imagine we have some prospect of -success." A more shameless sentence was never penned, and one -stands marvelling which is the more grotesque--the cynicism of the -sentiment, or the folly which gave such a warning to the victim. For -be it remembered that Bernhardi's words are to be taken very -seriously, for they are not the ravings of some Pan-German -monomaniac, but the considered views of the foremost military writer -of Germany, one who is in touch with those inner circles whose -opinions are the springs of national policy. "Our last and greatest -reckoning is to be with Great Britain," said the bitter Treitschke. -Sooner or later the shock was to come. Germany sat brooding over the -chessboard of the world waiting for the opening which should assure -a winning game. - -It was clear that she should take her enemies separately rather than -together. If Britain were attacked, it was almost certain that -France and Russia would stand by her side. But if, on the contrary, -the quarrel could be made with these two Powers, and especially with -Russia, in the first instance, then it was by no means so certain -that Great Britain would be drawn into the struggle. Public opinion -has to be strongly moved before our country can fight, and public -opinion under a Liberal Government might well be divided upon the -subject of Russia. Therefore, if the quarrel could be so arranged as -to seem to be entirely one between Teuton and Slav there was a good -chance that Britain would remain undecided until the swift German -sword had done its work. Then, with the grim acquiescence of our -deserted Allies, the still bloody sword would be turned upon -ourselves, and that great final reckoning would have come. - -Such was the plan, and fortune favoured it. A brutal murder had, not -for the first time, put Servia into a position where a State may be -blamed for the sins of individuals. An ultimatum was launched so -phrased that it was impossible for any State to accept it as it -stood and yet remain an independent State. At the first sign of -argument or remonstrance the Austrian army marched upon Belgrade. -Russia, which had been already humiliated in 1908 by the forcible -annexation of Bosnia, could not possibly submit a second time to the -Caudine Forks. She laid her hand upon her sword-hilt. Germany -sprang to the side of her Ally. France ranged herself with Russia. -Like a thunderclap the war of the nations had begun. - -So far all had worked well for German plans. Those of the British -public who were familiar with the past and could look into the future -might be well aware that our interests were firmly bound with those -of France, and that if our faggots were not tied together they would -assuredly be snapped each in its turn. But the unsavoury -assassination which had been so cleverly chosen as the starting-point -of the war bulked large in the eyes of our people, and, setting -self-interest to one side, the greater part of the public might well -have hesitated to enter into a quarrel where the cause seemed remote -and the issues ill-defined. What was it to us if a Slav or a Teuton -collected the harbour dues of Salonica! So the question might have -presented itself to the average man who in the long run is the ruler -of this country and the autocrat of its destinies. In spite of all -the wisdom of our statesmen, it is doubtful if on such a quarrel we -could have gained that national momentum which might carry us to -victory. But at that very moment Germany took a step which removed -the last doubt from the most cautious of us and left us in a position -where we must either draw our sword or stand for ever dishonoured and -humiliated before the world. The action demanded of us was such a -compound of cowardice and treachery that we ask ourselves in dismay -what can we ever have done that could make others for one instant -imagine us to be capable of so dastardly a course? Yet that it was -really supposed that we could do it, and that it was not merely put -forward as an excuse for drawing us into war, is shown by the anger -and consternation of the Kaiser and his Chancellor when we drew back -from what the British Prime Minister has described as "an infamous -proposal." One has only to read our Ambassador's description of his -interview with the German Chancellor after our decision was -announced, "so evidently overcome by the news of our action," to see -that through some extraordinary mental aberration the German rulers -did actually believe that a vital treaty with Britain's signature -upon it could be regarded by this country as a mere "scrap of paper." - -What was this treaty which it was proposed so lightly to set aside? -It was the guarantee of the neutrality of Belgium signed in 1839 -(confirmed verbally and in writing by Bismarck in 1870), by Prussia, -France, and Britain, each of whom pledged their word to observe and -to enforce it. On the strength of it Belgium had relied for her -security amidst her formidable neighbours. On the strength of it -also France had lavished all her defences upon her eastern frontier, -and left her northern exposed to attack. Britain had guaranteed the -treaty, and Britain could be relied upon. Now, on the first occasion -of testing the value of her word it was supposed that she would -regard the treaty as a worthless scrap of paper, and stand by -unmoved while the little State which had trusted her was flooded by -the armies of the invader. It was unthinkable, and yet the wisest -brains of Germany seem to have persuaded themselves that we had sunk -to such depths of cowardly indolence that even this might go -through. Surely they also have been hypnotised by those foolish -dreams of Britain's degeneration, from which they will have so -terrible an awakening. - -As a matter of fact, the General Staff had got ahead of the -diplomatists, and the German columns were already over the border -while the point was being debated at Berlin. There was no retreat -from the position which had been taken up. "It is to us a vital -matter of strategy and is beyond argument," said the German soldier. -"It is to us a vital matter of honour and is beyond argument," -answered the British statesman. The die was cast. No compromise was -possible. Would Britain keep her word or would she not? That was the -sole question at issue. And what answer save one could any Briton -give to it? "I do not believe," said our Prime Minister, "that any -nation ever entered into a great controversy with a clearer -conscience and stronger conviction that she is fighting, not for -aggression, not for the maintenance of her own selfish interest, but -in defence of principles the maintenance of which is vital to the -civilisation of the world." So he spoke, and History will endorse -his words, for we surely have our quarrel just. - -So much for the events which have led us to war. Now for a moment -let us glance at what we may have to hope for, what we may have to -fear, and above all what we must each of us do that we win through -to a lasting peace. - -What have we to gain if we win? That we have nothing material to -gain, no colonies which we covet, no possessions of any sort that we -desire, is the final proof that the war has not been provoked by us. -No nation would deliberately go out of its way to wage so hazardous -and costly a struggle when there is no prize for victory. But one -enormous indirect benefit we will gain if we can make Germany a -peaceful and harmless State. We will surely break her naval power -and take such steps that it shall not be a menace to us any more. It -was this naval power, with its rapid increase, and the need that we -should ever, as Mr. Churchill has so well expressed it, be ready at -our average moment to meet an attack at their chosen moment--it was -this which has piled up our war estimates during the last ten years -until they have bowed us down. With such enormous sums spent upon -ships and guns, great masses of capital were diverted from the -ordinary channels of trade, while an even more serious result was -that our programmes of social reform had to be curtailed from want -of the money which could finance them. Let the menace of that -lurking fleet be withdrawn--the nightmare of those thousand hammers -working day and night in forging engines for our destruction, and -our estimates will once again be those of a civilised Christian -country, while our vast capital will be turned from measures of -self-protection to those of self-improvement. Should our victory be -complete, there is little which Germany can yield to us save the -removal of that shadow which has darkened us so long. But our -children and our children's children will never, if we do our work -well now, look across the North Sea with the sombre thoughts which -have so long been ours, while their lives will be brightened and -elevated by money which we, in our darker days, have had to spend -upon our ships and our guns. - -Consider, on the other hand, what we should suffer if we were to -lose. All the troubles of the last ten years would be with us still, -but in a greatly exaggerated form. A larger and stronger Germany -would dominate Europe and would overshadow our lives. Her coast-line -would be increased, her ports would face our own, her coaling -stations would be in every sea, and her great army, greater then -than ever, would be within striking distance of our shores. To avoid -sinking for ever into the condition of a dependant, we should be -compelled to have recourse to rigid compulsory service, and our -diminished revenues would be all turned to the needs of -self-defence. Such would be the miserable condition in which we -should hand on to our children that free and glorious empire which -we inherited in all the fulness of its richness and its splendour -from those strong fathers who have built it up. What peace of mind, -what self-respect could be left for us in the remainder of our -lives? The weight of dishonour would lie always upon our hearts. And -yet this will be surely our fate and our future if we do not nerve -our souls and brace our arms for victory. No regrets will avail, no -excuses will help, no after-thoughts can profit us. It is -now--_now_--even in these weeks and months that are passing that the -final reckoning is being taken, and when once the sum is made up no -further effort can change it. What are our lives or our labours, our -fortunes or even our families, when compared with the life or death -of the great mother of us all? We are but the leaves of the tree. -What matter if we flutter down to-day or to-morrow, so long as the -great trunk stands and the burrowing roots are firm? Happy the man -who can die with the thought that in this greatest crisis of all he -has served his country to the uttermost; but who would bear the -thoughts of him who lives on with the memory that he has shirked his -duty and failed his country at the moment of her need? - -There is a settled and assured future if we win. There is darkness -and trouble if we lose. But if we take a broader sweep and trace the -meanings of this contest as they affect others than ourselves, then -ever greater, more glorious are the issues for which we fight. For -the whole world stands at a turning-point of its history, and one or -other of two opposite principles, the rule of the soldier or the -rule of the citizen, must now prevail. In this sense we fight for -the masses of the German people, as some day they will understand, -to free them from that formidable military caste which has used and -abused them, spending their bodies in an unjust war and poisoning -their minds by every device which could inflame them against those -who wish nothing save to live at peace with them. We fight for the -strong, deep Germany of old, the Germany of music and of philosophy, -against this monstrous modern aberration the Germany of blood and of -iron, the Germany from which, instead of the old things of beauty, -there come to us only the rant of scolding professors with their -final reckonings, their Welt-politik, and their Godless theories of -the Superman who stands above morality and to whom all humanity -shall be subservient. Instead of the world-inspiring phrases of a -Goethe or a Schiller, what are the words in the last decade which -have been quoted across the sea? Are they not always the -ever-recurring words of wrath from one ill-balanced man? "Strike -them with the mailed fist." "Leave such a name behind you as Attila -and his Huns." "Turn your weapons even upon your own flesh and blood -at my command." These are the messages which have come from this -perversion of a nation's soul. - -But the matter lies deep. The Hohenzollerns and the Hapsburgs have -used their peoples as a great landowner might use the serfs upon his -estate. It was, and is, their openly expressed theory that they were -in their position by the grace of God, that they owed no reckoning -to any man, and that kingdom and folk were committed for better or -worse to their charge. Round this theory of the dark ages there -gathered all the forces of the many Courts of the Empire, all the -nobility who make so huge a class in Germanic countries, all the -vast army to whom strict discipline and obedience were the breath of -life, all the office-holders of the State, all the purveyors of -warlike stores. These and their like were the natural setting to -such a central idea. Court influence largely controlled the -teaching at schools and universities, and so the growing twig could -be bent. But all these forces together could not have upheld so -dangerous and unnatural a theory had it not been for the influence -of a servile Press. - -How that Press was managed, how the thoughts of the people could be -turned to the right or the left with the same precision as a platoon -of Grenadiers, has been shown clearly enough in the Memoirs of -Bismarck. Public opinion was poisoned at its very roots. The average -citizen lived in a false atmosphere where everything was distorted -to his vision. He saw his Kaiser, not as an essentially weak and -impetuous man with a dangerous entourage who were ever at his ear, -but as Germany personified, an angel with a flaming sword, beating -back envious assailants from the beloved Fatherland. He saw his -neighbours not as peaceful nations who had no possible desire to -attack him, but, on the contrary, lived in constant fear of him, but -as a band of envious and truculent conspirators who could only be -kept in order by the sudden stamp of the jackboot and the menacing -clatter of the sabre. He insensibly imbibed the Nietzsche doctrine -that the immorality of the Superman may be as colossal as his -strength and that the slave-evangel of Christianity was superseded -by a sterner law. Thus when he saw acts which his reason must have -told him were indefensible, he was still narcotised by this -conception of some new standard of right. He saw his Kaiser at the -time of a petty humiliation to Great Britain sending a telegram of -congratulation to the man who had inflicted this rebuff. Could that -be approved by reason? At a time when all Europe was shuddering over -the Armenian massacres he saw this same Kaiser paying a -complimentary visit to the Sultan whose hands were still wet with -the blood of murdered Christians. Could that be reconciled with what -is right? A little later he saw the Kaiser once again pushing -himself into Mediterranean politics, where no direct German interest -lay, and endeavouring to tangle up the French developments in -Northern Africa by provocative personal appearances at Morocco, and, -later, by sending a gunboat to intrude upon a scene of action which -had already by the Treaty of Algeciras been allotted to France. - -How could an honest German whose mind was undebauched by a -controlled Press justify such an interference as that? He is or -should be aware that in annexing Bosnia, Austria was tearing up a -treaty without the consent of the other signatories, and that his -own country was supporting and probably inciting her ally to this -public breach of faith. Could he honestly think that this was right? -And, finally, he must know, for his own Chancellor has publicly -proclaimed it, that the Invasion of Belgium was a breach of -international right, and that Germany, or rather, Prussia, had -perjured herself upon the day that the first of her soldiers passed -over the frontier. How can he explain all this to himself save on a -theory that might is right, that no moral law applies to the -Superman, and that so long as one hews one's way through the rest -can matter little? To such a point of degradation have public morals -been brought by the infernal teachings of Prussian military -philosophy, dating back as far as Frederick the Second, but -intensified by the exhortations of Press and professors during our -own times. The mind of the average kindly German citizen has been -debauched and yet again debauched until it needed just such a world -crisis as this to startle him at last from his obsession and show -him his position and that of his country in its true relation with -humanity and progress. - -Thus I say that for the German who stands outside the ruling classes -our victory would bring a lasting relief, and some hope that in the -future his destiny should be controlled by his own judgment and not -by the passions or interests of those against whom he has at present -no appeal. A system which has brought disaster to Germany and chaos -to all Europe can never, one would think, be resumed, and amid the -debris of his Empire the German may pick up that precious jewel of -personal freedom which is above the splendour of foreign conquest. A -Hapsburg or a Hohenzollern may find his true place as the servant -rather than the master of a nation. But apart from Germany, look at -the effects which our victory must have over the whole wide world. -Everywhere it will mean the triumph of reasoned democracy, of -public debate, of ordered freedom in which every man is an active -unit in the system of his own government; whilst our defeat would -stand for a victory to a privileged class, the thrusting down of the -civilian by the arrogance and intolerance of militarism, and the -subjection of all that is human and progressive to all that is -cruel, narrow, and reactionary. - -This is the stake for which we play, and the world will lose or gain -as well as we. You may well come, you democratic over-sea men of our -blood, to rally round us now, for all that you cherish, all that is -bred in your very bones, is that for which we fight. And you, lovers -of Freedom in every land, we claim at least your prayers and your -wishes, for if our sword be broken you will be the poorer. But fear -not, for our sword will not be broken, nor shall it ever drop from -our hands until this matter is for ever set in order. If every ally -we have upon earth were to go down in blood and ruin, still would we -fight through to the appointed end. Defeat shall not daunt us. -Inconclusive victory shall not turn us from our purpose. The grind -of poverty and the weariness of hopes deferred shall not blunt the -edge of our resolve. With God's help we shall go to the end, and -when that goal is reached it is our prayer that a new era shall come -as our reward, an era in which, by common action of State with -State, mutual hatreds and strivings shall be appeased, land shall no -longer be estranged from land, and huge armies and fleets will be -nightmares of the past. Thus, as ever, the throes of evil may give -birth to good. Till then our task stands clear before us--a task -that will ask for all we have in strength and resolution. Have you -who read this played your part to the highest? If not, do it now, or -stand for ever shamed. - - - * * * * * - - - - -II - -THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY - - -It is instructive and interesting now,[1] before fresh great events -and a new situation obliterate the old impressions, to put it on -record how things seemed to some of us before the blow fell. A -mental position often seems incredible when looked back to from some -new standpoint. - - [1] August 20, 1914. - -I am one of those who were obstinate in refusing to recognise -Germany's intentions. I argued, I wrote, I joined the Anglo-German -Friendship Society; I did everything I could for the faith that was -in me. But early last year my views underwent a complete change, and -I realised that I had been wrong, and that the thing which seemed -too crazy and too wicked to be true actually was true. I recorded my -conversion at the time in an article entitled "Great Britain and -the Next War" in the _Fortnightly_ of March, and reading over that -article I find a good deal which fits very closely to the present -situation. Forecasts are dangerous, but there is not much there -which I would wish to withdraw. What brought about my change of view -was reading Bernhardi's book on Germany and the next war. - -Up to then I had imagined that all this sabre-rattling was a sort of -boyish exuberance on the part of a robust young nation which had a -fancy to clank about the world in jackboots. Some of it also came, -as it seemed to me, from a perfectly natural jealousy, and some as -the result of the preaching of those extraordinary professors whose -idiotic diatribes have done so much to poison the minds of Young -Germany. This was clear enough. But I could not believe that there -was a conspiracy hatching for a world-war, in which the command of -the sea would be challenged as well as that of the land. No motive -seemed to me to exist for so monstrous an upheaval, and no prize to -await Germany, if she won, which could at all balance her enormous -risks if she lost. Besides, one imagined that civilisation and -Christianity did stand for something, and that it was inconceivable -that a nation with pretensions to either the one or the other could -at this date of the world's history lend itself to a cold-blooded, -barbarous conspiracy by which it built up its strength for a number -of years with the intention of falling at a fitting moment upon its -neighbours, without any cause of quarrel save a general desire for -aggrandisement. - -All this, I say, I could not bring myself to believe. But I read -Bernhardi's book, and then I could not help believing. I wrote an -article in the hope that others who had been as blind as myself -might also come to see the truth. For who was Bernhardi? He was one -of the most noted officers in the German army. And here was a book -addressed to his own fellow-countrymen, in which these sentiments -were set forth. You could not set such a document aside and treat it -as of no account. As I said at the time, "We should be mad if we did -not take very serious notice of the warning." - -But the strange thing is that there should have been a warning. -There is a quaint simplicity in the German mind, which has shown -itself again and again in the recent events. But this is surely the -supreme example of it. One would imagine that the idea that the book -could be translated and read by his intended victims had never -occurred to the author. As a famous soldier, it is impossible to -believe that he was not in touch with the General Staff, and he -outlines a policy which has some reason, therefore, to be looked -upon as an official one. It is as bright a performance as if some -one on Lord Roberts's staff had written a description of the -Paardeberg flank march and sent it to Cronje some weeks before it -was carried out. And yet it was not an isolated example, for Von -Edelsheim, who actually belongs to this amazing General Staff, -published a shorter sketch, setting forth how his country would deal -with the United States--an essay which is an extraordinary example -of bombastic ignorance. Such indiscretions can only be explained as -manifestations of an inflated national arrogance, which has blown -itself up into a conviction that Germany was so sure of winning -that it mattered little whether her opponents were upon their guard -or not. - -But Bernhardi's programme, as outlined in his book, is actually -being carried through. The whole weight of the attack was to be -thrown upon France. Russia was to be held back during her slow -mobilisation, and then the victorious legions from Paris were to -thunder across in their countless troop trains from the western to -the eastern firing-line. Britain was to be cajoled into keeping -aloof until her fate was ripe. Then her fleet was to be whittled -down by submarines, mines, and torpedo-boats until the numbers were -more equal, when the main German fleet, coming from under the forts -of Wilhelmshaven, should strike for the conquest of the sea. Such -were the plans, and dire the fate of the conquered. They were in -accordance with the German semi-official paper, which cried on the -day before the declaration of war: "We shall win--and when we do, -'Vae victis!'" With France it was to be a final account. Our own -fate would be little better. It needs a righteous anger to wage war -to the full, and we can feel it when we think of the long-drawn -plot against us, and of the fate which defeat would bring. - -However favourable the general trend of events, we can hardly hope -to escape some bad hours during this war. The Germans are a great -and brave people, with a fine record in warlike history. They will -not go down without leaving their mark deep upon the Allies. We must -not take the opening successes too seriously, or allow ourselves to -have the edge taken off our resolution by the idea that things will -necessarily go well with us. On land and sea vast efforts and -occasional disappointments will await us. But it will not be long. -It is, as it seems to me, absolutely impossible that it should be -long. The temper of the times will not brook slow measures, nor will -the enormous financial strain upon Germany be tolerated -indefinitely. How dangerous is prophecy, and these very words may -come back to mock me; but I cannot myself see how it can be over in -less than six months, or how it could extend for more than twelve. - -If it should happen that the military affairs of Germany are as -rotten as her diplomacy, then it certainly should not last long. -That, no doubt, is too much to expect, but there are many degrees of -incapacity which are short of that extreme limit. For of that, at -least, there can be no dispute. What has come from all this crazy -science of Real-politik and Welt-politik and the rest of it? Simply -that wherever it was possible to lose the trick Germany and her -partner have done so. An alliance with Italy so loose that it was -useless, a Mediterranean understanding with Austria so vague that it -only operated after it had become of no service to the German -cruisers, the drawing of Servia, Montenegro, and, finally, of -Belgium, into the field against them, the dealing with England in -the one fashion which must unite our ranks and cut the ground from -under the feet of any party which might cause dissension--these are -the results of the Wilhelmstrasse combinations, with Potsdam -embellishments. Was there ever so colossal a muddle? Is there any -one point which could have been worse handled? And then as a -by-product the universal distrust and anger which such policy has -aroused in the neutral countries--yes, it really is a thing -complete. - -But the German soldier may prove himself as good as ever. That he -will be as brave as ever I have no doubt at all. That he will be as -hardy as ever is less likely, as the population of the Fatherland -has drifted largely from fields to factories, and as the standard of -comfort, and even luxury, have greatly increased. The Westphalian -artisan of William is very different material from the Brandenburg -peasant of Frederick, even as the short-service soldier of 1914 is -very different from the ten-year man of 1750. I should expect to see -the German as good, but no better than his neighbours. But the whole -issue of this campaign depends, from his point of view, upon his -being better. He has to win against superior numbers. He must not -only win, but win quickly. If an equilibrium were established, the -strangulation from England must bring victory to the Allies. It is a -great deal that the Kaiser has asked from his men. - -And there is his much-vaunted military organisation. An American -friend of mine, who had means of forming an opinion, remarked to -me, "Yes, it is a huge and smooth-running machine, with delicate -adjustments. Like all such machines, if a few cogwheels stuck the -whole might racket itself to pieces." A cogwheel stuck at Liege, -another may stick before long, and it all depends on how the machine -can adjust itself. The lesson of history is ominous. The Prussians -of Jena and Auerstadt were men who had been swollen up by the -tradition of Frederick's prowess. Yet in a single day their defeat -was so great and their power of recuperation so slight that they -were utterly dispersed, and their country for seven years ceased to -exist as a factor in European politics. They have always been great -winners. They have not always been great in adversity. How will they -now stand this test if it should come their way? - - - * * * * * - - - - -III - -THE DEVIL'S DOCTRINE - - -I have been interesting and exasperating myself, during a most -untimely illness,[2] by working through a part of the literature of -German Imperial Expansion. I know that it is only a part, and yet -when I look at this array--Treitschke and Bernhardi, Schiemann and -Hasse, Bley, Sybel, "Gross-Deutschland" and "Germania Triumphans"--it -represents a considerable body of thought. And it is the literature -of the devil. Not one kindly sentiment, not one generous expression, -is to be found within it. It is informed with passionate cupidity for -the writer's country and unreasoning, indiscriminate hatred and -jealousy towards everything outside it--above all, towards the -British Empire. How could such a literature fail to bring about a -world-coalition against the country which produced it! Were there no -Germans who foresaw so obvious a result? The whole tendency of the -doctrine is that Germany should, artichoke fashion, dismember the -world. Not a word is said as to the world suddenly turning and -dismembering her. But was not that the only protection against such -monstrous teaching as these books contain? - - [2] September 10, 1914. - -You may object that these Imperialists were but a group of -monomaniacs and did not represent the nation. But the evidence is -the other way. They represented that part of the nation which counts -in international politics--they represented the Kaiser and his -circle, Von Tirpitz and the Navy men, Krupp, von Bohlen and the -armour-plated gang, the universities where such doctrines were -openly preached, the Army, the Junkers--all the noisy, aggressive -elements whose voice has sounded of late years as the voice of -Germany. All were infected by the same virus of madness which has -compelled Europe to get them once for all into a strait-jacket. - -The actual policy of State was conducted on the very lines of these -teachings, where the devilish doctrine that war should be for ever -lurking in a statesman's thoughts, that he should be prepared to -pounce upon a neighbour should it be in a state of weakness, and that -no treaty or moral consideration should stay his hand, is repeated -again and again as the very basis of all state-craft. At the time of -the Agadir crisis we have the German Minister of Foreign Affairs -openly admitting that he took the view of the fanatical Pan-Germans. -"I am as good a Pan-German as you," said Kiderlen-Waechter to the -representative of the League. Each was as good or as bad as the -other, for all were filled with the same heady, pernicious stuff -which has brought Europe to chaos. - -Where, now, is that "deep, patient Germany" of which Carlyle wrote? -Was ever a nation's soul so perverted, so fallen from grace! Read -this mass of bombast--learned bombast of professors, vulgar bombast -of Lokal-Anzeigers and the like, but always bombast. Wade through -the prophetic books with their assumption that Britain must perish -and Germany succeed her; consult the scolding articles and -lectures, so narrow, ungenerous, and boastful in their tone, so -utterly wanting in the deeper historical knowledge or true reading -of a rival's character; see the insane Pan-German maps, with their -partitions of Europe for the year 1915 or thereabouts; study the -lectures of the crazy professors, with their absurd assumption of -accurate knowledge and their extraordinary knack of getting every -fact as wrong as it could possibly be--take all this together, and -then say whether any nation has ever in this world been so foolishly -and utterly misled as have the Germans. - -I have alluded to their knack of getting everything wrong. It is -perfectly miraculous. One would not have thought it possible that -people could be _always_ wrong. So blinded have they been by hate -that everything was distorted. Never even by accident did they -stumble upon the truth. Let us take a list of their confident -assertions--things so self-evident that they were taken for granted -by the average journalist: - - "The British Army was worthless; its presence on the Continent, - even if it could come, was immaterial. - - "Britain herself was absolutely decadent. - - "Britain's commerce could be ruined by the German cruisers. - - "The United States would fall upon us if we were in trouble. - - "Canada and Australia were longing to break away from the Empire. - - "India loathed us. - - "The Boers were eager to reconquer South Africa. - - "The Empire was an artificial collection of States which must - fly to pieces at the first shock." - -This was the nonsense which grave Berlin Professors of History -ladled out to their receptive students. The sinister Treitschke, who -is one of half a dozen men who have torn down Imperial Germany just -as surely as Roon, Bismarck, and Moltke built it up, was the -arch-priest of this cult. Like Nietzsche, whose moral teaching was -the supplement to the Pan-German Material doctrine, Treitschke was -not, by extraction, a German at all. Both men were of the magnetic -Slav stock, dreamers of dreams and seers of visions--evil dreams and -dark visions for the land in which they dwelt. With their magic -flutes they have led the whole blind, foolish, conceited nation down -that easy, pleasant path which ends in this abyss. - -Nietzsche was, as his whole life proved, a man upon the edge of -insanity, who at last went obviously mad. Treitschke was a man of -great brain power, who had an _idee fixe_--a monomania about -Britain. So long as he raved in Berlin, Englishmen took no more -notice than they do of an anarchist howling in the park; for it is -the British theory that a man may say and think what he will so long -as he refrains from doing. But Treitschke was always dangerous. He -was magnetic, eloquent, enthusiastic, flashing wondrous visions of -the future before his listeners, varying in beauty, but always alike -in that they were seen across our prostrate body. Those who are in a -position to judge, like the late Professor Cramb, say that his -influence on young Germany could only be compared with that of -Carlyle and Macaulay united in Great Britain. And now, after his -death, his words have all sprung to deeds to the ruin of his own -country and to the deep misfortune of ours. He used to visit -England, this strange and sinister man, but as he was stone deaf his -bodily presence brought him little nearer to us. With useless ears -and jaundiced eyes he moved among us, returning to Berlin for the -new Semester as ignorant as he had left it, to rail against us once -again. He worked to harm us, and he has done so, but Lord! what is -the worst that he has done to us compared with the irretrievable -ruin that he has brought to his own country! He and Von Tirpitz, -Count Bieberstein, Maximilian Harden and a few more, to say nothing -of the head plotter of all--a fine Germany they will leave behind -them! Treitschke is dead, and so is Bieberstein, but a good many of -their dupes may live to see the day when Indian princes ride as -conquerors down Unter den Linden and the shattered remains of the -braggadocio statues of the Sieges Allee, that vulgar monument of -bastard Imperialism, will expiate the honoured ashes of Louvain. - -But the stupidity of it all--that is the consideration which comes -in a wave to submerge every other aspect of the matter. For consider -the situation: as lately as 1897 the European grouping was clear. -The antagonists were already ranged. Russia had definitely taken her -side with France; against them, equally definitely, were Germany and -Austria, whilst Italy clearly was on an orbit by herself. War sooner -or later was a certainty. Unattached, but with a distinct bias to -Germany on racial, religious, and other grounds, lay Great Britain, -the richest Power in the world, the ruler of the seas, and a nation -which was historically tenacious and unconquerable in war. Was it -not clear that the first interest of Germany was to conciliate such -a Power and to make sure that if she were not an ally she would at -least never be an enemy? No proposition could be clearer than that. -And yet cast your minds back and remember the treatment and bearing -of Germany towards Britain since that date--the floods of scorn, the -libels, the bitter attacks, the unconcealed determination to do her -harm. See how it has all ended, and how this atmosphere of hatred -has put a driving force into Great Britain which has astonished -ourselves. This is the end of all the clever Welt-Politik. Truly -_Quos Deus vult perdere_--the gods must have willed it much, for no -nation was ever madder. - -Where were the sane Germans? Why was there no protest from them? -Perhaps there was, but we never heard of it amid the beating of -those great Pan-German drums. Did the whole nation, for example, -really agree in so harebrained a scheme as the Bagdad Railway? Think -of the insanity of such a project as that. Here is a railway -representing very many millions of German capital which is built in -the heart of Asia Minor, as far removed from any sort of German -protection or effective control as if it were in the moon. The next -step, vaguely thought out, was that German settlers were to be -planted along the line of the railroad, but upon that being advanced -the Turks, who had smiled most amiably at the actual railway -construction, put down their slippers in the most emphatic manner. -The net result, therefore, would seem to be that Turkey holds a -hostage of a great many millions of German capital which, so long -as Germany behaves herself, may or may not return some interest; but -if Germany goes against Turkish wishes could at once be confiscated. -Apart from Turkey, Russia in the Caucasus, and England in North-West -India regard with a good deal of interested attention this singular -and helpless German railway which projects out into space. - -There is one phase of their doctrines which has, perhaps, received -less attention than it deserves. It will be found very fully treated -in Professor Usher's book on _Pan-Germanism_, which, coming from an -American authority who seems to have studied his subject very -thoroughly, has the merit of impartiality. This proposition is that -just as a treaty is only a scrap of paper, so also is a bond or -debenture, and that just as the highest interest of a nation may at -any moment override ordinary morality, the same vital urgency may -justify anything in the nature of repudiation of debt. This is not -to be done on account of inability to pay the debt; but through a -deliberate, cold-blooded plot to weaken the creditor by robbing him -of his property. - -Modern Germany has been largely built up by foreign capital. In war, -if Germany is conquered the debt necessarily holds good. But if -Germany wins, part of her reward of victory is the complete -repudiation of all debts. Thus the glorious or inglorious prize of -success would be, that all her vast industrial plant would be freed -from every debenture and start without an encumbrance, a free -present from the enemy. This example, they hope, would lead other -nations to do the same, and so still further ruin the finances of -England and France, which are the great lending nations of the -earth. They frankly admit that such a _coup_ would make it very -difficult for their nation to borrow money again, but on the other -hand, they would have made such an immense profit over the -transaction that they would be able to go on for many years without -any need of more capital. "To secure so stupendous a result as -this," said the American Professor, "is well worth the expenditure -of money for building a fleet. That money, so far as the German -nation is concerned, is merely invested in an enterprise from which -they confidently expect returns perhaps a hundred-fold." - -As to the morality of this transaction, the Professor, who has -certainly no anti-German bias, expresses their views very plainly. -It is the same as Frederick the Great's views as to the morality of -treaties which have descended with such fatal effects upon his -successor on the Prussian throne. Once admit such anti-social -theories and there is no end to their application. Here it is in the -domain of economics just as shameless as in that of politics. "Once -more," says the Professor, "the Germans hear around them our cries -against the morality of this procedure. The Germans refuse to -recognise as moral anything which jeopardises their national -existence." They are to be the judges of what these are, and if -repudiation of debt is considered to be one of them, then all debt -may be repudiated. They will not put their views into practice this -time because they will not be the victors, but when the -reconstruction of Germany begins and she comes once again as a -chastened borrower into the market-place of the world, it would be -well to have some assurance as to how far she retains these views -upon commercial morality. - -But I have visions of a really chastened Germany, of a Germany which -has sloughed all this wicked nonsense, which has found her better -self again, and which is once more that "deep, patient Germany" with -which I began this essay. She never can be now what she could so -easily have been. She could have continued indefinitely to extend -from Poland to the Vosges, one vast community, honoured by all for -industry and for learning, with a huge commerce, a happy, peaceful, -prosperous population, and a Colonial system which, if smaller than -that of nations which were centuries older in the field, would at -least be remarkable for so short a time. None of these things would -the world have grudged her, and in the future as in the past she -would have found in the British Dominions and in Great Britain -herself an entry for her products as free as if she were herself -part of the Empire. - -All this must be changed for the worse, and it is just that she -should suffer for her sins. The work of sixty years will be -destroyed. But will not the spiritual Germany be the stronger and -better? We cannot say. We can but hope and wait and wonder. What is -sure is that the real Germany, of whom Carlyle spoke, can never be -destroyed. Nor would we desire it. Our wrath is not against Germany, -but against that Krupp-Kaiser-Junker combination which has brought -her to such a deadly pass. - - - * * * * * - - - - -IV - -THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT - - -It will be a fascinating task for the historian of the immediate -future to work out the various strands of evidence which seem to be -independent and yet when followed up converge upon the central -purpose of a prearranged war for the late summer of 1914--a war in -which Germany should be the prime mover and instigator and Austria -the dupe and catspaw. - -Of course, there are some great facts patent to all the world. There -is the sudden rapid acceleration of German preparations for the last -two years, the great increase of the army with the colours, and the -special emergency tax which was to bring in fifty millions of money. -Looking back, we can see very clearly that these things were the run -before the jump. Germany at the moment of declaring war had -accumulated by processes extending over years all the money which -by borrowing or taxation she could raise, and she cannot really -expect the rest of the world to believe that it was a mere -coincidence that a crisis came along at that particular and -favourable moment. All the evidence tends to show that the -long-planned outbreak--the "letting-go" as it was called in -Germany--was carefully prepared for that particular date and that -the Bosnian assassinations had nothing whatever to do with the -matter. A pretext could very easily be found, as Bernhardi remarks, -and if the Crown Prince of Austria were still alive and well we -should none the less have found ourselves at death-grips with the -Kaiser over the Belgian infraction. - -There are a number of small indications which will have to be -investigated and collated by the inquiring chronicler. There is, for -example, the reception of guns for a merchant cruiser in a South -American port which must have been sent off not later than July 10, -three weeks before the crisis developed. There is the document of -this same date, July 10, found upon a German officer, which is said -to have censured him for not having answered some mobilisation form -on that day. Then there is the abnormal quantity of grain ordered in -Canada and America in May; and finally there is the receipt of -mobilisation warnings by Austrian reservists in South Africa, -advising them that they should return at a date which must place -their issue from Vienna in the first week of July. All these small -incidents show the absurdity of the German contention that at a -moment of profound peace some sort of surprise was sprung upon them. -There was, indeed, a surprise intended, but they were to be the -surprisers--though, indeed, I think their machinations were too -clumsy to succeed. They had retained the immorality but lost the -ability for that sudden tiger pounce which Frederick, in a moment of -profound peace, made upon Silesia. - -I fancy that every Chancellery in Europe suspected that something -was in the wind. It was surely not a mere coincidence that the grand -Fleet lay ready for action at Spithead and that the First Army Corps -was practising some very useful mobilisation exercises at -Aldershot. After all, our British Administration is not so -simple-minded as it sometimes seems. Indeed, that very simplicity -may at times be its most deadly mask. At one time of my life I was -much bruised in spirit over the ease with which foreigners were -shown over our arsenals and yards. Happening to meet the head of the -Naval Intelligence Department, I confided my trouble to him. It was -at a public banquet where conversation was restricted, but he turned -his head towards me, and his left eyelid flickered for an instant. -Since then I have never needed any reassurance upon the subject. - -But there is another matter which will insist on coming back into -one's thoughts when one reviews the events which preceded the war. I -was in Canada in June, and the country was much disturbed by the -fact that a shipload of Hindus had arrived at Vancouver, and had -endeavoured to land in the face of the anti-Asiatic immigration -laws. It struck me at the time as a most extraordinary incident, for -these Indians were not the usual Bengalee pedlars, but were Sikhs of -a proud and martial race. What could be their object in -endeavouring to land in Canada, when the climate of that country -would make it impossible for them to settle in it? It was a most -unnatural incident, and yet a most painful one, for the British -Government was placed in the terrible dilemma of either supporting -Canada against India or India against Canada. Could anything be -better calculated to start an agitation in one country or the other? -The thing was inexplicable at the time, but now one would wish to -know who paid for that ship and engineered the whole undertaking. I -believe it was one more move on Germany's world-wide board.[3] - - [3] Two months later, according to _The Times_, official - evidence of this was actually forthcoming.--A. C. D. - -In connection with the date at which the long-expected German war -was to break out, it is of interest now to remember some of the -conversations to which I listened three years ago, when I was a -competitor in the Anglo-German motor competition, called the Prince -Henry Tour. It was a very singular experience, and was itself not -without some political meaning, since it could hardly have been -chance that a German gunboat should appear at Agadir at the very -instant when the head of the German Navy was making himself -agreeable (and he can be exceedingly agreeable) to a number of -Britons, and a genial international atmosphere was being created by -the nature of the contest, which sent the whole fleet of seventy or -eighty cars on a tour of hospitality through both countries. I -refuse to believe that it was chance, and it was a remarkable -example of the detail to which the Germans can descend. By the rules -of the competition a German officer had to be present in each -British car and a British officer in each German one during the -whole three weeks, so as to check the marks of the driver. It was -certainly an interesting situation, since every car had its foreign -body within it, which had to be assimilated somehow with the -alternative of constant discomfort. Personally we were fortunate in -having a Rittmeister of Breslau Cuirassiers, with whom we were able -to form quite a friendship. Good luck to you, Count Carmer, and bad -luck to your regiment! To you also, little Captain Tuerck, -_Fregattencapitaen am dienst_, the best of luck, and ill betide -your cruiser! We found pleasant friends among the Germans, though -all were not equally fortunate, and I do not think that the net -result helped much towards an international entente. - -However, the point of my reminiscence is that on this tour I, being -at that time a champion of Anglo-German friendship, heard continual -discussions, chiefly on the side of British officers, several of -whom were experts on German matters, as to when the impending war -would be forced upon us. The date given was always 1914 or 1915. -When I asked why this particular year, the answer was that the -German preparations would be ready by then, and especially the -widening of the Kiel Canal, by which the newer and larger -battleships would be able to pass from the Baltic to the North Sea. -It says something for the foresight of these officers that this -widening was actually finished on June 24 of this year, and within -six weeks the whole of Europe was at war. I am bound to admit that -they saw deeper into the future than I did, and formed a truer -estimate of our real relations with our fellow-voyagers. "Surely -you feel more friendly to them now," said I at the end to one -distinguished officer. "All I want with them now is to fight them," -said he. We have all been forced to come round to his point of view. - -Yes, it was a deep, deep plot, a plot against the liberties of -Europe, extending over several years, planned out to the smallest -detail in the days of peace, developed by hordes of spies, prepared -for by every conceivable military, naval, and financial precaution, -and finally sprung upon us on a pretext which was no more the real -cause of war than any other excuse would have been which would serve -their turn by having some superficial plausibility. The real cause -of war was a universal national insanity infecting the whole German -race, but derived originally from a Prussian caste who inoculated -the others with their megalomania. - -This insanity was based upon the universal supposition that the -Germans were the Lord's chosen people, that in the words of Buy, -they were "the most cultured people, the best settlers, the best -warriors"--the best everything. Having got that idea thoroughly -infused into their very blood, the next step was clear. If they were -infinitely the best people living amidst such tribes as "the -barbarous Russians, the fickle French, the beastly Servians and -Belgians," to quote one of their recent papers, then why should they -not have all the best things in the world? If they were really the -most powerful, who could gainsay them? They need not do it all at -once, but two great national efforts would give them the whole of -unredeemed Germany, both shores of the Rhine down to the sea, the -German cantons of Switzerland, and, in conjunction with Austria, the -long road that leads to Salonica. All local causes and smaller -details sink into nothing compared with this huge national ambition -which was the real driving force at the back of this formidable -project. - -And it was a very formidable project. If such things could be -settled by mere figures and time-tables without any reference to the -spirit and soul of the nations, it might very well have succeeded. I -think that we are not indulging too far in national complacency if -we say that without the British army--that negligible factor--it -would for the time at least have succeeded. Had the Germans -accomplished their purpose of getting round the left wing of the -French, it is difficult to see how a debacle could have been -avoided, and it was our little army which stood in the pass and held -it until that danger was past. It is certain now that the huge sweep -of the German right had never been allowed for, that the French -troops in that quarter were second-line troops, and that it was our -great honour and good fortune to have dammed that raging torrent and -stopped the rush which must have swept everything before it until it -went roaring into Paris. And yet how many things might have -prevented our presence at the right place at the right time, and how -near we were to a glorious annihilation upon that dreadful day when -the artillery of five German army corps--eight hundred and thirty -guns in all--were concentrated upon Smith-Dorrien's exhausted men. -The success or failure of the great conspiracy hung upon the -over-matched British covering batteries upon that one critical -afternoon. It was the turning-point of the history of the world. - - - * * * * * - - - - -V - -THE "CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY" - - -Early last year, in the course of some comments which I made upon -the slighting remarks about our Army by General von Bernhardi, I -observed, "It may be noted that General von Bernhardi has a poor -opinion of our troops. This need not trouble us. We are what we are, -and words will not alter it. From very early days our soldiers have -left their mark upon Continental warfare, and we have no reason to -think that we have declined from the manhood of our forefathers." -Since then he has returned to the attack. With that curious power of -coming after deep study to the absolutely diametrically wrong -conclusion which the German expert, political or military, appears -to possess, he says in his _War of To-day_, "The English Army, -trained more for purposes of show than for modern war," adding in -the same sentence a sneer at our "inferior Colonial levies." He will -have an opportunity of reconsidering his views presently upon the -fighting value of our over-sea troops, and surely so far as our own -are concerned he must already be making some interesting notes for -his next edition, or rather for the learned volume upon _Germany and -the Last War_ which will no doubt come from his pen. He is a man to -whom we might well raise a statue, for I am convinced that his -cynical confession of German policy has been worth at least an army -corps to this country. We may address to him John Davidson's lines -to his enemy-- - - "Unwilling friend, let not your spite abate, - Spur us with scorn, and strengthen us with hate." - -There is another German gentleman who must be thinking rather -furiously. He is a certain Colonel Gadke, who appeared officially at -Aldershot some years ago, was hospitably entreated, being shown all -that he desired to see, and on his return to Berlin published a -most depreciatory description of our forces. He found no good thing -in them. I have some recollection that General French alluded in a -public speech to this critic's remarks, and expressed a modest hope -that he and his men would some day have the opportunity of showing -how far they were deserved. Well, he has had his opportunity, and -Colonel Gadke, like so many other Germans, seems to have made a -miscalculation. - -An army which has preserved the absurd _Paradeschritt_, an exercise -which is painful to the bystander, as he feels that it is making -fools of brave men, must have a tendency to throw back to earlier -types. These Germans have been trained in peace and upon the theory -of books. In all that vast host there is hardly a man who has -previously stood at the wrong end of a loaded gun. They live on -traditions of close formations, vast cavalry charges, and other -things which will not fit into modern warfare. Braver men do not -exist, but it is the bravery of men who have been taught to lean -upon each other, and not the cold, self-contained, resourceful -bravery of the man who has learned to fight for his own hand. The -British have had the teachings of two recent campaigns fought with -modern weapons--that of the Tirah and of South Africa. Now that the -reserves have joined the colours there are few regiments which have -not a fair sprinkling of veterans from these wars in their ranks. -The Pathan and the Boer have been their instructors in something -more practical than those Imperial Grand Manoeuvres where the -all-highest played with his puppets in such a fashion that one of -his generals remarked that the chief practical difficulty of a -campaign so conducted would be the disposal of the dead. - -Boers and Pathans have been hard masters, and have given many a slap -to their admiring pupils, but the lesson has been learned. It was -not show troops, General, who, with two corps, held five of your -best day after day from Mons to Compiegne. It is no reproach to -your valour: but you were up against men who were equally brave and -knew a great deal more of the game. This must begin to break upon -you, and will surely grow clearer as the days go by. We shall often -in the future take the knock as well as give it, but you will not -say that we have a show army if you live to chronicle this war, nor -will your Imperial master be proud of the adjective which he has -demeaned himself in using before his troops had learned their -lesson. - -The fact is that the German army, with all its great traditions, has -been petrifying for many years back. They never learned the lesson -of South Africa. It was not for want of having it expounded to them, -for their military attache--"'im with the spatchcock on 'is -'elmet," as I heard him described by a British orderly--missed -nothing of what occurred, as is evident from their official history -of the war. And yet they missed it, and with it all those ideas of -individual efficiency and elastic independent formations, which are -the essence of modern soldiering. Their own more liberal thinkers -were aware of it. Here are the words which were put into the mouth -of Guentz, the representative of the younger school, in Beyerlein's -famous novel: - -"The organisation of the German army rested upon foundations which -had been laid a hundred years ago. Since the great war they had -never seriously been put to the proof, and during the last three -decades they had only been altered in the most trifling details. In -three long decades! And in one of those decades the world at large -had advanced as much as in the previous century. - -"Instead of turning this highly developed intelligence to good -account, they bound it hand and foot on the rack of an everlasting -drill which could not have been more soullessly mechanical in the -days of Frederick. It held them together as an iron hoop holds -together a cask the dry staves of which would fall asunder at the -first kick." - -Lord Roberts has said that if ten points represent the complete -soldier, eight should stand for his efficiency as a shot. The German -maxim has rather been that eight should stand for his efficiency as -a drilled marionette. It has been reckoned that about 200 books a -year appear in Germany upon military affairs, against about 20 in -Britain. And yet after all this expert debate the essential point of -all seems to have been missed--that in the end everything depends -upon the man behind the gun, upon his hitting his opponent and upon -his taking cover so as to avoid being hit himself. - -After all the efforts of the General Staff the result when shown -upon the field of battle has filled our men with a mixture of -admiration and contempt--contempt for the absurd tactics, admiration -for the poor devils who struggle on in spite of them. Listen to the -voices of the men who are the real experts. Says a Lincolnshire -sergeant, "They were in solid square blocks, and we couldn't help -hitting them." Says Private Tait (2nd Essex), "Their rifle shooting -is rotten. I don't believe they could hit a haystack at 100 yards." -"They are rotten shots with their rifles," says an Oldham private. -"They advance in close column, and you simply can't help hitting -them," writes a Gordon Highlander. "You would have thought it was a -big crowd streaming out from a Cup-tie," says Private Whitaker of -the Guards. "It was like a farmer's machine cutting grass," so it -seemed to Private Hawkins of the Coldstreams. "No damned good as -riflemen," says a Connemara boy. "You couldn't help hitting them. -As to their rifle fire, it was useless." "They shoot from the hip, -and don't seem to aim at anything in particular." - -These are the opinions of the practical men upon the field of -battle. Surely a poor result from the 200 volumes a year, and all -the weighty labours of the General Staff! "Artillery nearly as good -as our own, rifle fire beneath contempt," that is the verdict. How -will the well-taught _Paradeschritt_ avail them when it comes to a -stricken field? - -But let it not seem as if this were meant for disparagement. We -should be sinking to the Kaiser's level if we answered his -"contemptible little army" by pretending that his own troops are -anything but a very formidable and big army. They are formidable in -numbers, formidable, too, in their patriotic devotion, in their -native courage, and in the possession of such material, such great -cannon, aircraft, machine guns, and armoured cars, as none of the -Allies can match. They have every advantage which a nation would be -expected to have when it has known that war was a certainty, while -others have only treated it as a possibility. There is a minuteness -and earnestness of preparation which are only possible for an -assured event. But the fact remains, and it will only be brought out -more clearly by the Emperor's unchivalrous phrase, that in every arm -the British have already shown themselves to be the better troops. -Had he the Froissart spirit within him he would rather have said: -"You have to-day a task which is worthy of you. You are faced by an -army which has a high repute and a great history. There is real -glory to be won to-day." Had he said this, then, win or lose, he -would not have needed to be ashamed of his own words--the words of -an ungenerous spirit. - -It is a very strange thing how German critics have taken for granted -that the British Army had deteriorated, while the opinion of all -those who were in close touch with it was that it was never so good. -Even some of the French experts made the same mistake, and General -Bonnat counselled his countrymen not to rely upon it, since "it -would take refuge amid its islands at the first reverse." One would -think that the causes which make for its predominance were obvious. -Apart from any question of national spirit or energy, there is the -all-important fact that the men are there of their own free will, an -advantage which I trust that we shall never be compelled to -surrender. Again, the men are of longer service in every arm, and -they have far more opportunities of actual fighting than come to any -other force. Finally, they are divided into regiments, with -centuries of military glory streaming from their banners, which -carry on a mighty tradition. The very words the Guards, the Rifles, -the Connaught Rangers, the Buffs, the Scots Greys, the Gordons, -sound like bugle-calls. How could an army be anything but dangerous -which had such units in its line of battle? - -And yet there remains the fact that both enemies and friends are -surprised at our efficiency. This is no new phenomenon. Again and -again in the course of history the British Armies have had to win -once more the reputation which had been forgotten. Continentals have -always begun by refusing to take them seriously. Napoleon, who had -never met them in battle, imagined that their unbroken success was -due to some weakness in his marshals rather than to any excellence -of the troops. "At last I have them, these English," he exclaimed, -as he gazed at the thin red line at Waterloo. "At last they have me, -these English," may have been his thought that evening as he spurred -his horse out of the debacle. Foy warned him of the truth. "The -British infantry is the devil," said he. "You think so because you -were beaten by them," cried Napoleon. Like von Kluck or von Kluck's -master, he had something to learn. - -Why this continual depreciation? It may be that the world pays so -much attention to our excellent right arm that it cannot give us -credit for having a very serviceable left as well. Or it may be that -they take seriously those jeremiads over our decay which are -characteristic of our people, and very especially of many of our -military thinkers. I have never been able to understand why they -should be of so pessimistic a turn of mind, unless it be a sort of -exaltation of that grumbling which has always been the privilege of -the old soldier. Croker narrates how he met Wellington in his -latter years, and how the Iron Duke told him that he was glad that -he was so old, as he would not live to see the dreadful military -misfortunes which were about to come to his country. Looking back we -can see no reasons for such pessimism as this. Above all, the old -soldier can never make any allowance for the latent powers which lie -in civilian patriotism and valour. Only a year ago I had a long -conversation with a well-known British General, in which he asserted -with great warmth that in case of an Anglo-German war with France -involved the British public would never allow a trained soldier to -leave these islands. He is at the front himself and doing such good -work that he has little time for reminiscence, but when he has he -must admit that he underrated the nerve of his countrymen. - -And yet under the pessimism of such men as he there is a curious -contradictory assurance that there are no troops like our own. The -late Lord Goschen used to tell a story of a letter that he had from -a captain in the Navy at the time when he was First Lord. This -captain's ship was lying alongside a foreign cruiser in some port, -and he compared in his report the powers of the two vessels. Lord -Goschen said that his heart sank as he read the long catalogue of -points in which the British ship was inferior--guns, armour, -speed--until he came to the postscript, which was: "I think I could -take her in twenty minutes." - -With all the grumbling of our old soldiers there is always some -reservation of the sort at the end of it. Of course those who are -familiar with our ways of getting things done would understand that -a good deal of the croaking is a means of getting our little army -increased, or at least preventing its being diminished. But whatever -the cause, the result has been the impression abroad of a -"contemptible little army." Whatever surprise in the shape of -17-inch howitzers or 900-foot Zeppelins the Kaiser may have for us, -it is a safe prophecy that it will be a small matter compared to -that which Sir John French and his men will be to him. - -But above all I look forward to the development of our mounted -riflemen. This I say in no disparagement of our cavalry, who have -done so magnificently. But the mounted rifleman is a peculiarly -British product--British and American--with a fresh edge upon it -from South Africa. I am most curious to see what a division of these -fellows will make of the Uhlans. It is good to see that already the -old banners are in the wind--Lovat's Horse, Scottish Horse, King -Edward's Horse, and the rest. All that cavalry can do will surely be -done by our cavalry. But I have always held, and I still very -strongly hold, that the mounted rifleman has it in him to alter our -whole conception of warfare, as the mounted archer did in his day; -and now in this very war will be his first great chance upon a large -scale. Ten thousand well-mounted, well-trained riflemen, young -officers to lead them, all broad Germany with its towns, its -railways, and its magazines before them--there lies one more -surprise for the doctrinaires of Berlin. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VI - -A POLICY OF MURDER - - -When one writes with a hot heart upon events which are still recent -one is apt to lose one's sense of proportion. At every step one -should check oneself by the reflection as to how this may appear ten -years hence, and how far events which seem shocking and abnormal may -prove themselves to be a necessary accompaniment of every condition -of war. But a time has now come when in cold blood, with every -possible restraint, one is justified in saying that since the most -barbarous campaigns of Alva in the Lowlands, or the excesses of the -Thirty Years' War, there has been no such deliberate policy of -murder as has been adopted in this struggle by the German forces. -This is the more terrible since these forces are not, like those of -Alva, Parma, or Tilly, bands of turbulent and mercenary soldiers, -but they are the nation itself, and their deeds are condoned or even -applauded by the entire national Press. It is not on the chiefs of -the army that the whole guilt of this terrible crime must rest, but -it is upon the whole German nation, which for generations to come -must stand condemned before the civilised world for this reversion -to those barbarous practices from which Christianity, civilisation, -and chivalry had gradually rescued the human race. They may, and do, -plead the excuse that they are "earnest" in war, but all nations are -earnest in war, which is the most desperately earnest thing of which -we have any knowledge. How earnest we are will be shown when the -question of endurance begins to tell. But no earnestness can condone -the crime of the nation which deliberately breaks those laws which -have been endorsed by the common consent of humanity. - -War may have a beautiful as well as a terrible side, and be full of -touches of human sympathy and restraint which mitigate its -unavoidable horror. Such have been the characteristics always of the -secular wars between the British and the French. From the old -glittering days of knighthood, with their high and gallant courtesy, -through the eighteenth-century campaigns where the debonair guards -of France and England exchanged salutations before their volleys, -down to the last great Napoleonic struggle, the tradition of -chivalry has always survived. We read how in the Peninsula the -pickets of the two armies, each of them as earnest as any Germans, -would exchange courtesies, how they would shout warnings to each -other to fall back when an advance in force was taking place, and -how, to prevent the destruction of an ancient bridge, the British -promised not to use it on condition that the French would forgo its -destruction--an agreement faithfully kept upon either side. Could -one imagine Germans making war in such a spirit as this? Think of -that old French bridge, and then think of the University of Louvain -and the Cathedral of Rheims. What a gap between them--the gap that -separates civilisation from the savage! - -Let us take a few of the points which, when focussed together, show -how the Germans have degraded warfare--a degradation which affects -not only the Allies at present, but the whole future of the world, -since if such examples were followed the entire human race would, -each in turn, become the sufferers. Take the very first incident of -the war, the mine-laying by the _Koenigin Luise_. Here was a -vessel, which was obviously made ready with freshly charged mines -some time before there was any question of a general European war, -which was sent forth in time of peace, and which, on receipt of a -wireless message, began to spawn its hellish cargo across the North -Sea at points 50 miles from land in the track of all neutral -merchant shipping. There was the keynote of German tactics struck at -the first possible instant. So promiscuous was the effect that it -was a mere chance which prevented the vessel which bore the German -Ambassador from being destroyed by a German mine. From first to last -some hundreds of people have lost their lives on this tract of sea, -some of them harmless British trawlers, but the greater number -sailors of Danish and Dutch vessels pursuing their commerce as they -had every right to do. It was the first move in a consistent policy -of murder. - -Leaving the sea, let us turn to the air. Can any possible term save -a policy of murder be applied to the use of aircraft by the Germans? -It has always been a principle of warfare that unfortified towns -should not be bombarded. So closely has it been followed by the -British that one of our aviators, flying over Cologne in search of a -Zeppelin shed, refrained from dropping a bomb in an uncertain light, -even though Cologne is a fortress, lest the innocent should suffer. -What is to be said, then, for the continual use of bombs by the -Germans, which have usually been wasted in the destruction of cats -or dogs, but which have occasionally torn to pieces some woman or -child? If bombs were dropped on the forts of Paris as part of a -scheme for reducing the place, then nothing could be said in -objection, but how are we to describe the action of men who fly over -a crowded city dropping bombs promiscuously which can have no -military effect whatever, and are entirely aimed at the destruction -of innocent civilians? These men have been obliging enough to drop -their cards as well as their bombs on several occasions. I see no -reason why these should not be used in evidence against them, or why -they should not be hanged as murderers when they fall into the hands -of the Allies. The policy is idiotic from a military point of view; -one could conceive nothing which would stimulate and harden national -resistance more surely than such petty irritations. But it is a -murderous innovation in the laws of war, and unless it is sternly -repressed it will establish a most sinister precedent for the -future. - -As to the treatment of Belgium, what has it been but murder, murder -all the way? From the first days at Vise, when it was officially -stated that an example of "frightfulness" was desired, until the -present moment, when the terrified population has rushed from the -country and thrown itself upon the charity and protection of its -neighbours, there has been no break in the record. Compare the story -with that of the occupation of the South of France by Wellington in -1813, when no one was injured, nothing was taken without full -payment, and the villagers fraternised with the troops. What a -relapse of civilisation is here! From Vise to Louvain, Louvain to -Aerschott, Aerschott to Malines and Termonde, the policy of murder -never fails. - -It is said that more civilians than soldiers have fallen in Belgium. -Peruse the horrible accounts taken by the Belgian Commission, who -took evidence in the most careful and conscientious fashion. Study -the accounts of that dreadful night in Louvain which can only be -equalled by the Spanish Fury of Antwerp. Read the account of the -wife of the burgomaster of Aerschott, with its heart-rending -description of how her lame son, aged sixteen, was kicked along to -his death by an aide-de-camp. It is all so vile, so brutally -murderous that one can hardly realise that one is reading the -incidents of a modern campaign conducted by one of the leading -nations in Europe. - -Do you imagine that the thing has been exaggerated? Far from it--the -volume of crime has not yet been appreciated. Have not many Germans -unwittingly testified to what they have seen and done? Only last -week we had the journal of one of them, an officer whose service had -been almost entirely in France and removed from the crime centres of -Belgium. Yet were ever such entries in the diary of a civilised -soldier? "Our men behaved like regular Vandals." "We shot the whole -lot" (these were villagers). "They were drawn up in three ranks. The -same shot did for three at a time." "In the evening we set fire to -the village. The priest and some of the inhabitants were shot." "The -villages all round were burning." "The villages were burned and the -inhabitants shot." "At Leppe apparently two hundred men were shot. -There must have been some innocent men among them." "In the future -we shall have to hold an inquiry into their guilt instead of merely -shooting them." "The Vandals themselves could not have done more -damage. The place is a disgrace to our army." So the journal runs on -with its tale of infamy. It is an infamy so shameless that even in -the German record the story is perpetuated of how a French lad was -murdered because he refused to answer certain questions. To such a -depth of degradation has Prussia brought the standard of warfare. - -And now, as the appetite for blood grows ever stronger--and nothing -waxes more fast--we have stories of the treatment of prisoners. Here -is a point where our attention should be most concentrated and our -action most prompt. It is the just duty which we owe to our own -brave soldiers. At present the instances are isolated, and we will -hope that they do not represent any general condition. But the -stories come from sure sources. There is the account of the -brutality which culminated in the death of the gallant motor-cyclist -Pearson, the son of Lord Cowdray. There is the horrible story in a -responsible Dutch paper, told by an eye-witness, of the torture of -three British wounded prisoners in Landen Station on October 9. - -The story carries conviction by its detail. Finally, there are the -disquieting remarks of German soldiers, repeated by this same -witness, as to the British prisoners whom they had shot. The whole -lesson of history is that when troops are allowed to start murder -one can never say how or when it will stop. It may no longer be part -of a deliberate, calculated policy of murder by the German -Government. But it has undoubtedly been so in the past, and we -cannot say when it will end. Such incidents will, I fear, make peace -an impossibility in our generation, for whatever statesmen may write -upon paper can never affect the deep and bitter resentment which a -war so conducted must leave behind it. - -Other German characteristics we can ignore. The consistent, -systematic lying of the German Press, or the grotesque blasphemies -of the Kaiser, can be met by us with contemptuous tolerance. After -all, what is is, and neither falsehood nor bombast will alter it. -But this policy of murder deeply affects not only ourselves but the -whole framework of civilisation so slowly and painfully built -upwards by the human race. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VII - -MADNESS - - -We have all, I suppose, read and marvelled at the wonderful German -"song of hate." This has been so much admired over the water that -Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria (who had just stated his bitter hatred of -us in a prose army order) distributed copies of the verses to his -Bavarians as a stimulant in their long, unsuccessful tussle with our -troops at Ypres. In case the reader has forgotten its flavour, I -append a typical verse: - - "We will never forgo our hate. - We have all but a single hate. - We love as one, we hate as one, - We have one foe and one alone-- - ENGLAND." - -This sort of thing is, it must be admitted, very painful and odious. -It fills us with a mixture of pity and disgust, and we feel as if, -instead of a man, we were really fighting with a furious, screaming -woman. Germany used to be a very great nation, mentally and morally -as well as in material ways, and many of us, even while we fight -her, are honestly pained by the depths of degradation into which she -has fallen. This shrill scream of hate and constant frenzied ranting -against Great Britain may reach its highest note in this poem, but -we know that it pervades the whole Press and every class of national -thought. It is deliberately fed by lying journals, which publish -bogus letters describing the imaginary sufferings of German -prisoners, and also by the Government itself, which upon receiving a -Socialist report partly favourable to Britain, excised those -passages and circulated the rest as a complete document, so as to -give the idea that it was wholly condemnatory. Wherever we touch -Germany in its present phase, whether it be the Overlord himself -with his megalomaniac messages, the princes with their looting of -chateaux, the Foreign Office with its trick of stealing American -passports for the use of German spies, the army with its absolute -brutality, the navy with its tactics of mine-laying in neutral -waters, the Press with its grotesque concoctions, the artists with -their pictures, which are so base that the decent Germans have -themselves at last rebelled against them, or the business men with -their assertion that there is less economic disturbance in Germany -than in Great Britain--wherever, I say, you touch them you come -always upon what is odious and deceitful. A long century will have -passed before Germany can wash her hands clean from murder, or purge -from her spirit the shadow of this evil time. - -If the words of one humble individual could reach across the seas, -there are two things upon which I should wish to speak earnestly to -a German: the one, our own character, the other, the future which he -is deliberately preparing for the Fatherland which he loves. Our -papers do get over there, even as theirs come over here, so one may -hope it is not impossible that some German may give a thought to -what I say, if he is not so bemused by the atmosphere of lies in -which his Press has enveloped him that he cannot recognise cold -truth when he sees it. - -First as to ourselves: we have never been a nation who fought with -hatred. It is our ideal to fight in a sporting spirit. It is not -that we are less in earnest, but it is that the sporting spirit -itself is a thing very largely evolved by us and is a natural -expression of our character. We fight as hard as we can, and we like -and admire those who fight hard against us so long as they keep -within the rules of the game. Let me take an obvious example. One -German has done us more harm than any other in this war. He is -Captain von Mueller of the _Emden_, whose depredations represent -the cost of a battleship. Yet an honest sigh of relief went up from -us all when we learned that he had not perished with his ship, and -if he walked down Fleet Street to-day he would be cheered by the -crowd from end to end. Why? Because almost alone among Germans he -has played the game as it should be played. It is true that -everything that he did was illegal. He had no right to burn -uncondemned prizes, and a purist could claim that he was a pirate. -But we recognised the practical difficulties of his position; we -felt that under the circumstances he had acted like a gentleman, and -we freely forgave him any harm that he had done us. With this -example before you, my German reader, you cannot say that it is -national hatred when we denounce your murderers and brigands in -Belgium. If they, too, had acted as gentlemen, we should have felt -towards them as to von Mueller. - -If you look back in British history, you will find that this absence -of hatred has always been characteristic of us. When Soult came to -London after the Napoleonic wars, he was cheered through the City. -After the Boer War, Botha, de Wet, and Delarey had a magnificent -reception. We did not know that one of them was destined to prove a -despicable and perjured traitor. They had been good fighters, the -fight was done, we had shaken hands--and we cheered them. All -British prize-fights ended with the shaking of hands. Though the men -could no longer see each other, they were led up and their hands -were joined. When a combatant refuses to do this, it has always been -looked upon as unmanly, and we say that bad blood has been left -behind. So in war we have always wished to fight to a finish and -then be friends, whether we had won or lost. - -Now, this is just what we should wish to do with Germany, and it is -what Germany is rapidly making impossible. She has, in our opinion, -fought a brave but a thoroughly foul fight. And now she uses every -means to excite a bitter hatred which shall survive the war. The -Briton is tolerant and easy-going in times of peace--too careless, -perhaps, of the opinion of other nations. But at present he is in a -most alert and receptive mood, noting and remembering very carefully -every word that comes to him as to the temper of the German people -and the prospects of the future. He is by no means disposed to pass -over all these announcements of permanent hatred. On the contrary, -he is evidently beginning, for the first time since Napoleon's era, -to show something approaching to hatred in return. He--and "he" -stands for every Briton across the seas as well as for the men of -the Islands--makes a practical note of it all, and it will not be -forgotten, but will certainly bear very definite fruits. The -national thoughts do not come forth in wild poems of hate, but they -none the less are gloomy and resentful, with the deep, steady -resentment of a nation which is slow to anger. - -And now, my problematical German reader, I want you to realise what -this is going to mean to you after the war. Whether you win or -lose--and we have our own very certain opinion as to which it will -be--Germany will still remain as a great independent State. She may -be a little trimmed at the edges, and she may also find herself with -some awkward liabilities; but none the less she will be a great -kingdom or republic--as the Fates may will. She will turn her hand -to trade and try to build up her fortunes once more--for even if we -suppose her to be the victor, she still cannot live for ever on -plunder, and must turn herself to honest trade, while if she loses -her trade will be more precious to her than ever. But what will her -position be when that time has come? - -It will be appalling. No other word can express it. No legislation -will be needed to keep German goods out of the whole British -Empire, which means more than a quarter of the globe. Anything with -that mark might as well have a visible cholera bacillus upon it for -the chance it will have of being handled after this war. That is -already certain, and it is the direct outcome of the madness which -has possessed Germany in her frantic outcry of hatred. What chance -they have of business with France, Russia, or Japan they know best -themselves; but the British Empire, with that wide trade toleration -which has long been her policy (and for which she has had so little -gratitude), would have speedily forgiven Germany and opened her -markets to her. Now it is not for many a long year that this can be -so--not on account of the war, but on account of the bitterness -which Germany has gone out of her way to import into the contest. It -is idle to say that in that case we should lose our exports to -Germany. Even if it were so, it would not in the least affect the -sentiments of the retail sellers and buyers in this country, whose -demands regulate the wholesale trade. But as a matter of fact, what -Germany buys from the British Empire is the coal, wool, etc., which -are the raw materials of her industry, with which she cannot -possibly dispense. - -But the pity of it all! We might have had a straight, honest fight, -and at the end of it we might have conceded that the German people -had been innocently misled, by their military caste and their Press, -into the idea that their country was being attacked, and so were -themselves guiltless in the matter. They, on their side, might at -last have understood that Britain had been placed in such a position -by her guarantees to Belgium that it was absolutely impossible that -she could stand out of the war. With these mutual concessions, some -sort of friendship could possibly have been restored, for it is no -one's interest, and least of all ours, that the keystone should be -knocked right out of the European arch. But all this has been -rendered impossible by these hysterical screamers of hate, and by -those methods of murder on land, sea, and in air with which the war -has been conducted. Hate is a very catching emotion, and when it -translates itself into action it soon glows on either side of the -North Sea. With neither race, to use Carlyle's simile, does it blaze -like the quick-flaming stubble, but with both it will smoulder like -the slow red peat. Are there not even now strong, sane men in -Germany who can tell these madmen what they are sowing for the next -generation and the one that comes after it? It is not that we ask -them to abate the resistance of their country. It is understood that -this is a fight to the end. That is what we desire. But let them -stand up and fight without reviling; let them give punishment -without malice and receive it without wincing; let their press cease -from lying, and their prophets from preaching hatred--then, lose or -win, there may still be some chance for their future. But, alas! the -mischief is already, I fear, too deep. When the seeds are sown, it -is hard to check the harvest. Let the impartial critic consider von -Mueller of the _Emden_, and then, having surveyed our Press and -that of Germany, let him say with whom lies the blame. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VIII - -GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR[4] - - [4] Published, _Fortnightly Review_, February 1913. - - - This essay is of some interest, as it was written two - years before the war, and was one of the first attempts - to make the public realise the importance of Bernhardi's - notorious book. The author follows it by an unpublished - essay called "Afterthoughts," in which he examines how - far his reading of the future has been justified by the - event. - -I am a member of the Anglo-German Society for the improvement of the -relations between the two countries, and I have never seriously -believed in the German menace. Frequently I have found myself alone -in a company of educated Englishmen in my opinion that it was -non-existent--or at worst greatly exaggerated. This conclusion was -formed upon two grounds. The first was, that I knew it to be -impossible that we could attack Germany save in the face of -monstrous provocation. By the conditions of our government, even if -those in high places desired to do such a thing, it was utterly -impracticable, for a foreign war could not be successfully carried -on by Great Britain unless the overwhelming majority of the people -approved of it. Our foreign, like our home, politics are governed by -the vote of the proletariat. It would be impossible to wage an -aggressive war against any Power if the public were not convinced of -its justice and necessity. For this reason we could not attack -Germany. On the other hand, it seemed to be equally unthinkable that -Germany should attack us. One fails to see what she could possibly -hope to gain by such a proceeding. She had enemies already upon her -eastern and western frontiers, and it was surely unlikely that she -would go out of her way to pick a quarrel with the powerful British -Empire. If she made war and lost it, her commerce would be set back -and her rising colonial empire destroyed. If she won it, it was -difficult to see where she could hope for the spoils. We could not -give her greater facilities for trade than she has already. We could -not give her habitable white colonies, for she would find it -impossible to take possession of them in the face of the opposition -of the inhabitants. An indemnity she could never force from us. Some -coaling stations and possibly some tropical colonies, of which -latter she already possesses abundance, were the most that she could -hope for. Would such a prize as that be worth the risk attending -such a war? To me it seemed that there could be only one answer to -such a question. - -It still seems to me that this reasoning is sound. I still think -that it would be an insane action for Germany deliberately to plan -an attack upon Great Britain. But unfortunately an attack delivered -from mistaken motives is as damaging as any other attack, and the -mischief is done before the insanity of it is realised. If I now -believe such an attack to be possible, and it may be imminent, it is -because I have been studying _Germany and the Next War_, by General -von Bernhardi. - -A book written by such a man cannot be set aside as the mere ravings -of a Pan-Germanic Anglophobe. So far as appears, he is not a -Pan-German at all. There is no allusion to that Germania _irredente_ -which is the dream of that party. He is a man of note, and the first -living authority in Germany upon some matters of military science. -Does he carry the same weight when he writes of international -politics and the actual use of those mighty forces which he has -helped to form? We will hope not. But when a man speaks with the -highest authority upon one subject, his voice cannot be entirely -disregarded upon a kindred one. Besides, he continually labours, and -with success, to make the reader understand that he is the direct -modern disciple of that main German line of thought which traces -from Frederick through Bismarck to the present day. He moves in -circles which actually control the actions of their country in a -manner to which we have no equivalent. For all these reasons, his -views cannot be lightly set aside, and should be most carefully -studied by Britons. We know that we have no wish for war, and desire -only to be left alone. Unfortunately, it takes two to make peace, -even as it takes two to make a quarrel. There is a very clear -statement here that the quarrel is imminent, and that we must think -of the means, military, naval, and financial, by which we may meet -it. Since von Bernhardi's book may not be accessible to every reader -of this article, I will begin by giving some idea of the situation -as it appears to him, and of the course of action which he -foreshadows and recommends. - -He begins his argument by the uncompromising statement that war is a -good thing in itself. All advance is founded upon struggle. Each -nation has a right, and indeed a duty, to use violence where its -interests are concerned and there is a tolerable hope of success. As -to the obvious objection that such a doctrine bears no possible -relation to Christianity, he is not prepared to admit the validity -of the Christian ethics in international practice. In an ingenious -passage he even attempts to bring the sanction of Christianity to -support his bellicose views. He says:-- - - "Again, from the Christian standpoint, we arrive at the - same conclusion. Christian morality is based, indeed, on - the law of love. 'Love God above all things, and thy - neighbour as thyself.' This law can claim no significance - for the relations of one country to another, since its - application to politics would lead to a conflict of - duties. The love which a man showed to another country as - such would imply a want of love for his own countrymen. - Such a system of politics must inevitably lead men - astray. Christian morality is personal and social, and in - its nature cannot be political. Its object is to promote - morality of the individual, in order to strengthen him to - work unselfishly in the interests of the community. It - tells us to love our individual enemies, but does not - remove the conception of enmity." - -Having thus established the general thesis that a nation should not -hesitate to declare war where a material advantage may be the -reward, he sets out very clearly what are some of the causes for war -which Germany can see before her. The following passages throw a -light upon them:-- - - "Strong, healthy, and flourishing nations increase in - numbers. From a given moment they require a continual - expansion of their frontiers, they require new territory - for the accommodation of their surplus population. Since - almost every part of the globe is inhabited, new - territory must, as a rule, be obtained at the cost of its - possessors--that is to say, by conquest, which thus - becomes a law of necessity." - -Again:-- - - "Lastly, in all times the right of conquest by war has - been admitted. It may be that a growing people cannot win - colonies from uncivilised races, and yet the State wishes - to retain the surplus population which the mother country - can no longer feed. Then the only course left is to - acquire the necessary territory by war. Thus the instinct - of self-preservation leads inevitably to war, and the - conquest of foreign soil. It is not the possessor, but - the victor, who then has the right." - -And he concludes:-- - - "Arbitration treaties must be peculiarly detrimental to - an aspiring people, which has not yet reached its - political and national zenith, and is bent on expanding - its power in order to play its part honourably in the - civilised world." - -And adds:-- - - "It must be borne in mind that a peaceful decision by an - arbitration court can never replace in its effects and - consequences a warlike decision, even as regards the - State in whose favour it is pronounced." - -To many of us it would seem a legitimate extension of the author's -argument if we said that it would have a virile and bracing effect -upon our characters if, when we had a grievance against our -neighbour, we refrained from taking it into the law courts, but -contented ourselves with breaking his head with a club. However, we -are concerned here not so much with the validity of the German -general's arguments as with their practical application so far as -they affect ourselves. - -Brushing aside the peace advocates, the writer continues: "To such -views, the off-spring of a false humanity, the clear and definite -answer must be made that, under certain circumstances, it is not -only the right but the moral and political duty of the statesman to -bring about a war. The acts of the State cannot be judged by the -standard of individual morality." He quotes Treitschke: "The -Christian duty of sacrifice for something higher does not exist for -the State, for there is nothing higher than it in the world's -history--consequently it cannot sacrifice itself to something -higher." One would have hoped that a noble ideal and a moral purpose -were something higher, but it would be vain to claim that any -country, ourselves included, have ever yet lived fully up to the -doctrine. And yet some conscious striving, however imperfect, is -surely better than such a deliberate negation. - -Having laid down these general propositions of the value of war, and -of the non-existence of international moral obligations, General von -Bernhardi then proceeds to consider very fully the general position -of Germany and the practical application of those doctrines. Within -the limits of this essay I can only give a general survey of the -situation as seen by him. War is necessary for Germany. It should be -waged as soon as is feasible, as certain factors in the situation -tell in favour of her enemies. The chief of these factors are the -reconstruction of the Russian fleet, which will be accomplished -within a few years, and the preparation of a French native colonial -force, which would be available for European hostilities. This also, -though already undertaken, will take some years to perfect. -Therefore, the immediate future is Germany's best opportunity. - -In this war Germany places small confidence in Italy as an ally, -since her interests are largely divergent, but she assumes complete -solidarity with Austria. Austria and Germany have to reckon with -France and Russia. Russia is slow in her movements, and Germany, -with her rapid mobilisation, should be able to throw herself upon -France without fear of her rear. Should she win a brilliant victory -at the outset, Russia might refuse to compromise herself at all, -especially if the quarrel could be so arranged that it would seem as -if France had been the aggressor. Before the slow Slavonic mind had -quite understood the situation and set her unwieldy strength in -motion, her ally might be struck down, and she face to face with the -two Germanic Powers, which would be more than a match for her. - -Of the German army, which is to be the instrument of this -world-drama, General von Bernhardi expresses the highest opinion: -"The spirit which animates the troops, the ardour of attack, the -heroism, the loyalty which prevail among them, justify the highest -expectations. I am certain that if they are soon to be summoned to -arms their exploits will astonish the world, provided only that they -are led with skill and determination." How their "ardour of attack" -has been tested it is difficult to see, but the world will probably -agree that the German army is a most formidable force. When he goes -on, however, to express the opinion that they would certainly -overcome the French, the two armies being approximately of the same -strength, it is not so easy to follow his argument. It is possible -that even so high an authority as General von Bernhardi has not -entirely appreciated how Germany has been the teacher of the world -in military matters and how thoroughly her pupils have responded to -that teaching. That attention to detail, perfection of arrangement -for mobilisation, and careful preparation which have won German -victories in the past may now be turned against her, and she may -find that others can equal her in her own virtues. - -Poor France, once conquered, is to be very harshly treated. Here is -the passage which describes her fate:-- - - "In one way or another _we must square our account with - France_ if we wish for a free hand in our international - policy. This is the first and foremost condition of a - sound German policy, and since the hostility of France - once for all cannot be removed by peaceful overtures, the - matter must be settled by force of arms. France must be - so completely crushed that she can never again come - across our path." - -It is not said how Germany could permanently extinguish France, and -it is difficult to think it out. An indemnity, however large, would -eventually be paid and France recover herself. Germany has found the -half-German border provinces which she annexed so indigestible that -she could hardly incorporate Champagne or any other purely French -district. Italy might absorb some of Savoy and the French Riviera. -If the country were artificially separated the various parts would -fly together again at the first opportunity. Altogether, the -permanent sterilisation of France would be no easy matter to -effect. It would probably be attempted by imposing the condition -that in the future no army, save for police duties, would be allowed -her. The history of Prussia itself, however, shows that even so -stringent a prohibition as this can be evaded by a conquered but -indomitable people. - -Let us now turn to General von Bernhardi's views upon ourselves; -and, first of all, it is of interest to many of us to know what are -those historical episodes which have caused him and many of his -fellow-countrymen to take bitter exception to our national record. -From our point of view we have repeatedly helped Germany in the -past, and have asked for and received no other reward than the -consciousness of having co-operated in some common cause. So it was -in Marlborough's days. So in the days of Frederick. So also in those -of Napoleon. To all these ties, which had seemed to us to be of -importance, there is not a single allusion in this volume. On the -other hand, there are very bitter references to some other -historical events which must seem to us strangely inadequate as a -cause for international hatred. - -We may, indeed, congratulate ourselves as a nation, if no stronger -indictment can be made against us than is contained in the book of -the German general. The first episode upon which he animadverts is -the ancient German grievance of the abandonment of Frederick the -Great by England in the year 1761. One would have thought that there -was some statute of limitations in such matters, but apparently -there is none in the German mind. Let us grant that the premature -cessation of a campaign is an injustice to one's associates, and let -us admit also that a British Government under its party system can -never be an absolutely stable ally. Having said so much, one may -point out that there were several mitigating circumstances in this -affair. We had fought for five years, granting considerable -subsidies to Frederick during that time, and dispatching British -armies into the heart of Germany. The strain was very great, in a -quarrel which did not vitally affect ourselves. The British nation -had taken the view, not wholly unreasonably, that the war was being -waged in the interests of Hanover, and upon a German rather than a -British quarrel. When we stood out France did the same, so that the -balance of power between the combatants was not greatly affected. -Also, it may be pointed out as a curious historical fact that this -treatment which he so much resented was exactly that which Frederick -had himself accorded to his allies some years before at the close of -the Silesian campaign. On that occasion he made an isolated peace -with Maria Theresa, and left his associates, France and Bavaria, to -meet the full force of the Austrian attack. - -Finally the whole episode has to be judged by the words of a modern -writer: "Conditions may arise which are more powerful than the most -honourable intentions. The country's own interests--considered, of -course, in the highest ethical sense--must then turn the scale." -These sentences are not from the work of a British apologist, but -from this very book of von Bernhardi's which scolds England for her -supposed adherence to such principles. He also quotes, with -approval, Treitschke's words: "Frederick the Great was all his life -long charged with treachery because no treaty or alliance could -ever induce him to renounce the right of free self-determination." - -Setting aside this ancient grievance of the Seven Years' War, it is -of interest to endeavour to find out whether there are any other -solid grounds in the past for Germany's reprobation. Two more -historical incidents are held up as examples of our perfidy. The -first is the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, when the British -took forcible possession in time of peace of the Danish fleet. It -must be admitted that the step was an extreme one, and only to be -justified upon the plea of absolute necessity for vital national -reasons. The British Government of the day believed that Napoleon -was about to possess himself of the Danish fleet and would use it -against themselves. Fouche has admitted in his Memoirs that the -right was indeed given by a secret clause in the Treaty of Tilsit. -It was a desperate time, when the strongest measures were -continually being used against us, and it may be urged that similar -measures were necessary in self-defence. Having once embarked upon -the enterprise, and our demand being refused, there was no -alternative but a bombardment of the city with its attendant loss of -civilian life. It is not an exploit of which we need be proud, and -at the best can only be described as a most painful and unfortunate -necessity; but I should be surprised if the Danes, on looking back -to it, judge it more harshly than some more recent experiences which -they have had at the hands of General von Bernhardi's own -fellow-countrymen. That he is himself prepared to launch upon a -similar enterprise in a much larger and more questionable shape is -shown by his declaration that if Holland will not take sides against -England in the next war it should be overrun by the German troops. - -General von Bernhardi's next historical charge is the bombardment of -Alexandria in 1882, which he describes as having been affected upon -hypocritical pretences in a season of peace. To those who have a -recollection of that event and can recall the anti-European movement -of Arabi and the massacre which preceded the bombardment, the charge -will appear grotesque. But it is with a patchwork quilt of this sort -that this German publicist endeavours to cover the unreasoning, but -none the less formidable, jealousy and prejudice which inflame him -against this country. The foolish fiction that the British -Government declared war against the Boers in order to gain -possession of their gold mines is again brought forward, though one -would have imagined that even the gutter-Press who exploited it -twelve years ago had abandoned it by now. If General von Bernhardi -can explain how the British Government is the richer for these -mines, or whether a single foreign shareholder has been dispossessed -of his stock in them, he will be the first who has ever given a -solid fact in favour of this ridiculous charge. In a previous -paragraph of his book he declares that it was President Kruger who -made the war and that he was praiseworthy for so doing. Both -statements cannot be true. If it was President Kruger who made the -war, then it was not forced on by Great Britain in order to possess -herself of the goldfields. - -So much for the specific allegations against Great Britain. One can -hardly regard them as being so serious as to wipe out the various -claims, racial, religious, and historical, which unite the two -countries. However, we are only concerned with General von -Bernhardi's conclusions, since he declares that his country is -prepared to act upon them. There remain two general grounds upon -which he considers that Germany should make war upon the British -Empire. The first is to act as the champion of the human race in -winning what he calls the freedom of the seas. The second is to -further German expansion as a world-Power, which is cramped by our -opposition. - -The first of these reasons is difficult to appreciate. British -maritime power has been used to ensure, not to destroy, the freedom -of the seas. What smallest Power has ever been hindered in her -legitimate business? It is only the pirate, the slaver, and the -gun-runner who can justly utter such a reproach. If the mere fact of -having predominant latent strength upon the water is an encroachment -upon the freedom of the sea, then some nation must always be guilty -of it. After our mild supremacy we may well say to Germany, as -Charles said to James: "No one will assassinate me in order to put -you on the throne." Her mandate is unendorsed by those whom she -claims to represent. - -But the second indictment is more formidable. We lie athwart -Germany's world ambitions, even as, geographically, we lie across -her outlets. But when closely looked at, what is it of which we -deprive her, and is its attainment really a matter of such vital -importance? Do we hamper her trade? On the contrary, we exhibit a -generosity which meets with no acknowledgment, and which many of us -have long held to be altogether excessive. Her manufactured goods -are welcomed in without a tax, while ours are held out from Germany -by a 20 per cent. tariff. In India, Egypt, and every colony which -does not directly control its own financial policy, German goods -come in upon the same footing as our own. No successful war can -improve her position in this respect. There is, however, the -question of colonial expansion. General von Bernhardi foresees that -Germany is increasing her population at such a pace that emigration -will be needed soon in order to relieve it. It is a perfectly -natural national ambition that this emigration should be to some -place where the settlers need not lose their flag or nationality. -But if Great Britain were out of the way, where would they find such -a place? Not in Canada, Australia, South Africa, or New Zealand. -These States could not be conquered if the Motherland had ceased to -exist. General von Bernhardi talks of the high lands of Africa, but -already Germany possesses high lands in Africa, and their -colonisation has not been a success. Can any one name one single -place upon the earth's surface suitable for white habitation from -which Germany is excluded by the existence of Great Britain? It is -true that the huge continent of South America is only sparsely -inhabited, its whole population being about equal to that of -Prussia. But that is an affair in which the United States, and not -we, are primarily interested, and one which it is not our interest -either to oppose or to support. - -But, however inadequate all these reasons for war may seem to a -Briton, one has still to remember that we have to reckon with the -conclusions exactly as if they were drawn from the most logical -premises. These conclusions appear in such sentences as follows:-- - - "What we now wish to attain must be fought for and won against - a superior force of hostile interests and Powers." - - "Since the struggle is necessary and inevitable, we must fight - it out, cost what it may." - - "A pacific agreement with England is a will-o'-the-wisp, which - no serious German statesman would trouble to follow. We must - always keep the possibility of war with England before our - eyes and arrange our political and military plans accordingly. - We need not concern ourselves with any pacific protestations - of English politicians, publicists, and Utopians, which cannot - alter the real basis of affairs." - - "The situation in the world generally shows there can only be a - short respite before we once more face the question whether we - will draw the sword for our position in the world, or renounce - such position once for all. We must not in any case wait until - our opponents have completed their arming and decide that the - hour of attack has come." - - "Even English attempts at a _rapprochement_ must not blind us - to the real situation. We may at most use them to delay the - necessary and inevitable war until we may fairly imagine we - have some prospect of success." - -This last sentence must come home to some of us who have worked in -the past for a better feeling between the two countries. And this is -the man who dares to accuse _us_ of national perfidy. - -These extracts are but a few from a long series which show beyond -all manner of doubt that Germany, so far as General von Bernhardi is -an exponent of her intentions, will undoubtedly attack us suddenly -should she see an opportunity. The first intimation of such attack -would, as he indicates, be a torpedo descent upon our Fleet, and a -wireless message to German liners which would bring up their -concealed guns, and turn each of them into a fast cruiser ready to -prey upon our commerce. That is the situation as he depicts it. It -may be that he mistakes it. But for what it is worth, that is his -opinion and advice. - -He sketches out the general lines of a war between England and -Germany. If France is involved, she is to be annihilated, as already -described. But suppose the two rivals are left face to face. Holland -and Denmark are to be bound over to the German side under pain of -conquest. The German Fleet is to be held back under the protection -of the land forts. Meanwhile, torpedoes, submarines, and airships -are to be used for the gradual whittling down of the blockading -squadrons. When they have been sufficiently weakened the Fleet is to -sally out and the day has arrived. As to the chances of success, he -is of opinion that in material and _personnel_ the two fleets may be -taken as being equal--when once the numbers have been equalised. In -quality of guns, he considers that the Germans have the advantage. -Of gunnery he does not speak, but he believes that in torpedo work -his countrymen are ahead of any others. In airships, which for -_reconnaissance_, if not for actual fighting power, will be of -supreme importance, he considers also that his country will have a -considerable advantage. - -Such, in condensed form, is the general thesis and forecast of this -famous German officer. If it be true, there are evil days coming -both for his country and for ours. One may find some consolation in -the discovery that wherever he attempts to fathom our feelings he -makes the most lamentable blunders. He lays it down as an axiom, for -example, that if we were hard-pressed the Colonies would take the -opportunity of abandoning us. We know, on the other hand, that it is -just such a situation which would bring about the federation of the -Empire. He is under the delusion also that there is deep commercial -and political jealousy of the United States in this country, and -that this might very well culminate in war. We are aware that there -is no such feeling, and that next to holding the trident ourselves -we should wish to see it in the hands of our American cousins. One -thing he says, however, which is supremely true, which all of us -would endorse, and which every German should ponder: it is that the -idea of a war between Germany and ourselves never entered into the -thoughts of any one in this country until the year 1902. Why this -particular year? Had the feeling risen from commercial jealousy -upon the part of Great Britain, it must have shown itself far -earlier than that--as early as the "Made in Germany" enactment. It -appeared in 1902 because that was the close of the Boer War, and -because the bitter hostility shown by the Germans in that war opened -our eyes to the fact that they would do us a mischief if they could. -When the German Navy Act of 1900 gave promise that they would soon -have the means of doing so, the first thoughts of danger arose, and -German policy drove us more and more into the ranks of their -opponents. Here, then, General von Bernhardi is right; but in nearly -every other reference to our feelings and views he is wrong; so that -it is to be hoped that in those matters in which we are unable to -check him, such as the course of German thought and of German action -in the future, he is equally mistaken. But I repeat that he is a man -of standing and reputation, and that we should be mad if we did not -take most serious notice of the opinions which he has laid down. - -I have headed this article "Great Britain and the Next War," since -it looks at the arguments and problems which General von Bernhardi -has raised in his _Germany and the Next War_ from the British point -of view. May it prove that the title is an absurdity and the war an -imaginative hypothesis. But I should wish, before I close, to devote -a few pages to my view upon the defensive measures of our country. I -am well aware that I speak with no expert authority, which makes it -the more embarrassing that my opinions do not coincide with those of -any one whom I have encountered in this controversy. Still, it is -better to be a voice, however small, than an echo. - -It would simplify the argument if we began by eliminating certain -factors which, in my opinion, simply darken counsel, as they are -continually brought into the front of the question to the exclusion -of the real issues which lie behind them. One of them is the -supposed possibility of an invasion--either on a large scale or in -the form of a raid. The former has been pronounced by our highest -naval authorities of the time as being impossible, and I do not -think any one can read the Wilson Memorandum without being convinced -by its condensed logic. Von Bernhardi, in his chapter upon the -possible methods of injuring Great Britain, though he treats the -whole subject with the greatest frankness, dismisses the idea either -of raid or invasion in a few short sentences. The raid seems to me -the less tenable hypothesis of the two. An invasion would, at least, -play for a final stake, though at a deadly risk. A raid would be a -certain loss of a body of troops, which would necessarily be the -flower of the army; it could hope to bring about no possible -permanent effect upon the war, and it would upset the balance of -military power between Germany and her neighbours. If Germany were -an island, like ourselves, she might risk such a venture. Sandwiched -in between two armed nations as strong as herself, I do not believe -that there is the slightest possibility of it. - -But if, as Von Bernhardi says, such plans are visionary, what is the -exact object of a Territorial Army, and, even more, what would be -the object of a National Service Army upon compulsory lines for home -defence? Is it not a waste of money and energy which might be more -profitably employed in some other form? Every one has such an -affection and esteem for Lord Roberts--especially if one has the -honour of his personal acquaintance--that one shrinks from -expressing a view which might be unwelcome to him.[5] And yet he -would be the first to admit that it is one's duty to add one's -opinion to the debate, if that opinion has been conscientiously -formed, and if one honestly believes that it recommends the best -course of action for one's country. So far as his argument for -universal service is based upon national health and physique, I -think he is on ground which no one could attack. But I cannot bring -myself to believe that a case has been made out for the substitution -of an enforced soldier in the place of the volunteer who has always -done so splendidly in the past. Great as is Lord Roberts's -experience, he is talking here of a thing which is outside it, for -he has never seen an enforced British soldier, and has, therefore, -no data by which he can tell how such a man would compare with the -present article. There were enforced British sailors once, and I -have seen figures quoted to show that of 29,000 who were impressed -27,000 escaped from the Fleet by desertion. It is not such men as -these who win our battles. - - [5] More now, alas! than ever.--Nov. 26, A. C. D. - -The argument for enforced service is based upon the plea that the -Territorial Army is below strength in numbers and deficient in -quality. But if invasion is excluded from our calculations this is -of less importance. The force becomes a nursery for the Army, which -has other reserves to draw upon before it reaches it. Experience has -shown that under warlike excitement in a virile nation like ours, -the ranks soon fill up, and as the force becomes embodied from the -outbreak of hostilities, it would rapidly improve in quality. It is -idle to assert that because Bulgaria can, in a day, flood her troops -into Turkey, therefore we should always stand to arms. The -Turko-Bulgarian frontier is a line of posts--the Anglo-German is a -hundred leagues of salt water. - -But am I such an optimist as to say that there is no danger in a -German war? On the contrary, I consider that there is a vast danger, -that it is one which we ignore, and against which we could at a -small cost effect a complete insurance. Let me try to define both -the danger and the remedy. In order to do this we must consider the -two different forms which such a war might take. It might be a -single duel, or it might be with France as our ally. If Germany -attacked Great Britain alone, it may safely be prophesied that the -war would be long, tedious, and possibly inconclusive, but our -_role_ would be a comparatively passive one. If she attacked -France, however, that _role_ would be much more active, since we -could not let France go down, and to give her effective help we must -land an expeditionary force upon the Continent. This force has to be -supplied with munitions of war and kept up to strength, and so the -whole problem becomes a more complex one. - -The element of danger, which is serious in either form of war, but -more serious in the latter, is the existence of new forms of naval -warfare which have never been tested in the hands of competent men, -and which may completely revolutionise the conditions. These new -factors are the submarine and the airship. The latter, save as a -means of acquiring information, does not seem to be formidable--or -not sufficiently formidable to alter the whole conditions of a -campaign. But it is different with the submarines. No blockade, so -far as I can see, can hold these vessels in harbour, and no skill or -bravery can counteract their attack when once they are within -striking distance. One could imagine a state of things when it might -be found impossible for the greater ships on either side to keep the -seas on account of these poisonous craft. No one can say that such a -contingency is impossible. Let us see, then, how it would affect us -if it should come to pass. - -In the first place, it would not affect us at all as regards -invasion or raids. If the German submarines can dominate our own -large ships, our submarines can do the same for theirs. We should -still hold the seas with our small craft. Therefore, if Great -Britain alone be at war with Germany, such a naval revolution would -merely affect our commerce and food supply. What exact effect a -swarm of submarines, lying off the mouth of the Channel and the -Irish Sea, would produce upon the victualling of these islands is a -problem which is beyond my conjecture. Other ships besides the -British would be likely to be destroyed, and international -complications would probably follow. I cannot imagine that such a -fleet would entirely, or even to a very large extent, cut off our -supplies. But it is certain that they would have the effect of -considerably raising the price of whatever did reach us. Therefore -we should suffer privation, though not necessarily such privation as -would compel us to make terms. From the beginning of the war, every -home source would naturally be encouraged, and it is possible that -before our external supplies were seriously decreased, our internal -ones might be well on the way to make up the deficiency. Both of the -two great protagonists--Lord Haldane and Lord Roberts--have declared -that if we lost the command of the seas we should have to make -peace. Their reference, however, was to complete naval defeat, and -not to such a condition of stalemate as seems to be the more -possible alternative. As to complete naval defeat, our estimates, -and the grand loyalty of the Overseas Dominions, seem to be amply -adequate to guard against that. It is useless to try to alarm us by -counting in the whole force of the Triple Alliance as our possible -foes, for if they came into the war, the forces of our own allies -would also be available. We need only think of Germany. - -A predominance of the submarine would, then, merely involve a period -of hard times in this country, if we were fighting Germany -single-handed. But if we were in alliance with France, it becomes an -infinitely more important matter. I presume that I need not argue -the point that it is our vital interest that France be not -dismembered and sterilised. Such a tragedy would turn the western -half of Europe into a gigantic Germany with a few insignificant -States crouching about her feet. The period of her world dominance -would then indeed have arrived. Therefore, if France be wantonly -attacked, we must strain every nerve to prevent her going down, and -among the measures to that end will be the sending of a British -expeditionary force to cover the left or Belgian wing of the French -defences. Such a force would be conveyed across the Channel in -perhaps a hundred troopships, and would entail a constant service of -transports afterwards to carry its requirements. - -Here lies, as it seems to me, the possible material for a great -national disaster. Such a fleet of transports cannot be rushed -suddenly across. Its preparation and port of departure are known. A -single submarine amid such a fleet would be like a fox in a poultry -yard destroying victim after victim. The possibilities are -appalling, for it might be not one submarine, but a squadron. The -terrified transports would scatter over the ocean to find safety in -any port. Their convoy could do little to help them. It would be a -debacle--an inversion of the Spanish Armada. - -If the crossing were direct from the eastern ports to Antwerp, the -danger would become greater.[6] It is less if it should be from -Portsmouth to Havre. But this is a transit of seven hours, and the -railways from Havre to the Belgian frontier would be insufficient -for such a force. No doubt the Straits of Dover would be strongly -patrolled by our own torpedo craft, and the crossing would, so far -as possible, be made at night, when submarines have their minimum of -efficiency; but, none the less, it seems to me that the risk would -be a very real and pressing one. What possible patrol could make -sure of heading off a squadron of submarines? I should imagine it to -be as difficult as to bar the Straits to a school of whales. - - [6] This, of course, would presuppose that Holland was - involved in the war.--A. C. D. - -But supposing such a wholesale tragedy were avoided, and that in -spite of the predominance of submarines the army got safely to -France or to Belgium, how are we to ensure the safe passage of the -long stream of ships which, for many months, would be employed in -carrying the needful supplies? We could not do it. The army might -very well find itself utterly isolated, with its line of -communications completely broken down, at a time when the demand -upon the resources of all Continental countries was so great that -there was no surplus for our use. Such a state of affairs seems to -me to be a perfectly possible one, and to form, with the chance of -a disaster to the transports, the greatest danger to which we should -be exposed in a German war. But these dangers and the food question, -which has already been treated, can all be absolutely provided -against in a manner which is not only effective, but which will be -of equal value in peace and in war. The Channel Tunnel is essential -to Great Britain's safety. - -I will not dwell here upon the commercial or financial advantages of -such a tunnel. Where the trade of two great nations concentrates -upon one narrow tube, it is obvious that whatever corporation -controls that tube has a valuable investment, if the costs of -construction have not been prohibitive. These costs have been placed -as low as five million pounds by Mr. Rose Smith, who represents a -practical company engaged in such work. If it were twice, thrice, or -four times that sum it should be an undertaking which should promise -great profits, and for that reason should be constructed by the -nation, or nations, for their common national advantage. It is too -vital a thing for any private company to control. - -But consider its bearing upon a German war. All the dangers which I -have depicted are eliminated. We tap (_via_ Marseilles and the -tunnel) the whole food supply of the Mediterranean and the Black -Sea. Our expeditionary force makes its transit, and has its supplies -independent of weather or naval chances. Should anything so unlikely -as a raid occur, and the forces in this country seem unable to cope -with it, a Franco-British reinforcement can be rushed through from -the Continent. The Germans have made great works like the Kiel Canal -in anticipation of war. Our answer must be the Channel Tunnel, -linking us closer to our ally. - -Though this scheme was discarded (under very different naval and -political conditions) some twenty years ago, no time has, as a -matter of fact, been lost by the delay; as I am informed that -machinery for boring purposes has so enormously improved that what -would have taken thirty years to accomplish can now be done in -three. If this estimate be correct, there may still be time to -effect this essential insurance before the war with which General -von Bernhardi threatens us breaks upon us. - -Let us, before leaving the subject, glance briefly at the objections -which have formerly been urged against the tunnel. Such as they are, -they are as valid now as ever, although the advantages have -increased to such an extent as to throw the whole weight of the -argument upon the side of those who favour its construction. The -main (indeed, the only) objection was the fear that the tunnel would -fall into wrong hands and be used for purposes of invasion. By this -was meant not a direct invasion through the tunnel itself--to invade -a nation of forty-five million people through a hole in the ground -twenty-five miles long would stagger the boldest mind--but that the -tunnel might be seized at each end by some foreign nation, which -would then use it for aggressive military purposes. - -At the time of the discussion our relations with France were by no -means so friendly as they are now, and it was naturally to France -only that we alluded, since they would already hold one end of the -tunnel. We need not now discuss any other nation, since any other -would have to seize both ends by surprise, and afterwards retain -them, which is surely inconceivable. We are now bound in close ties -of friendship and mutual interest to France. We have no right to -assume that we shall always remain on as close a footing, but as our -common peril seems likely to be a permanent one, it is improbable -that there will be any speedy or sudden change in our relations. At -the same time, in a matter so vital as our hold upon the Dover end -of the tunnel, we could not be too stringent in our precautions. The -tunnel should open out at a point where guns command it, the mouth -of it should be within the lines of an entrenched camp, and a -considerable garrison should be kept permanently within call. The -latter condition already exists in Dover, but the numbers might well -be increased. As an additional precaution, a passage should be -driven alongside the tunnel, from which it could, if necessary, be -destroyed. This passage should have an independent opening within -the circle of a separate fort, so that the capture of the end of the -tunnel would not prevent its destruction. With such precautions as -these, the most nervous person might feel that our insular position -had not really been interfered with. The strong fortress of the -Middle Ages had a passage under the moat as part of the defence. -This is our passage. - -Could an enemy in any way destroy it in time of war? - -It would, as I conceive, be sunk to a depth of not less than two -hundred feet below the bed of the ocean. This ceiling would be -composed of chalk and clay. No explosive from above could drive it -in. If it were designed on a large scale--and, personally, I think -it should be a four-line tunnel, even if the cost were doubled -thereby--no internal explosion, such as might be brought about by -secreting explosive packets upon the trains, would be likely to do -more than temporarily obstruct it. If the very worst happened, and -it were actually destroyed, we should be no worse off than we are -now. As to the expense, if we are driven into a war of this -magnitude, a few millions one way or the other will not be worth -considering. - -Incidentally, it may be noted that General von Bernhardi has a poor -opinion of our troops. This need not trouble us. We are what we are, -and words will not alter it. From very early days our soldiers have -left their mark upon Continental warfare, and we have no reason to -think that we have declined from the manhood of our forefathers. He -further calls them "mercenaries," which is a misuse of terms. A -mercenary is a man who is paid to fight in a quarrel which is not -his own. As every British soldier must by law be a British citizen, -the term is absurd. What he really means is that they are not -conscripts in the sense of being forced to fight, but they are -sufficiently well paid to enable the army as a profession to attract -a sufficient number of our young men to the colours. - -Our military and naval preparations are, as it seems to me, adequate -for the threatened crisis. With the Channel Tunnel added our -position should be secure. But there are other preparations which -should be made for such a contest, should it unhappily be forced -upon us. One is financial. Again, as so often before in the history -of British wars, it may prove that the last guinea wins. Everything -possible should be done to strengthen British credit. This crisis -cannot last indefinitely. The cloud will dissolve or burst. -Therefore, for a time we should husband our resources for the -supreme need. At such a time all national expenditure upon objects -which only mature in the future becomes unjustifiable. Such a tax as -the undeveloped land tax, which may bring in a gain some day, but at -present costs ten times what it produces, is the type of expenditure -I mean. I say nothing of its justice or injustice, but only of its -inopportuneness at a moment when we sorely need our present -resources. - -Another preparation lies in our national understanding of the -possibility of such a danger and the determination to face the -facts. Both Unionists and Liberals have shown their appreciation of -the situation, and so have two of the most famous Socialist leaders. -No audible acquiescence has come from the ranks of the Labour Party. -I would venture to say one word here to my Irish fellow-countrymen -of all political persuasions. If they imagine that they can stand -politically or economically while Britain falls, they are woefully -mistaken. The British Fleet is their one shield. If it be broken, -Ireland will go down. They may well throw themselves heartily into -the common defence, for no sword can transfix England without the -point reaching Ireland behind her. - -Let me say in conclusion, most emphatically, that I do not myself -accept any of those axioms of General von Bernhardi which are the -foundation-stones of his argument. I do not think that war is in -itself a good thing, though a dishonourable peace may be a worse -one. I do not believe that an Anglo-German war is necessary. I am -convinced that we should never, of our own accord, attack Germany, -nor would we assist France if she made an unprovoked attack upon -that Power. I do not think that as the result of such a war, Germany -could in any way extend her flag so as to cover a larger white -population. Every one of his propositions I dispute. But that is all -beside the question. We have not to do with his argument, but with -its results. Those results are that he, a man whose opinion is of -weight, and a member of the ruling class in Germany, tells us -frankly that Germany will attack us the moment she sees a favourable -opportunity. I repeat that we should be mad if we did not take very -serious notice of the warning. - - - * * * * * - - - - -IX - -AFTERTHOUGHTS - - -So it was so after all. I write after perusing what was written two -years ago. I lean back in my chair and I think of the past. "So it -really was so after all," represents the thought which comes to my -mind. - -It seems hardly fair to call it a conspiracy. When a certain action -is formulated quite clearly in many books, when it is advocated by -newspapers, preached by professors, and discussed at every -restaurant, it ceases to be a conspiracy. We may take Bernhardi's -book as a text, but it is only because here between two covers we -find the whole essence of the matter in an authoritative form. It -has been said a thousand times elsewhere. And now we know for all -time that these countless scolding and minatory voices were not mere -angry units, but that they were in truth the collective voice of -the nation. All that Bernhardi said, all that after long disbelief -he made some of us vaguely realise, has now actually happened. So -far as Germany is concerned it has been fulfilled to the letter. -Fortunately so far as other nations have been concerned it has been -very different. He knew his own, but he utterly misjudged all else, -and in that misjudgment he and his spy-trusting Government have dug -a pit for themselves in which they long may flounder. - -Make war deliberately whenever you think that you may get profit -from it. Find an excuse, but let it be an excuse which will give you -a strong position before the world and help your alliances. Take -advantage of your neighbour's temporary weakness in order to attack -him. Pretend to be friendly in order to screen warlike preparations. -Do not let contracts or treaties stand in the way of your vital -interests. All of these monstrous propositions are to be found in -this _vade mecum_ of the German politician and soldier, and each of -them has been put in actual practice within a very few years of the -appearance of the book. Take each of them in turn. - -Take first the point that they made war deliberately, and took -advantage of the imagined weakness of their neighbours in order to -attack them. When was it that they backed up, if they did not -actually dictate, the impossible ultimatum addressed as much to -Russia as to Servia? When was it that they were so determined upon -war that they made peace impossible at the moment when Austria was -showing signs of reconsidering her position? Why so keen at that -particular moment? Was it not that for the instant each of her three -antagonists seemed to be at a disadvantage? Russia was supposed not -to have recovered yet from her Japanese misadventure. France was -torn by politics, and had admitted in the Senate that some important -branches of her armies were unprepared. Britain seemed to be on the -verge of civil war. It was just such a combination as was predicated -by Bernhardi. And his country responded to it exactly as he had -said, choosing the point of quarrel against the Slav race so as to -conciliate the more advanced or liberal nations of the world. - -Then again they pretended to be friendly in order to cover hostile -preparations. To the very last moment the German Minister in -Brussels was assuring the Government of King Albert that nothing but -the best intentions animated those whom he represented, and that -Belgian neutrality was safe. The written contract was deliberately -dishonoured on the false and absurd plea that if they did not -dishonour it some one else would. Thus, of the five propositions -which had seemed most monstrous and inhuman in Bernhardi's book in -1912, every single one had been put into actual practice by his -country in 1914. Those of us who advised at the time that the book -should be taken seriously have surely been amply justified. - -It is a singular thing that Bernhardi not only indicated in a -general way what Germany was contemplating, but in his other book -upon modern warfare he gives a very complete sketch of the strategic -conception which has been followed by the Germans. He shows there -how their armies might come through Belgium, how their eastern -forces might mark time while the western, which were to consist of -the picked troops, would travel by forced marches until they reached -the neighbourhood of the coast, or at least the west of Paris, after -which the whole line should swing round into France. The chance that -by these movements the German right would come into the region of -the British expeditionary force is dismissed lightly, since he -entirely underestimated the power of such a force, while as to the -Belgian army it is hardly admitted as a factor at all. A comparison -of the opinions of this great military authority with the actual -facts as we have recently known them, must weaken one's faith in the -value of expert judgment. He is, for example, strongly of opinion -that battles will not as a rule last for more than one day. He has -also so high an opinion of the supreme fighting value of the German -soldiers, that he declares that they will always fight in the open -rather than behind entrenchments. It makes strange reading for us -who have seen them disappear from sight into the ground for a month -at a time. - -In what I have said in the previous article of the naval and -military position, I find nothing to withdraw, and little to modify. -I write with the Germans at Ostend, and yet the possibility of -either a raid or an invasion seems to me as remote as it did two -years ago. I do not of course refer to an aerial raid, which I look -upon as extremely probable, but to a landing in these islands. The -submarine which has been used so skilfully against us is an -all-powerful defensive weapon in our hands. As to the submarine, I -think that I may claim to have foreseen the situation which has -actually come upon us. "No blockade," I remarked, "can hold these -vessels in harbour, and no skill or bravery can counteract their -attack when once they are within striking distance. One could -imagine a state of things when it might be found impossible for the -greater ships on either side to keep the seas on account of these -poisonous craft. No one can say that such a contingency is -impossible." It is largely true at the present moment as regards the -North Sea. But the submarine will not shake Great Britain as -mistress of the seas. On the contrary, with her geographical -position, it will, if her internal economic policy be wise, put her -in a stronger position than ever. - -The whole question of the Channel Tunnel and its strategic effect, -which is treated of in the last essay, becomes entirely academic, -since even if it had been put in hand when the German menace became -clearer it could not yet have been completed. The idea of an -invasion through it has always seemed and still seems to me to be -absurd, but we should have been brought face to face at the present -moment with the possibility of the enemy getting hold of the farther -end and destroying it, so as to wreck a great national enterprise. -This is a danger which I admit that I had not foreseen. At the same -time, when a tunnel is constructed, the end of it will no doubt be -fortified in such a fashion that it could be held indefinitely -against any power save France, which would have so large a stake in -it herself that she could not destroy it. The whole operation of -sending reinforcements and supplies to the scene of war at the -present instant would be enormously simplified if a tunnel were in -existence. - -There remains the fiercely debated question of compulsory national -service. Even now, with the enemy at the gate, it seems to me to be -as open as ever. Would we, under our constitution and with our -methods of thought, have had such a magnificent response to Lord -Kitchener's appeal, or would we have had such splendid political -unanimity in carrying the war to a conclusion, if a large section of -the people had started by feeling sore over an Act which caused -themselves or their sons to serve whether they wished or not? -Personally I do not believe that we should. I believe that the new -volunteer armies now under training are of really wonderful material -and fired with the very best spirit, and that they will be worth -more than a larger force raised by methods which are alien to our -customs. I said in my previous essay, "Experience has shown that -under warlike excitement in a virile nation like ours the ranks soon -fill up, and as the force becomes embodied from the outbreak of -hostilities it would rapidly improve in quality." Already those -Territorials who were so ignorantly and ungenerously criticised in -times of peace are, after nearly three months of camp-life, -hardening into soldiers who may safely be trusted in the field. -Behind them the greater part of a million men are formed who will -also become soldiers in a record time if a desperate earnestness can -make them so. It is a glorious spectacle which makes a man thankful -that he has been spared to see it. One is more hopeful of our -Britain, and more proud of her, now that the German guns can be -heard from her eastern shore, than ever in the long monotony of her -undisturbed prosperity. Our grandchildren will thrill as they read -of the days that we endure. - - - * * * * * - - - _Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.,_ - _London and Aylesbury._ - - - * * * * * - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - -Italic text has been denoted by _underscores_. - -Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. - -The non-printable characters have been replaced as shown below: - - 'oe' ligature --> oe - -This book was written in a period when many words had not become -standarized in their spelling. Numerous words have multiple spelling -variations in the text. These have been left unchanged unless noted -below: - - p 29 - typo: missing 'the' added (in the future) - - p 75 - typo: at --> as (he exclaimed, as he gazed) - - p 86 - typo: missing 'the' added (in the future) - - p 111 - typo: missing 'the' added (in the future) - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The German War, by Arthur Conan Doyle - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GERMAN WAR *** - -***** This file should be named 42127.txt or 42127.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/1/2/42127/ - -Produced by Richard Hulse, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The German War - Some Sidelights and Reflections - -Author: Arthur Conan Doyle - -Release Date: February 18, 2013 [EBook #42127] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GERMAN WAR *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Hulse, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - -THE GERMAN WAR - - - - -THE GERMAN WAR - - - -BY - -ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE - -AUTHOR OF "THE GREAT BOER WAR," ETC. - - - -HODDER AND STOUGHTON - -LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO - -MCMXIV - - - - -_Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.,_ - -_London and Aylesbury_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -These essays, upon different phases of the wonderful world-drama -which has made our lifetime memorable, would be unworthy of -republication were it not that at such a time every smallest thing -which may help to clear up a doubt, to elucidate the justice of our -cause, or to accentuate the desperate need of national effort, -should be thrown into the scale. The longest essay appeared in _The -Fortnightly Review_ and the shorter ones for the most part in _The -Daily Chronicle_. I have left them as written at the time, even -where after-events have caused some modification of my views. - - ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. - WINDLESHAM, CROWBOROUGH, - _November 1914._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - I. THE CAUSES OF THE WAR 1 - - II. THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY 32 - - III. THE DEVIL'S DOCTRINE 41 - - IV. THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT 55 - - V. THE "CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY" 65 - - VI. A POLICY OF MURDER 79 - - VII. MADNESS 89 - - VIII. GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR 99 - - IX. AFTERTHOUGHTS 144 - - - * * * * * - - - - -I - -THE CAUSES OF THE WAR - - - This article, stating the British case, was issued as a - recruiting pamphlet in Great Britain, but was used abroad - as a simple explanation which would enable neutrals to - understand the true facts. It was published in full by - fifty leading journals in the United States, and was - translated into Dutch and Danish, 25,000 copies being - distributed in each country. - -The causes of the war are only of moment to us, at this stage, in -that we gain more strength in our arms and more iron in our souls by -a knowledge that it is for all that is honourable and sacred for -which we fight. What really concerns us is that we are in a fight -for our national life, that we must fight through to the end, and -that each and all of us must help, in his own fashion, to the last -ounce of his strength, that this end may be victory. That is the -essence of the situation. It is not words and phrases that we need, -but men, men--and always more men. If words can bring the men, then -they are of avail. If not, they may well wait for the times to mend. -But if there is a doubt in the mind of any man as to the justice of -his country's quarrel, then even a writer may find work ready to his -hand. - -Let us cast our minds back upon the events which have led up to this -conflict. They may be divided into two separate classes--those which -prepared the general situation, and those which caused the special -quarrel. Each of these I will treat in its turn. - -It is a matter of common knowledge, one which a man must be blind -and deaf not to understand, that for many years Germany, intoxicated -by her success in war and by her increase of wealth, has regarded -the British Empire with eyes of jealousy and hatred. It has never -been alleged by those who gave expression to this almost universal -national passion that Great Britain had in any way, either -historically or commercially, done Germany a mischief. Even our most -bitter traducers, when asked to give any definite historical reasons -for their dislike, were compelled to put forward such ludicrous -excuses as that the British had abandoned the Prussian King in the -year 1761, quite oblivious of the fact that the same Prussian King -had abandoned his own allies in the same war under far more damaging -circumstances, acting up to his own motto that no promises are -binding where the vital interests of a State are in question. With -all their malevolence they could give no examples of any ill turn -done by us until their deliberate policy had forced us into -antagonism. On the other hand, a long list of occasions could very -easily be compiled on which we had helped them in some common cause -from the days of Marlborough to those of Blcher. Until the -twentieth century had turned they had no possible cause for -political hatred against us. In commerce our record was even more -clear. Never in any way had we interfered with that great -development of trade which has turned them from one of the poorest -to one of the richest of European States. Our markets were open to -them untaxed, whilst our own manufactures paid 20 per cent. in -Germany. The markets of India, of Egypt, and of every portion of -the Empire which had no self-appointed tariff, were as open to -German goods as to British ones. Nothing could possibly have been -more generous than our commercial treatment. No doubt there was some -grumbling when cheap imitations of our own goods were occasionally -found to oust the originals from their markets. Such a feeling was -but natural and human. But in all matters of commerce, as in all -matters political before the dawn of this century, they have no -shadow of a grievance against us. - -And yet they hated us with a most bitter hatred, a hatred which long -antedates the days when we were compelled to take a definite stand -against them. In all sorts of ways this hatred showed itself--in the -diatribes of professors, in the pages of books, in the columns of -the Press. Usually it was a sullen, silent dislike. Sometimes it -would flame up suddenly into bitter utterance, as at the time of the -unseemly dispute around the deathbed of the Emperor's father, or on -the occasion of the Jameson Raid. And yet this bitter antagonism was -in no way reciprocated in this country. If a poll had been taken at -any time up to the end of the century as to which European country -was our natural ally, the vote would have gone overwhelmingly for -Germany. "America first and then Germany" would have been the -verdict of nine men out of ten. But then occurred two events which -steadied the easy-going Briton, and made him look more intently and -with a more questioning gaze at his distant cousin over the water. -Those two events were the Boer War and the building of the German -fleet. The first showed us, to our amazement, the bitter desire -which Germany had to do us some mischief, the second made us realise -that she was forging a weapon with which that desire might be -fulfilled. - -We are most of us old enough to remember the torrent of calumny and -insult which was showered upon us in the day of our temporary -distress by the nation to whom we had so often been a friend and an -ally. It is true that other nations treated us little better, and -yet their treatment hurt us less. The difference as it struck men at -the time may be summarised in this passage from a British writer of -the period. - -"But it was very different with Germany," he says. "Again and again -in the world's history we have been the friends and the allies of -these people. It was so in the days of Marlborough, in those of the -Great Frederick, and in those of Napoleon. When we could not help -them with men we helped them with money. Our fleet has crushed their -enemies. And now, for the first time in history, we have had a -chance of seeing who were our friends in Europe, and nowhere have we -met more hatred and more slander than from the German Press and the -German people. Their most respectable journals have not hesitated to -represent the British troops--troops every bit as humane and as -highly disciplined as their own--not only as committing outrages on -person and property, but even as murdering women and children. - -"At first this unexpected phenomenon merely surprised the British -people, then it pained them, and finally, after two years of it, it -has roused a deep, enduring anger in their minds." - -He goes on to say, "The continued attacks upon us have left an -enduring feeling of resentment, which will not and should not die -away in this generation. It is not too much to say that five years -ago a complete defeat of Germany in a European war would have -certainly caused British intervention. Public sentiment and racial -affinity would never have allowed us to see her really go to the -wall. And now it is certain that in our lifetime no British guinea -and no soldier's life would under any circumstances be spent for -such an end. That is one strange result of the Boer War, and in the -long run it is possible that it may prove not the least important." - -Such was the prevailing mood of the nation when they perceived -Germany, under the lead of her Emperor, following up her expressions -of enmity by starting with restless energy to build up a formidable -fleet, adding programme to programme, out of all possible proportion -to the German commerce to be defended or to the German coastline -exposed to attack. Already vainglorious boasts were made that -Germany was the successor to Britain upon the seas. "The Admiral of -the Atlantic greets the Admiral of the Pacific," said the Kaiser in -a message to the Czar. What was Britain to do under this growing -menace? So long as she was isolated the diplomacy of Germany might -form some naval coalition against her. She took the steps which were -necessary for her own safety, and without forming an alliance she -composed her differences with France and Russia and drew closer the -friendship which united her with her old rival across the Channel. -The first-fruit of the new German fleet was the _entente cordiale_. -We had found our enemy. It was necessary that we should find our -friends. Thus we were driven into our present combination. - -And now we had to justify our friendship. For the first time we were -compelled to openly oppose Germany in the deep and dangerous game of -world politics. They wished to see if our understanding was a -reality or a sham. Could they drive a wedge between us by showing -that we were a fair-weather friend whom any stress would alienate. -Twice they tried it, once in 1906 when they bullied France into a -conference at Algeciras, but found that Britain was firm at her -side, and again in 1911 when in a time of profound peace they -stirred up trouble by sending a gunboat to Agadir, and pushed -matters to the very edge of war. But no threats induced Britain to -be false to her mutual insurance with France. Now for the third and -most fatal time they have demanded that we forswear ourselves and -break our own bond lest a worse thing befall us. Blind and foolish, -did they not know by past experience that we would keep our promise -given? In their madness they have wrought an irremediable evil to -themselves, to us, and to all Europe. - -I have shown that we have in very truth never injured nor desired to -injure Germany in commerce, nor have we opposed her politically -until her own deliberate actions drove us into the camp of her -opponents. But it may well be asked why then did they dislike us, -and why did they weave hostile plots against us? It was that, as it -seemed to them, and as indeed it actually may have been, we -independently of our own wills stood between Germany and that world -empire of which she dreamed. This was caused by circumstances over -which we had no control and which we could not modify if we had -wished to do so. Britain, through her maritime power and the energy -of her merchants and people, had become a great world power when -Germany was still unformed. Thus, when she had grown to her full -stature she found that the choice places of the world and those most -fitted for the spread of a transplanted European race were already -filled up. It was not a matter which we could help, nor could we -alter it, since Canada, Australia, and South Africa would not, even -if we could be imagined to have wished it, be transferred to German -rule. And yet the Germans chafed, and if we can put ourselves in -their places we may admit that it was galling that the surplus of -their manhood should go to build up the strength of an alien and -possibly a rival State. So far we could see their grievance, or -rather their misfortune, since no one was in truth to blame in the -matter. Had their needs been openly and reasonably expressed, and -had the two States moved in concord in the matter, it is difficult -to think that no helpful solution of any kind could have been -found. - -But the German method of approaching the problem has never been to -ask sympathy and co-operation, but to picture us as a degenerate -race from whom anything might be gained by playing upon our imagined -weakness and cowardice. A nation which attends quietly to its own -sober business must, according to their medival notions, be a -nation of decadent poltroons. If we fight our battles by means of -free volunteers instead of enforced conscripts, then the military -spirit must be dead amongst us. Perhaps, even in this short -campaign, they have added this delusion also to the dust-bin of -their many errors. But such was their absurd self-deception about -the most virile of European races. Did we propose disarmament, then -it was not humanitarianism but cowardice that prompted us, and their -answer was to enlarge their programme. Did we suggest a -navy-building holiday, it was but a cloak for our weakness, and an -incitement that they should redouble their efforts. Our decay had -become a part of their national faith. At first the wish may have -been the father to the thought, but soon under the reiterated -assertions of their crazy professors the proposition became -indisputable. Bernhardi in his book upon the next war cannot conceal -the contempt in which he has learned to hold us. Niebuhr long ago -had prophesied the coming fall of Britain, and every year was -believed to bring it nearer and to make it more certain. To these -jaundiced eyes all seemed yellow, when the yellowness lay only in -themselves. Our army, our navy, our Colonies, all were equally -rotten. "Old England, old, indeed, and corrupt, rotten through and -through." One blow and the vast sham would fly to pieces, and from -those pieces the victor could choose his reward. Listen to Professor -Treitschke, a man who, above all others, has been the evil genius of -his country, and has done most to push it towards this abyss: "A -thing that is wholly a sham," he cried, in allusion to our Empire, -"cannot, in this universe of ours, endure for ever. It may endure -for a day, but its doom is certain." Were ever words more true when -applied to the narrow bureaucracy and swaggering Junkerdom of -Prussia, the most artificial and ossified sham that ever our days -have seen? See which will crack first, our democracy or this, now -that both have been plunged into the furnace together. The day of -God's testing has come, and we shall see which can best abide it. - -I have tried to show that we are in no way to blame for the -hostility which has grown up between us. So far as it had any solid -cause at all it has arisen from fixed factors, which could no more -be changed by us than the geographical position which has laid us -right across their exit to the oceans of the world. That this -deeply-rooted national sentiment, which for ever regarded us as the -Carthage to which they were destined to play the part of Rome, -would, sooner or later, have brought about war between us, is, in my -opinion, beyond all doubt. But it was planned to come at the moment -which was least favourable for Britain. "Even English attempts at a -_rapprochement_ must not blind us to the real situation," says -Bernhardi. "We may, at most, use them to delay the necessary and -inevitable war until we may fairly imagine we have some prospect of -success." A more shameless sentence was never penned, and one -stands marvelling which is the more grotesque--the cynicism of the -sentiment, or the folly which gave such a warning to the victim. For -be it remembered that Bernhardi's words are to be taken very -seriously, for they are not the ravings of some Pan-German -monomaniac, but the considered views of the foremost military writer -of Germany, one who is in touch with those inner circles whose -opinions are the springs of national policy. "Our last and greatest -reckoning is to be with Great Britain," said the bitter Treitschke. -Sooner or later the shock was to come. Germany sat brooding over the -chessboard of the world waiting for the opening which should assure -a winning game. - -It was clear that she should take her enemies separately rather than -together. If Britain were attacked, it was almost certain that -France and Russia would stand by her side. But if, on the contrary, -the quarrel could be made with these two Powers, and especially with -Russia, in the first instance, then it was by no means so certain -that Great Britain would be drawn into the struggle. Public opinion -has to be strongly moved before our country can fight, and public -opinion under a Liberal Government might well be divided upon the -subject of Russia. Therefore, if the quarrel could be so arranged as -to seem to be entirely one between Teuton and Slav there was a good -chance that Britain would remain undecided until the swift German -sword had done its work. Then, with the grim acquiescence of our -deserted Allies, the still bloody sword would be turned upon -ourselves, and that great final reckoning would have come. - -Such was the plan, and fortune favoured it. A brutal murder had, not -for the first time, put Servia into a position where a State may be -blamed for the sins of individuals. An ultimatum was launched so -phrased that it was impossible for any State to accept it as it -stood and yet remain an independent State. At the first sign of -argument or remonstrance the Austrian army marched upon Belgrade. -Russia, which had been already humiliated in 1908 by the forcible -annexation of Bosnia, could not possibly submit a second time to the -Caudine Forks. She laid her hand upon her sword-hilt. Germany -sprang to the side of her Ally. France ranged herself with Russia. -Like a thunderclap the war of the nations had begun. - -So far all had worked well for German plans. Those of the British -public who were familiar with the past and could look into the future -might be well aware that our interests were firmly bound with those -of France, and that if our faggots were not tied together they would -assuredly be snapped each in its turn. But the unsavoury -assassination which had been so cleverly chosen as the starting-point -of the war bulked large in the eyes of our people, and, setting -self-interest to one side, the greater part of the public might well -have hesitated to enter into a quarrel where the cause seemed remote -and the issues ill-defined. What was it to us if a Slav or a Teuton -collected the harbour dues of Salonica! So the question might have -presented itself to the average man who in the long run is the ruler -of this country and the autocrat of its destinies. In spite of all -the wisdom of our statesmen, it is doubtful if on such a quarrel we -could have gained that national momentum which might carry us to -victory. But at that very moment Germany took a step which removed -the last doubt from the most cautious of us and left us in a position -where we must either draw our sword or stand for ever dishonoured and -humiliated before the world. The action demanded of us was such a -compound of cowardice and treachery that we ask ourselves in dismay -what can we ever have done that could make others for one instant -imagine us to be capable of so dastardly a course? Yet that it was -really supposed that we could do it, and that it was not merely put -forward as an excuse for drawing us into war, is shown by the anger -and consternation of the Kaiser and his Chancellor when we drew back -from what the British Prime Minister has described as "an infamous -proposal." One has only to read our Ambassador's description of his -interview with the German Chancellor after our decision was -announced, "so evidently overcome by the news of our action," to see -that through some extraordinary mental aberration the German rulers -did actually believe that a vital treaty with Britain's signature -upon it could be regarded by this country as a mere "scrap of paper." - -What was this treaty which it was proposed so lightly to set aside? -It was the guarantee of the neutrality of Belgium signed in 1839 -(confirmed verbally and in writing by Bismarck in 1870), by Prussia, -France, and Britain, each of whom pledged their word to observe and -to enforce it. On the strength of it Belgium had relied for her -security amidst her formidable neighbours. On the strength of it -also France had lavished all her defences upon her eastern frontier, -and left her northern exposed to attack. Britain had guaranteed the -treaty, and Britain could be relied upon. Now, on the first occasion -of testing the value of her word it was supposed that she would -regard the treaty as a worthless scrap of paper, and stand by -unmoved while the little State which had trusted her was flooded by -the armies of the invader. It was unthinkable, and yet the wisest -brains of Germany seem to have persuaded themselves that we had sunk -to such depths of cowardly indolence that even this might go -through. Surely they also have been hypnotised by those foolish -dreams of Britain's degeneration, from which they will have so -terrible an awakening. - -As a matter of fact, the General Staff had got ahead of the -diplomatists, and the German columns were already over the border -while the point was being debated at Berlin. There was no retreat -from the position which had been taken up. "It is to us a vital -matter of strategy and is beyond argument," said the German soldier. -"It is to us a vital matter of honour and is beyond argument," -answered the British statesman. The die was cast. No compromise was -possible. Would Britain keep her word or would she not? That was the -sole question at issue. And what answer save one could any Briton -give to it? "I do not believe," said our Prime Minister, "that any -nation ever entered into a great controversy with a clearer -conscience and stronger conviction that she is fighting, not for -aggression, not for the maintenance of her own selfish interest, but -in defence of principles the maintenance of which is vital to the -civilisation of the world." So he spoke, and History will endorse -his words, for we surely have our quarrel just. - -So much for the events which have led us to war. Now for a moment -let us glance at what we may have to hope for, what we may have to -fear, and above all what we must each of us do that we win through -to a lasting peace. - -What have we to gain if we win? That we have nothing material to -gain, no colonies which we covet, no possessions of any sort that we -desire, is the final proof that the war has not been provoked by us. -No nation would deliberately go out of its way to wage so hazardous -and costly a struggle when there is no prize for victory. But one -enormous indirect benefit we will gain if we can make Germany a -peaceful and harmless State. We will surely break her naval power -and take such steps that it shall not be a menace to us any more. It -was this naval power, with its rapid increase, and the need that we -should ever, as Mr. Churchill has so well expressed it, be ready at -our average moment to meet an attack at their chosen moment--it was -this which has piled up our war estimates during the last ten years -until they have bowed us down. With such enormous sums spent upon -ships and guns, great masses of capital were diverted from the -ordinary channels of trade, while an even more serious result was -that our programmes of social reform had to be curtailed from want -of the money which could finance them. Let the menace of that -lurking fleet be withdrawn--the nightmare of those thousand hammers -working day and night in forging engines for our destruction, and -our estimates will once again be those of a civilised Christian -country, while our vast capital will be turned from measures of -self-protection to those of self-improvement. Should our victory be -complete, there is little which Germany can yield to us save the -removal of that shadow which has darkened us so long. But our -children and our children's children will never, if we do our work -well now, look across the North Sea with the sombre thoughts which -have so long been ours, while their lives will be brightened and -elevated by money which we, in our darker days, have had to spend -upon our ships and our guns. - -Consider, on the other hand, what we should suffer if we were to -lose. All the troubles of the last ten years would be with us still, -but in a greatly exaggerated form. A larger and stronger Germany -would dominate Europe and would overshadow our lives. Her coast-line -would be increased, her ports would face our own, her coaling -stations would be in every sea, and her great army, greater then -than ever, would be within striking distance of our shores. To avoid -sinking for ever into the condition of a dependant, we should be -compelled to have recourse to rigid compulsory service, and our -diminished revenues would be all turned to the needs of -self-defence. Such would be the miserable condition in which we -should hand on to our children that free and glorious empire which -we inherited in all the fulness of its richness and its splendour -from those strong fathers who have built it up. What peace of mind, -what self-respect could be left for us in the remainder of our -lives? The weight of dishonour would lie always upon our hearts. And -yet this will be surely our fate and our future if we do not nerve -our souls and brace our arms for victory. No regrets will avail, no -excuses will help, no after-thoughts can profit us. It is -now--_now_--even in these weeks and months that are passing that the -final reckoning is being taken, and when once the sum is made up no -further effort can change it. What are our lives or our labours, our -fortunes or even our families, when compared with the life or death -of the great mother of us all? We are but the leaves of the tree. -What matter if we flutter down to-day or to-morrow, so long as the -great trunk stands and the burrowing roots are firm? Happy the man -who can die with the thought that in this greatest crisis of all he -has served his country to the uttermost; but who would bear the -thoughts of him who lives on with the memory that he has shirked his -duty and failed his country at the moment of her need? - -There is a settled and assured future if we win. There is darkness -and trouble if we lose. But if we take a broader sweep and trace the -meanings of this contest as they affect others than ourselves, then -ever greater, more glorious are the issues for which we fight. For -the whole world stands at a turning-point of its history, and one or -other of two opposite principles, the rule of the soldier or the -rule of the citizen, must now prevail. In this sense we fight for -the masses of the German people, as some day they will understand, -to free them from that formidable military caste which has used and -abused them, spending their bodies in an unjust war and poisoning -their minds by every device which could inflame them against those -who wish nothing save to live at peace with them. We fight for the -strong, deep Germany of old, the Germany of music and of philosophy, -against this monstrous modern aberration the Germany of blood and of -iron, the Germany from which, instead of the old things of beauty, -there come to us only the rant of scolding professors with their -final reckonings, their Welt-politik, and their Godless theories of -the Superman who stands above morality and to whom all humanity -shall be subservient. Instead of the world-inspiring phrases of a -Goethe or a Schiller, what are the words in the last decade which -have been quoted across the sea? Are they not always the -ever-recurring words of wrath from one ill-balanced man? "Strike -them with the mailed fist." "Leave such a name behind you as Attila -and his Huns." "Turn your weapons even upon your own flesh and blood -at my command." These are the messages which have come from this -perversion of a nation's soul. - -But the matter lies deep. The Hohenzollerns and the Hapsburgs have -used their peoples as a great landowner might use the serfs upon his -estate. It was, and is, their openly expressed theory that they were -in their position by the grace of God, that they owed no reckoning -to any man, and that kingdom and folk were committed for better or -worse to their charge. Round this theory of the dark ages there -gathered all the forces of the many Courts of the Empire, all the -nobility who make so huge a class in Germanic countries, all the -vast army to whom strict discipline and obedience were the breath of -life, all the office-holders of the State, all the purveyors of -warlike stores. These and their like were the natural setting to -such a central idea. Court influence largely controlled the -teaching at schools and universities, and so the growing twig could -be bent. But all these forces together could not have upheld so -dangerous and unnatural a theory had it not been for the influence -of a servile Press. - -How that Press was managed, how the thoughts of the people could be -turned to the right or the left with the same precision as a platoon -of Grenadiers, has been shown clearly enough in the Memoirs of -Bismarck. Public opinion was poisoned at its very roots. The average -citizen lived in a false atmosphere where everything was distorted -to his vision. He saw his Kaiser, not as an essentially weak and -impetuous man with a dangerous entourage who were ever at his ear, -but as Germany personified, an angel with a flaming sword, beating -back envious assailants from the beloved Fatherland. He saw his -neighbours not as peaceful nations who had no possible desire to -attack him, but, on the contrary, lived in constant fear of him, but -as a band of envious and truculent conspirators who could only be -kept in order by the sudden stamp of the jackboot and the menacing -clatter of the sabre. He insensibly imbibed the Nietzsche doctrine -that the immorality of the Superman may be as colossal as his -strength and that the slave-evangel of Christianity was superseded -by a sterner law. Thus when he saw acts which his reason must have -told him were indefensible, he was still narcotised by this -conception of some new standard of right. He saw his Kaiser at the -time of a petty humiliation to Great Britain sending a telegram of -congratulation to the man who had inflicted this rebuff. Could that -be approved by reason? At a time when all Europe was shuddering over -the Armenian massacres he saw this same Kaiser paying a -complimentary visit to the Sultan whose hands were still wet with -the blood of murdered Christians. Could that be reconciled with what -is right? A little later he saw the Kaiser once again pushing -himself into Mediterranean politics, where no direct German interest -lay, and endeavouring to tangle up the French developments in -Northern Africa by provocative personal appearances at Morocco, and, -later, by sending a gunboat to intrude upon a scene of action which -had already by the Treaty of Algeciras been allotted to France. - -How could an honest German whose mind was undebauched by a -controlled Press justify such an interference as that? He is or -should be aware that in annexing Bosnia, Austria was tearing up a -treaty without the consent of the other signatories, and that his -own country was supporting and probably inciting her ally to this -public breach of faith. Could he honestly think that this was right? -And, finally, he must know, for his own Chancellor has publicly -proclaimed it, that the Invasion of Belgium was a breach of -international right, and that Germany, or rather, Prussia, had -perjured herself upon the day that the first of her soldiers passed -over the frontier. How can he explain all this to himself save on a -theory that might is right, that no moral law applies to the -Superman, and that so long as one hews one's way through the rest -can matter little? To such a point of degradation have public morals -been brought by the infernal teachings of Prussian military -philosophy, dating back as far as Frederick the Second, but -intensified by the exhortations of Press and professors during our -own times. The mind of the average kindly German citizen has been -debauched and yet again debauched until it needed just such a world -crisis as this to startle him at last from his obsession and show -him his position and that of his country in its true relation with -humanity and progress. - -Thus I say that for the German who stands outside the ruling classes -our victory would bring a lasting relief, and some hope that in the -future his destiny should be controlled by his own judgment and not -by the passions or interests of those against whom he has at present -no appeal. A system which has brought disaster to Germany and chaos -to all Europe can never, one would think, be resumed, and amid the -debris of his Empire the German may pick up that precious jewel of -personal freedom which is above the splendour of foreign conquest. A -Hapsburg or a Hohenzollern may find his true place as the servant -rather than the master of a nation. But apart from Germany, look at -the effects which our victory must have over the whole wide world. -Everywhere it will mean the triumph of reasoned democracy, of -public debate, of ordered freedom in which every man is an active -unit in the system of his own government; whilst our defeat would -stand for a victory to a privileged class, the thrusting down of the -civilian by the arrogance and intolerance of militarism, and the -subjection of all that is human and progressive to all that is -cruel, narrow, and reactionary. - -This is the stake for which we play, and the world will lose or gain -as well as we. You may well come, you democratic over-sea men of our -blood, to rally round us now, for all that you cherish, all that is -bred in your very bones, is that for which we fight. And you, lovers -of Freedom in every land, we claim at least your prayers and your -wishes, for if our sword be broken you will be the poorer. But fear -not, for our sword will not be broken, nor shall it ever drop from -our hands until this matter is for ever set in order. If every ally -we have upon earth were to go down in blood and ruin, still would we -fight through to the appointed end. Defeat shall not daunt us. -Inconclusive victory shall not turn us from our purpose. The grind -of poverty and the weariness of hopes deferred shall not blunt the -edge of our resolve. With God's help we shall go to the end, and -when that goal is reached it is our prayer that a new era shall come -as our reward, an era in which, by common action of State with -State, mutual hatreds and strivings shall be appeased, land shall no -longer be estranged from land, and huge armies and fleets will be -nightmares of the past. Thus, as ever, the throes of evil may give -birth to good. Till then our task stands clear before us--a task -that will ask for all we have in strength and resolution. Have you -who read this played your part to the highest? If not, do it now, or -stand for ever shamed. - - - * * * * * - - - - -II - -THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY - - -It is instructive and interesting now,[1] before fresh great events -and a new situation obliterate the old impressions, to put it on -record how things seemed to some of us before the blow fell. A -mental position often seems incredible when looked back to from some -new standpoint. - - [1] August 20, 1914. - -I am one of those who were obstinate in refusing to recognise -Germany's intentions. I argued, I wrote, I joined the Anglo-German -Friendship Society; I did everything I could for the faith that was -in me. But early last year my views underwent a complete change, and -I realised that I had been wrong, and that the thing which seemed -too crazy and too wicked to be true actually was true. I recorded my -conversion at the time in an article entitled "Great Britain and -the Next War" in the _Fortnightly_ of March, and reading over that -article I find a good deal which fits very closely to the present -situation. Forecasts are dangerous, but there is not much there -which I would wish to withdraw. What brought about my change of view -was reading Bernhardi's book on Germany and the next war. - -Up to then I had imagined that all this sabre-rattling was a sort of -boyish exuberance on the part of a robust young nation which had a -fancy to clank about the world in jackboots. Some of it also came, -as it seemed to me, from a perfectly natural jealousy, and some as -the result of the preaching of those extraordinary professors whose -idiotic diatribes have done so much to poison the minds of Young -Germany. This was clear enough. But I could not believe that there -was a conspiracy hatching for a world-war, in which the command of -the sea would be challenged as well as that of the land. No motive -seemed to me to exist for so monstrous an upheaval, and no prize to -await Germany, if she won, which could at all balance her enormous -risks if she lost. Besides, one imagined that civilisation and -Christianity did stand for something, and that it was inconceivable -that a nation with pretensions to either the one or the other could -at this date of the world's history lend itself to a cold-blooded, -barbarous conspiracy by which it built up its strength for a number -of years with the intention of falling at a fitting moment upon its -neighbours, without any cause of quarrel save a general desire for -aggrandisement. - -All this, I say, I could not bring myself to believe. But I read -Bernhardi's book, and then I could not help believing. I wrote an -article in the hope that others who had been as blind as myself -might also come to see the truth. For who was Bernhardi? He was one -of the most noted officers in the German army. And here was a book -addressed to his own fellow-countrymen, in which these sentiments -were set forth. You could not set such a document aside and treat it -as of no account. As I said at the time, "We should be mad if we did -not take very serious notice of the warning." - -But the strange thing is that there should have been a warning. -There is a quaint simplicity in the German mind, which has shown -itself again and again in the recent events. But this is surely the -supreme example of it. One would imagine that the idea that the book -could be translated and read by his intended victims had never -occurred to the author. As a famous soldier, it is impossible to -believe that he was not in touch with the General Staff, and he -outlines a policy which has some reason, therefore, to be looked -upon as an official one. It is as bright a performance as if some -one on Lord Roberts's staff had written a description of the -Paardeberg flank march and sent it to Cronje some weeks before it -was carried out. And yet it was not an isolated example, for Von -Edelsheim, who actually belongs to this amazing General Staff, -published a shorter sketch, setting forth how his country would deal -with the United States--an essay which is an extraordinary example -of bombastic ignorance. Such indiscretions can only be explained as -manifestations of an inflated national arrogance, which has blown -itself up into a conviction that Germany was so sure of winning -that it mattered little whether her opponents were upon their guard -or not. - -But Bernhardi's programme, as outlined in his book, is actually -being carried through. The whole weight of the attack was to be -thrown upon France. Russia was to be held back during her slow -mobilisation, and then the victorious legions from Paris were to -thunder across in their countless troop trains from the western to -the eastern firing-line. Britain was to be cajoled into keeping -aloof until her fate was ripe. Then her fleet was to be whittled -down by submarines, mines, and torpedo-boats until the numbers were -more equal, when the main German fleet, coming from under the forts -of Wilhelmshaven, should strike for the conquest of the sea. Such -were the plans, and dire the fate of the conquered. They were in -accordance with the German semi-official paper, which cried on the -day before the declaration of war: "We shall win--and when we do, -'Vae victis!'" With France it was to be a final account. Our own -fate would be little better. It needs a righteous anger to wage war -to the full, and we can feel it when we think of the long-drawn -plot against us, and of the fate which defeat would bring. - -However favourable the general trend of events, we can hardly hope -to escape some bad hours during this war. The Germans are a great -and brave people, with a fine record in warlike history. They will -not go down without leaving their mark deep upon the Allies. We must -not take the opening successes too seriously, or allow ourselves to -have the edge taken off our resolution by the idea that things will -necessarily go well with us. On land and sea vast efforts and -occasional disappointments will await us. But it will not be long. -It is, as it seems to me, absolutely impossible that it should be -long. The temper of the times will not brook slow measures, nor will -the enormous financial strain upon Germany be tolerated -indefinitely. How dangerous is prophecy, and these very words may -come back to mock me; but I cannot myself see how it can be over in -less than six months, or how it could extend for more than twelve. - -If it should happen that the military affairs of Germany are as -rotten as her diplomacy, then it certainly should not last long. -That, no doubt, is too much to expect, but there are many degrees of -incapacity which are short of that extreme limit. For of that, at -least, there can be no dispute. What has come from all this crazy -science of Real-politik and Welt-politik and the rest of it? Simply -that wherever it was possible to lose the trick Germany and her -partner have done so. An alliance with Italy so loose that it was -useless, a Mediterranean understanding with Austria so vague that it -only operated after it had become of no service to the German -cruisers, the drawing of Servia, Montenegro, and, finally, of -Belgium, into the field against them, the dealing with England in -the one fashion which must unite our ranks and cut the ground from -under the feet of any party which might cause dissension--these are -the results of the Wilhelmstrasse combinations, with Potsdam -embellishments. Was there ever so colossal a muddle? Is there any -one point which could have been worse handled? And then as a -by-product the universal distrust and anger which such policy has -aroused in the neutral countries--yes, it really is a thing -complete. - -But the German soldier may prove himself as good as ever. That he -will be as brave as ever I have no doubt at all. That he will be as -hardy as ever is less likely, as the population of the Fatherland -has drifted largely from fields to factories, and as the standard of -comfort, and even luxury, have greatly increased. The Westphalian -artisan of William is very different material from the Brandenburg -peasant of Frederick, even as the short-service soldier of 1914 is -very different from the ten-year man of 1750. I should expect to see -the German as good, but no better than his neighbours. But the whole -issue of this campaign depends, from his point of view, upon his -being better. He has to win against superior numbers. He must not -only win, but win quickly. If an equilibrium were established, the -strangulation from England must bring victory to the Allies. It is a -great deal that the Kaiser has asked from his men. - -And there is his much-vaunted military organisation. An American -friend of mine, who had means of forming an opinion, remarked to -me, "Yes, it is a huge and smooth-running machine, with delicate -adjustments. Like all such machines, if a few cogwheels stuck the -whole might racket itself to pieces." A cogwheel stuck at Lige, -another may stick before long, and it all depends on how the machine -can adjust itself. The lesson of history is ominous. The Prussians -of Jena and Auerstadt were men who had been swollen up by the -tradition of Frederick's prowess. Yet in a single day their defeat -was so great and their power of recuperation so slight that they -were utterly dispersed, and their country for seven years ceased to -exist as a factor in European politics. They have always been great -winners. They have not always been great in adversity. How will they -now stand this test if it should come their way? - - - * * * * * - - - - -III - -THE DEVIL'S DOCTRINE - - -I have been interesting and exasperating myself, during a most -untimely illness,[2] by working through a part of the literature of -German Imperial Expansion. I know that it is only a part, and yet -when I look at this array--Treitschke and Bernhardi, Schiemann and -Hasse, Bley, Sybel, "Gross-Deutschland" and "Germania Triumphans"--it -represents a considerable body of thought. And it is the literature -of the devil. Not one kindly sentiment, not one generous expression, -is to be found within it. It is informed with passionate cupidity for -the writer's country and unreasoning, indiscriminate hatred and -jealousy towards everything outside it--above all, towards the -British Empire. How could such a literature fail to bring about a -world-coalition against the country which produced it! Were there no -Germans who foresaw so obvious a result? The whole tendency of the -doctrine is that Germany should, artichoke fashion, dismember the -world. Not a word is said as to the world suddenly turning and -dismembering her. But was not that the only protection against such -monstrous teaching as these books contain? - - [2] September 10, 1914. - -You may object that these Imperialists were but a group of -monomaniacs and did not represent the nation. But the evidence is -the other way. They represented that part of the nation which counts -in international politics--they represented the Kaiser and his -circle, Von Tirpitz and the Navy men, Krupp, von Bohlen and the -armour-plated gang, the universities where such doctrines were -openly preached, the Army, the Junkers--all the noisy, aggressive -elements whose voice has sounded of late years as the voice of -Germany. All were infected by the same virus of madness which has -compelled Europe to get them once for all into a strait-jacket. - -The actual policy of State was conducted on the very lines of these -teachings, where the devilish doctrine that war should be for ever -lurking in a statesman's thoughts, that he should be prepared to -pounce upon a neighbour should it be in a state of weakness, and that -no treaty or moral consideration should stay his hand, is repeated -again and again as the very basis of all state-craft. At the time of -the Agadir crisis we have the German Minister of Foreign Affairs -openly admitting that he took the view of the fanatical Pan-Germans. -"I am as good a Pan-German as you," said Kiderlen-Waechter to the -representative of the League. Each was as good or as bad as the -other, for all were filled with the same heady, pernicious stuff -which has brought Europe to chaos. - -Where, now, is that "deep, patient Germany" of which Carlyle wrote? -Was ever a nation's soul so perverted, so fallen from grace! Read -this mass of bombast--learned bombast of professors, vulgar bombast -of Lokal-Anzeigers and the like, but always bombast. Wade through -the prophetic books with their assumption that Britain must perish -and Germany succeed her; consult the scolding articles and -lectures, so narrow, ungenerous, and boastful in their tone, so -utterly wanting in the deeper historical knowledge or true reading -of a rival's character; see the insane Pan-German maps, with their -partitions of Europe for the year 1915 or thereabouts; study the -lectures of the crazy professors, with their absurd assumption of -accurate knowledge and their extraordinary knack of getting every -fact as wrong as it could possibly be--take all this together, and -then say whether any nation has ever in this world been so foolishly -and utterly misled as have the Germans. - -I have alluded to their knack of getting everything wrong. It is -perfectly miraculous. One would not have thought it possible that -people could be _always_ wrong. So blinded have they been by hate -that everything was distorted. Never even by accident did they -stumble upon the truth. Let us take a list of their confident -assertions--things so self-evident that they were taken for granted -by the average journalist: - - "The British Army was worthless; its presence on the Continent, - even if it could come, was immaterial. - - "Britain herself was absolutely decadent. - - "Britain's commerce could be ruined by the German cruisers. - - "The United States would fall upon us if we were in trouble. - - "Canada and Australia were longing to break away from the Empire. - - "India loathed us. - - "The Boers were eager to reconquer South Africa. - - "The Empire was an artificial collection of States which must - fly to pieces at the first shock." - -This was the nonsense which grave Berlin Professors of History -ladled out to their receptive students. The sinister Treitschke, who -is one of half a dozen men who have torn down Imperial Germany just -as surely as Roon, Bismarck, and Moltke built it up, was the -arch-priest of this cult. Like Nietzsche, whose moral teaching was -the supplement to the Pan-German Material doctrine, Treitschke was -not, by extraction, a German at all. Both men were of the magnetic -Slav stock, dreamers of dreams and seers of visions--evil dreams and -dark visions for the land in which they dwelt. With their magic -flutes they have led the whole blind, foolish, conceited nation down -that easy, pleasant path which ends in this abyss. - -Nietzsche was, as his whole life proved, a man upon the edge of -insanity, who at last went obviously mad. Treitschke was a man of -great brain power, who had an _ide fixe_--a monomania about -Britain. So long as he raved in Berlin, Englishmen took no more -notice than they do of an anarchist howling in the park; for it is -the British theory that a man may say and think what he will so long -as he refrains from doing. But Treitschke was always dangerous. He -was magnetic, eloquent, enthusiastic, flashing wondrous visions of -the future before his listeners, varying in beauty, but always alike -in that they were seen across our prostrate body. Those who are in a -position to judge, like the late Professor Cramb, say that his -influence on young Germany could only be compared with that of -Carlyle and Macaulay united in Great Britain. And now, after his -death, his words have all sprung to deeds to the ruin of his own -country and to the deep misfortune of ours. He used to visit -England, this strange and sinister man, but as he was stone deaf his -bodily presence brought him little nearer to us. With useless ears -and jaundiced eyes he moved among us, returning to Berlin for the -new Semester as ignorant as he had left it, to rail against us once -again. He worked to harm us, and he has done so, but Lord! what is -the worst that he has done to us compared with the irretrievable -ruin that he has brought to his own country! He and Von Tirpitz, -Count Bieberstein, Maximilian Harden and a few more, to say nothing -of the head plotter of all--a fine Germany they will leave behind -them! Treitschke is dead, and so is Bieberstein, but a good many of -their dupes may live to see the day when Indian princes ride as -conquerors down Unter den Linden and the shattered remains of the -braggadocio statues of the Sieges Alle, that vulgar monument of -bastard Imperialism, will expiate the honoured ashes of Louvain. - -But the stupidity of it all--that is the consideration which comes -in a wave to submerge every other aspect of the matter. For consider -the situation: as lately as 1897 the European grouping was clear. -The antagonists were already ranged. Russia had definitely taken her -side with France; against them, equally definitely, were Germany and -Austria, whilst Italy clearly was on an orbit by herself. War sooner -or later was a certainty. Unattached, but with a distinct bias to -Germany on racial, religious, and other grounds, lay Great Britain, -the richest Power in the world, the ruler of the seas, and a nation -which was historically tenacious and unconquerable in war. Was it -not clear that the first interest of Germany was to conciliate such -a Power and to make sure that if she were not an ally she would at -least never be an enemy? No proposition could be clearer than that. -And yet cast your minds back and remember the treatment and bearing -of Germany towards Britain since that date--the floods of scorn, the -libels, the bitter attacks, the unconcealed determination to do her -harm. See how it has all ended, and how this atmosphere of hatred -has put a driving force into Great Britain which has astonished -ourselves. This is the end of all the clever Welt-Politik. Truly -_Quos Deus vult perdere_--the gods must have willed it much, for no -nation was ever madder. - -Where were the sane Germans? Why was there no protest from them? -Perhaps there was, but we never heard of it amid the beating of -those great Pan-German drums. Did the whole nation, for example, -really agree in so harebrained a scheme as the Bagdad Railway? Think -of the insanity of such a project as that. Here is a railway -representing very many millions of German capital which is built in -the heart of Asia Minor, as far removed from any sort of German -protection or effective control as if it were in the moon. The next -step, vaguely thought out, was that German settlers were to be -planted along the line of the railroad, but upon that being advanced -the Turks, who had smiled most amiably at the actual railway -construction, put down their slippers in the most emphatic manner. -The net result, therefore, would seem to be that Turkey holds a -hostage of a great many millions of German capital which, so long -as Germany behaves herself, may or may not return some interest; but -if Germany goes against Turkish wishes could at once be confiscated. -Apart from Turkey, Russia in the Caucasus, and England in North-West -India regard with a good deal of interested attention this singular -and helpless German railway which projects out into space. - -There is one phase of their doctrines which has, perhaps, received -less attention than it deserves. It will be found very fully treated -in Professor Usher's book on _Pan-Germanism_, which, coming from an -American authority who seems to have studied his subject very -thoroughly, has the merit of impartiality. This proposition is that -just as a treaty is only a scrap of paper, so also is a bond or -debenture, and that just as the highest interest of a nation may at -any moment override ordinary morality, the same vital urgency may -justify anything in the nature of repudiation of debt. This is not -to be done on account of inability to pay the debt; but through a -deliberate, cold-blooded plot to weaken the creditor by robbing him -of his property. - -Modern Germany has been largely built up by foreign capital. In war, -if Germany is conquered the debt necessarily holds good. But if -Germany wins, part of her reward of victory is the complete -repudiation of all debts. Thus the glorious or inglorious prize of -success would be, that all her vast industrial plant would be freed -from every debenture and start without an encumbrance, a free -present from the enemy. This example, they hope, would lead other -nations to do the same, and so still further ruin the finances of -England and France, which are the great lending nations of the -earth. They frankly admit that such a _coup_ would make it very -difficult for their nation to borrow money again, but on the other -hand, they would have made such an immense profit over the -transaction that they would be able to go on for many years without -any need of more capital. "To secure so stupendous a result as -this," said the American Professor, "is well worth the expenditure -of money for building a fleet. That money, so far as the German -nation is concerned, is merely invested in an enterprise from which -they confidently expect returns perhaps a hundred-fold." - -As to the morality of this transaction, the Professor, who has -certainly no anti-German bias, expresses their views very plainly. -It is the same as Frederick the Great's views as to the morality of -treaties which have descended with such fatal effects upon his -successor on the Prussian throne. Once admit such anti-social -theories and there is no end to their application. Here it is in the -domain of economics just as shameless as in that of politics. "Once -more," says the Professor, "the Germans hear around them our cries -against the morality of this procedure. The Germans refuse to -recognise as moral anything which jeopardises their national -existence." They are to be the judges of what these are, and if -repudiation of debt is considered to be one of them, then all debt -may be repudiated. They will not put their views into practice this -time because they will not be the victors, but when the -reconstruction of Germany begins and she comes once again as a -chastened borrower into the market-place of the world, it would be -well to have some assurance as to how far she retains these views -upon commercial morality. - -But I have visions of a really chastened Germany, of a Germany which -has sloughed all this wicked nonsense, which has found her better -self again, and which is once more that "deep, patient Germany" with -which I began this essay. She never can be now what she could so -easily have been. She could have continued indefinitely to extend -from Poland to the Vosges, one vast community, honoured by all for -industry and for learning, with a huge commerce, a happy, peaceful, -prosperous population, and a Colonial system which, if smaller than -that of nations which were centuries older in the field, would at -least be remarkable for so short a time. None of these things would -the world have grudged her, and in the future as in the past she -would have found in the British Dominions and in Great Britain -herself an entry for her products as free as if she were herself -part of the Empire. - -All this must be changed for the worse, and it is just that she -should suffer for her sins. The work of sixty years will be -destroyed. But will not the spiritual Germany be the stronger and -better? We cannot say. We can but hope and wait and wonder. What is -sure is that the real Germany, of whom Carlyle spoke, can never be -destroyed. Nor would we desire it. Our wrath is not against Germany, -but against that Krupp-Kaiser-Junker combination which has brought -her to such a deadly pass. - - - * * * * * - - - - -IV - -THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT - - -It will be a fascinating task for the historian of the immediate -future to work out the various strands of evidence which seem to be -independent and yet when followed up converge upon the central -purpose of a prearranged war for the late summer of 1914--a war in -which Germany should be the prime mover and instigator and Austria -the dupe and catspaw. - -Of course, there are some great facts patent to all the world. There -is the sudden rapid acceleration of German preparations for the last -two years, the great increase of the army with the colours, and the -special emergency tax which was to bring in fifty millions of money. -Looking back, we can see very clearly that these things were the run -before the jump. Germany at the moment of declaring war had -accumulated by processes extending over years all the money which -by borrowing or taxation she could raise, and she cannot really -expect the rest of the world to believe that it was a mere -coincidence that a crisis came along at that particular and -favourable moment. All the evidence tends to show that the -long-planned outbreak--the "letting-go" as it was called in -Germany--was carefully prepared for that particular date and that -the Bosnian assassinations had nothing whatever to do with the -matter. A pretext could very easily be found, as Bernhardi remarks, -and if the Crown Prince of Austria were still alive and well we -should none the less have found ourselves at death-grips with the -Kaiser over the Belgian infraction. - -There are a number of small indications which will have to be -investigated and collated by the inquiring chronicler. There is, for -example, the reception of guns for a merchant cruiser in a South -American port which must have been sent off not later than July 10, -three weeks before the crisis developed. There is the document of -this same date, July 10, found upon a German officer, which is said -to have censured him for not having answered some mobilisation form -on that day. Then there is the abnormal quantity of grain ordered in -Canada and America in May; and finally there is the receipt of -mobilisation warnings by Austrian reservists in South Africa, -advising them that they should return at a date which must place -their issue from Vienna in the first week of July. All these small -incidents show the absurdity of the German contention that at a -moment of profound peace some sort of surprise was sprung upon them. -There was, indeed, a surprise intended, but they were to be the -surprisers--though, indeed, I think their machinations were too -clumsy to succeed. They had retained the immorality but lost the -ability for that sudden tiger pounce which Frederick, in a moment of -profound peace, made upon Silesia. - -I fancy that every Chancellery in Europe suspected that something -was in the wind. It was surely not a mere coincidence that the grand -Fleet lay ready for action at Spithead and that the First Army Corps -was practising some very useful mobilisation exercises at -Aldershot. After all, our British Administration is not so -simple-minded as it sometimes seems. Indeed, that very simplicity -may at times be its most deadly mask. At one time of my life I was -much bruised in spirit over the ease with which foreigners were -shown over our arsenals and yards. Happening to meet the head of the -Naval Intelligence Department, I confided my trouble to him. It was -at a public banquet where conversation was restricted, but he turned -his head towards me, and his left eyelid flickered for an instant. -Since then I have never needed any reassurance upon the subject. - -But there is another matter which will insist on coming back into -one's thoughts when one reviews the events which preceded the war. I -was in Canada in June, and the country was much disturbed by the -fact that a shipload of Hindus had arrived at Vancouver, and had -endeavoured to land in the face of the anti-Asiatic immigration -laws. It struck me at the time as a most extraordinary incident, for -these Indians were not the usual Bengalee pedlars, but were Sikhs of -a proud and martial race. What could be their object in -endeavouring to land in Canada, when the climate of that country -would make it impossible for them to settle in it? It was a most -unnatural incident, and yet a most painful one, for the British -Government was placed in the terrible dilemma of either supporting -Canada against India or India against Canada. Could anything be -better calculated to start an agitation in one country or the other? -The thing was inexplicable at the time, but now one would wish to -know who paid for that ship and engineered the whole undertaking. I -believe it was one more move on Germany's world-wide board.[3] - - [3] Two months later, according to _The Times_, official - evidence of this was actually forthcoming.--A. C. D. - -In connection with the date at which the long-expected German war -was to break out, it is of interest now to remember some of the -conversations to which I listened three years ago, when I was a -competitor in the Anglo-German motor competition, called the Prince -Henry Tour. It was a very singular experience, and was itself not -without some political meaning, since it could hardly have been -chance that a German gunboat should appear at Agadir at the very -instant when the head of the German Navy was making himself -agreeable (and he can be exceedingly agreeable) to a number of -Britons, and a genial international atmosphere was being created by -the nature of the contest, which sent the whole fleet of seventy or -eighty cars on a tour of hospitality through both countries. I -refuse to believe that it was chance, and it was a remarkable -example of the detail to which the Germans can descend. By the rules -of the competition a German officer had to be present in each -British car and a British officer in each German one during the -whole three weeks, so as to check the marks of the driver. It was -certainly an interesting situation, since every car had its foreign -body within it, which had to be assimilated somehow with the -alternative of constant discomfort. Personally we were fortunate in -having a Rittmeister of Breslau Cuirassiers, with whom we were able -to form quite a friendship. Good luck to you, Count Carmer, and bad -luck to your regiment! To you also, little Captain Trck, -_Fregattencapitn am dienst_, the best of luck, and ill betide -your cruiser! We found pleasant friends among the Germans, though -all were not equally fortunate, and I do not think that the net -result helped much towards an international entente. - -However, the point of my reminiscence is that on this tour I, being -at that time a champion of Anglo-German friendship, heard continual -discussions, chiefly on the side of British officers, several of -whom were experts on German matters, as to when the impending war -would be forced upon us. The date given was always 1914 or 1915. -When I asked why this particular year, the answer was that the -German preparations would be ready by then, and especially the -widening of the Kiel Canal, by which the newer and larger -battleships would be able to pass from the Baltic to the North Sea. -It says something for the foresight of these officers that this -widening was actually finished on June 24 of this year, and within -six weeks the whole of Europe was at war. I am bound to admit that -they saw deeper into the future than I did, and formed a truer -estimate of our real relations with our fellow-voyagers. "Surely -you feel more friendly to them now," said I at the end to one -distinguished officer. "All I want with them now is to fight them," -said he. We have all been forced to come round to his point of view. - -Yes, it was a deep, deep plot, a plot against the liberties of -Europe, extending over several years, planned out to the smallest -detail in the days of peace, developed by hordes of spies, prepared -for by every conceivable military, naval, and financial precaution, -and finally sprung upon us on a pretext which was no more the real -cause of war than any other excuse would have been which would serve -their turn by having some superficial plausibility. The real cause -of war was a universal national insanity infecting the whole German -race, but derived originally from a Prussian caste who inoculated -the others with their megalomania. - -This insanity was based upon the universal supposition that the -Germans were the Lord's chosen people, that in the words of Buy, -they were "the most cultured people, the best settlers, the best -warriors"--the best everything. Having got that idea thoroughly -infused into their very blood, the next step was clear. If they were -infinitely the best people living amidst such tribes as "the -barbarous Russians, the fickle French, the beastly Servians and -Belgians," to quote one of their recent papers, then why should they -not have all the best things in the world? If they were really the -most powerful, who could gainsay them? They need not do it all at -once, but two great national efforts would give them the whole of -unredeemed Germany, both shores of the Rhine down to the sea, the -German cantons of Switzerland, and, in conjunction with Austria, the -long road that leads to Salonica. All local causes and smaller -details sink into nothing compared with this huge national ambition -which was the real driving force at the back of this formidable -project. - -And it was a very formidable project. If such things could be -settled by mere figures and time-tables without any reference to the -spirit and soul of the nations, it might very well have succeeded. I -think that we are not indulging too far in national complacency if -we say that without the British army--that negligible factor--it -would for the time at least have succeeded. Had the Germans -accomplished their purpose of getting round the left wing of the -French, it is difficult to see how a debacle could have been -avoided, and it was our little army which stood in the pass and held -it until that danger was past. It is certain now that the huge sweep -of the German right had never been allowed for, that the French -troops in that quarter were second-line troops, and that it was our -great honour and good fortune to have dammed that raging torrent and -stopped the rush which must have swept everything before it until it -went roaring into Paris. And yet how many things might have -prevented our presence at the right place at the right time, and how -near we were to a glorious annihilation upon that dreadful day when -the artillery of five German army corps--eight hundred and thirty -guns in all--were concentrated upon Smith-Dorrien's exhausted men. -The success or failure of the great conspiracy hung upon the -over-matched British covering batteries upon that one critical -afternoon. It was the turning-point of the history of the world. - - - * * * * * - - - - -V - -THE "CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY" - - -Early last year, in the course of some comments which I made upon -the slighting remarks about our Army by General von Bernhardi, I -observed, "It may be noted that General von Bernhardi has a poor -opinion of our troops. This need not trouble us. We are what we are, -and words will not alter it. From very early days our soldiers have -left their mark upon Continental warfare, and we have no reason to -think that we have declined from the manhood of our forefathers." -Since then he has returned to the attack. With that curious power of -coming after deep study to the absolutely diametrically wrong -conclusion which the German expert, political or military, appears -to possess, he says in his _War of To-day_, "The English Army, -trained more for purposes of show than for modern war," adding in -the same sentence a sneer at our "inferior Colonial levies." He will -have an opportunity of reconsidering his views presently upon the -fighting value of our over-sea troops, and surely so far as our own -are concerned he must already be making some interesting notes for -his next edition, or rather for the learned volume upon _Germany and -the Last War_ which will no doubt come from his pen. He is a man to -whom we might well raise a statue, for I am convinced that his -cynical confession of German policy has been worth at least an army -corps to this country. We may address to him John Davidson's lines -to his enemy-- - - "Unwilling friend, let not your spite abate, - Spur us with scorn, and strengthen us with hate." - -There is another German gentleman who must be thinking rather -furiously. He is a certain Colonel Gadke, who appeared officially at -Aldershot some years ago, was hospitably entreated, being shown all -that he desired to see, and on his return to Berlin published a -most depreciatory description of our forces. He found no good thing -in them. I have some recollection that General French alluded in a -public speech to this critic's remarks, and expressed a modest hope -that he and his men would some day have the opportunity of showing -how far they were deserved. Well, he has had his opportunity, and -Colonel Gadke, like so many other Germans, seems to have made a -miscalculation. - -An army which has preserved the absurd _Paradeschritt_, an exercise -which is painful to the bystander, as he feels that it is making -fools of brave men, must have a tendency to throw back to earlier -types. These Germans have been trained in peace and upon the theory -of books. In all that vast host there is hardly a man who has -previously stood at the wrong end of a loaded gun. They live on -traditions of close formations, vast cavalry charges, and other -things which will not fit into modern warfare. Braver men do not -exist, but it is the bravery of men who have been taught to lean -upon each other, and not the cold, self-contained, resourceful -bravery of the man who has learned to fight for his own hand. The -British have had the teachings of two recent campaigns fought with -modern weapons--that of the Tirah and of South Africa. Now that the -reserves have joined the colours there are few regiments which have -not a fair sprinkling of veterans from these wars in their ranks. -The Pathan and the Boer have been their instructors in something -more practical than those Imperial Grand Manoeuvres where the -all-highest played with his puppets in such a fashion that one of -his generals remarked that the chief practical difficulty of a -campaign so conducted would be the disposal of the dead. - -Boers and Pathans have been hard masters, and have given many a slap -to their admiring pupils, but the lesson has been learned. It was -not show troops, General, who, with two corps, held five of your -best day after day from Mons to Compigne. It is no reproach to -your valour: but you were up against men who were equally brave and -knew a great deal more of the game. This must begin to break upon -you, and will surely grow clearer as the days go by. We shall often -in the future take the knock as well as give it, but you will not -say that we have a show army if you live to chronicle this war, nor -will your Imperial master be proud of the adjective which he has -demeaned himself in using before his troops had learned their -lesson. - -The fact is that the German army, with all its great traditions, has -been petrifying for many years back. They never learned the lesson -of South Africa. It was not for want of having it expounded to them, -for their military attach--"'im with the spatchcock on 'is -'elmet," as I heard him described by a British orderly--missed -nothing of what occurred, as is evident from their official history -of the war. And yet they missed it, and with it all those ideas of -individual efficiency and elastic independent formations, which are -the essence of modern soldiering. Their own more liberal thinkers -were aware of it. Here are the words which were put into the mouth -of Gntz, the representative of the younger school, in Beyerlein's -famous novel: - -"The organisation of the German army rested upon foundations which -had been laid a hundred years ago. Since the great war they had -never seriously been put to the proof, and during the last three -decades they had only been altered in the most trifling details. In -three long decades! And in one of those decades the world at large -had advanced as much as in the previous century. - -"Instead of turning this highly developed intelligence to good -account, they bound it hand and foot on the rack of an everlasting -drill which could not have been more soullessly mechanical in the -days of Frederick. It held them together as an iron hoop holds -together a cask the dry staves of which would fall asunder at the -first kick." - -Lord Roberts has said that if ten points represent the complete -soldier, eight should stand for his efficiency as a shot. The German -maxim has rather been that eight should stand for his efficiency as -a drilled marionette. It has been reckoned that about 200 books a -year appear in Germany upon military affairs, against about 20 in -Britain. And yet after all this expert debate the essential point of -all seems to have been missed--that in the end everything depends -upon the man behind the gun, upon his hitting his opponent and upon -his taking cover so as to avoid being hit himself. - -After all the efforts of the General Staff the result when shown -upon the field of battle has filled our men with a mixture of -admiration and contempt--contempt for the absurd tactics, admiration -for the poor devils who struggle on in spite of them. Listen to the -voices of the men who are the real experts. Says a Lincolnshire -sergeant, "They were in solid square blocks, and we couldn't help -hitting them." Says Private Tait (2nd Essex), "Their rifle shooting -is rotten. I don't believe they could hit a haystack at 100 yards." -"They are rotten shots with their rifles," says an Oldham private. -"They advance in close column, and you simply can't help hitting -them," writes a Gordon Highlander. "You would have thought it was a -big crowd streaming out from a Cup-tie," says Private Whitaker of -the Guards. "It was like a farmer's machine cutting grass," so it -seemed to Private Hawkins of the Coldstreams. "No damned good as -riflemen," says a Connemara boy. "You couldn't help hitting them. -As to their rifle fire, it was useless." "They shoot from the hip, -and don't seem to aim at anything in particular." - -These are the opinions of the practical men upon the field of -battle. Surely a poor result from the 200 volumes a year, and all -the weighty labours of the General Staff! "Artillery nearly as good -as our own, rifle fire beneath contempt," that is the verdict. How -will the well-taught _Paradeschritt_ avail them when it comes to a -stricken field? - -But let it not seem as if this were meant for disparagement. We -should be sinking to the Kaiser's level if we answered his -"contemptible little army" by pretending that his own troops are -anything but a very formidable and big army. They are formidable in -numbers, formidable, too, in their patriotic devotion, in their -native courage, and in the possession of such material, such great -cannon, aircraft, machine guns, and armoured cars, as none of the -Allies can match. They have every advantage which a nation would be -expected to have when it has known that war was a certainty, while -others have only treated it as a possibility. There is a minuteness -and earnestness of preparation which are only possible for an -assured event. But the fact remains, and it will only be brought out -more clearly by the Emperor's unchivalrous phrase, that in every arm -the British have already shown themselves to be the better troops. -Had he the Froissart spirit within him he would rather have said: -"You have to-day a task which is worthy of you. You are faced by an -army which has a high repute and a great history. There is real -glory to be won to-day." Had he said this, then, win or lose, he -would not have needed to be ashamed of his own words--the words of -an ungenerous spirit. - -It is a very strange thing how German critics have taken for granted -that the British Army had deteriorated, while the opinion of all -those who were in close touch with it was that it was never so good. -Even some of the French experts made the same mistake, and General -Bonnat counselled his countrymen not to rely upon it, since "it -would take refuge amid its islands at the first reverse." One would -think that the causes which make for its predominance were obvious. -Apart from any question of national spirit or energy, there is the -all-important fact that the men are there of their own free will, an -advantage which I trust that we shall never be compelled to -surrender. Again, the men are of longer service in every arm, and -they have far more opportunities of actual fighting than come to any -other force. Finally, they are divided into regiments, with -centuries of military glory streaming from their banners, which -carry on a mighty tradition. The very words the Guards, the Rifles, -the Connaught Rangers, the Buffs, the Scots Greys, the Gordons, -sound like bugle-calls. How could an army be anything but dangerous -which had such units in its line of battle? - -And yet there remains the fact that both enemies and friends are -surprised at our efficiency. This is no new phenomenon. Again and -again in the course of history the British Armies have had to win -once more the reputation which had been forgotten. Continentals have -always begun by refusing to take them seriously. Napoleon, who had -never met them in battle, imagined that their unbroken success was -due to some weakness in his marshals rather than to any excellence -of the troops. "At last I have them, these English," he exclaimed, -as he gazed at the thin red line at Waterloo. "At last they have me, -these English," may have been his thought that evening as he spurred -his horse out of the debacle. Foy warned him of the truth. "The -British infantry is the devil," said he. "You think so because you -were beaten by them," cried Napoleon. Like von Kluck or von Kluck's -master, he had something to learn. - -Why this continual depreciation? It may be that the world pays so -much attention to our excellent right arm that it cannot give us -credit for having a very serviceable left as well. Or it may be that -they take seriously those jeremiads over our decay which are -characteristic of our people, and very especially of many of our -military thinkers. I have never been able to understand why they -should be of so pessimistic a turn of mind, unless it be a sort of -exaltation of that grumbling which has always been the privilege of -the old soldier. Croker narrates how he met Wellington in his -latter years, and how the Iron Duke told him that he was glad that -he was so old, as he would not live to see the dreadful military -misfortunes which were about to come to his country. Looking back we -can see no reasons for such pessimism as this. Above all, the old -soldier can never make any allowance for the latent powers which lie -in civilian patriotism and valour. Only a year ago I had a long -conversation with a well-known British General, in which he asserted -with great warmth that in case of an Anglo-German war with France -involved the British public would never allow a trained soldier to -leave these islands. He is at the front himself and doing such good -work that he has little time for reminiscence, but when he has he -must admit that he underrated the nerve of his countrymen. - -And yet under the pessimism of such men as he there is a curious -contradictory assurance that there are no troops like our own. The -late Lord Goschen used to tell a story of a letter that he had from -a captain in the Navy at the time when he was First Lord. This -captain's ship was lying alongside a foreign cruiser in some port, -and he compared in his report the powers of the two vessels. Lord -Goschen said that his heart sank as he read the long catalogue of -points in which the British ship was inferior--guns, armour, -speed--until he came to the postscript, which was: "I think I could -take her in twenty minutes." - -With all the grumbling of our old soldiers there is always some -reservation of the sort at the end of it. Of course those who are -familiar with our ways of getting things done would understand that -a good deal of the croaking is a means of getting our little army -increased, or at least preventing its being diminished. But whatever -the cause, the result has been the impression abroad of a -"contemptible little army." Whatever surprise in the shape of -17-inch howitzers or 900-foot Zeppelins the Kaiser may have for us, -it is a safe prophecy that it will be a small matter compared to -that which Sir John French and his men will be to him. - -But above all I look forward to the development of our mounted -riflemen. This I say in no disparagement of our cavalry, who have -done so magnificently. But the mounted rifleman is a peculiarly -British product--British and American--with a fresh edge upon it -from South Africa. I am most curious to see what a division of these -fellows will make of the Uhlans. It is good to see that already the -old banners are in the wind--Lovat's Horse, Scottish Horse, King -Edward's Horse, and the rest. All that cavalry can do will surely be -done by our cavalry. But I have always held, and I still very -strongly hold, that the mounted rifleman has it in him to alter our -whole conception of warfare, as the mounted archer did in his day; -and now in this very war will be his first great chance upon a large -scale. Ten thousand well-mounted, well-trained riflemen, young -officers to lead them, all broad Germany with its towns, its -railways, and its magazines before them--there lies one more -surprise for the doctrinaires of Berlin. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VI - -A POLICY OF MURDER - - -When one writes with a hot heart upon events which are still recent -one is apt to lose one's sense of proportion. At every step one -should check oneself by the reflection as to how this may appear ten -years hence, and how far events which seem shocking and abnormal may -prove themselves to be a necessary accompaniment of every condition -of war. But a time has now come when in cold blood, with every -possible restraint, one is justified in saying that since the most -barbarous campaigns of Alva in the Lowlands, or the excesses of the -Thirty Years' War, there has been no such deliberate policy of -murder as has been adopted in this struggle by the German forces. -This is the more terrible since these forces are not, like those of -Alva, Parma, or Tilly, bands of turbulent and mercenary soldiers, -but they are the nation itself, and their deeds are condoned or even -applauded by the entire national Press. It is not on the chiefs of -the army that the whole guilt of this terrible crime must rest, but -it is upon the whole German nation, which for generations to come -must stand condemned before the civilised world for this reversion -to those barbarous practices from which Christianity, civilisation, -and chivalry had gradually rescued the human race. They may, and do, -plead the excuse that they are "earnest" in war, but all nations are -earnest in war, which is the most desperately earnest thing of which -we have any knowledge. How earnest we are will be shown when the -question of endurance begins to tell. But no earnestness can condone -the crime of the nation which deliberately breaks those laws which -have been endorsed by the common consent of humanity. - -War may have a beautiful as well as a terrible side, and be full of -touches of human sympathy and restraint which mitigate its -unavoidable horror. Such have been the characteristics always of the -secular wars between the British and the French. From the old -glittering days of knighthood, with their high and gallant courtesy, -through the eighteenth-century campaigns where the debonair guards -of France and England exchanged salutations before their volleys, -down to the last great Napoleonic struggle, the tradition of -chivalry has always survived. We read how in the Peninsula the -pickets of the two armies, each of them as earnest as any Germans, -would exchange courtesies, how they would shout warnings to each -other to fall back when an advance in force was taking place, and -how, to prevent the destruction of an ancient bridge, the British -promised not to use it on condition that the French would forgo its -destruction--an agreement faithfully kept upon either side. Could -one imagine Germans making war in such a spirit as this? Think of -that old French bridge, and then think of the University of Louvain -and the Cathedral of Rheims. What a gap between them--the gap that -separates civilisation from the savage! - -Let us take a few of the points which, when focussed together, show -how the Germans have degraded warfare--a degradation which affects -not only the Allies at present, but the whole future of the world, -since if such examples were followed the entire human race would, -each in turn, become the sufferers. Take the very first incident of -the war, the mine-laying by the _Knigin Luise_. Here was a -vessel, which was obviously made ready with freshly charged mines -some time before there was any question of a general European war, -which was sent forth in time of peace, and which, on receipt of a -wireless message, began to spawn its hellish cargo across the North -Sea at points 50 miles from land in the track of all neutral -merchant shipping. There was the keynote of German tactics struck at -the first possible instant. So promiscuous was the effect that it -was a mere chance which prevented the vessel which bore the German -Ambassador from being destroyed by a German mine. From first to last -some hundreds of people have lost their lives on this tract of sea, -some of them harmless British trawlers, but the greater number -sailors of Danish and Dutch vessels pursuing their commerce as they -had every right to do. It was the first move in a consistent policy -of murder. - -Leaving the sea, let us turn to the air. Can any possible term save -a policy of murder be applied to the use of aircraft by the Germans? -It has always been a principle of warfare that unfortified towns -should not be bombarded. So closely has it been followed by the -British that one of our aviators, flying over Cologne in search of a -Zeppelin shed, refrained from dropping a bomb in an uncertain light, -even though Cologne is a fortress, lest the innocent should suffer. -What is to be said, then, for the continual use of bombs by the -Germans, which have usually been wasted in the destruction of cats -or dogs, but which have occasionally torn to pieces some woman or -child? If bombs were dropped on the forts of Paris as part of a -scheme for reducing the place, then nothing could be said in -objection, but how are we to describe the action of men who fly over -a crowded city dropping bombs promiscuously which can have no -military effect whatever, and are entirely aimed at the destruction -of innocent civilians? These men have been obliging enough to drop -their cards as well as their bombs on several occasions. I see no -reason why these should not be used in evidence against them, or why -they should not be hanged as murderers when they fall into the hands -of the Allies. The policy is idiotic from a military point of view; -one could conceive nothing which would stimulate and harden national -resistance more surely than such petty irritations. But it is a -murderous innovation in the laws of war, and unless it is sternly -repressed it will establish a most sinister precedent for the -future. - -As to the treatment of Belgium, what has it been but murder, murder -all the way? From the first days at Vis, when it was officially -stated that an example of "frightfulness" was desired, until the -present moment, when the terrified population has rushed from the -country and thrown itself upon the charity and protection of its -neighbours, there has been no break in the record. Compare the story -with that of the occupation of the South of France by Wellington in -1813, when no one was injured, nothing was taken without full -payment, and the villagers fraternised with the troops. What a -relapse of civilisation is here! From Vis to Louvain, Louvain to -Aerschott, Aerschott to Malines and Termonde, the policy of murder -never fails. - -It is said that more civilians than soldiers have fallen in Belgium. -Peruse the horrible accounts taken by the Belgian Commission, who -took evidence in the most careful and conscientious fashion. Study -the accounts of that dreadful night in Louvain which can only be -equalled by the Spanish Fury of Antwerp. Read the account of the -wife of the burgomaster of Aerschott, with its heart-rending -description of how her lame son, aged sixteen, was kicked along to -his death by an aide-de-camp. It is all so vile, so brutally -murderous that one can hardly realise that one is reading the -incidents of a modern campaign conducted by one of the leading -nations in Europe. - -Do you imagine that the thing has been exaggerated? Far from it--the -volume of crime has not yet been appreciated. Have not many Germans -unwittingly testified to what they have seen and done? Only last -week we had the journal of one of them, an officer whose service had -been almost entirely in France and removed from the crime centres of -Belgium. Yet were ever such entries in the diary of a civilised -soldier? "Our men behaved like regular Vandals." "We shot the whole -lot" (these were villagers). "They were drawn up in three ranks. The -same shot did for three at a time." "In the evening we set fire to -the village. The priest and some of the inhabitants were shot." "The -villages all round were burning." "The villages were burned and the -inhabitants shot." "At Leppe apparently two hundred men were shot. -There must have been some innocent men among them." "In the future -we shall have to hold an inquiry into their guilt instead of merely -shooting them." "The Vandals themselves could not have done more -damage. The place is a disgrace to our army." So the journal runs on -with its tale of infamy. It is an infamy so shameless that even in -the German record the story is perpetuated of how a French lad was -murdered because he refused to answer certain questions. To such a -depth of degradation has Prussia brought the standard of warfare. - -And now, as the appetite for blood grows ever stronger--and nothing -waxes more fast--we have stories of the treatment of prisoners. Here -is a point where our attention should be most concentrated and our -action most prompt. It is the just duty which we owe to our own -brave soldiers. At present the instances are isolated, and we will -hope that they do not represent any general condition. But the -stories come from sure sources. There is the account of the -brutality which culminated in the death of the gallant motor-cyclist -Pearson, the son of Lord Cowdray. There is the horrible story in a -responsible Dutch paper, told by an eye-witness, of the torture of -three British wounded prisoners in Landen Station on October 9. - -The story carries conviction by its detail. Finally, there are the -disquieting remarks of German soldiers, repeated by this same -witness, as to the British prisoners whom they had shot. The whole -lesson of history is that when troops are allowed to start murder -one can never say how or when it will stop. It may no longer be part -of a deliberate, calculated policy of murder by the German -Government. But it has undoubtedly been so in the past, and we -cannot say when it will end. Such incidents will, I fear, make peace -an impossibility in our generation, for whatever statesmen may write -upon paper can never affect the deep and bitter resentment which a -war so conducted must leave behind it. - -Other German characteristics we can ignore. The consistent, -systematic lying of the German Press, or the grotesque blasphemies -of the Kaiser, can be met by us with contemptuous tolerance. After -all, what is is, and neither falsehood nor bombast will alter it. -But this policy of murder deeply affects not only ourselves but the -whole framework of civilisation so slowly and painfully built -upwards by the human race. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VII - -MADNESS - - -We have all, I suppose, read and marvelled at the wonderful German -"song of hate." This has been so much admired over the water that -Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria (who had just stated his bitter hatred of -us in a prose army order) distributed copies of the verses to his -Bavarians as a stimulant in their long, unsuccessful tussle with our -troops at Ypres. In case the reader has forgotten its flavour, I -append a typical verse: - - "We will never forgo our hate. - We have all but a single hate. - We love as one, we hate as one, - We have one foe and one alone-- - ENGLAND." - -This sort of thing is, it must be admitted, very painful and odious. -It fills us with a mixture of pity and disgust, and we feel as if, -instead of a man, we were really fighting with a furious, screaming -woman. Germany used to be a very great nation, mentally and morally -as well as in material ways, and many of us, even while we fight -her, are honestly pained by the depths of degradation into which she -has fallen. This shrill scream of hate and constant frenzied ranting -against Great Britain may reach its highest note in this poem, but -we know that it pervades the whole Press and every class of national -thought. It is deliberately fed by lying journals, which publish -bogus letters describing the imaginary sufferings of German -prisoners, and also by the Government itself, which upon receiving a -Socialist report partly favourable to Britain, excised those -passages and circulated the rest as a complete document, so as to -give the idea that it was wholly condemnatory. Wherever we touch -Germany in its present phase, whether it be the Overlord himself -with his megalomaniac messages, the princes with their looting of -chteaux, the Foreign Office with its trick of stealing American -passports for the use of German spies, the army with its absolute -brutality, the navy with its tactics of mine-laying in neutral -waters, the Press with its grotesque concoctions, the artists with -their pictures, which are so base that the decent Germans have -themselves at last rebelled against them, or the business men with -their assertion that there is less economic disturbance in Germany -than in Great Britain--wherever, I say, you touch them you come -always upon what is odious and deceitful. A long century will have -passed before Germany can wash her hands clean from murder, or purge -from her spirit the shadow of this evil time. - -If the words of one humble individual could reach across the seas, -there are two things upon which I should wish to speak earnestly to -a German: the one, our own character, the other, the future which he -is deliberately preparing for the Fatherland which he loves. Our -papers do get over there, even as theirs come over here, so one may -hope it is not impossible that some German may give a thought to -what I say, if he is not so bemused by the atmosphere of lies in -which his Press has enveloped him that he cannot recognise cold -truth when he sees it. - -First as to ourselves: we have never been a nation who fought with -hatred. It is our ideal to fight in a sporting spirit. It is not -that we are less in earnest, but it is that the sporting spirit -itself is a thing very largely evolved by us and is a natural -expression of our character. We fight as hard as we can, and we like -and admire those who fight hard against us so long as they keep -within the rules of the game. Let me take an obvious example. One -German has done us more harm than any other in this war. He is -Captain von Mller of the _Emden_, whose depredations represent -the cost of a battleship. Yet an honest sigh of relief went up from -us all when we learned that he had not perished with his ship, and -if he walked down Fleet Street to-day he would be cheered by the -crowd from end to end. Why? Because almost alone among Germans he -has played the game as it should be played. It is true that -everything that he did was illegal. He had no right to burn -uncondemned prizes, and a purist could claim that he was a pirate. -But we recognised the practical difficulties of his position; we -felt that under the circumstances he had acted like a gentleman, and -we freely forgave him any harm that he had done us. With this -example before you, my German reader, you cannot say that it is -national hatred when we denounce your murderers and brigands in -Belgium. If they, too, had acted as gentlemen, we should have felt -towards them as to von Mller. - -If you look back in British history, you will find that this absence -of hatred has always been characteristic of us. When Soult came to -London after the Napoleonic wars, he was cheered through the City. -After the Boer War, Botha, de Wet, and Delarey had a magnificent -reception. We did not know that one of them was destined to prove a -despicable and perjured traitor. They had been good fighters, the -fight was done, we had shaken hands--and we cheered them. All -British prize-fights ended with the shaking of hands. Though the men -could no longer see each other, they were led up and their hands -were joined. When a combatant refuses to do this, it has always been -looked upon as unmanly, and we say that bad blood has been left -behind. So in war we have always wished to fight to a finish and -then be friends, whether we had won or lost. - -Now, this is just what we should wish to do with Germany, and it is -what Germany is rapidly making impossible. She has, in our opinion, -fought a brave but a thoroughly foul fight. And now she uses every -means to excite a bitter hatred which shall survive the war. The -Briton is tolerant and easy-going in times of peace--too careless, -perhaps, of the opinion of other nations. But at present he is in a -most alert and receptive mood, noting and remembering very carefully -every word that comes to him as to the temper of the German people -and the prospects of the future. He is by no means disposed to pass -over all these announcements of permanent hatred. On the contrary, -he is evidently beginning, for the first time since Napoleon's era, -to show something approaching to hatred in return. He--and "he" -stands for every Briton across the seas as well as for the men of -the Islands--makes a practical note of it all, and it will not be -forgotten, but will certainly bear very definite fruits. The -national thoughts do not come forth in wild poems of hate, but they -none the less are gloomy and resentful, with the deep, steady -resentment of a nation which is slow to anger. - -And now, my problematical German reader, I want you to realise what -this is going to mean to you after the war. Whether you win or -lose--and we have our own very certain opinion as to which it will -be--Germany will still remain as a great independent State. She may -be a little trimmed at the edges, and she may also find herself with -some awkward liabilities; but none the less she will be a great -kingdom or republic--as the Fates may will. She will turn her hand -to trade and try to build up her fortunes once more--for even if we -suppose her to be the victor, she still cannot live for ever on -plunder, and must turn herself to honest trade, while if she loses -her trade will be more precious to her than ever. But what will her -position be when that time has come? - -It will be appalling. No other word can express it. No legislation -will be needed to keep German goods out of the whole British -Empire, which means more than a quarter of the globe. Anything with -that mark might as well have a visible cholera bacillus upon it for -the chance it will have of being handled after this war. That is -already certain, and it is the direct outcome of the madness which -has possessed Germany in her frantic outcry of hatred. What chance -they have of business with France, Russia, or Japan they know best -themselves; but the British Empire, with that wide trade toleration -which has long been her policy (and for which she has had so little -gratitude), would have speedily forgiven Germany and opened her -markets to her. Now it is not for many a long year that this can be -so--not on account of the war, but on account of the bitterness -which Germany has gone out of her way to import into the contest. It -is idle to say that in that case we should lose our exports to -Germany. Even if it were so, it would not in the least affect the -sentiments of the retail sellers and buyers in this country, whose -demands regulate the wholesale trade. But as a matter of fact, what -Germany buys from the British Empire is the coal, wool, etc., which -are the raw materials of her industry, with which she cannot -possibly dispense. - -But the pity of it all! We might have had a straight, honest fight, -and at the end of it we might have conceded that the German people -had been innocently misled, by their military caste and their Press, -into the idea that their country was being attacked, and so were -themselves guiltless in the matter. They, on their side, might at -last have understood that Britain had been placed in such a position -by her guarantees to Belgium that it was absolutely impossible that -she could stand out of the war. With these mutual concessions, some -sort of friendship could possibly have been restored, for it is no -one's interest, and least of all ours, that the keystone should be -knocked right out of the European arch. But all this has been -rendered impossible by these hysterical screamers of hate, and by -those methods of murder on land, sea, and in air with which the war -has been conducted. Hate is a very catching emotion, and when it -translates itself into action it soon glows on either side of the -North Sea. With neither race, to use Carlyle's simile, does it blaze -like the quick-flaming stubble, but with both it will smoulder like -the slow red peat. Are there not even now strong, sane men in -Germany who can tell these madmen what they are sowing for the next -generation and the one that comes after it? It is not that we ask -them to abate the resistance of their country. It is understood that -this is a fight to the end. That is what we desire. But let them -stand up and fight without reviling; let them give punishment -without malice and receive it without wincing; let their press cease -from lying, and their prophets from preaching hatred--then, lose or -win, there may still be some chance for their future. But, alas! the -mischief is already, I fear, too deep. When the seeds are sown, it -is hard to check the harvest. Let the impartial critic consider von -Mller of the _Emden_, and then, having surveyed our Press and -that of Germany, let him say with whom lies the blame. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VIII - -GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR[4] - - [4] Published, _Fortnightly Review_, February 1913. - - - This essay is of some interest, as it was written two - years before the war, and was one of the first attempts - to make the public realise the importance of Bernhardi's - notorious book. The author follows it by an unpublished - essay called "Afterthoughts," in which he examines how - far his reading of the future has been justified by the - event. - -I am a member of the Anglo-German Society for the improvement of the -relations between the two countries, and I have never seriously -believed in the German menace. Frequently I have found myself alone -in a company of educated Englishmen in my opinion that it was -non-existent--or at worst greatly exaggerated. This conclusion was -formed upon two grounds. The first was, that I knew it to be -impossible that we could attack Germany save in the face of -monstrous provocation. By the conditions of our government, even if -those in high places desired to do such a thing, it was utterly -impracticable, for a foreign war could not be successfully carried -on by Great Britain unless the overwhelming majority of the people -approved of it. Our foreign, like our home, politics are governed by -the vote of the proletariat. It would be impossible to wage an -aggressive war against any Power if the public were not convinced of -its justice and necessity. For this reason we could not attack -Germany. On the other hand, it seemed to be equally unthinkable that -Germany should attack us. One fails to see what she could possibly -hope to gain by such a proceeding. She had enemies already upon her -eastern and western frontiers, and it was surely unlikely that she -would go out of her way to pick a quarrel with the powerful British -Empire. If she made war and lost it, her commerce would be set back -and her rising colonial empire destroyed. If she won it, it was -difficult to see where she could hope for the spoils. We could not -give her greater facilities for trade than she has already. We could -not give her habitable white colonies, for she would find it -impossible to take possession of them in the face of the opposition -of the inhabitants. An indemnity she could never force from us. Some -coaling stations and possibly some tropical colonies, of which -latter she already possesses abundance, were the most that she could -hope for. Would such a prize as that be worth the risk attending -such a war? To me it seemed that there could be only one answer to -such a question. - -It still seems to me that this reasoning is sound. I still think -that it would be an insane action for Germany deliberately to plan -an attack upon Great Britain. But unfortunately an attack delivered -from mistaken motives is as damaging as any other attack, and the -mischief is done before the insanity of it is realised. If I now -believe such an attack to be possible, and it may be imminent, it is -because I have been studying _Germany and the Next War_, by General -von Bernhardi. - -A book written by such a man cannot be set aside as the mere ravings -of a Pan-Germanic Anglophobe. So far as appears, he is not a -Pan-German at all. There is no allusion to that Germania _irredente_ -which is the dream of that party. He is a man of note, and the first -living authority in Germany upon some matters of military science. -Does he carry the same weight when he writes of international -politics and the actual use of those mighty forces which he has -helped to form? We will hope not. But when a man speaks with the -highest authority upon one subject, his voice cannot be entirely -disregarded upon a kindred one. Besides, he continually labours, and -with success, to make the reader understand that he is the direct -modern disciple of that main German line of thought which traces -from Frederick through Bismarck to the present day. He moves in -circles which actually control the actions of their country in a -manner to which we have no equivalent. For all these reasons, his -views cannot be lightly set aside, and should be most carefully -studied by Britons. We know that we have no wish for war, and desire -only to be left alone. Unfortunately, it takes two to make peace, -even as it takes two to make a quarrel. There is a very clear -statement here that the quarrel is imminent, and that we must think -of the means, military, naval, and financial, by which we may meet -it. Since von Bernhardi's book may not be accessible to every reader -of this article, I will begin by giving some idea of the situation -as it appears to him, and of the course of action which he -foreshadows and recommends. - -He begins his argument by the uncompromising statement that war is a -good thing in itself. All advance is founded upon struggle. Each -nation has a right, and indeed a duty, to use violence where its -interests are concerned and there is a tolerable hope of success. As -to the obvious objection that such a doctrine bears no possible -relation to Christianity, he is not prepared to admit the validity -of the Christian ethics in international practice. In an ingenious -passage he even attempts to bring the sanction of Christianity to -support his bellicose views. He says:-- - - "Again, from the Christian standpoint, we arrive at the - same conclusion. Christian morality is based, indeed, on - the law of love. 'Love God above all things, and thy - neighbour as thyself.' This law can claim no significance - for the relations of one country to another, since its - application to politics would lead to a conflict of - duties. The love which a man showed to another country as - such would imply a want of love for his own countrymen. - Such a system of politics must inevitably lead men - astray. Christian morality is personal and social, and in - its nature cannot be political. Its object is to promote - morality of the individual, in order to strengthen him to - work unselfishly in the interests of the community. It - tells us to love our individual enemies, but does not - remove the conception of enmity." - -Having thus established the general thesis that a nation should not -hesitate to declare war where a material advantage may be the -reward, he sets out very clearly what are some of the causes for war -which Germany can see before her. The following passages throw a -light upon them:-- - - "Strong, healthy, and flourishing nations increase in - numbers. From a given moment they require a continual - expansion of their frontiers, they require new territory - for the accommodation of their surplus population. Since - almost every part of the globe is inhabited, new - territory must, as a rule, be obtained at the cost of its - possessors--that is to say, by conquest, which thus - becomes a law of necessity." - -Again:-- - - "Lastly, in all times the right of conquest by war has - been admitted. It may be that a growing people cannot win - colonies from uncivilised races, and yet the State wishes - to retain the surplus population which the mother country - can no longer feed. Then the only course left is to - acquire the necessary territory by war. Thus the instinct - of self-preservation leads inevitably to war, and the - conquest of foreign soil. It is not the possessor, but - the victor, who then has the right." - -And he concludes:-- - - "Arbitration treaties must be peculiarly detrimental to - an aspiring people, which has not yet reached its - political and national zenith, and is bent on expanding - its power in order to play its part honourably in the - civilised world." - -And adds:-- - - "It must be borne in mind that a peaceful decision by an - arbitration court can never replace in its effects and - consequences a warlike decision, even as regards the - State in whose favour it is pronounced." - -To many of us it would seem a legitimate extension of the author's -argument if we said that it would have a virile and bracing effect -upon our characters if, when we had a grievance against our -neighbour, we refrained from taking it into the law courts, but -contented ourselves with breaking his head with a club. However, we -are concerned here not so much with the validity of the German -general's arguments as with their practical application so far as -they affect ourselves. - -Brushing aside the peace advocates, the writer continues: "To such -views, the off-spring of a false humanity, the clear and definite -answer must be made that, under certain circumstances, it is not -only the right but the moral and political duty of the statesman to -bring about a war. The acts of the State cannot be judged by the -standard of individual morality." He quotes Treitschke: "The -Christian duty of sacrifice for something higher does not exist for -the State, for there is nothing higher than it in the world's -history--consequently it cannot sacrifice itself to something -higher." One would have hoped that a noble ideal and a moral purpose -were something higher, but it would be vain to claim that any -country, ourselves included, have ever yet lived fully up to the -doctrine. And yet some conscious striving, however imperfect, is -surely better than such a deliberate negation. - -Having laid down these general propositions of the value of war, and -of the non-existence of international moral obligations, General von -Bernhardi then proceeds to consider very fully the general position -of Germany and the practical application of those doctrines. Within -the limits of this essay I can only give a general survey of the -situation as seen by him. War is necessary for Germany. It should be -waged as soon as is feasible, as certain factors in the situation -tell in favour of her enemies. The chief of these factors are the -reconstruction of the Russian fleet, which will be accomplished -within a few years, and the preparation of a French native colonial -force, which would be available for European hostilities. This also, -though already undertaken, will take some years to perfect. -Therefore, the immediate future is Germany's best opportunity. - -In this war Germany places small confidence in Italy as an ally, -since her interests are largely divergent, but she assumes complete -solidarity with Austria. Austria and Germany have to reckon with -France and Russia. Russia is slow in her movements, and Germany, -with her rapid mobilisation, should be able to throw herself upon -France without fear of her rear. Should she win a brilliant victory -at the outset, Russia might refuse to compromise herself at all, -especially if the quarrel could be so arranged that it would seem as -if France had been the aggressor. Before the slow Slavonic mind had -quite understood the situation and set her unwieldy strength in -motion, her ally might be struck down, and she face to face with the -two Germanic Powers, which would be more than a match for her. - -Of the German army, which is to be the instrument of this -world-drama, General von Bernhardi expresses the highest opinion: -"The spirit which animates the troops, the ardour of attack, the -heroism, the loyalty which prevail among them, justify the highest -expectations. I am certain that if they are soon to be summoned to -arms their exploits will astonish the world, provided only that they -are led with skill and determination." How their "ardour of attack" -has been tested it is difficult to see, but the world will probably -agree that the German army is a most formidable force. When he goes -on, however, to express the opinion that they would certainly -overcome the French, the two armies being approximately of the same -strength, it is not so easy to follow his argument. It is possible -that even so high an authority as General von Bernhardi has not -entirely appreciated how Germany has been the teacher of the world -in military matters and how thoroughly her pupils have responded to -that teaching. That attention to detail, perfection of arrangement -for mobilisation, and careful preparation which have won German -victories in the past may now be turned against her, and she may -find that others can equal her in her own virtues. - -Poor France, once conquered, is to be very harshly treated. Here is -the passage which describes her fate:-- - - "In one way or another _we must square our account with - France_ if we wish for a free hand in our international - policy. This is the first and foremost condition of a - sound German policy, and since the hostility of France - once for all cannot be removed by peaceful overtures, the - matter must be settled by force of arms. France must be - so completely crushed that she can never again come - across our path." - -It is not said how Germany could permanently extinguish France, and -it is difficult to think it out. An indemnity, however large, would -eventually be paid and France recover herself. Germany has found the -half-German border provinces which she annexed so indigestible that -she could hardly incorporate Champagne or any other purely French -district. Italy might absorb some of Savoy and the French Riviera. -If the country were artificially separated the various parts would -fly together again at the first opportunity. Altogether, the -permanent sterilisation of France would be no easy matter to -effect. It would probably be attempted by imposing the condition -that in the future no army, save for police duties, would be allowed -her. The history of Prussia itself, however, shows that even so -stringent a prohibition as this can be evaded by a conquered but -indomitable people. - -Let us now turn to General von Bernhardi's views upon ourselves; -and, first of all, it is of interest to many of us to know what are -those historical episodes which have caused him and many of his -fellow-countrymen to take bitter exception to our national record. -From our point of view we have repeatedly helped Germany in the -past, and have asked for and received no other reward than the -consciousness of having co-operated in some common cause. So it was -in Marlborough's days. So in the days of Frederick. So also in those -of Napoleon. To all these ties, which had seemed to us to be of -importance, there is not a single allusion in this volume. On the -other hand, there are very bitter references to some other -historical events which must seem to us strangely inadequate as a -cause for international hatred. - -We may, indeed, congratulate ourselves as a nation, if no stronger -indictment can be made against us than is contained in the book of -the German general. The first episode upon which he animadverts is -the ancient German grievance of the abandonment of Frederick the -Great by England in the year 1761. One would have thought that there -was some statute of limitations in such matters, but apparently -there is none in the German mind. Let us grant that the premature -cessation of a campaign is an injustice to one's associates, and let -us admit also that a British Government under its party system can -never be an absolutely stable ally. Having said so much, one may -point out that there were several mitigating circumstances in this -affair. We had fought for five years, granting considerable -subsidies to Frederick during that time, and dispatching British -armies into the heart of Germany. The strain was very great, in a -quarrel which did not vitally affect ourselves. The British nation -had taken the view, not wholly unreasonably, that the war was being -waged in the interests of Hanover, and upon a German rather than a -British quarrel. When we stood out France did the same, so that the -balance of power between the combatants was not greatly affected. -Also, it may be pointed out as a curious historical fact that this -treatment which he so much resented was exactly that which Frederick -had himself accorded to his allies some years before at the close of -the Silesian campaign. On that occasion he made an isolated peace -with Maria Theresa, and left his associates, France and Bavaria, to -meet the full force of the Austrian attack. - -Finally the whole episode has to be judged by the words of a modern -writer: "Conditions may arise which are more powerful than the most -honourable intentions. The country's own interests--considered, of -course, in the highest ethical sense--must then turn the scale." -These sentences are not from the work of a British apologist, but -from this very book of von Bernhardi's which scolds England for her -supposed adherence to such principles. He also quotes, with -approval, Treitschke's words: "Frederick the Great was all his life -long charged with treachery because no treaty or alliance could -ever induce him to renounce the right of free self-determination." - -Setting aside this ancient grievance of the Seven Years' War, it is -of interest to endeavour to find out whether there are any other -solid grounds in the past for Germany's reprobation. Two more -historical incidents are held up as examples of our perfidy. The -first is the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, when the British -took forcible possession in time of peace of the Danish fleet. It -must be admitted that the step was an extreme one, and only to be -justified upon the plea of absolute necessity for vital national -reasons. The British Government of the day believed that Napoleon -was about to possess himself of the Danish fleet and would use it -against themselves. Fouch has admitted in his Memoirs that the -right was indeed given by a secret clause in the Treaty of Tilsit. -It was a desperate time, when the strongest measures were -continually being used against us, and it may be urged that similar -measures were necessary in self-defence. Having once embarked upon -the enterprise, and our demand being refused, there was no -alternative but a bombardment of the city with its attendant loss of -civilian life. It is not an exploit of which we need be proud, and -at the best can only be described as a most painful and unfortunate -necessity; but I should be surprised if the Danes, on looking back -to it, judge it more harshly than some more recent experiences which -they have had at the hands of General von Bernhardi's own -fellow-countrymen. That he is himself prepared to launch upon a -similar enterprise in a much larger and more questionable shape is -shown by his declaration that if Holland will not take sides against -England in the next war it should be overrun by the German troops. - -General von Bernhardi's next historical charge is the bombardment of -Alexandria in 1882, which he describes as having been affected upon -hypocritical pretences in a season of peace. To those who have a -recollection of that event and can recall the anti-European movement -of Arabi and the massacre which preceded the bombardment, the charge -will appear grotesque. But it is with a patchwork quilt of this sort -that this German publicist endeavours to cover the unreasoning, but -none the less formidable, jealousy and prejudice which inflame him -against this country. The foolish fiction that the British -Government declared war against the Boers in order to gain -possession of their gold mines is again brought forward, though one -would have imagined that even the gutter-Press who exploited it -twelve years ago had abandoned it by now. If General von Bernhardi -can explain how the British Government is the richer for these -mines, or whether a single foreign shareholder has been dispossessed -of his stock in them, he will be the first who has ever given a -solid fact in favour of this ridiculous charge. In a previous -paragraph of his book he declares that it was President Kruger who -made the war and that he was praiseworthy for so doing. Both -statements cannot be true. If it was President Kruger who made the -war, then it was not forced on by Great Britain in order to possess -herself of the goldfields. - -So much for the specific allegations against Great Britain. One can -hardly regard them as being so serious as to wipe out the various -claims, racial, religious, and historical, which unite the two -countries. However, we are only concerned with General von -Bernhardi's conclusions, since he declares that his country is -prepared to act upon them. There remain two general grounds upon -which he considers that Germany should make war upon the British -Empire. The first is to act as the champion of the human race in -winning what he calls the freedom of the seas. The second is to -further German expansion as a world-Power, which is cramped by our -opposition. - -The first of these reasons is difficult to appreciate. British -maritime power has been used to ensure, not to destroy, the freedom -of the seas. What smallest Power has ever been hindered in her -legitimate business? It is only the pirate, the slaver, and the -gun-runner who can justly utter such a reproach. If the mere fact of -having predominant latent strength upon the water is an encroachment -upon the freedom of the sea, then some nation must always be guilty -of it. After our mild supremacy we may well say to Germany, as -Charles said to James: "No one will assassinate me in order to put -you on the throne." Her mandate is unendorsed by those whom she -claims to represent. - -But the second indictment is more formidable. We lie athwart -Germany's world ambitions, even as, geographically, we lie across -her outlets. But when closely looked at, what is it of which we -deprive her, and is its attainment really a matter of such vital -importance? Do we hamper her trade? On the contrary, we exhibit a -generosity which meets with no acknowledgment, and which many of us -have long held to be altogether excessive. Her manufactured goods -are welcomed in without a tax, while ours are held out from Germany -by a 20 per cent. tariff. In India, Egypt, and every colony which -does not directly control its own financial policy, German goods -come in upon the same footing as our own. No successful war can -improve her position in this respect. There is, however, the -question of colonial expansion. General von Bernhardi foresees that -Germany is increasing her population at such a pace that emigration -will be needed soon in order to relieve it. It is a perfectly -natural national ambition that this emigration should be to some -place where the settlers need not lose their flag or nationality. -But if Great Britain were out of the way, where would they find such -a place? Not in Canada, Australia, South Africa, or New Zealand. -These States could not be conquered if the Motherland had ceased to -exist. General von Bernhardi talks of the high lands of Africa, but -already Germany possesses high lands in Africa, and their -colonisation has not been a success. Can any one name one single -place upon the earth's surface suitable for white habitation from -which Germany is excluded by the existence of Great Britain? It is -true that the huge continent of South America is only sparsely -inhabited, its whole population being about equal to that of -Prussia. But that is an affair in which the United States, and not -we, are primarily interested, and one which it is not our interest -either to oppose or to support. - -But, however inadequate all these reasons for war may seem to a -Briton, one has still to remember that we have to reckon with the -conclusions exactly as if they were drawn from the most logical -premises. These conclusions appear in such sentences as follows:-- - - "What we now wish to attain must be fought for and won against - a superior force of hostile interests and Powers." - - "Since the struggle is necessary and inevitable, we must fight - it out, cost what it may." - - "A pacific agreement with England is a will-o'-the-wisp, which - no serious German statesman would trouble to follow. We must - always keep the possibility of war with England before our - eyes and arrange our political and military plans accordingly. - We need not concern ourselves with any pacific protestations - of English politicians, publicists, and Utopians, which cannot - alter the real basis of affairs." - - "The situation in the world generally shows there can only be a - short respite before we once more face the question whether we - will draw the sword for our position in the world, or renounce - such position once for all. We must not in any case wait until - our opponents have completed their arming and decide that the - hour of attack has come." - - "Even English attempts at a _rapprochement_ must not blind us - to the real situation. We may at most use them to delay the - necessary and inevitable war until we may fairly imagine we - have some prospect of success." - -This last sentence must come home to some of us who have worked in -the past for a better feeling between the two countries. And this is -the man who dares to accuse _us_ of national perfidy. - -These extracts are but a few from a long series which show beyond -all manner of doubt that Germany, so far as General von Bernhardi is -an exponent of her intentions, will undoubtedly attack us suddenly -should she see an opportunity. The first intimation of such attack -would, as he indicates, be a torpedo descent upon our Fleet, and a -wireless message to German liners which would bring up their -concealed guns, and turn each of them into a fast cruiser ready to -prey upon our commerce. That is the situation as he depicts it. It -may be that he mistakes it. But for what it is worth, that is his -opinion and advice. - -He sketches out the general lines of a war between England and -Germany. If France is involved, she is to be annihilated, as already -described. But suppose the two rivals are left face to face. Holland -and Denmark are to be bound over to the German side under pain of -conquest. The German Fleet is to be held back under the protection -of the land forts. Meanwhile, torpedoes, submarines, and airships -are to be used for the gradual whittling down of the blockading -squadrons. When they have been sufficiently weakened the Fleet is to -sally out and the day has arrived. As to the chances of success, he -is of opinion that in material and _personnel_ the two fleets may be -taken as being equal--when once the numbers have been equalised. In -quality of guns, he considers that the Germans have the advantage. -Of gunnery he does not speak, but he believes that in torpedo work -his countrymen are ahead of any others. In airships, which for -_reconnaissance_, if not for actual fighting power, will be of -supreme importance, he considers also that his country will have a -considerable advantage. - -Such, in condensed form, is the general thesis and forecast of this -famous German officer. If it be true, there are evil days coming -both for his country and for ours. One may find some consolation in -the discovery that wherever he attempts to fathom our feelings he -makes the most lamentable blunders. He lays it down as an axiom, for -example, that if we were hard-pressed the Colonies would take the -opportunity of abandoning us. We know, on the other hand, that it is -just such a situation which would bring about the federation of the -Empire. He is under the delusion also that there is deep commercial -and political jealousy of the United States in this country, and -that this might very well culminate in war. We are aware that there -is no such feeling, and that next to holding the trident ourselves -we should wish to see it in the hands of our American cousins. One -thing he says, however, which is supremely true, which all of us -would endorse, and which every German should ponder: it is that the -idea of a war between Germany and ourselves never entered into the -thoughts of any one in this country until the year 1902. Why this -particular year? Had the feeling risen from commercial jealousy -upon the part of Great Britain, it must have shown itself far -earlier than that--as early as the "Made in Germany" enactment. It -appeared in 1902 because that was the close of the Boer War, and -because the bitter hostility shown by the Germans in that war opened -our eyes to the fact that they would do us a mischief if they could. -When the German Navy Act of 1900 gave promise that they would soon -have the means of doing so, the first thoughts of danger arose, and -German policy drove us more and more into the ranks of their -opponents. Here, then, General von Bernhardi is right; but in nearly -every other reference to our feelings and views he is wrong; so that -it is to be hoped that in those matters in which we are unable to -check him, such as the course of German thought and of German action -in the future, he is equally mistaken. But I repeat that he is a man -of standing and reputation, and that we should be mad if we did not -take most serious notice of the opinions which he has laid down. - -I have headed this article "Great Britain and the Next War," since -it looks at the arguments and problems which General von Bernhardi -has raised in his _Germany and the Next War_ from the British point -of view. May it prove that the title is an absurdity and the war an -imaginative hypothesis. But I should wish, before I close, to devote -a few pages to my view upon the defensive measures of our country. I -am well aware that I speak with no expert authority, which makes it -the more embarrassing that my opinions do not coincide with those of -any one whom I have encountered in this controversy. Still, it is -better to be a voice, however small, than an echo. - -It would simplify the argument if we began by eliminating certain -factors which, in my opinion, simply darken counsel, as they are -continually brought into the front of the question to the exclusion -of the real issues which lie behind them. One of them is the -supposed possibility of an invasion--either on a large scale or in -the form of a raid. The former has been pronounced by our highest -naval authorities of the time as being impossible, and I do not -think any one can read the Wilson Memorandum without being convinced -by its condensed logic. Von Bernhardi, in his chapter upon the -possible methods of injuring Great Britain, though he treats the -whole subject with the greatest frankness, dismisses the idea either -of raid or invasion in a few short sentences. The raid seems to me -the less tenable hypothesis of the two. An invasion would, at least, -play for a final stake, though at a deadly risk. A raid would be a -certain loss of a body of troops, which would necessarily be the -flower of the army; it could hope to bring about no possible -permanent effect upon the war, and it would upset the balance of -military power between Germany and her neighbours. If Germany were -an island, like ourselves, she might risk such a venture. Sandwiched -in between two armed nations as strong as herself, I do not believe -that there is the slightest possibility of it. - -But if, as Von Bernhardi says, such plans are visionary, what is the -exact object of a Territorial Army, and, even more, what would be -the object of a National Service Army upon compulsory lines for home -defence? Is it not a waste of money and energy which might be more -profitably employed in some other form? Every one has such an -affection and esteem for Lord Roberts--especially if one has the -honour of his personal acquaintance--that one shrinks from -expressing a view which might be unwelcome to him.[5] And yet he -would be the first to admit that it is one's duty to add one's -opinion to the debate, if that opinion has been conscientiously -formed, and if one honestly believes that it recommends the best -course of action for one's country. So far as his argument for -universal service is based upon national health and physique, I -think he is on ground which no one could attack. But I cannot bring -myself to believe that a case has been made out for the substitution -of an enforced soldier in the place of the volunteer who has always -done so splendidly in the past. Great as is Lord Roberts's -experience, he is talking here of a thing which is outside it, for -he has never seen an enforced British soldier, and has, therefore, -no data by which he can tell how such a man would compare with the -present article. There were enforced British sailors once, and I -have seen figures quoted to show that of 29,000 who were impressed -27,000 escaped from the Fleet by desertion. It is not such men as -these who win our battles. - - [5] More now, alas! than ever.--Nov. 26, A. C. D. - -The argument for enforced service is based upon the plea that the -Territorial Army is below strength in numbers and deficient in -quality. But if invasion is excluded from our calculations this is -of less importance. The force becomes a nursery for the Army, which -has other reserves to draw upon before it reaches it. Experience has -shown that under warlike excitement in a virile nation like ours, -the ranks soon fill up, and as the force becomes embodied from the -outbreak of hostilities, it would rapidly improve in quality. It is -idle to assert that because Bulgaria can, in a day, flood her troops -into Turkey, therefore we should always stand to arms. The -Turko-Bulgarian frontier is a line of posts--the Anglo-German is a -hundred leagues of salt water. - -But am I such an optimist as to say that there is no danger in a -German war? On the contrary, I consider that there is a vast danger, -that it is one which we ignore, and against which we could at a -small cost effect a complete insurance. Let me try to define both -the danger and the remedy. In order to do this we must consider the -two different forms which such a war might take. It might be a -single duel, or it might be with France as our ally. If Germany -attacked Great Britain alone, it may safely be prophesied that the -war would be long, tedious, and possibly inconclusive, but our -_rle_ would be a comparatively passive one. If she attacked -France, however, that _rle_ would be much more active, since we -could not let France go down, and to give her effective help we must -land an expeditionary force upon the Continent. This force has to be -supplied with munitions of war and kept up to strength, and so the -whole problem becomes a more complex one. - -The element of danger, which is serious in either form of war, but -more serious in the latter, is the existence of new forms of naval -warfare which have never been tested in the hands of competent men, -and which may completely revolutionise the conditions. These new -factors are the submarine and the airship. The latter, save as a -means of acquiring information, does not seem to be formidable--or -not sufficiently formidable to alter the whole conditions of a -campaign. But it is different with the submarines. No blockade, so -far as I can see, can hold these vessels in harbour, and no skill or -bravery can counteract their attack when once they are within -striking distance. One could imagine a state of things when it might -be found impossible for the greater ships on either side to keep the -seas on account of these poisonous craft. No one can say that such a -contingency is impossible. Let us see, then, how it would affect us -if it should come to pass. - -In the first place, it would not affect us at all as regards -invasion or raids. If the German submarines can dominate our own -large ships, our submarines can do the same for theirs. We should -still hold the seas with our small craft. Therefore, if Great -Britain alone be at war with Germany, such a naval revolution would -merely affect our commerce and food supply. What exact effect a -swarm of submarines, lying off the mouth of the Channel and the -Irish Sea, would produce upon the victualling of these islands is a -problem which is beyond my conjecture. Other ships besides the -British would be likely to be destroyed, and international -complications would probably follow. I cannot imagine that such a -fleet would entirely, or even to a very large extent, cut off our -supplies. But it is certain that they would have the effect of -considerably raising the price of whatever did reach us. Therefore -we should suffer privation, though not necessarily such privation as -would compel us to make terms. From the beginning of the war, every -home source would naturally be encouraged, and it is possible that -before our external supplies were seriously decreased, our internal -ones might be well on the way to make up the deficiency. Both of the -two great protagonists--Lord Haldane and Lord Roberts--have declared -that if we lost the command of the seas we should have to make -peace. Their reference, however, was to complete naval defeat, and -not to such a condition of stalemate as seems to be the more -possible alternative. As to complete naval defeat, our estimates, -and the grand loyalty of the Overseas Dominions, seem to be amply -adequate to guard against that. It is useless to try to alarm us by -counting in the whole force of the Triple Alliance as our possible -foes, for if they came into the war, the forces of our own allies -would also be available. We need only think of Germany. - -A predominance of the submarine would, then, merely involve a period -of hard times in this country, if we were fighting Germany -single-handed. But if we were in alliance with France, it becomes an -infinitely more important matter. I presume that I need not argue -the point that it is our vital interest that France be not -dismembered and sterilised. Such a tragedy would turn the western -half of Europe into a gigantic Germany with a few insignificant -States crouching about her feet. The period of her world dominance -would then indeed have arrived. Therefore, if France be wantonly -attacked, we must strain every nerve to prevent her going down, and -among the measures to that end will be the sending of a British -expeditionary force to cover the left or Belgian wing of the French -defences. Such a force would be conveyed across the Channel in -perhaps a hundred troopships, and would entail a constant service of -transports afterwards to carry its requirements. - -Here lies, as it seems to me, the possible material for a great -national disaster. Such a fleet of transports cannot be rushed -suddenly across. Its preparation and port of departure are known. A -single submarine amid such a fleet would be like a fox in a poultry -yard destroying victim after victim. The possibilities are -appalling, for it might be not one submarine, but a squadron. The -terrified transports would scatter over the ocean to find safety in -any port. Their convoy could do little to help them. It would be a -debacle--an inversion of the Spanish Armada. - -If the crossing were direct from the eastern ports to Antwerp, the -danger would become greater.[6] It is less if it should be from -Portsmouth to Havre. But this is a transit of seven hours, and the -railways from Havre to the Belgian frontier would be insufficient -for such a force. No doubt the Straits of Dover would be strongly -patrolled by our own torpedo craft, and the crossing would, so far -as possible, be made at night, when submarines have their minimum of -efficiency; but, none the less, it seems to me that the risk would -be a very real and pressing one. What possible patrol could make -sure of heading off a squadron of submarines? I should imagine it to -be as difficult as to bar the Straits to a school of whales. - - [6] This, of course, would presuppose that Holland was - involved in the war.--A. C. D. - -But supposing such a wholesale tragedy were avoided, and that in -spite of the predominance of submarines the army got safely to -France or to Belgium, how are we to ensure the safe passage of the -long stream of ships which, for many months, would be employed in -carrying the needful supplies? We could not do it. The army might -very well find itself utterly isolated, with its line of -communications completely broken down, at a time when the demand -upon the resources of all Continental countries was so great that -there was no surplus for our use. Such a state of affairs seems to -me to be a perfectly possible one, and to form, with the chance of -a disaster to the transports, the greatest danger to which we should -be exposed in a German war. But these dangers and the food question, -which has already been treated, can all be absolutely provided -against in a manner which is not only effective, but which will be -of equal value in peace and in war. The Channel Tunnel is essential -to Great Britain's safety. - -I will not dwell here upon the commercial or financial advantages of -such a tunnel. Where the trade of two great nations concentrates -upon one narrow tube, it is obvious that whatever corporation -controls that tube has a valuable investment, if the costs of -construction have not been prohibitive. These costs have been placed -as low as five million pounds by Mr. Rose Smith, who represents a -practical company engaged in such work. If it were twice, thrice, or -four times that sum it should be an undertaking which should promise -great profits, and for that reason should be constructed by the -nation, or nations, for their common national advantage. It is too -vital a thing for any private company to control. - -But consider its bearing upon a German war. All the dangers which I -have depicted are eliminated. We tap (_via_ Marseilles and the -tunnel) the whole food supply of the Mediterranean and the Black -Sea. Our expeditionary force makes its transit, and has its supplies -independent of weather or naval chances. Should anything so unlikely -as a raid occur, and the forces in this country seem unable to cope -with it, a Franco-British reinforcement can be rushed through from -the Continent. The Germans have made great works like the Kiel Canal -in anticipation of war. Our answer must be the Channel Tunnel, -linking us closer to our ally. - -Though this scheme was discarded (under very different naval and -political conditions) some twenty years ago, no time has, as a -matter of fact, been lost by the delay; as I am informed that -machinery for boring purposes has so enormously improved that what -would have taken thirty years to accomplish can now be done in -three. If this estimate be correct, there may still be time to -effect this essential insurance before the war with which General -von Bernhardi threatens us breaks upon us. - -Let us, before leaving the subject, glance briefly at the objections -which have formerly been urged against the tunnel. Such as they are, -they are as valid now as ever, although the advantages have -increased to such an extent as to throw the whole weight of the -argument upon the side of those who favour its construction. The -main (indeed, the only) objection was the fear that the tunnel would -fall into wrong hands and be used for purposes of invasion. By this -was meant not a direct invasion through the tunnel itself--to invade -a nation of forty-five million people through a hole in the ground -twenty-five miles long would stagger the boldest mind--but that the -tunnel might be seized at each end by some foreign nation, which -would then use it for aggressive military purposes. - -At the time of the discussion our relations with France were by no -means so friendly as they are now, and it was naturally to France -only that we alluded, since they would already hold one end of the -tunnel. We need not now discuss any other nation, since any other -would have to seize both ends by surprise, and afterwards retain -them, which is surely inconceivable. We are now bound in close ties -of friendship and mutual interest to France. We have no right to -assume that we shall always remain on as close a footing, but as our -common peril seems likely to be a permanent one, it is improbable -that there will be any speedy or sudden change in our relations. At -the same time, in a matter so vital as our hold upon the Dover end -of the tunnel, we could not be too stringent in our precautions. The -tunnel should open out at a point where guns command it, the mouth -of it should be within the lines of an entrenched camp, and a -considerable garrison should be kept permanently within call. The -latter condition already exists in Dover, but the numbers might well -be increased. As an additional precaution, a passage should be -driven alongside the tunnel, from which it could, if necessary, be -destroyed. This passage should have an independent opening within -the circle of a separate fort, so that the capture of the end of the -tunnel would not prevent its destruction. With such precautions as -these, the most nervous person might feel that our insular position -had not really been interfered with. The strong fortress of the -Middle Ages had a passage under the moat as part of the defence. -This is our passage. - -Could an enemy in any way destroy it in time of war? - -It would, as I conceive, be sunk to a depth of not less than two -hundred feet below the bed of the ocean. This ceiling would be -composed of chalk and clay. No explosive from above could drive it -in. If it were designed on a large scale--and, personally, I think -it should be a four-line tunnel, even if the cost were doubled -thereby--no internal explosion, such as might be brought about by -secreting explosive packets upon the trains, would be likely to do -more than temporarily obstruct it. If the very worst happened, and -it were actually destroyed, we should be no worse off than we are -now. As to the expense, if we are driven into a war of this -magnitude, a few millions one way or the other will not be worth -considering. - -Incidentally, it may be noted that General von Bernhardi has a poor -opinion of our troops. This need not trouble us. We are what we are, -and words will not alter it. From very early days our soldiers have -left their mark upon Continental warfare, and we have no reason to -think that we have declined from the manhood of our forefathers. He -further calls them "mercenaries," which is a misuse of terms. A -mercenary is a man who is paid to fight in a quarrel which is not -his own. As every British soldier must by law be a British citizen, -the term is absurd. What he really means is that they are not -conscripts in the sense of being forced to fight, but they are -sufficiently well paid to enable the army as a profession to attract -a sufficient number of our young men to the colours. - -Our military and naval preparations are, as it seems to me, adequate -for the threatened crisis. With the Channel Tunnel added our -position should be secure. But there are other preparations which -should be made for such a contest, should it unhappily be forced -upon us. One is financial. Again, as so often before in the history -of British wars, it may prove that the last guinea wins. Everything -possible should be done to strengthen British credit. This crisis -cannot last indefinitely. The cloud will dissolve or burst. -Therefore, for a time we should husband our resources for the -supreme need. At such a time all national expenditure upon objects -which only mature in the future becomes unjustifiable. Such a tax as -the undeveloped land tax, which may bring in a gain some day, but at -present costs ten times what it produces, is the type of expenditure -I mean. I say nothing of its justice or injustice, but only of its -inopportuneness at a moment when we sorely need our present -resources. - -Another preparation lies in our national understanding of the -possibility of such a danger and the determination to face the -facts. Both Unionists and Liberals have shown their appreciation of -the situation, and so have two of the most famous Socialist leaders. -No audible acquiescence has come from the ranks of the Labour Party. -I would venture to say one word here to my Irish fellow-countrymen -of all political persuasions. If they imagine that they can stand -politically or economically while Britain falls, they are woefully -mistaken. The British Fleet is their one shield. If it be broken, -Ireland will go down. They may well throw themselves heartily into -the common defence, for no sword can transfix England without the -point reaching Ireland behind her. - -Let me say in conclusion, most emphatically, that I do not myself -accept any of those axioms of General von Bernhardi which are the -foundation-stones of his argument. I do not think that war is in -itself a good thing, though a dishonourable peace may be a worse -one. I do not believe that an Anglo-German war is necessary. I am -convinced that we should never, of our own accord, attack Germany, -nor would we assist France if she made an unprovoked attack upon -that Power. I do not think that as the result of such a war, Germany -could in any way extend her flag so as to cover a larger white -population. Every one of his propositions I dispute. But that is all -beside the question. We have not to do with his argument, but with -its results. Those results are that he, a man whose opinion is of -weight, and a member of the ruling class in Germany, tells us -frankly that Germany will attack us the moment she sees a favourable -opportunity. I repeat that we should be mad if we did not take very -serious notice of the warning. - - - * * * * * - - - - -IX - -AFTERTHOUGHTS - - -So it was so after all. I write after perusing what was written two -years ago. I lean back in my chair and I think of the past. "So it -really was so after all," represents the thought which comes to my -mind. - -It seems hardly fair to call it a conspiracy. When a certain action -is formulated quite clearly in many books, when it is advocated by -newspapers, preached by professors, and discussed at every -restaurant, it ceases to be a conspiracy. We may take Bernhardi's -book as a text, but it is only because here between two covers we -find the whole essence of the matter in an authoritative form. It -has been said a thousand times elsewhere. And now we know for all -time that these countless scolding and minatory voices were not mere -angry units, but that they were in truth the collective voice of -the nation. All that Bernhardi said, all that after long disbelief -he made some of us vaguely realise, has now actually happened. So -far as Germany is concerned it has been fulfilled to the letter. -Fortunately so far as other nations have been concerned it has been -very different. He knew his own, but he utterly misjudged all else, -and in that misjudgment he and his spy-trusting Government have dug -a pit for themselves in which they long may flounder. - -Make war deliberately whenever you think that you may get profit -from it. Find an excuse, but let it be an excuse which will give you -a strong position before the world and help your alliances. Take -advantage of your neighbour's temporary weakness in order to attack -him. Pretend to be friendly in order to screen warlike preparations. -Do not let contracts or treaties stand in the way of your vital -interests. All of these monstrous propositions are to be found in -this _vade mecum_ of the German politician and soldier, and each of -them has been put in actual practice within a very few years of the -appearance of the book. Take each of them in turn. - -Take first the point that they made war deliberately, and took -advantage of the imagined weakness of their neighbours in order to -attack them. When was it that they backed up, if they did not -actually dictate, the impossible ultimatum addressed as much to -Russia as to Servia? When was it that they were so determined upon -war that they made peace impossible at the moment when Austria was -showing signs of reconsidering her position? Why so keen at that -particular moment? Was it not that for the instant each of her three -antagonists seemed to be at a disadvantage? Russia was supposed not -to have recovered yet from her Japanese misadventure. France was -torn by politics, and had admitted in the Senate that some important -branches of her armies were unprepared. Britain seemed to be on the -verge of civil war. It was just such a combination as was predicated -by Bernhardi. And his country responded to it exactly as he had -said, choosing the point of quarrel against the Slav race so as to -conciliate the more advanced or liberal nations of the world. - -Then again they pretended to be friendly in order to cover hostile -preparations. To the very last moment the German Minister in -Brussels was assuring the Government of King Albert that nothing but -the best intentions animated those whom he represented, and that -Belgian neutrality was safe. The written contract was deliberately -dishonoured on the false and absurd plea that if they did not -dishonour it some one else would. Thus, of the five propositions -which had seemed most monstrous and inhuman in Bernhardi's book in -1912, every single one had been put into actual practice by his -country in 1914. Those of us who advised at the time that the book -should be taken seriously have surely been amply justified. - -It is a singular thing that Bernhardi not only indicated in a -general way what Germany was contemplating, but in his other book -upon modern warfare he gives a very complete sketch of the strategic -conception which has been followed by the Germans. He shows there -how their armies might come through Belgium, how their eastern -forces might mark time while the western, which were to consist of -the picked troops, would travel by forced marches until they reached -the neighbourhood of the coast, or at least the west of Paris, after -which the whole line should swing round into France. The chance that -by these movements the German right would come into the region of -the British expeditionary force is dismissed lightly, since he -entirely underestimated the power of such a force, while as to the -Belgian army it is hardly admitted as a factor at all. A comparison -of the opinions of this great military authority with the actual -facts as we have recently known them, must weaken one's faith in the -value of expert judgment. He is, for example, strongly of opinion -that battles will not as a rule last for more than one day. He has -also so high an opinion of the supreme fighting value of the German -soldiers, that he declares that they will always fight in the open -rather than behind entrenchments. It makes strange reading for us -who have seen them disappear from sight into the ground for a month -at a time. - -In what I have said in the previous article of the naval and -military position, I find nothing to withdraw, and little to modify. -I write with the Germans at Ostend, and yet the possibility of -either a raid or an invasion seems to me as remote as it did two -years ago. I do not of course refer to an aerial raid, which I look -upon as extremely probable, but to a landing in these islands. The -submarine which has been used so skilfully against us is an -all-powerful defensive weapon in our hands. As to the submarine, I -think that I may claim to have foreseen the situation which has -actually come upon us. "No blockade," I remarked, "can hold these -vessels in harbour, and no skill or bravery can counteract their -attack when once they are within striking distance. One could -imagine a state of things when it might be found impossible for the -greater ships on either side to keep the seas on account of these -poisonous craft. No one can say that such a contingency is -impossible." It is largely true at the present moment as regards the -North Sea. But the submarine will not shake Great Britain as -mistress of the seas. On the contrary, with her geographical -position, it will, if her internal economic policy be wise, put her -in a stronger position than ever. - -The whole question of the Channel Tunnel and its strategic effect, -which is treated of in the last essay, becomes entirely academic, -since even if it had been put in hand when the German menace became -clearer it could not yet have been completed. The idea of an -invasion through it has always seemed and still seems to me to be -absurd, but we should have been brought face to face at the present -moment with the possibility of the enemy getting hold of the farther -end and destroying it, so as to wreck a great national enterprise. -This is a danger which I admit that I had not foreseen. At the same -time, when a tunnel is constructed, the end of it will no doubt be -fortified in such a fashion that it could be held indefinitely -against any power save France, which would have so large a stake in -it herself that she could not destroy it. The whole operation of -sending reinforcements and supplies to the scene of war at the -present instant would be enormously simplified if a tunnel were in -existence. - -There remains the fiercely debated question of compulsory national -service. Even now, with the enemy at the gate, it seems to me to be -as open as ever. Would we, under our constitution and with our -methods of thought, have had such a magnificent response to Lord -Kitchener's appeal, or would we have had such splendid political -unanimity in carrying the war to a conclusion, if a large section of -the people had started by feeling sore over an Act which caused -themselves or their sons to serve whether they wished or not? -Personally I do not believe that we should. I believe that the new -volunteer armies now under training are of really wonderful material -and fired with the very best spirit, and that they will be worth -more than a larger force raised by methods which are alien to our -customs. I said in my previous essay, "Experience has shown that -under warlike excitement in a virile nation like ours the ranks soon -fill up, and as the force becomes embodied from the outbreak of -hostilities it would rapidly improve in quality." Already those -Territorials who were so ignorantly and ungenerously criticised in -times of peace are, after nearly three months of camp-life, -hardening into soldiers who may safely be trusted in the field. -Behind them the greater part of a million men are formed who will -also become soldiers in a record time if a desperate earnestness can -make them so. It is a glorious spectacle which makes a man thankful -that he has been spared to see it. One is more hopeful of our -Britain, and more proud of her, now that the German guns can be -heard from her eastern shore, than ever in the long monotony of her -undisturbed prosperity. Our grandchildren will thrill as they read -of the days that we endure. - - - * * * * * - - - _Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.,_ - _London and Aylesbury._ - - - * * * * * - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - -Italic text has been denoted by _underscores_. - -Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. - -The non-printable characters have been replaced as shown below: - - 'oe' ligature --> oe - -This book was written in a period when many words had not become -standarized in their spelling. Numerous words have multiple spelling -variations in the text. 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- text-align: center; - } -</style> -</head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The German War, by Arthur Conan Doyle - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The German War - Some Sidelights and Reflections - -Author: Arthur Conan Doyle - -Release Date: February 18, 2013 [EBook #42127] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GERMAN WAR *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Hulse, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - <div class="figcenter" - style="width: 382px;"> - <img id="coverpage" - src="images/cover.png" - width="382" - height="600" - alt="Book Cover - The German War"/></div> - -<p> -<span class="pagenum"> -<a name="Page_i" - id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> - <h1 class="v-ctr"> - <span class="oldcentury">THE GERMAN WAR</span></h1> - -<p> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" - id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span> - <br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" - id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> - - <hr class="tb" /> - <h1 class="v2"> - THE GERMAN WAR</h1> - <h6 class="v6"> - BY</h6> - <h2> - ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE</h2> - <h6> - AUTHOR OF “THE GREAT BOER WAR,” ETC.</h6> - <h3 class="v12"> - HODDER AND STOUGHTON</h3> - <h4> - LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO</h4> - <h4> - MCMXIV</h4> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_iv" - id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></p> - - <hr class="r10" /> - <h6 class="v-ctr1"> - <em>Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, - Ld., - <br /> - London and Aylesbury</em></h6> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_v" - id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2> - <a name="PREFACE" - id="PREFACE">PREFACE</a></h2> - <p> - These essays, upon different phases of the wonderful - world-drama which has made our lifetime memorable, would be - unworthy of republication were it not that at such a time - every smallest thing which may help to clear up a doubt, to - elucidate the justice of our cause, or to accentuate the - desperate need of national effort, should be thrown into the - scale. The longest essay appeared in <cite>The Fortnightly - Review</cite> and the shorter ones for the most part in - <cite>The Daily Chronicle</cite>. I have left them as written - at the time, even where after-events have caused some - modification of my views.</p> - <p class="right"> - <span class="smcap">Arthur Conan Doyle.</span></p> - <div class="smaller"> - <p class="smcap"> - Windlesham, Crowborough,</p> - <p style="text-indent: 2.5em;"> - <em>November 1914.</em></p></div> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_vi" - id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a> - <br /> - <a name="Page_vii" - id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - CONTENTS</h2> - - <table summary="Table of Contents"> - <tr class="smaller"> - <td class="rt" - colspan="3">PAGE</td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td>PREFACE</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_v">v</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt">I.</td> - <td>THE CAUSES OF THE WAR</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt">II.</td> - <td>THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt">III.</td> - <td>THE DEVIL’S DOCTRINE</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_41">41</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt">IV.</td> - <td>THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt">V.</td> - <td>THE “CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY”</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_65">65</a> - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_viii" - id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span> - </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt">VI.</td> - <td>A POLICY OF MURDER</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_79">79</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt">VII.</td> - <td>MADNESS</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_89">89</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt">VIII.</td> - <td>GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt">IX.</td> - <td>AFTERTHOUGHTS</td> - <td class="rt"> - <a href="#Page_144">144</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td> - <a href="#Footnotes">FOOTNOTES</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td> - <a href="#Tnotes">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</a></td></tr> - </table> -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_1" - id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - <a name="I" - id="I">I</a></h2> - <h3> - THE CAUSES OF THE WAR</h3> - - <blockquote> - <p> - This article, stating the British case, was issued as a - recruiting pamphlet in Great Britain, but was used abroad as a - simple explanation which would enable neutrals to understand - the true facts. It was published in full by fifty leading - journals in the United States, and was translated into Dutch - and Danish, 25,000 copies being distributed in each country.</p> - </blockquote> - - <p> - The causes of the war are only of moment to us, at this stage, - in that we gain more strength in our arms and more iron in our - souls by a knowledge that it is for all that is honourable and - sacred for which we fight. What really concerns us is that we - are in a fight for our national life, that we must fight - through to the end, and that each and all of us must help, in - his own fashion, to the last ounce of his strength, that this - end may be victory. That is the essence of the situation. It - is not words and phrases that we need, but men, men—and always - more men. If words - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_2" - id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> - - can bring the men, then they - are of avail. If not, they may well wait for the times to - mend. But if there is a doubt in the mind of any man as to - the justice of his country’s quarrel, then even a writer - may find work ready to his hand.</p> - <p> - Let us cast our minds back upon the events which have led up - to this conflict. They may be divided into two separate - classes—those which prepared the general situation, and those - which caused the special quarrel. Each of these I will treat - in its turn.</p> - <p> - It is a matter of common knowledge, one which a man must be - blind and deaf not to understand, that for many years Germany, - intoxicated by her success in war and by her increase of - wealth, has regarded the British Empire with eyes of jealousy - and hatred. It has never been alleged by those who gave - expression to this almost universal national passion that - Great Britain had in any way, either historically or - commercially, done Germany a mischief. Even our most bitter - traducers, when asked to give any definite historical reasons - for their dislike, were compelled to put forward such - ludicrous - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_3" - id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> - - excuses as that the British - had abandoned the Prussian King in the year 1761, quite - oblivious of the fact that the same Prussian King had - abandoned his own allies in the same war under far more - damaging circumstances, acting up to his own motto that no - promises are binding where the vital interests of a State - are in question. With all their malevolence they could give - no examples of any ill turn done by us until their - deliberate policy had forced us into antagonism. On the - other hand, a long list of occasions could very easily be - compiled on which we had helped them in some common cause - from the days of Marlborough to those of Blücher. Until - the twentieth century had turned they had no possible cause - for political hatred against us. In commerce our record was - even more clear. Never in any way had we interfered with - that great development of trade which has turned them from - one of the poorest to one of the richest of European - States. Our markets were open to them untaxed, whilst our - own manufactures paid 20 per cent. in Germany. The markets - of India, of Egypt, and of every portion of the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_4" - id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> - - Empire which had no - self-appointed tariff, were as open to German goods as to - British ones. Nothing could possibly have been more - generous than our commercial treatment. No doubt there was - some grumbling when cheap imitations of our own goods were - occasionally found to oust the originals from their - markets. Such a feeling was but natural and human. But in - all matters of commerce, as in all matters political before - the dawn of this century, they have no shadow of a - grievance against us.</p> - <p> - And yet they hated us with a most bitter hatred, a hatred - which long antedates the days when we were compelled to take a - definite stand against them. In all sorts of ways this hatred - showed itself—in the diatribes of professors, in the pages of - books, in the columns of the Press. Usually it was a sullen, - silent dislike. Sometimes it would flame up suddenly into - bitter utterance, as at the time of the unseemly dispute - around the deathbed of the Emperor’s father, or on the - occasion of the Jameson Raid. And yet this bitter antagonism - was in no way reciprocated in this country. If a poll had been - taken at - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_5" - id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> - - any time up to the end of the - century as to which European country was our natural ally, - the vote would have gone overwhelmingly for Germany. - “America first and then Germany” would have been - the verdict of nine men out of ten. But then occurred two - events which steadied the easy-going Briton, and made him - look more intently and with a more questioning gaze at his - distant cousin over the water. Those two events were the - Boer War and the building of the German fleet. The first - showed us, to our amazement, the bitter desire which - Germany had to do us some mischief, the second made us - realise that she was forging a weapon with which that - desire might be fulfilled.</p> - <p> - We are most of us old enough to remember the torrent of - calumny and insult which was showered upon us in the day of - our temporary distress by the nation to whom we had so often - been a friend and an ally. It is true that other nations - treated us little better, and yet their treatment hurt us - less. The difference as it struck men at the time may be - summarised in this passage from a British writer of the - period.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_6" - id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></p> - - <p> - “But it was very different with Germany,” he says. - “Again and again in the world’s history we have been - the friends and the allies of these people. It was so in the - days of Marlborough, in those of the Great Frederick, and in - those of Napoleon. When we could not help them with men we - helped them with money. Our fleet has crushed their enemies. - And now, for the first time in history, we have had a chance - of seeing who were our friends in Europe, and nowhere have we - met more hatred and more slander than from the German Press - and the German people. Their most respectable journals have - not hesitated to represent the British troops—troops every bit - as humane and as highly disciplined as their own—not only as - committing outrages on person and property, but even as - murdering women and children.</p> - <p> - “At first this unexpected phenomenon merely surprised the - British people, then it pained them, and finally, after two - years of it, it has roused a deep, enduring anger in their - minds.”</p> - <p> - He goes on to say, “The continued attacks - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_7" - id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> - - upon us have left an enduring - feeling of resentment, which will not and should not die - away in this generation. It is not too much to say that - five years ago a complete defeat of Germany in a European - war would have certainly caused British intervention. - Public sentiment and racial affinity would never have - allowed us to see her really go to the wall. And now it is - certain that in our lifetime no British guinea and no - soldier’s life would under any circumstances be spent for - such an end. That is one strange result of the Boer War, - and in the long run it is possible that it may prove not - the least important.”</p> - <p> - Such was the prevailing mood of the nation when they perceived - Germany, under the lead of her Emperor, following up her - expressions of enmity by starting with restless energy to - build up a formidable fleet, adding programme to programme, - out of all possible proportion to the German commerce to be - defended or to the German coastline exposed to attack. Already - vainglorious boasts were made that Germany was the successor - to Britain upon the seas. “The Admiral of the Atlantic - greets the Admiral of the Pacific,” - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_8" - id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> - - said the Kaiser in a message - to the Czar. What was Britain to do under this growing - menace? So long as she was isolated the diplomacy of - Germany might form some naval coalition against her. She - took the steps which were necessary for her own safety, and - without forming an alliance she composed her differences - with France and Russia and drew closer the friendship which - united her with her old rival across the Channel. The - first-fruit of the new German fleet was the <i lang="fr" - xml:lang="fr">entente cordiale</i>. We had found our enemy. - It was necessary that we should find our friends. Thus we - were driven into our present combination.</p> - <p> - And now we had to justify our friendship. For the first time - we were compelled to openly oppose Germany in the deep and - dangerous game of world politics. They wished to see if our - understanding was a reality or a sham. Could they drive a - wedge between us by showing that we were a fair-weather friend - whom any stress would alienate. Twice they tried it, once in - 1906 when they bullied France into a conference at Algeciras, - but found that Britain was firm at her side, and again in - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_9" - id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> - - 1911 when in a time of - profound peace they stirred up trouble by sending a gunboat - to Agadir, and pushed matters to the very edge of war. But - no threats induced Britain to be false to her mutual - insurance with France. Now for the third and most fatal - time they have demanded that we forswear ourselves and - break our own bond lest a worse thing befall us. Blind and - foolish, did they not know by past experience that we would - keep our promise given? In their madness they have wrought - an irremediable evil to themselves, to us, and to all - Europe.</p> - <p> - I have shown that we have in very truth never injured nor - desired to injure Germany in commerce, nor have we opposed her - politically until her own deliberate actions drove us into the - camp of her opponents. But it may well be asked why then did - they dislike us, and why did they weave hostile plots against - us? It was that, as it seemed to them, and as indeed it - actually may have been, we independently of our own wills - stood between Germany and that world empire of which she - dreamed. This was caused by circumstances over which we had - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_10" - id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> - - no control and which we - could not modify if we had wished to do so. Britain, - through her maritime power and the energy of her merchants - and people, had become a great world power when Germany was - still unformed. Thus, when she had grown to her full - stature she found that the choice places of the world and - those most fitted for the spread of a transplanted European - race were already filled up. It was not a matter which we - could help, nor could we alter it, since Canada, Australia, - and South Africa would not, even if we could be imagined to - have wished it, be transferred to German rule. And yet the - Germans chafed, and if we can put ourselves in their places - we may admit that it was galling that the surplus of their - manhood should go to build up the strength of an alien and - possibly a rival State. So far we could see their - grievance, or rather their misfortune, since no one was in - truth to blame in the matter. Had their needs been openly - and reasonably expressed, and had the two States moved in - concord in the matter, it is difficult to think that no - helpful solution of any kind could have been found.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_11" - id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></p> - - <p> - But the German method of approaching the problem has never - been to ask sympathy and co-operation, but to picture us as a - degenerate race from whom anything might be gained by playing - upon our imagined weakness and cowardice. A nation which - attends quietly to its own sober business must, according to - their mediæval notions, be a nation of decadent poltroons. If - we fight our battles by means of free volunteers instead of - enforced conscripts, then the military spirit must be dead - amongst us. Perhaps, even in this short campaign, they have - added this delusion also to the dust-bin of their many errors. - But such was their absurd self-deception about the most virile - of European races. Did we propose disarmament, then it was not - humanitarianism but cowardice that prompted us, and their - answer was to enlarge their programme. Did we suggest a - navy-building holiday, it was but a cloak for our weakness, - and an incitement that they should redouble their efforts. Our - decay had become a part of their national faith. At first the - wish may have been the father to the thought, but soon under - the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_12" - id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> - - reiterated assertions of - their crazy professors the proposition became indisputable. - Bernhardi in his book upon the next war cannot conceal the - contempt in which he has learned to hold us. Niebuhr long - ago had prophesied the coming fall of Britain, and every - year was believed to bring it nearer and to make it more - certain. To these jaundiced eyes all seemed yellow, when - the yellowness lay only in themselves. Our army, our navy, - our Colonies, all were equally rotten. “Old England, - old, indeed, and corrupt, rotten through and through.” - One blow and the vast sham would fly to pieces, and from - those pieces the victor could choose his reward. Listen to - Professor Treitschke, a man who, above all others, has been - the evil genius of his country, and has done most to push - it towards this abyss: “A thing that is wholly a - sham,” he cried, in allusion to our Empire, - “cannot, in this universe of ours, endure for ever. It - may endure for a day, but its doom is certain.” Were - ever words more true when applied to the narrow bureaucracy - and swaggering Junkerdom of Prussia, the most artificial - and ossified sham that ever our - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_13" - id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> - - days have seen? See which - will crack first, our democracy or this, now that both have - been plunged into the furnace together. The day of God’s - testing has come, and we shall see which can best abide it.</p> - <p> - I have tried to show that we are in no way to blame for the - hostility which has grown up between us. So far as it had any - solid cause at all it has arisen from fixed factors, which - could no more be changed by us than the geographical position - which has laid us right across their exit to the oceans of the - world. That this deeply-rooted national sentiment, which for - ever regarded us as the Carthage to which they were destined - to play the part of Rome, would, sooner or later, have brought - about war between us, is, in my opinion, beyond all doubt. But - it was planned to come at the moment which was least - favourable for Britain. “Even English attempts at a - <em>rapprochement</em> must not blind us to the real - situation,” says Bernhardi. “We may, at most, use - them to delay the necessary and inevitable war until we may - fairly imagine we have some prospect of success.” A more - shameless sentence was - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_14" - id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> - - never penned, and one - stands marvelling which is the more grotesque—the cynicism - of the sentiment, or the folly which gave such a warning to - the victim. For be it remembered that Bernhardi’s words - are to be taken very seriously, for they are not the - ravings of some Pan-German monomaniac, but the considered - views of the foremost military writer of Germany, one who - is in touch with those inner circles whose opinions are the - springs of national policy. “Our last and greatest - reckoning is to be with Great Britain,” said the - bitter Treitschke. Sooner or later the shock was to come. - Germany sat brooding over the chessboard of the world - waiting for the opening which should assure a winning game.</p> - <p> - It was clear that she should take her enemies separately - rather than together. If Britain were attacked, it was almost - certain that France and Russia would stand by her side. But - if, on the contrary, the quarrel could be made with these two - Powers, and especially with Russia, in the first instance, - then it was by no means so certain that Great Britain would be - drawn into the struggle. - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_15" - id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> - - Public opinion has to be - strongly moved before our country can fight, and public - opinion under a Liberal Government might well be divided - upon the subject of Russia. Therefore, if the quarrel could - be so arranged as to seem to be entirely one between Teuton - and Slav there was a good chance that Britain would remain - undecided until the swift German sword had done its work. - Then, with the grim acquiescence of our deserted Allies, - the still bloody sword would be turned upon ourselves, and - that great final reckoning would have come.</p> - <p> - Such was the plan, and fortune favoured it. A brutal murder - had, not for the first time, put Servia into a position where - a State may be blamed for the sins of individuals. An - ultimatum was launched so phrased that it was impossible for - any State to accept it as it stood and yet remain an - independent State. At the first sign of argument or - remonstrance the Austrian army marched upon Belgrade. Russia, - which had been already humiliated in 1908 by the forcible - annexation of Bosnia, could not possibly submit a second time - to the Caudine Forks. She laid her - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_16" - id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> - - hand upon her sword-hilt. - Germany sprang to the side of her Ally. France ranged - herself with Russia. Like a thunderclap the war of the - nations had begun.</p> - <p> - So far all had worked well for German plans. Those of the - British public who were familiar with the past and could look - into the future might be well aware that our interests were - firmly bound with those of France, and that if our faggots - were not tied together they would assuredly be snapped each in - its turn. But the unsavoury assassination which had been so - cleverly chosen as the starting-point of the war bulked large - in the eyes of our people, and, setting self-interest to one - side, the greater part of the public might well have hesitated - to enter into a quarrel where the cause seemed remote and the - issues ill-defined. What was it to us if a Slav or a Teuton - collected the harbour dues of Salonica! So the question might - have presented itself to the average man who in the long run - is the ruler of this country and the autocrat of its - destinies. In spite of all the wisdom of our statesmen, it is - doubtful if on such a quarrel we could have gained - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_17" - id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> - - that national momentum - which might carry us to victory. But at that very moment - Germany took a step which removed the last doubt from the - most cautious of us and left us in a position where we must - either draw our sword or stand for ever dishonoured and - humiliated before the world. The action demanded of us was - such a compound of cowardice and treachery that we ask - ourselves in dismay what can we ever have done that could - make others for one instant imagine us to be capable of so - dastardly a course? Yet that it was really supposed that we - could do it, and that it was not merely put forward as an - excuse for drawing us into war, is shown by the anger and - consternation of the Kaiser and his Chancellor when we drew - back from what the British Prime Minister has described as - “an infamous proposal.” One has only to read our - Ambassador’s description of his interview with the German - Chancellor after our decision was announced, “so - evidently overcome by the news of our action,” to see - that through some extraordinary mental aberration the - German rulers did actually believe that a vital treaty - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_18" - id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> - - with Britain’s signature - upon it could be regarded by this country as a mere - “scrap of paper.”</p> - <p> - What was this treaty which it was proposed so lightly to set - aside? It was the guarantee of the neutrality of Belgium - signed in 1839 (confirmed verbally and in writing by Bismarck - in 1870), by Prussia, France, and Britain, each of whom - pledged their word to observe and to enforce it. On the - strength of it Belgium had relied for her security amidst her - formidable neighbours. On the strength of it also France had - lavished all her defences upon her eastern frontier, and left - her northern exposed to attack. Britain had guaranteed the - treaty, and Britain could be relied upon. Now, on the first - occasion of testing the value of her word it was supposed that - she would regard the treaty as a worthless scrap of paper, and - stand by unmoved while the little State which had trusted her - was flooded by the armies of the invader. It was unthinkable, - and yet the wisest brains of Germany seem to have persuaded - themselves that we had sunk to such depths of cowardly - indolence that even this might go - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_19" - id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> - - through. Surely they also - have been hypnotised by those foolish dreams of Britain’s - degeneration, from which they will have so terrible an - awakening.</p> - <p> - As a matter of fact, the General Staff had got ahead of the - diplomatists, and the German columns were already over the - border while the point was being debated at Berlin. There was - no retreat from the position which had been taken up. “It - is to us a vital matter of strategy and is beyond - argument,” said the German soldier. “It is to us a - vital matter of honour and is beyond argument,” answered - the British statesman. The die was cast. No compromise was - possible. Would Britain keep her word or would she not? That - was the sole question at issue. And what answer save one could - any Briton give to it? “I do not believe,” said our - Prime Minister, “that any nation ever entered into a - great controversy with a clearer conscience and stronger - conviction that she is fighting, not for aggression, not for - the maintenance of her own selfish interest, but in defence of - principles the maintenance of which is vital to the - civilisation of the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_20" - id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> - - world.” So he spoke, - and History will endorse his words, for we surely have our - quarrel just.</p> - <p> - So much for the events which have led us to war. Now for a - moment let us glance at what we may have to hope for, what we - may have to fear, and above all what we must each of us do - that we win through to a lasting peace.</p> - <p> - What have we to gain if we win? That we have nothing material - to gain, no colonies which we covet, no possessions of any - sort that we desire, is the final proof that the war has not - been provoked by us. No nation would deliberately go out of - its way to wage so hazardous and costly a struggle when there - is no prize for victory. But one enormous indirect benefit we - will gain if we can make Germany a peaceful and harmless - State. We will surely break her naval power and take such - steps that it shall not be a menace to us any more. It was - this naval power, with its rapid increase, and the need that - we should ever, as Mr. Churchill has so well expressed it, be - ready at our average moment to meet an attack at their chosen - moment—it was this which has piled up our war estimates - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_21" - id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> - - during the last ten years - until they have bowed us down. With such enormous sums - spent upon ships and guns, great masses of capital were - diverted from the ordinary channels of trade, while an even - more serious result was that our programmes of social - reform had to be curtailed from want of the money which - could finance them. Let the menace of that lurking fleet be - withdrawn—the nightmare of those thousand hammers working - day and night in forging engines for our destruction, and - our estimates will once again be those of a civilised - Christian country, while our vast capital will be turned - from measures of self-protection to those of - self-improvement. Should our victory be complete, there is - little which Germany can yield to us save the removal of - that shadow which has darkened us so long. But our children - and our children’s children will never, if we do our work - well now, look across the North Sea with the sombre - thoughts which have so long been ours, while their lives - will be brightened and elevated by money which we, in our - darker days, have had to spend upon our ships and our guns.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_22" - id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></p> - - <p> - Consider, on the other hand, what we should suffer if we were - to lose. All the troubles of the last ten years would be with - us still, but in a greatly exaggerated form. A larger and - stronger Germany would dominate Europe and would overshadow - our lives. Her coast-line would be increased, her ports would - face our own, her coaling stations would be in every sea, and - her great army, greater then than ever, would be within - striking distance of our shores. To avoid sinking for ever - into the condition of a dependant, we should be compelled to - have recourse to rigid compulsory service, and our diminished - revenues would be all turned to the needs of self-defence. - Such would be the miserable condition in which we should hand - on to our children that free and glorious empire which we - inherited in all the fulness of its richness and its splendour - from those strong fathers who have built it up. What peace of - mind, what self-respect could be left for us in the remainder - of our lives? The weight of dishonour would lie always upon - our hearts. And yet this will be surely our fate and our - future if we do not nerve our souls and brace - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_23" - id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> - - our arms for victory. No - regrets will avail, no excuses will help, no after-thoughts - can profit us. It is now—<em>now</em>—even in these weeks - and months that are passing that the final reckoning is - being taken, and when once the sum is made up no further - effort can change it. What are our lives or our labours, - our fortunes or even our families, when compared with the - life or death of the great mother of us all? We are but the - leaves of the tree. What matter if we flutter down to-day - or to-morrow, so long as the great trunk stands and the - burrowing roots are firm? Happy the man who can die with - the thought that in this greatest crisis of all he has - served his country to the uttermost; but who would bear the - thoughts of him who lives on with the memory that he has - shirked his duty and failed his country at the moment of - her need?</p> - <p> - There is a settled and assured future if we win. There is - darkness and trouble if we lose. But if we take a broader - sweep and trace the meanings of this contest as they affect - others than ourselves, then ever greater, more glorious are - the issues for which we - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_24" - id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> - - fight. For the whole world - stands at a turning-point of its history, and one or other - of two opposite principles, the rule of the soldier or the - rule of the citizen, must now prevail. In this sense we - fight for the masses of the German people, as some day they - will understand, to free them from that formidable military - caste which has used and abused them, spending their bodies - in an unjust war and poisoning their minds by every device - which could inflame them against those who wish nothing - save to live at peace with them. We fight for the strong, - deep Germany of old, the Germany of music and of - philosophy, against this monstrous modern aberration the - Germany of blood and of iron, the Germany from which, - instead of the old things of beauty, there come to us only - the rant of scolding professors with their final - reckonings, their Welt-politik, and their Godless theories - of the Superman who stands above morality and to whom all - humanity shall be subservient. Instead of the - world-inspiring phrases of a Goethe or a Schiller, what are - the words in the last decade which have been quoted across - the sea? Are they not always the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_25" - id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> - - ever-recurring words of - wrath from one ill-balanced man? “Strike them with the - mailed fist.” “Leave such a name behind you as - Attila and his Huns.” “Turn your weapons even - upon your own flesh and blood at my command.” These - are the messages which have come from this perversion of a - nation’s soul.</p> - <p> - But the matter lies deep. The Hohenzollerns and the Hapsburgs - have used their peoples as a great landowner might use the - serfs upon his estate. It was, and is, their openly expressed - theory that they were in their position by the grace of God, - that they owed no reckoning to any man, and that kingdom and - folk were committed for better or worse to their charge. Round - this theory of the dark ages there gathered all the forces of - the many Courts of the Empire, all the nobility who make so - huge a class in Germanic countries, all the vast army to whom - strict discipline and obedience were the breath of life, all - the office-holders of the State, all the purveyors of warlike - stores. These and their like were the natural setting to such - a central idea. Court influence largely controlled the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_26" - id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> - - teaching at schools and - universities, and so the growing twig could be bent. But - all these forces together could not have upheld so - dangerous and unnatural a theory had it not been for the - influence of a servile Press.</p> - <p> - How that Press was managed, how the thoughts of the people - could be turned to the right or the left with the same - precision as a platoon of Grenadiers, has been shown clearly - enough in the Memoirs of Bismarck. Public opinion was poisoned - at its very roots. The average citizen lived in a false - atmosphere where everything was distorted to his vision. He - saw his Kaiser, not as an essentially weak and impetuous man - with a dangerous entourage who were ever at his ear, but as - Germany personified, an angel with a flaming sword, beating - back envious assailants from the beloved Fatherland. He saw - his neighbours not as peaceful nations who had no possible - desire to attack him, but, on the contrary, lived in constant - fear of him, but as a band of envious and truculent - conspirators who could only be kept in order by the sudden - stamp of the jackboot and the menacing clatter of the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_27" - id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> - - sabre. He insensibly - imbibed the Nietzsche doctrine that the immorality of the - Superman may be as colossal as his strength and that the - slave-evangel of Christianity was superseded by a sterner - law. Thus when he saw acts which his reason must have told - him were indefensible, he was still narcotised by this - conception of some new standard of right. He saw his Kaiser - at the time of a petty humiliation to Great Britain sending - a telegram of congratulation to the man who had inflicted - this rebuff. Could that be approved by reason? At a time - when all Europe was shuddering over the Armenian massacres - he saw this same Kaiser paying a complimentary visit to the - Sultan whose hands were still wet with the blood of - murdered Christians. Could that be reconciled with what is - right? A little later he saw the Kaiser once again pushing - himself into Mediterranean politics, where no direct German - interest lay, and endeavouring to tangle up the French - developments in Northern Africa by provocative personal - appearances at Morocco, and, later, by sending a gunboat to - intrude upon a scene of action which had already - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_28" - id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> - - by the Treaty of Algeciras been allotted to France.</p> - <p> - How could an honest German whose mind was undebauched by a - controlled Press justify such an interference as that? He is - or should be aware that in annexing Bosnia, Austria was - tearing up a treaty without the consent of the other - signatories, and that his own country was supporting and - probably inciting her ally to this public breach of faith. - Could he honestly think that this was right? And, finally, he - must know, for his own Chancellor has publicly proclaimed it, - that the Invasion of Belgium was a breach of international - right, and that Germany, or rather, Prussia, had perjured - herself upon the day that the first of her soldiers passed - over the frontier. How can he explain all this to himself save - on a theory that might is right, that no moral law applies to - the Superman, and that so long as one hews one’s way through - the rest can matter little? To such a point of degradation - have public morals been brought by the infernal teachings of - Prussian military philosophy, dating back as far as Frederick - the Second, but intensified by - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_29" - id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> - - the exhortations of Press - and professors during our own times. The mind of the - average kindly German citizen has been debauched and yet - again debauched until it needed just such a world crisis as - this to startle him at last from his obsession and show him - his position and that of his country in its true relation - with humanity and progress.</p> - <p> - Thus I say that for the German who stands outside the ruling - classes our victory would bring a lasting relief, and some - hope that in - - <a name="TNanchor_1" - id="TNanchor_1"></a> - <a class="msg" href="#TN_1" - title="Omitted in original">the</a> - - future his destiny should be controlled by his own judgment - and not by the passions or interests of those against whom - he has at present no appeal. A system which has brought - disaster to Germany and chaos to all Europe can never, one - would think, be resumed, and amid the debris of his Empire - the German may pick up that precious jewel of personal - freedom which is above the splendour of foreign conquest. A - Hapsburg or a Hohenzollern may find his true place as the - servant rather than the master of a nation. But apart from - Germany, look at the effects which our victory must have - over the whole wide world. Everywhere it will mean the - triumph - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_30" - id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> - - of reasoned democracy, of - public debate, of ordered freedom in which every man is an - active unit in the system of his own government; whilst our - defeat would stand for a victory to a privileged class, the - thrusting down of the civilian by the arrogance and - intolerance of militarism, and the subjection of all that - is human and progressive to all that is cruel, narrow, and - reactionary.</p> - <p> - This is the stake for which we play, and the world will lose - or gain as well as we. You may well come, you democratic - over-sea men of our blood, to rally round us now, for all that - you cherish, all that is bred in your very bones, is that for - which we fight. And you, lovers of Freedom in every land, we - claim at least your prayers and your wishes, for if our sword - be broken you will be the poorer. But fear not, for our sword - will not be broken, nor shall it ever drop from our hands - until this matter is for ever set in order. If every ally we - have upon earth were to go down in blood and ruin, still would - we fight through to the appointed end. Defeat shall not daunt - us. Inconclusive victory shall not turn us from our purpose. - The grind of - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_31" - id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> - - poverty and the weariness - of hopes deferred shall not blunt the edge of our resolve. - With God’s help we shall go to the end, and when that - goal is reached it is our prayer that a new era shall come - as our reward, an era in which, by common action of State - with State, mutual hatreds and strivings shall be appeased, - land shall no longer be estranged from land, and huge - armies and fleets will be nightmares of the past. Thus, as - ever, the throes of evil may give birth to good. Till then - our task stands clear before us—a task that will ask for - all we have in strength and resolution. Have you who read - this played your part to the highest? If not, do it now, or - stand for ever shamed.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_32" - id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - <a name="II" - id="II">II</a></h2> - <h3> - THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY</h3> - - <p> - It is instructive and interesting now, - - <a name="FNanchor_1_1" - id="FNanchor_1_1"></a> - <a href="#Footnote_1_1" - class="fnanch2" - title="August 20, 1914.">[1]</a> - - before fresh great events - and a new situation obliterate the old impressions, to put - it on record how things seemed to some of us before the - blow fell. A mental position often seems incredible when - looked back to from some new standpoint.</p> - <p> - I am one of those who were obstinate in refusing to recognise - Germany’s intentions. I argued, I wrote, I joined the - Anglo-German Friendship Society; I did everything I could for - the faith that was in me. But early last year my views - underwent a complete change, and I realised that I had been - wrong, and that the thing which seemed too crazy and too - wicked to be true actually was true. I recorded my conversion - at the time in an - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_33" - id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> - - article entitled “Great Britain and the Next War” in the - <cite>Fortnightly</cite> of March, and reading over that - article I find a good deal which fits very closely to the - present situation. Forecasts are dangerous, but there is - not much there which I would wish to withdraw. What brought - about my change of view was reading Bernhardi’s book on - Germany and the next war.</p> - <p> - Up to then I had imagined that all this sabre-rattling was a - sort of boyish exuberance on the part of a robust young nation - which had a fancy to clank about the world in jackboots. Some - of it also came, as it seemed to me, from a perfectly natural - jealousy, and some as the result of the preaching of those - extraordinary professors whose idiotic diatribes have done so - much to poison the minds of Young Germany. This was clear - enough. But I could not believe that there was a conspiracy - hatching for a world-war, in which the command of the sea - would be challenged as well as that of the land. No motive - seemed to me to exist for so monstrous an upheaval, and no - prize to await Germany, if she won, which could at all balance - her - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_34" - id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> - - enormous risks if she lost. - Besides, one imagined that civilisation and Christianity - did stand for something, and that it was inconceivable that - a nation with pretensions to either the one or the other - could at this date of the world’s history lend itself to - a cold-blooded, barbarous conspiracy by which it built up - its strength for a number of years with the intention of - falling at a fitting moment upon its neighbours, without - any cause of quarrel save a general desire for - aggrandisement.</p> - <p> - All this, I say, I could not bring myself to believe. But I - read Bernhardi’s book, and then I could not help believing. - I wrote an article in the hope that others who had been as - blind as myself might also come to see the truth. For who was - Bernhardi? He was one of the most noted officers in the German - army. And here was a book addressed to his own - fellow-countrymen, in which these sentiments were set forth. - You could not set such a document aside and treat it as of no - account. As I said at the time, “We should be mad if we - did not take very serious notice of the warning.”</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_35" - id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></p> - - <p> - But the strange thing is that there should have been a - warning. There is a quaint simplicity in the German mind, - which has shown itself again and again in the recent events. - But this is surely the supreme example of it. One would - imagine that the idea that the book could be translated and - read by his intended victims had never occurred to the author. - As a famous soldier, it is impossible to believe that he was - not in touch with the General Staff, and he outlines a policy - which has some reason, therefore, to be looked upon as an - official one. It is as bright a performance as if some one on - Lord Roberts’s staff had written a description of the - Paardeberg flank march and sent it to Cronje some weeks before - it was carried out. And yet it was not an isolated example, - for Von Edelsheim, who actually belongs to this amazing - General Staff, published a shorter sketch, setting forth how - his country would deal with the United States—an essay which - is an extraordinary example of bombastic ignorance. Such - indiscretions can only be explained as manifestations of an - inflated national arrogance, which has blown itself up - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_36" - id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> - - into a conviction that - Germany was so sure of winning that it mattered little - whether her opponents were upon their guard or not.</p> - <p> - But Bernhardi’s programme, as outlined in his book, is - actually being carried through. The whole weight of the attack - was to be thrown upon France. Russia was to be held back - during her slow mobilisation, and then the victorious legions - from Paris were to thunder across in their countless troop - trains from the western to the eastern firing-line. Britain - was to be cajoled into keeping aloof until her fate was ripe. - Then her fleet was to be whittled down by submarines, mines, - and torpedo-boats until the numbers were more equal, when the - main German fleet, coming from under the forts of - Wilhelmshaven, should strike for the conquest of the sea. Such - were the plans, and dire the fate of the conquered. They were - in accordance with the German semi-official paper, which cried - on the day before the declaration of war: “We shall - win—and when we do, ‘Vae victis!’” With France it was - to be a final account. Our own fate would be little better. It - needs a righteous anger to wage war to the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_37" - id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> - - full, and we can feel it - when we think of the long-drawn plot against us, and of the - fate which defeat would bring.</p> - <p> - However favourable the general trend of events, we can hardly - hope to escape some bad hours during this war. The Germans are - a great and brave people, with a fine record in warlike - history. They will not go down without leaving their mark deep - upon the Allies. We must not take the opening successes too - seriously, or allow ourselves to have the edge taken off our - resolution by the idea that things will necessarily go well - with us. On land and sea vast efforts and occasional - disappointments will await us. But it will not be long. It is, - as it seems to me, absolutely impossible that it should be - long. The temper of the times will not brook slow measures, - nor will the enormous financial strain upon Germany be - tolerated indefinitely. How dangerous is prophecy, and these - very words may come back to mock me; but I cannot myself see - how it can be over in less than six months, or how it could - extend for more than twelve.</p> - <p> - If it should happen that the military affairs - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_38" - id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> - - of Germany are as rotten as - her diplomacy, then it certainly should not last long. - That, no doubt, is too much to expect, but there are many - degrees of incapacity which are short of that extreme - limit. For of that, at least, there can be no dispute. What - has come from all this crazy science of Real-politik and - Welt-politik and the rest of it? Simply that wherever it - was possible to lose the trick Germany and her partner have - done so. An alliance with Italy so loose that it was - useless, a Mediterranean understanding with Austria so - vague that it only operated after it had become of no - service to the German cruisers, the drawing of Servia, - Montenegro, and, finally, of Belgium, into the field - against them, the dealing with England in the one fashion - which must unite our ranks and cut the ground from under - the feet of any party which might cause dissension—these - are the results of the Wilhelmstrasse combinations, with - Potsdam embellishments. Was there ever so colossal a - muddle? Is there any one point which could have been worse - handled? And then as a by-product the universal distrust - and anger which such policy has aroused - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_39" - id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> - - in the neutral countries—yes, it really is a thing complete.</p> - <p> - But the German soldier may prove himself as good as ever. That - he will be as brave as ever I have no doubt at all. That he - will be as hardy as ever is less likely, as the population of - the Fatherland has drifted largely from fields to factories, - and as the standard of comfort, and even luxury, have greatly - increased. The Westphalian artisan of William is very - different material from the Brandenburg peasant of Frederick, - even as the short-service soldier of 1914 is very different - from the ten-year man of 1750. I should expect to see the - German as good, but no better than his neighbours. But the - whole issue of this campaign depends, from his point of view, - upon his being better. He has to win against superior numbers. - He must not only win, but win quickly. If an equilibrium were - established, the strangulation from England must bring victory - to the Allies. It is a great deal that the Kaiser has asked - from his men.</p> - <p> - And there is his much-vaunted military organisation. An - American friend of mine, - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_40" - id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> - - who had means of forming an - opinion, remarked to me, “Yes, it is a huge and - smooth-running machine, with delicate adjustments. Like all - such machines, if a few cogwheels stuck the whole might - racket itself to pieces.” A cogwheel stuck at Liége, - another may stick before long, and it all depends on how - the machine can adjust itself. The lesson of history is - ominous. The Prussians of Jena and Auerstadt were men who - had been swollen up by the tradition of Frederick’s - prowess. Yet in a single day their defeat was so great and - their power of recuperation so slight that they were - utterly dispersed, and their country for seven years ceased - to exist as a factor in European politics. They have always - been great winners. They have not always been great in - adversity. How will they now stand this test if it should - come their way?</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_41" - id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - <a name="III" - id="III">III</a></h2> - <h3> - THE DEVIL’S DOCTRINE</h3> - - <p> - I have been interesting and exasperating myself, during a most - untimely illness, - - <a name="FNanchor_2_2" - id="FNanchor_2_2"> - </a> <a href="#Footnote_2_2" - class="fnanch2" - title="September 10, 1914.">[2]</a> - - by working through a - part of the literature of German Imperial Expansion. I know - that it is only a part, and yet when I look at this - array—Treitschke and Bernhardi, Schiemann and Hasse, Bley, - Sybel, “Gross-Deutschland” and “Germania - Triumphans”—it represents a considerable body of - thought. And it is the literature of the devil. Not one - kindly sentiment, not one generous expression, is to be - found within it. It is informed with passionate cupidity - for the writer’s country and unreasoning, indiscriminate - hatred and jealousy towards everything outside it—above - all, towards the British Empire. How could such a - literature fail to bring about a world-coalition - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_42" - id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> - - against the country which - produced it! Were there no Germans who foresaw so obvious a - result? The whole tendency of the doctrine is that Germany - should, artichoke fashion, dismember the world. Not a word - is said as to the world suddenly turning and dismembering - her. But was not that the only protection against such - monstrous teaching as these books contain?</p> - <p> - You may object that these Imperialists were but a group of - monomaniacs and did not represent the nation. But the evidence - is the other way. They represented that part of the nation - which counts in international politics—they represented the - Kaiser and his circle, Von Tirpitz and the Navy men, Krupp, - von Bohlen and the armour-plated gang, the universities where - such doctrines were openly preached, the Army, the Junkers—all - the noisy, aggressive elements whose voice has sounded of late - years as the voice of Germany. All were infected by the same - virus of madness which has compelled Europe to get them once - for all into a strait-jacket.</p> - <p> - The actual policy of State was conducted - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_43" - id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> - - on the very lines of these - teachings, where the devilish doctrine that war should be - for ever lurking in a statesman’s thoughts, that he - should be prepared to pounce upon a neighbour should it be - in a state of weakness, and that no treaty or moral - consideration should stay his hand, is repeated again and - again as the very basis of all state-craft. At the time of - the Agadir crisis we have the German Minister of Foreign - Affairs openly admitting that he took the view of the - fanatical Pan-Germans. “I am as good a Pan-German as - you,” said Kiderlen-Waechter to the representative of - the League. Each was as good or as bad as the other, for - all were filled with the same heady, pernicious stuff which - has brought Europe to chaos.</p> - <p> - Where, now, is that “deep, patient Germany” of which - Carlyle wrote? Was ever a nation’s soul so perverted, so - fallen from grace! Read this mass of bombast—learned bombast - of professors, vulgar bombast of Lokal-Anzeigers and the like, - but always bombast. Wade through the prophetic books with - their assumption that Britain must perish and Germany succeed - her; consult - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_44" - id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> - - the scolding articles and - lectures, so narrow, ungenerous, and boastful in their - tone, so utterly wanting in the deeper historical knowledge - or true reading of a rival’s character; see the insane - Pan-German maps, with their partitions of Europe for the - year 1915 or thereabouts; study the lectures of the crazy - professors, with their absurd assumption of accurate - knowledge and their extraordinary knack of getting every - fact as wrong as it could possibly be—take all this - together, and then say whether any nation has ever in this - world been so foolishly and utterly misled as have the - Germans.</p> - <p> - I have alluded to their knack of getting everything wrong. It - is perfectly miraculous. One would not have thought it - possible that people could be <em>always</em> wrong. So - blinded have they been by hate that everything was distorted. - Never even by accident did they stumble upon the truth. Let us - take a list of their confident assertions—things so - self-evident that they were taken for granted by the average - journalist:</p> - <blockquote> - <p> - “The British Army was worthless; its - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_45" - id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> - - presence on the Continent, even if it could come, was - immaterial.</p> - <p> - “Britain herself was absolutely decadent.</p> - <p> - “Britain’s commerce could be ruined by the German cruisers.</p> - <p> - “The United States would fall upon us if we were in - trouble.</p> - <p> - “Canada and Australia were longing to break away from the - Empire.</p> - <p> - “India loathed us.</p> - <p> - “The Boers were eager to reconquer South Africa.</p> - <p> - “The Empire was an artificial collection of States which - must fly to pieces at the first shock.”</p></blockquote> - <p> - This was the nonsense which grave Berlin Professors of History - ladled out to their receptive students. The sinister - Treitschke, who is one of half a dozen men who have torn down - Imperial Germany just as surely as Roon, Bismarck, and Moltke - built it up, was the arch-priest of this cult. Like Nietzsche, - whose moral teaching was the supplement to the Pan-German - Material doctrine, Treitschke was not, by extraction, a German - at - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_46" - id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> - - all. Both men were of the - magnetic Slav stock, dreamers of dreams and seers of - visions—evil dreams and dark visions for the land in which - they dwelt. With their magic flutes they have led the whole - blind, foolish, conceited nation down that easy, pleasant - path which ends in this abyss.</p> - <p> - Nietzsche was, as his whole life proved, a man upon the edge - of insanity, who at last went obviously mad. Treitschke was a - man of great brain power, who had an <i lang="fr" - xml:lang="fr">idée fixe</i>—a monomania about Britain. So - long as he raved in Berlin, Englishmen took no more notice - than they do of an anarchist howling in the park; for it is - the British theory that a man may say and think what he - will so long as he refrains from doing. But Treitschke was - always dangerous. He was magnetic, eloquent, enthusiastic, - flashing wondrous visions of the future before his - listeners, varying in beauty, but always alike in that they - were seen across our prostrate body. Those who are in a - position to judge, like the late Professor Cramb, say that - his influence on young Germany could only be compared with - that of Carlyle and Macaulay united in - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_47" - id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> - - Great Britain. And now, - after his death, his words have all sprung to deeds to the - ruin of his own country and to the deep misfortune of ours. - He used to visit England, this strange and sinister man, - but as he was stone deaf his bodily presence brought him - little nearer to us. With useless ears and jaundiced eyes - he moved among us, returning to Berlin for the new Semester - as ignorant as he had left it, to rail against us once - again. He worked to harm us, and he has done so, but Lord! - what is the worst that he has done to us compared with the - irretrievable ruin that he has brought to his own country! - He and Von Tirpitz, Count Bieberstein, Maximilian Harden - and a few more, to say nothing of the head plotter of all—a - fine Germany they will leave behind them! Treitschke is - dead, and so is Bieberstein, but a good many of their dupes - may live to see the day when Indian princes ride as - conquerors down Unter den Linden and the shattered remains - of the braggadocio statues of the Sieges Allée, that - vulgar monument of bastard Imperialism, will expiate the - honoured ashes of Louvain.</p> - <p> - But the stupidity of it all—that is the consideration - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_48" - id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> - - which comes in a wave to - submerge every other aspect of the matter. For consider the - situation: as lately as 1897 the European grouping was - clear. The antagonists were already ranged. Russia had - definitely taken her side with France; against them, - equally definitely, were Germany and Austria, whilst Italy - clearly was on an orbit by herself. War sooner or later was - a certainty. Unattached, but with a distinct bias to - Germany on racial, religious, and other grounds, lay Great - Britain, the richest Power in the world, the ruler of the - seas, and a nation which was historically tenacious and - unconquerable in war. Was it not clear that the first - interest of Germany was to conciliate such a Power and to - make sure that if she were not an ally she would at least - never be an enemy? No proposition could be clearer than - that. And yet cast your minds back and remember the - treatment and bearing of Germany towards Britain since that - date—the floods of scorn, the libels, the bitter attacks, - the unconcealed determination to do her harm. See how it - has all ended, and how this atmosphere of hatred has put - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_49" - id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> - - a driving force into Great - Britain which has astonished ourselves. This is the end of - all the clever Welt-Politik. Truly <i lang="la" - xml:lang="la">Quos Deus vult perdere</i>—the gods must have - willed it much, for no nation was ever madder.</p> - <p> - Where were the sane Germans? Why was there no protest from - them? Perhaps there was, but we never heard of it amid the - beating of those great Pan-German drums. Did the whole nation, - for example, really agree in so harebrained a scheme as the - Bagdad Railway? Think of the insanity of such a project as - that. Here is a railway representing very many millions of - German capital which is built in the heart of Asia Minor, as - far removed from any sort of German protection or effective - control as if it were in the moon. The next step, vaguely - thought out, was that German settlers were to be planted along - the line of the railroad, but upon that being advanced the - Turks, who had smiled most amiably at the actual railway - construction, put down their slippers in the most emphatic - manner. The net result, therefore, would seem to be that - Turkey holds a hostage of a great many millions of German - capital which, - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_50" - id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> - - so long as Germany behaves - herself, may or may not return some interest; but if - Germany goes against Turkish wishes could at once be - confiscated. Apart from Turkey, Russia in the Caucasus, and - England in North-West India regard with a good deal of - interested attention this singular and helpless German - railway which projects out into space.</p> - <p> - There is one phase of their doctrines which has, perhaps, - received less attention than it deserves. It will be found - very fully treated in Professor Usher’s book on - <em>Pan-Germanism</em>, which, coming from an American - authority who seems to have studied his subject very - thoroughly, has the merit of impartiality. This proposition is - that just as a treaty is only a scrap of paper, so also is a - bond or debenture, and that just as the highest interest of a - nation may at any moment override ordinary morality, the same - vital urgency may justify anything in the nature of - repudiation of debt. This is not to be done on account of - inability to pay the debt; but through a deliberate, - cold-blooded plot to weaken the creditor by robbing him of his - property.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_51" - id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></p> - - <p> - Modern Germany has been largely built up by foreign capital. - In war, if Germany is conquered the debt necessarily holds - good. But if Germany wins, part of her reward of victory is - the complete repudiation of all debts. Thus the glorious or - inglorious prize of success would be, that all her vast - industrial plant would be freed from every debenture and start - without an encumbrance, a free present from the enemy. This - example, they hope, would lead other nations to do the same, - and so still further ruin the finances of England and France, - which are the great lending nations of the earth. They frankly - admit that such a <em>coup</em> would make it very difficult - for their nation to borrow money again, but on the other hand, - they would have made such an immense profit over the - transaction that they would be able to go on for many years - without any need of more capital. “To secure so - stupendous a result as this,” said the American - Professor, “is well worth the expenditure of money for - building a fleet. That money, so far as the German nation is - concerned, is merely invested in an enterprise from which they - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_52" - id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> - - confidently expect returns perhaps a hundred-fold.”</p> - <p> - As to the morality of this transaction, the Professor, who has - certainly no anti-German bias, expresses their views very - plainly. It is the same as Frederick the Great’s views as to - the morality of treaties which have descended with such fatal - effects upon his successor on the Prussian throne. Once admit - such anti-social theories and there is no end to their - application. Here it is in the domain of economics just as - shameless as in that of politics. “Once more,” says - the Professor, “the Germans hear around them our cries - against the morality of this procedure. The Germans refuse to - recognise as moral anything which jeopardises their national - existence.” They are to be the judges of what these are, - and if repudiation of debt is considered to be one of them, - then all debt may be repudiated. They will not put their views - into practice this time because they will not be the victors, - but when the reconstruction of Germany begins and she comes - once again as a chastened borrower into the market-place of - the world, it would - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_53" - id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> - - be well to have some assurance as to how far she retains - these views upon commercial morality.</p> - <p> - But I have visions of a really chastened Germany, of a Germany - which has sloughed all this wicked nonsense, which has found - her better self again, and which is once more that “deep, - patient Germany” with which I began this essay. She never - can be now what she could so easily have been. She could have - continued indefinitely to extend from Poland to the Vosges, - one vast community, honoured by all for industry and for - learning, with a huge commerce, a happy, peaceful, prosperous - population, and a Colonial system which, if smaller than that - of nations which were centuries older in the field, would at - least be remarkable for so short a time. None of these things - would the world have grudged her, and in the future as in the - past she would have found in the British Dominions and in - Great Britain herself an entry for her products as free as if - she were herself part of the Empire.</p> - <p> - All this must be changed for the worse, and it is just that - she should suffer for her - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_54" - id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> - - sins. The work of sixty - years will be destroyed. But will not the spiritual Germany - be the stronger and better? We cannot say. We can but hope - and wait and wonder. What is sure is that the real Germany, - of whom Carlyle spoke, can never be destroyed. Nor would we - desire it. Our wrath is not against Germany, but against - that Krupp-Kaiser-Junker combination which has brought her - to such a deadly pass.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_55" - id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - <a name="IV" - id="IV">IV</a></h2> - <h3> - THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT</h3> - - <p> - It will be a fascinating task for the historian of the - immediate future to work out the various strands of evidence - which seem to be independent and yet when followed up converge - upon the central purpose of a prearranged war for the late - summer of 1914—a war in which Germany should be the prime - mover and instigator and Austria the dupe and catspaw.</p> - <p> - Of course, there are some great facts patent to all the world. - There is the sudden rapid acceleration of German preparations - for the last two years, the great increase of the army with - the colours, and the special emergency tax which was to bring - in fifty millions of money. Looking back, we can see very - clearly that these things were the run before the jump. - Germany at the moment of declaring war had accumulated by - processes - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_56" - id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> - - extending over years all - the money which by borrowing or taxation she could raise, - and she cannot really expect the rest of the world to - believe that it was a mere coincidence that a crisis came - along at that particular and favourable moment. All the - evidence tends to show that the long-planned outbreak—the - “letting-go” as it was called in Germany—was - carefully prepared for that particular date and that the - Bosnian assassinations had nothing whatever to do with the - matter. A pretext could very easily be found, as Bernhardi - remarks, and if the Crown Prince of Austria were still - alive and well we should none the less have found ourselves - at death-grips with the Kaiser over the Belgian infraction.</p> - <p> - There are a number of small indications which will have to be - investigated and collated by the inquiring chronicler. There - is, for example, the reception of guns for a merchant cruiser - in a South American port which must have been sent off not - later than July 10, three weeks before the crisis developed. - There is the document of this same date, July 10, found upon a - German officer, which - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_57" - id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> - - is said to have censured - him for not having answered some mobilisation form on that - day. Then there is the abnormal quantity of grain ordered - in Canada and America in May; and finally there is the - receipt of mobilisation warnings by Austrian reservists in - South Africa, advising them that they should return at a - date which must place their issue from Vienna in the first - week of July. All these small incidents show the absurdity - of the German contention that at a moment of profound peace - some sort of surprise was sprung upon them. There was, - indeed, a surprise intended, but they were to be the - surprisers—though, indeed, I think their machinations were - too clumsy to succeed. They had retained the immorality but - lost the ability for that sudden tiger pounce which - Frederick, in a moment of profound peace, made upon - Silesia.</p> - <p> - I fancy that every Chancellery in Europe suspected that - something was in the wind. It was surely not a mere - coincidence that the grand Fleet lay ready for action at - Spithead and that the First Army Corps was practising some - very useful mobilisation exercises at - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_58" - id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> - - Aldershot. After all, our - British Administration is not so simple-minded as it - sometimes seems. Indeed, that very simplicity may at times - be its most deadly mask. At one time of my life I was much - bruised in spirit over the ease with which foreigners were - shown over our arsenals and yards. Happening to meet the - head of the Naval Intelligence Department, I confided my - trouble to him. It was at a public banquet where - conversation was restricted, but he turned his head towards - me, and his left eyelid flickered for an instant. Since - then I have never needed any reassurance upon the subject.</p> - <p> - But there is another matter which will insist on coming back - into one’s thoughts when one reviews the events which - preceded the war. I was in Canada in June, and the country was - much disturbed by the fact that a shipload of Hindus had - arrived at Vancouver, and had endeavoured to land in the face - of the anti-Asiatic immigration laws. It struck me at the time - as a most extraordinary incident, for these Indians were not - the usual Bengalee pedlars, but were Sikhs of a proud and - martial race. What could be their - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_59" - id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> - - object in endeavouring to - land in Canada, when the climate of that country would make - it impossible for them to settle in it? It was a most - unnatural incident, and yet a most painful one, for the - British Government was placed in the terrible dilemma of - either supporting Canada against India or India against - Canada. Could anything be better calculated to start an - agitation in one country or the other? The thing was - inexplicable at the time, but now one would wish to know - who paid for that ship and engineered the whole - undertaking. I believe it was one more move on Germany’s - world-wide board. - - <a name="FNanchor_3_3" - id="FNanchor_3_3"></a> - <a href="#Footnote_3_3" - class="fnanch2" - title="Two months later, according to The Times, official -evidence of this was actually forthcoming.—A. C. D."> - [3]</a></p> - <p> - In connection with the date at which the long-expected German - war was to break out, it is of interest now to remember some - of the conversations to which I listened three years ago, when - I was a competitor in the Anglo-German motor competition, - called the Prince Henry Tour. It was a very singular - experience, and was itself not without some political meaning, - since it could hardly have been chance that a German gunboat - should - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_60" - id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> - - appear at Agadir at the - very instant when the head of the German Navy was making - himself agreeable (and he can be exceedingly agreeable) to - a number of Britons, and a genial international atmosphere - was being created by the nature of the contest, which sent - the whole fleet of seventy or eighty cars on a tour of - hospitality through both countries. I refuse to believe - that it was chance, and it was a remarkable example of the - detail to which the Germans can descend. By the rules of - the competition a German officer had to be present in each - British car and a British officer in each German one during - the whole three weeks, so as to check the marks of the - driver. It was certainly an interesting situation, since - every car had its foreign body within it, which had to be - assimilated somehow with the alternative of constant - discomfort. Personally we were fortunate in having a - Rittmeister of Breslau Cuirassiers, with whom we were able - to form quite a friendship. Good luck to you, Count Carmer, - and bad luck to your regiment! To you also, little Captain - Türck, <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Fregattencapitän am - dienst</i>, the best of luck, and ill - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_61" - id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> - - betide your cruiser! We - found pleasant friends among the Germans, though all were - not equally fortunate, and I do not think that the net - result helped much towards an international entente.</p> - <p> - However, the point of my reminiscence is that on this tour I, - being at that time a champion of Anglo-German friendship, - heard continual discussions, chiefly on the side of British - officers, several of whom were experts on German matters, as - to when the impending war would be forced upon us. The date - given was always 1914 or 1915. When I asked why this - particular year, the answer was that the German preparations - would be ready by then, and especially the widening of the - Kiel Canal, by which the newer and larger battleships would be - able to pass from the Baltic to the North Sea. It says - something for the foresight of these officers that this - widening was actually finished on June 24 of this year, and - within six weeks the whole of Europe was at war. I am bound to - admit that they saw deeper into the future than I did, and - formed a truer estimate of our real relations with our - fellow-voyagers. “Surely - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_62" - id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> - - you feel more friendly to - them now,” said I at the end to one distinguished - officer. “All I want with them now is to fight - them,” said he. We have all been forced to come round - to his point of view.</p> - <p> - Yes, it was a deep, deep plot, a plot against the liberties of - Europe, extending over several years, planned out to the - smallest detail in the days of peace, developed by hordes of - spies, prepared for by every conceivable military, naval, and - financial precaution, and finally sprung upon us on a pretext - which was no more the real cause of war than any other excuse - would have been which would serve their turn by having some - superficial plausibility. The real cause of war was a - universal national insanity infecting the whole German race, - but derived originally from a Prussian caste who inoculated - the others with their megalomania.</p> - <p> - This insanity was based upon the universal supposition that - the Germans were the Lord’s chosen people, that in the words - of Buy, they were “the most cultured people, the best - settlers, the best warriors”—the best everything. Having - got that idea thoroughly - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_63" - id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> - - infused into their very - blood, the next step was clear. If they were infinitely the - best people living amidst such tribes as “the - barbarous Russians, the fickle French, the beastly Servians - and Belgians,” to quote one of their recent papers, - then why should they not have all the best things in the - world? If they were really the most powerful, who could - gainsay them? They need not do it all at once, but two - great national efforts would give them the whole of - unredeemed Germany, both shores of the Rhine down to the - sea, the German cantons of Switzerland, and, in conjunction - with Austria, the long road that leads to Salonica. All - local causes and smaller details sink into nothing compared - with this huge national ambition which was the real driving - force at the back of this formidable project.</p> - <p> - And it was a very formidable project. If such things could be - settled by mere figures and time-tables without any reference - to the spirit and soul of the nations, it might very well have - succeeded. I think that we are not indulging too far in - national complacency if we say that without the British - army—that - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_64" - id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> - - negligible factor—it would - for the time at least have succeeded. Had the Germans - accomplished their purpose of getting round the left wing - of the French, it is difficult to see how a debacle could - have been avoided, and it was our little army which stood - in the pass and held it until that danger was past. It is - certain now that the huge sweep of the German right had - never been allowed for, that the French troops in that - quarter were second-line troops, and that it was our great - honour and good fortune to have dammed that raging torrent - and stopped the rush which must have swept everything - before it until it went roaring into Paris. And yet how - many things might have prevented our presence at the right - place at the right time, and how near we were to a glorious - annihilation upon that dreadful day when the artillery of - five German army corps—eight hundred and thirty guns in - all—were concentrated upon Smith-Dorrien’s exhausted men. - The success or failure of the great conspiracy hung upon - the over-matched British covering batteries upon that one - critical afternoon. It was the turning-point of the history - of the world.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_65" - id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - <a name="V" - id="V">V</a></h2> - <h3> - THE “CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY”</h3> - - <p> - Early last year, in the course of some comments which I made - upon the slighting remarks about our Army by General von - Bernhardi, I observed, “It may be noted that General von - Bernhardi has a poor opinion of our troops. This need not - trouble us. We are what we are, and words will not alter it. - From very early days our soldiers have left their mark upon - Continental warfare, and we have no reason to think that we - have declined from the manhood of our forefathers.” Since - then he has returned to the attack. With that curious power of - coming after deep study to the absolutely diametrically wrong - conclusion which the German expert, political or military, - appears to possess, he says in his <cite>War of To-day</cite>, - “The - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_66" - id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> - - English Army, trained more - for purposes of show than for modern war,” adding in - the same sentence a sneer at our “inferior Colonial - levies.” He will have an opportunity of reconsidering - his views presently upon the fighting value of our over-sea - troops, and surely so far as our own are concerned he must - already be making some interesting notes for his next - edition, or rather for the learned volume upon - <cite>Germany and the Last War</cite> which will no doubt - come from his pen. He is a man to whom we might well raise - a statue, for I am convinced that his cynical confession of - German policy has been worth at least an army corps to this - country. We may address to him John Davidson’s lines to - his enemy—</p> - - <div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <p class="iQ">”Unwilling friend, let not your spite - abate,</p> - <p class="i0">Spur us with scorn, and - strengthen us with hate.”</p></div> - </div> - - <p> - There is another German gentleman who must be thinking rather - furiously. He is a certain Colonel Gadke, who appeared - officially at Aldershot some years ago, was hospitably - entreated, being shown all that he desired to see, and on his - return to Berlin - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_67" - id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> - - published a most - depreciatory description of our forces. He found no good - thing in them. I have some recollection that General French - alluded in a public speech to this critic’s remarks, and - expressed a modest hope that he and his men would some day - have the opportunity of showing how far they were deserved. - Well, he has had his opportunity, and Colonel Gadke, like - so many other Germans, seems to have made a miscalculation.</p> - <p> - An army which has preserved the absurd <i lang="de" - xml:lang="de">Paradeschritt</i>, an exercise which is - painful to the bystander, as he feels that it is making - fools of brave men, must have a tendency to throw back to - earlier types. These Germans have been trained in peace and - upon the theory of books. In all that vast host there is - hardly a man who has previously stood at the wrong end of a - loaded gun. They live on traditions of close formations, - vast cavalry charges, and other things which will not fit - into modern warfare. Braver men do not exist, but it is the - bravery of men who have been taught to lean upon each - other, and not the cold, self-contained, resourceful - bravery - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_68" - id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> - - of the man who has learned - to fight for his own hand. The British have had the - teachings of two recent campaigns fought with modern - weapons—that of the Tirah and of South Africa. Now that the - reserves have joined the colours there are few regiments - which have not a fair sprinkling of veterans from these - wars in their ranks. The Pathan and the Boer have been - their instructors in something more practical than those - Imperial Grand Manœuvres where the all-highest played with - his puppets in such a fashion that one of his generals - remarked that the chief practical difficulty of a campaign - so conducted would be the disposal of the dead.</p> - <p> - Boers and Pathans have been hard masters, and have given many - a slap to their admiring pupils, but the lesson has been - learned. It was not show troops, General, who, with two corps, - held five of your best day after day from Mons to Compiègne. - It is no reproach to your valour: but you were up against men - who were equally brave and knew a great deal more of the game. - This must begin to break upon you, and will surely grow - clearer as the days go by. We - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_69" - id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> - - shall often in the future - take the knock as well as give it, but you will not say - that we have a show army if you live to chronicle this war, - nor will your Imperial master be proud of the adjective - which he has demeaned himself in using before his troops - had learned their lesson.</p> - <p> - The fact is that the German army, with all its great - traditions, has been petrifying for many years back. They - never learned the lesson of South Africa. It was not for want - of having it expounded to them, for their military - attaché—“’im with the spatchcock on ’is - ’elmet,” as I heard him described by a British - orderly—missed nothing of what occurred, as is evident from - their official history of the war. And yet they missed it, and - with it all those ideas of individual efficiency and elastic - independent formations, which are the essence of modern - soldiering. Their own more liberal thinkers were aware of it. - Here are the words which were put into the mouth of Güntz, - the representative of the younger school, in Beyerlein’s - famous novel:</p> - <p> - “The organisation of the German army rested upon - foundations which had been laid - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_70" - id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> - - a hundred years ago. Since - the great war they had never seriously been put to the - proof, and during the last three decades they had only been - altered in the most trifling details. In three long - decades! And in one of those decades the world at large had - advanced as much as in the previous century.</p> - <p> - “Instead of turning this highly developed intelligence to - good account, they bound it hand and foot on the rack of an - everlasting drill which could not have been more soullessly - mechanical in the days of Frederick. It held them together as - an iron hoop holds together a cask the dry staves of which - would fall asunder at the first kick.”</p> - <p> - Lord Roberts has said that if ten points represent the - complete soldier, eight should stand for his efficiency as a - shot. The German maxim has rather been that eight should stand - for his efficiency as a drilled marionette. It has been - reckoned that about 200 books a year appear in Germany upon - military affairs, against about 20 in Britain. And yet after - all this expert debate the essential point of all seems to - have been missed—that in the end everything depends upon the man - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_71" - id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> - - behind the gun, upon his - hitting his opponent and upon his taking cover so as to - avoid being hit himself.</p> - <p> - After all the efforts of the General Staff the result when - shown upon the field of battle has filled our men with a - mixture of admiration and contempt—contempt for the absurd - tactics, admiration for the poor devils who struggle on in - spite of them. Listen to the voices of the men who are the - real experts. Says a Lincolnshire sergeant, “They were in - solid square blocks, and we couldn’t help hitting - them.” Says Private Tait (2nd Essex), “Their rifle - shooting is rotten. I don’t believe they could hit a - haystack at 100 yards.” “They are rotten shots with - their rifles,” says an Oldham private. “They advance - in close column, and you simply can’t help hitting - them,” writes a Gordon Highlander. “You would have - thought it was a big crowd streaming out from a Cup-tie,” - says Private Whitaker of the Guards. “It was like a - farmer’s machine cutting grass,” so it seemed to - Private Hawkins of the Coldstreams. “No damned good as - riflemen,” says a Connemara boy. “You couldn’t help - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_72" - id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> - - hitting them. As to their rifle fire, it was useless.” “They - shoot from the hip, and don’t seem to aim at anything in - particular.” </p> - <p> - These are the opinions of the practical men upon the field of - battle. Surely a poor result from the 200 volumes a year, and - all the weighty labours of the General Staff! “Artillery - nearly as good as our own, rifle fire beneath contempt,” - that is the verdict. How will the well-taught <i lang="de" - xml:lang="de">Paradeschritt</i> avail them when it comes to - a stricken field?</p> - <p> - But let it not seem as if this were meant for disparagement. - We should be sinking to the Kaiser’s level if we answered - his “contemptible little army” by pretending that - his own troops are anything but a very formidable and big - army. They are formidable in numbers, formidable, too, in - their patriotic devotion, in their native courage, and in the - possession of such material, such great cannon, aircraft, - machine guns, and armoured cars, as none of the Allies can - match. They have every advantage which a nation would be - expected to have when it has known that war was a certainty, - while others have only treated it as a possibility. There is a - minuteness - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_73" - id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> - - and earnestness of - preparation which are only possible for an assured event. - But the fact remains, and it will only be brought out more - clearly by the Emperor’s unchivalrous phrase, that in - every arm the British have already shown themselves to be - the better troops. Had he the Froissart spirit within him - he would rather have said: “You have to-day a task - which is worthy of you. You are faced by an army which has - a high repute and a great history. There is real glory to - be won to-day.” Had he said this, then, win or lose, - he would not have needed to be ashamed of his own words—the - words of an ungenerous spirit.</p> - <p> - It is a very strange thing how German critics have taken for - granted that the British Army had deteriorated, while the - opinion of all those who were in close touch with it was that - it was never so good. Even some of the French experts made the - same mistake, and General Bonnat counselled his countrymen not - to rely upon it, since “it would take refuge amid its - islands at the first reverse.” One would think that the - causes which make for its predominance were obvious. - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_74" - id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> - - Apart from any question of - national spirit or energy, there is the all-important fact - that the men are there of their own free will, an advantage - which I trust that we shall never be compelled to - surrender. Again, the men are of longer service in every - arm, and they have far more opportunities of actual - fighting than come to any other force. Finally, they are - divided into regiments, with centuries of military glory - streaming from their banners, which carry on a mighty - tradition. The very words the Guards, the Rifles, the - Connaught Rangers, the Buffs, the Scots Greys, the Gordons, - sound like bugle-calls. How could an army be anything but - dangerous which had such units in its line of battle?</p> - <p> - And yet there remains the fact that both enemies and friends - are surprised at our efficiency. This is no new phenomenon. - Again and again in the course of history the British Armies - have had to win once more the reputation which had been - forgotten. Continentals have always begun by refusing to take - them seriously. Napoleon, who had never met them in battle, - imagined that their - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_75" - id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> - - unbroken success was due to some weakness in his marshals rather - than to any excellence of the troops. “At last I have them, these - English,” he exclaimed, - - <a name="TNanchor_2" - id="TNanchor_2"></a> - <a class="msg" href="#TN_2" - title= "Original reads ’at’">as</a> - - he gazed at the thin red line at Waterloo. “At last they - have me, these English,” may have been his thought - that evening as he spurred his horse out of the debacle. - Foy warned him of the truth. “The British infantry is - the devil,” said he. “You think so because you - were beaten by them,” cried Napoleon. Like von Kluck - or von Kluck’s master, he had something to learn.</p> - <p> - Why this continual depreciation? It may be that the world pays - so much attention to our excellent right arm that it cannot - give us credit for having a very serviceable left as well. Or - it may be that they take seriously those jeremiads over our - decay which are characteristic of our people, and very - especially of many of our military thinkers. I have never been - able to understand why they should be of so pessimistic a turn - of mind, unless it be a sort of exaltation of that grumbling - which has always been the privilege of the old soldier. Croker - narrates how he met - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_76" - id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> - - Wellington in his latter - years, and how the Iron Duke told him that he was glad that - he was so old, as he would not live to see the dreadful - military misfortunes which were about to come to his - country. Looking back we can see no reasons for such - pessimism as this. Above all, the old soldier can never - make any allowance for the latent powers which lie in - civilian patriotism and valour. Only a year ago I had a - long conversation with a well-known British General, in - which he asserted with great warmth that in case of an - Anglo-German war with France involved the British public - would never allow a trained soldier to leave these islands. - He is at the front himself and doing such good work that he - has little time for reminiscence, but when he has he must - admit that he underrated the nerve of his countrymen.</p> - <p> - And yet under the pessimism of such men as he there is a - curious contradictory assurance that there are no troops like - our own. The late Lord Goschen used to tell a story of a - letter that he had from a captain in the Navy at the time when - he was First Lord. This captain’s ship was lying alongside a - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_77" - id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> - - foreign cruiser in some - port, and he compared in his report the powers of the two - vessels. Lord Goschen said that his heart sank as he read - the long catalogue of points in which the British ship was - inferior—guns, armour, speed—until he came to the - postscript, which was: “I think I could take her in - twenty minutes.”</p> - <p> - With all the grumbling of our old soldiers there is always - some reservation of the sort at the end of it. Of course those - who are familiar with our ways of getting things done would - understand that a good deal of the croaking is a means of - getting our little army increased, or at least preventing its - being diminished. But whatever the cause, the result has been - the impression abroad of a “contemptible little - army.” Whatever surprise in the shape of 17-inch - howitzers or 900-foot Zeppelins the Kaiser may have for us, it - is a safe prophecy that it will be a small matter compared to - that which Sir John French and his men will be to him.</p> - <p> - But above all I look forward to the development of our mounted - riflemen. This I say in no disparagement of our cavalry, who - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_78" - id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> - - have done so magnificently. - But the mounted rifleman is a peculiarly British - product—British and American—with a fresh edge upon it from - South Africa. I am most curious to see what a division of - these fellows will make of the Uhlans. It is good to see - that already the old banners are in the wind—Lovat’s - Horse, Scottish Horse, King Edward’s Horse, and the rest. - All that cavalry can do will surely be done by our cavalry. - But I have always held, and I still very strongly hold, - that the mounted rifleman has it in him to alter our whole - conception of warfare, as the mounted archer did in his - day; and now in this very war will be his first great - chance upon a large scale. Ten thousand well-mounted, - well-trained riflemen, young officers to lead them, all - broad Germany with its towns, its railways, and its - magazines before them—there lies one more surprise for the - doctrinaires of Berlin.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_79" - id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - <a name="VI" - id="VI">VI</a></h2> - <h3> - A POLICY OF MURDER</h3> - - <p> - When one writes with a hot heart upon events which are still - recent one is apt to lose one’s sense of proportion. At - every step one should check oneself by the reflection as to - how this may appear ten years hence, and how far events which - seem shocking and abnormal may prove themselves to be a - necessary accompaniment of every condition of war. But a time - has now come when in cold blood, with every possible - restraint, one is justified in saying that since the most - barbarous campaigns of Alva in the Lowlands, or the excesses - of the Thirty Years’ War, there has been no such deliberate - policy of murder as has been adopted in this struggle by the - German forces. This is the more terrible since these forces - are not, like those of Alva, Parma, or Tilly, bands of - turbulent. - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_80" - id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> - - and mercenary soldiers, but - they are the nation itself, and their deeds are condoned or - even applauded by the entire national Press. It is not on - the chiefs of the army that the whole guilt of this - terrible crime must rest, but it is upon the whole German - nation, which for generations to come must stand condemned - before the civilised world for this reversion to those - barbarous practices from which Christianity, civilisation, - and chivalry had gradually rescued the human race. They - may, and do, plead the excuse that they are - “earnest” in war, but all nations are earnest in - war, which is the most desperately earnest thing of which - we have any knowledge. How earnest we are will be shown - when the question of endurance begins to tell. But no - earnestness can condone the crime of the nation which - deliberately breaks those laws which have been endorsed by - the common consent of humanity.</p> - <p> - War may have a beautiful as well as a terrible side, and be - full of touches of human sympathy and restraint which mitigate - its unavoidable horror. Such have been the characteristics - always of the secular wars - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_81" - id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> - - between the British and the - French. From the old glittering days of knighthood, with - their high and gallant courtesy, through the - eighteenth-century campaigns where the debonair guards of - France and England exchanged salutations before their - volleys, down to the last great Napoleonic struggle, the - tradition of chivalry has always survived. We read how in - the Peninsula the pickets of the two armies, each of them - as earnest as any Germans, would exchange courtesies, how - they would shout warnings to each other to fall back when - an advance in force was taking place, and how, to prevent - the destruction of an ancient bridge, the British promised - not to use it on condition that the French would forgo its - destruction—an agreement faithfully kept upon either side. - Could one imagine Germans making war in such a spirit as - this? Think of that old French bridge, and then think of - the University of Louvain and the Cathedral of Rheims. What - a gap between them—the gap that separates civilisation from - the savage!</p> - <p> - Let us take a few of the points which, when focussed together, - show how the Germans - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_82" - id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> - - have degraded warfare—a - degradation which affects not only the Allies at present, - but the whole future of the world, since if such examples - were followed the entire human race would, each in turn, - become the sufferers. Take the very first incident of the - war, the mine-laying by the <i lang="de" - xml:lang="de">Königin Luise</i>. Here was a vessel, which - was obviously made ready with freshly charged mines some - time before there was any question of a general European - war, which was sent forth in time of peace, and which, on - receipt of a wireless message, began to spawn its hellish - cargo across the North Sea at points 50 miles from land in - the track of all neutral merchant shipping. There was the - keynote of German tactics struck at the first possible - instant. So promiscuous was the effect that it was a mere - chance which prevented the vessel which bore the German - Ambassador from being destroyed by a German mine. From - first to last some hundreds of people have lost their lives - on this tract of sea, some of them harmless British - trawlers, but the greater number sailors of Danish and - Dutch vessels pursuing their commerce as they had every - right to - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_83" - id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> - - do. It was the first move in a consistent policy of murder.</p> - <p> - Leaving the sea, let us turn to the air. Can any possible term - save a policy of murder be applied to the use of aircraft by - the Germans? It has always been a principle of warfare that - unfortified towns should not be bombarded. So closely has it - been followed by the British that one of our aviators, flying - over Cologne in search of a Zeppelin shed, refrained from - dropping a bomb in an uncertain light, even though Cologne is - a fortress, lest the innocent should suffer. What is to be - said, then, for the continual use of bombs by the Germans, - which have usually been wasted in the destruction of cats or - dogs, but which have occasionally torn to pieces some woman or - child? If bombs were dropped on the forts of Paris as part of - a scheme for reducing the place, then nothing could be said in - objection, but how are we to describe the action of men who - fly over a crowded city dropping bombs promiscuously which can - have no military effect whatever, and are entirely aimed at - the destruction of innocent civilians? These men - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_84" - id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> - - have been obliging enough - to drop their cards as well as their bombs on several - occasions. I see no reason why these should not be used in - evidence against them, or why they should not be hanged as - murderers when they fall into the hands of the Allies. The - policy is idiotic from a military point of view; one could - conceive nothing which would stimulate and harden national - resistance more surely than such petty irritations. But it - is a murderous innovation in the laws of war, and unless it - is sternly repressed it will establish a most sinister - precedent for the future.</p> - <p> - As to the treatment of Belgium, what has it been but murder, - murder all the way? From the first days at Visé, when it was - officially stated that an example of “frightfulness” - was desired, until the present moment, when the terrified - population has rushed from the country and thrown itself upon - the charity and protection of its neighbours, there has been - no break in the record. Compare the story with that of the - occupation of the South of France by Wellington in 1813, when - no one was injured, nothing - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_85" - id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> - - was taken without full - payment, and the villagers fraternised with the troops. - What a relapse of civilisation is here! From Visé to - Louvain, Louvain to Aerschott, Aerschott to Malines and - Termonde, the policy of murder never fails.</p> - <p> - It is said that more civilians than soldiers have fallen in - Belgium. Peruse the horrible accounts taken by the Belgian - Commission, who took evidence in the most careful and - conscientious fashion. Study the accounts of that dreadful - night in Louvain which can only be equalled by the Spanish - Fury of Antwerp. Read the account of the wife of the - burgomaster of Aerschott, with its heart-rending description - of how her lame son, aged sixteen, was kicked along to his - death by an aide-de-camp. It is all so vile, so brutally - murderous that one can hardly realise that one is reading the - incidents of a modern campaign conducted by one of the leading - nations in Europe.</p> - <p> - Do you imagine that the thing has been exaggerated? Far from - it—the volume of crime has not yet been appreciated. Have not - many Germans unwittingly testified to - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_86" - id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> - - what they have seen and - done? Only last week we had the journal of one of them, an - officer whose service had been almost entirely in France - and removed from the crime centres of Belgium. Yet were - ever such entries in the diary of a civilised soldier? - “Our men behaved like regular Vandals.” “We - shot the whole lot” (these were villagers). “They - were drawn up in three ranks. The same shot did for three - at a time.” “In the evening we set fire to the - village. The priest and some of the inhabitants were - shot.” “The villages all round were - burning.” “The villages were burned and the - inhabitants shot.” “At Leppe apparently two - hundred men were shot. There must have been some innocent - men among them.” “In - - <a name="TNanchor_3" - id="TNanchor_3"></a> - <a class="msg" href="#TN_3" - title="Omitted in original">the</a> - - future we shall have to hold an inquiry into their guilt - instead of merely shooting them.” “The Vandals - themselves could not have done more damage. The place is a - disgrace to our army.” So the journal runs on with its - tale of infamy. It is an infamy so shameless that even in - the German record the story is perpetuated of how a French - lad was murdered because he refused to answer - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_87" - id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> - - certain questions. To such a depth of degradation has Prussia - brought the standard of warfare.</p> - <p> - And now, as the appetite for blood grows ever stronger—and - nothing waxes more fast—we have stories of the treatment of - prisoners. Here is a point where our attention should be most - concentrated and our action most prompt. It is the just duty - which we owe to our own brave soldiers. At present the - instances are isolated, and we will hope that they do not - represent any general condition. But the stories come from - sure sources. There is the account of the brutality which - culminated in the death of the gallant motor-cyclist Pearson, - the son of Lord Cowdray. There is the horrible story in a - responsible Dutch paper, told by an eye-witness, of the - torture of three British wounded prisoners in Landen Station - on October 9.</p> - <p> - The story carries conviction by its detail. Finally, there are - the disquieting remarks of German soldiers, repeated by this - same witness, as to the British prisoners whom they had shot. - The whole lesson of history is that when troops are allowed to - start murder - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_88" - id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> - - one can never say how or - when it will stop. It may no longer be part of a - deliberate, calculated policy of murder by the German - Government. But it has undoubtedly been so in the past, and - we cannot say when it will end. Such incidents will, I - fear, make peace an impossibility in our generation, for - whatever statesmen may write upon paper can never affect - the deep and bitter resentment which a war so conducted - must leave behind it.</p> - <p> - Other German characteristics we can ignore. The consistent, - systematic lying of the German Press, or the grotesque - blasphemies of the Kaiser, can be met by us with contemptuous - tolerance. After all, what is is, and neither falsehood nor - bombast will alter it. But this policy of murder deeply - affects not only ourselves but the whole framework of - civilisation so slowly and painfully built upwards by the - human race.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_89" - id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - <a name="VII" - id="VII">VII</a></h2> - <h3> - MADNESS</h3> - - <p> - We have all, I suppose, read and marvelled at the wonderful - German “song of hate.” This has been so much admired - over the water that Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria (who had just - stated his bitter hatred of us in a prose army order) - distributed copies of the verses to his Bavarians as a - stimulant in their long, unsuccessful tussle with our troops - at Ypres. In case the reader has forgotten its flavour, I - append a typical verse:</p> - - <div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <p class="iQ">”We will never forgo our hate.</p> - <p class="i0">We have all but a single hate.</p> - <p class="i0">We love as one, we hate as one,</p> - <p class="i0">We have one foe and one alone—</p> - <p class="i12"> - <span class="smcap">England.</span>”</p></div> - </div> - - <p> - This sort of thing is, it must be admitted, very painful and - odious. It fills us with a mixture of pity and disgust, and we - feel as if, instead of a man, we were really fighting - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_90" - id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> - - with a furious, screaming - woman. Germany used to be a very great nation, mentally and - morally as well as in material ways, and many of us, even - while we fight her, are honestly pained by the depths of - degradation into which she has fallen. This shrill scream - of hate and constant frenzied ranting against Great Britain - may reach its highest note in this poem, but we know that - it pervades the whole Press and every class of national - thought. It is deliberately fed by lying journals, which - publish bogus letters describing the imaginary sufferings - of German prisoners, and also by the Government itself, - which upon receiving a Socialist report partly favourable - to Britain, excised those passages and circulated the rest - as a complete document, so as to give the idea that it was - wholly condemnatory. Wherever we touch Germany in its - present phase, whether it be the Overlord himself with his - megalomaniac messages, the princes with their looting of - châteaux, the Foreign Office with its trick of stealing - American passports for the use of German spies, the army - with its absolute brutality, the navy with its tactics of - mine-laying - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_91" - id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> - - in neutral waters, the - Press with its grotesque concoctions, the artists with - their pictures, which are so base that the decent Germans - have themselves at last rebelled against them, or the - business men with their assertion that there is less - economic disturbance in Germany than in Great - Britain—wherever, I say, you touch them you come always - upon what is odious and deceitful. A long century will have - passed before Germany can wash her hands clean from murder, - or purge from her spirit the shadow of this evil time.</p> - <p> - If the words of one humble individual could reach across the - seas, there are two things upon which I should wish to speak - earnestly to a German: the one, our own character, the other, - the future which he is deliberately preparing for the - Fatherland which he loves. Our papers do get over there, even - as theirs come over here, so one may hope it is not impossible - that some German may give a thought to what I say, if he is - not so bemused by the atmosphere of lies in which his Press - has enveloped him that he cannot recognise cold truth when he - sees it.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_92" - id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></p> - - <p> - First as to ourselves: we have never been a nation who fought - with hatred. It is our ideal to fight in a sporting spirit. It - is not that we are less in earnest, but it is that the - sporting spirit itself is a thing very largely evolved by us - and is a natural expression of our character. We fight as hard - as we can, and we like and admire those who fight hard against - us so long as they keep within the rules of the game. Let me - take an obvious example. One German has done us more harm than - any other in this war. He is Captain von Müller of the - <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Emden</i>, whose depredations - represent the cost of a battleship. Yet an honest sigh of relief - went up from us all when we learned that he had not perished with - his ship, and if he walked down Fleet Street to-day he would be - cheered by the crowd from end to end. Why? Because almost alone - among Germans he has played the game as it should be played. It - is true that everything that he did was illegal. He had no right - to burn uncondemned prizes, and a purist could claim that he was - a pirate. But we recognised the practical difficulties of his - position; - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_93" - id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> - - we felt that under the circumstances he had acted like a - gentleman, and we freely forgave him any harm that he had done - us. With this example before you, my German reader, you cannot - say that it is national hatred when we denounce your murderers - and brigands in Belgium. If they, too, had acted as gentlemen, - we should have felt towards them as to von Müller.</p> - <p> - If you look back in British history, you will find that this - absence of hatred has always been characteristic of us. When - Soult came to London after the Napoleonic wars, he was cheered - through the City. After the Boer War, Botha, de Wet, and - Delarey had a magnificent reception. We did not know that one - of them was destined to prove a despicable and perjured - traitor. They had been good fighters, the fight was done, we - had shaken hands—and we cheered them. All British prize-fights - ended with the shaking of hands. Though the men could no - longer see each other, they were led up and their hands were - joined. When a combatant refuses to do this, it has always - been looked upon as unmanly, and we say that bad blood has - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_94" - id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> - - been left behind. So in war - we have always wished to fight to a finish and then be - friends, whether we had won or lost.</p> - <p> - Now, this is just what we should wish to do with Germany, and - it is what Germany is rapidly making impossible. She has, in - our opinion, fought a brave but a thoroughly foul fight. And - now she uses every means to excite a bitter hatred which shall - survive the war. The Briton is tolerant and easy-going in - times of peace—too careless, perhaps, of the opinion of other - nations. But at present he is in a most alert and receptive - mood, noting and remembering very carefully every word that - comes to him as to the temper of the German people and the - prospects of the future. He is by no means disposed to pass - over all these announcements of permanent hatred. On the - contrary, he is evidently beginning, for the first time since - Napoleon’s era, to show something approaching to hatred in - return. He—and “he” stands for every Briton across - the seas as well as for the men of the Islands—makes a - practical note of it all, and it will not be forgotten, but - will certainly bear very - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_95" - id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> - - definite fruits. The - national thoughts do not come forth in wild poems of hate, - but they none the less are gloomy and resentful, with the - deep, steady resentment of a nation which is slow to - anger.</p> - <p> - And now, my problematical German reader, I want you to realise - what this is going to mean to you after the war. Whether you - win or lose—and we have our own very certain opinion as to - which it will be—Germany will still remain as a great - independent State. She may be a little trimmed at the edges, - and she may also find herself with some awkward liabilities; - but none the less she will be a great kingdom or republic—as - the Fates may will. She will turn her hand to trade and try to - build up her fortunes once more—for even if we suppose her to - be the victor, she still cannot live for ever on plunder, and - must turn herself to honest trade, while if she loses her - trade will be more precious to her than ever. But what will - her position be when that time has come?</p> - <p> - It will be appalling. No other word can express it. No - legislation will be needed to keep German goods out of the - whole - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_96" - id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> - - British Empire, which means - more than a quarter of the globe. Anything with that mark - might as well have a visible cholera bacillus upon it for - the chance it will have of being handled after this war. - That is already certain, and it is the direct outcome of - the madness which has possessed Germany in her frantic - outcry of hatred. What chance they have of business with - France, Russia, or Japan they know best themselves; but the - British Empire, with that wide trade toleration which has - long been her policy (and for which she has had so little - gratitude), would have speedily forgiven Germany and opened - her markets to her. Now it is not for many a long year that - this can be so—not on account of the war, but on account of - the bitterness which Germany has gone out of her way to - import into the contest. It is idle to say that in that - case we should lose our exports to Germany. Even if it were - so, it would not in the least affect the sentiments of the - retail sellers and buyers in this country, whose demands - regulate the wholesale trade. But as a matter of fact, what - Germany buys from the British Empire is - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_97" - id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> - - the coal, wool, etc., which - are the raw materials of her industry, with which she - cannot possibly dispense.</p> - <p> - But the pity of it all! We might have had a straight, honest - fight, and at the end of it we might have conceded that the - German people had been innocently misled, by their military - caste and their Press, into the idea that their country was - being attacked, and so were themselves guiltless in the - matter. They, on their side, might at last have understood - that Britain had been placed in such a position by her - guarantees to Belgium that it was absolutely impossible that - she could stand out of the war. With these mutual concessions, - some sort of friendship could possibly have been restored, for - it is no one’s interest, and least of all ours, that the - keystone should be knocked right out of the European arch. But - all this has been rendered impossible by these hysterical - screamers of hate, and by those methods of murder on land, - sea, and in air with which the war has been conducted. Hate is - a very catching emotion, and when it translates itself into - action it soon glows on either side - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_98" - id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> - - of the North Sea. With - neither race, to use Carlyle’s simile, does it blaze like - the quick-flaming stubble, but with both it will smoulder - like the slow red peat. Are there not even now strong, sane - men in Germany who can tell these madmen what they are - sowing for the next generation and the one that comes after - it? It is not that we ask them to abate the resistance of - their country. It is understood that this is a fight to the - end. That is what we desire. But let them stand up and - fight without reviling; let them give punishment without - malice and receive it without wincing; let their press - cease from lying, and their prophets from preaching - hatred—then, lose or win, there may still be some chance - for their future. But, alas! the mischief is already, I - fear, too deep. When the seeds are sown, it is hard to - check the harvest. Let the impartial critic consider von - Müller of the <i lang="de" - xml:lang="de">Emden</i>, and then, having surveyed our - Press and that of Germany, let him say with whom lies the - blame.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_99" - id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - <a name="VIII" - id="VIII">VIII</a></h2> - <h3> - GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR - <span class="smaller"> - <a name="FNanchor_4_4" - id="FNanchor_4_4"></a> - <a href="#Footnote_4_4" - class="fnanchor" - title="Published, Fortnightly Review, February 1913."> - [4]</a></span></h3> - - <blockquote> - <p> - This essay is of some interest, as it was written two years - before the war, and was one of the first attempts to make - the public realise the importance of Bernhardi’s notorious - book. The author follows it by an unpublished essay called - “Afterthoughts,” in which he examines how far his reading of - the future has been justified by the event.</p></blockquote> - <p> - I am a member of the Anglo-German Society for the improvement - of the relations between the two countries, and I have never - seriously believed in the German menace. Frequently I have - found myself alone in a company of educated Englishmen in my - opinion that it was non-existent—or at worst greatly - exaggerated. This conclusion was formed upon two grounds. The - first was, that I knew it to be impossible that we could - attack Germany save in the face of monstrous provocation. - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_100" - id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> - - By the conditions of our - government, even if those in high places desired to do such - a thing, it was utterly impracticable, for a foreign war - could not be successfully carried on by Great Britain - unless the overwhelming majority of the people approved of - it. Our foreign, like our home, politics are governed by - the vote of the proletariat. It would be impossible to wage - an aggressive war against any Power if the public were not - convinced of its justice and necessity. For this reason we - could not attack Germany. On the other hand, it seemed to - be equally unthinkable that Germany should attack us. One - fails to see what she could possibly hope to gain by such a - proceeding. She had enemies already upon her eastern and - western frontiers, and it was surely unlikely that she - would go out of her way to pick a quarrel with the powerful - British Empire. If she made war and lost it, her commerce - would be set back and her rising colonial empire destroyed. - If she won it, it was difficult to see where she could hope - for the spoils. We could not give her greater facilities - for trade than she has already. We could not give her - habitable - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_101" - id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> - - white colonies, for she - would find it impossible to take possession of them in the - face of the opposition of the inhabitants. An indemnity she - could never force from us. Some coaling stations and - possibly some tropical colonies, of which latter she - already possesses abundance, were the most that she could - hope for. Would such a prize as that be worth the risk - attending such a war? To me it seemed that there could be - only one answer to such a question.</p> - <p> - It still seems to me that this reasoning is sound. I still - think that it would be an insane action for Germany - deliberately to plan an attack upon Great Britain. But - unfortunately an attack delivered from mistaken motives is as - damaging as any other attack, and the mischief is done before - the insanity of it is realised. If I now believe such an - attack to be possible, and it may be imminent, it is because I - have been studying <cite>Germany and the Next War</cite>, by - General von Bernhardi.</p> - <p> - A book written by such a man cannot be set aside as the mere - ravings of a Pan-Germanic Anglophobe. So far as appears, - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_102" - id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> - - he is not a Pan-German at - all. There is no allusion to that Germania <i lang="it" - xml:lang="it">irredente</i> which is the dream of that - party. He is a man of note, and the first living authority - in Germany upon some matters of military science. Does he - carry the same weight when he writes of international - politics and the actual use of those mighty forces which he - has helped to form? We will hope not. But when a man speaks - with the highest authority upon one subject, his voice - cannot be entirely disregarded upon a kindred one. Besides, - he continually labours, and with success, to make the - reader understand that he is the direct modern disciple of - that main German line of thought which traces from - Frederick through Bismarck to the present day. He moves in - circles which actually control the actions of their country - in a manner to which we have no equivalent. For all these - reasons, his views cannot be lightly set aside, and should - be most carefully studied by Britons. We know that we have - no wish for war, and desire only to be left alone. - Unfortunately, it takes two to make peace, even as it takes - two to make a quarrel. There is a very clear - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_103" - id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> - - statement here that the - quarrel is imminent, and that we must think of the means, - military, naval, and financial, by which we may meet it. - Since von Bernhardi’s book may not be accessible to every - reader of this article, I will begin by giving some idea of - the situation as it appears to him, and of the course of - action which he foreshadows and recommends.</p> - <p> - He begins his argument by the uncompromising statement that - war is a good thing in itself. All advance is founded upon - struggle. Each nation has a right, and indeed a duty, to use - violence where its interests are concerned and there is a - tolerable hope of success. As to the obvious objection that - such a doctrine bears no possible relation to Christianity, he - is not prepared to admit the validity of the Christian ethics - in international practice. In an ingenious passage he even - attempts to bring the sanction of Christianity to support his - bellicose views. He says:—</p> - <blockquote> - <p> - “Again, from the Christian standpoint, we arrive at the - same conclusion. Christian morality is based, indeed, on the - law of love. - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_104" - id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> - - ‘Love God above all - things, and thy neighbour as thyself.’ This law can - claim no significance for the relations of one country to - another, since its application to politics would lead to - a conflict of duties. The love which a man showed to - another country as such would imply a want of love for - his own countrymen. Such a system of politics must - inevitably lead men astray. Christian morality is - personal and social, and in its nature cannot be - political. Its object is to promote morality of the - individual, in order to strengthen him to work - unselfishly in the interests of the community. It tells - us to love our individual enemies, but does not remove - the conception of enmity.”</p></blockquote> - <p> - Having thus established the general thesis that a nation - should not hesitate to declare war where a material advantage - may be the reward, he sets out very clearly what are some of - the causes for war which Germany can see before her. The - following passages throw a light upon them:—</p> - <blockquote> - <p> - “Strong, healthy, and flourishing nations increase in - numbers. From a given moment they require a continual - expansion of their frontiers, they require new territory for - the accommodation of their surplus population. Since almost - every part of the globe is inhabited, - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_105" - id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> - - new territory must, as - a rule, be obtained at the cost of its possessors—that is - to say, by conquest, which thus becomes a law of - necessity.”</p></blockquote> - <p> - Again:—</p> - <blockquote> - <p> - “Lastly, in all times the right of conquest by war has - been admitted. It may be that a growing people cannot win - colonies from uncivilised races, and yet the State wishes to - retain the surplus population which the mother country can - no longer feed. Then the only course left is to acquire the - necessary territory by war. Thus the instinct of - self-preservation leads inevitably to war, and the conquest - of foreign soil. It is not the possessor, but the victor, - who then has the right.”</p></blockquote> - <p> - And he concludes:—</p> - <blockquote> - <p> - “Arbitration treaties must be peculiarly detrimental to - an aspiring people, which has not yet reached its political - and national zenith, and is bent on expanding its power in - order to play its part honourably in the civilised - world.”</p></blockquote> - <p> - And adds:—</p> - <blockquote> - <p> - “It must be borne in mind that a peaceful decision by - an arbitration court can never - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_106" - id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> - - replace in its effects - and consequences a warlike decision, even as regards the - State in whose favour it is pronounced.”</p></blockquote> - <p> - To many of us it would seem a legitimate extension of the - author’s argument if we said that it would have a virile and - bracing effect upon our characters if, when we had a grievance - against our neighbour, we refrained from taking it into the - law courts, but contented ourselves with breaking his head - with a club. However, we are concerned here not so much with - the validity of the German general’s arguments as with their - practical application so far as they affect ourselves.</p> - <p> - Brushing aside the peace advocates, the writer continues: - “To such views, the off-spring of a false humanity, the - clear and definite answer must be made that, under certain - circumstances, it is not only the right but the moral and - political duty of the statesman to bring about a war. The acts - of the State cannot be judged by the standard of individual - morality.” He quotes Treitschke: “The Christian duty - of sacrifice for something higher does not exist for the - State, for there is nothing higher than it in the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_107" - id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> - - world’s history—consequently it cannot sacrifice itself to - something higher.” One would have hoped that a noble - ideal and a moral purpose were something higher, but it - would be vain to claim that any country, ourselves - included, have ever yet lived fully up to the doctrine. And - yet some conscious striving, however imperfect, is surely - better than such a deliberate negation.</p> - <p> - Having laid down these general propositions of the value of - war, and of the non-existence of international moral - obligations, General von Bernhardi then proceeds to consider - very fully the general position of Germany and the practical - application of those doctrines. Within the limits of this - essay I can only give a general survey of the situation as - seen by him. War is necessary for Germany. It should be waged - as soon as is feasible, as certain factors in the situation - tell in favour of her enemies. The chief of these factors are - the reconstruction of the Russian fleet, which will be - accomplished within a few years, and the preparation of a - French native colonial force, which would be available for - European hostilities. This also, though - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_108" - id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> - - already undertaken, will - take some years to perfect. Therefore, the immediate future - is Germany’s best opportunity.</p> - <p> - In this war Germany places small confidence in Italy as an - ally, since her interests are largely divergent, but she - assumes complete solidarity with Austria. Austria and Germany - have to reckon with France and Russia. Russia is slow in her - movements, and Germany, with her rapid mobilisation, should be - able to throw herself upon France without fear of her rear. - Should she win a brilliant victory at the outset, Russia might - refuse to compromise herself at all, especially if the quarrel - could be so arranged that it would seem as if France had been - the aggressor. Before the slow Slavonic mind had quite - understood the situation and set her unwieldy strength in - motion, her ally might be struck down, and she face to face - with the two Germanic Powers, which would be more than a match - for her.</p> - <p> - Of the German army, which is to be the instrument of this - world-drama, General von Bernhardi expresses the highest - opinion: “The spirit which animates the troops, the - - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_109" - id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> - - ardour of attack, the - heroism, the loyalty which prevail among them, justify the - highest expectations. I am certain that if they are soon to - be summoned to arms their exploits will astonish the world, - provided only that they are led with skill and - determination.” How their “ardour of attack” - has been tested it is difficult to see, but the world will - probably agree that the German army is a most formidable - force. When he goes on, however, to express the opinion - that they would certainly overcome the French, the two - armies being approximately of the same strength, it is not - so easy to follow his argument. It is possible that even so - high an authority as General von Bernhardi has not entirely - appreciated how Germany has been the teacher of the world - in military matters and how thoroughly her pupils have - responded to that teaching. That attention to detail, - perfection of arrangement for mobilisation, and careful - preparation which have won German victories in the past may - now be turned against her, and she may find that others can - equal her in her own virtues.</p> - <p> - Poor France, once conquered, is to be very - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_110" - id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> - - harshly treated. Here is the passage which describes her - fate:—</p> - <blockquote> - <p> - “In one way or another <em>we must square our account - with France</em> if we wish for a free hand in our - international policy. This is the first and foremost - condition of a sound German policy, and since the hostility - of France once for all cannot be removed by peaceful - overtures, the matter must be settled by force of arms. - France must be so completely crushed that she can never - again come across our path.”</p></blockquote> - <p> - It is not said how Germany could permanently extinguish - France, and it is difficult to think it out. An indemnity, - however large, would eventually be paid and France recover - herself. Germany has found the half-German border provinces - which she annexed so indigestible that she could hardly - incorporate Champagne or any other purely French district. - Italy might absorb some of Savoy and the French Riviera. If - the country were artificially separated the various parts - would fly together again at the first opportunity. Altogether, - the permanent sterilisation of France would be no easy matter - to - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_111" - id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> - - effect. It would probably be attempted by imposing the - condition that in - - <a name="TNanchor_4" - id="TNanchor_4"></a> - <a class="msg" href="#TN_4" - title="Omitted in original">the</a> - - future no army, save for police duties, would be allowed - her. The history of Prussia itself, however, shows that - even so stringent a prohibition as this can be evaded by a - conquered but indomitable people.</p> - <p> - Let us now turn to General von Bernhardi’s views upon - ourselves; and, first of all, it is of interest to many of us - to know what are those historical episodes which have caused - him and many of his fellow-countrymen to take bitter exception - to our national record. From our point of view we have - repeatedly helped Germany in the past, and have asked for and - received no other reward than the consciousness of having - co-operated in some common cause. So it was in Marlborough’s - days. So in the days of Frederick. So also in those of - Napoleon. To all these ties, which had seemed to us to be of - importance, there is not a single allusion in this volume. On - the other hand, there are very bitter references to some other - historical events which must seem to us strangely inadequate - as a cause for international hatred.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_112" - id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></p> - - <p> - We may, indeed, congratulate ourselves as a nation, if no - stronger indictment can be made against us than is contained - in the book of the German general. The first episode upon - which he animadverts is the ancient German grievance of the - abandonment of Frederick the Great by England in the year - 1761. One would have thought that there was some statute of - limitations in such matters, but apparently there is none in - the German mind. Let us grant that the premature cessation of - a campaign is an injustice to one’s associates, and let us - admit also that a British Government under its party system - can never be an absolutely stable ally. Having said so much, - one may point out that there were several mitigating - circumstances in this affair. We had fought for five years, - granting considerable subsidies to Frederick during that time, - and dispatching British armies into the heart of Germany. The - strain was very great, in a quarrel which did not vitally - affect ourselves. The British nation had taken the view, not - wholly unreasonably, that the war was being waged in the - interests of Hanover, and upon a German - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_113" - id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> - - rather than a British - quarrel. When we stood out France did the same, so that the - balance of power between the combatants was not greatly - affected. Also, it may be pointed out as a curious - historical fact that this treatment which he so much - resented was exactly that which Frederick had himself - accorded to his allies some years before at the close of - the Silesian campaign. On that occasion he made an isolated - peace with Maria Theresa, and left his associates, France - and Bavaria, to meet the full force of the Austrian - attack.</p> - <p> - Finally the whole episode has to be judged by the words of a - modern writer: “Conditions may arise which are more - powerful than the most honourable intentions. The country’s - own interests—considered, of course, in the highest ethical - sense—must then turn the scale.” These sentences are not - from the work of a British apologist, but from this very book - of von Bernhardi’s which scolds England for her supposed - adherence to such principles. He also quotes, with approval, - Treitschke’s words: “Frederick the Great was all his - life long charged with - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_114" - id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> - - treachery because no - treaty or alliance could ever induce him to renounce the - right of free self-determination.”</p> - <p> - Setting aside this ancient grievance of the Seven Years’ - War, it is of interest to endeavour to find out whether there - are any other solid grounds in the past for Germany’s - reprobation. Two more historical incidents are held up as - examples of our perfidy. The first is the bombardment of - Copenhagen in 1807, when the British took forcible possession - in time of peace of the Danish fleet. It must be admitted that - the step was an extreme one, and only to be justified upon the - plea of absolute necessity for vital national reasons. The - British Government of the day believed that Napoleon was about - to possess himself of the Danish fleet and would use it - against themselves. Fouché has admitted in his Memoirs that the - right was indeed given by a secret clause in the Treaty of - Tilsit. It was a desperate time, when the strongest measures - were continually being used against us, and it may be urged that - similar measures were necessary in self-defence. Having once - embarked upon the enterprise, and our demand - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_115" - id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> - - being refused, - there was no alternative but a bombardment of the city with - its attendant loss of civilian life. It is not an exploit of - which we need be proud, and at the best can only be described - as a most painful and unfortunate necessity; but I should be - surprised if the Danes, on looking back to it, judge it more - harshly than some more recent experiences which they have had - at the hands of General von Bernhardi's own fellow-countrymen. - That he is himself prepared to launch upon a similar enterprise - in a much larger and more questionable shape is shown by his - declaration that if Holland will not take sides against England - in the next war it should be overrun by the German troops.</p> - <p> - General von Bernhardi's next historical charge is the - bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, which he describes as - having been affected upon hypocritical pretences in a season - of peace. To those who have a recollection of that event and - can recall the anti-European movement of Arabi and the massacre - which preceded the bombardment, the charge will appear - grotesque. But it is with a patchwork quilt of this sort - that this - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_116" - id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> - - German publicist endeavours to cover the unreasoning, but none - the less formidable, jealousy and prejudice which inflame him - against this country. The foolish fiction that the British - Government declared war against the Boers in order to gain - possession of their gold mines is again brought forward, - though one would have imagined that even the gutter-Press - who exploited it twelve years ago had abandoned it by now. - If General von Bernhardi can explain how the British - Government is the richer for these mines, or whether a - single foreign shareholder has been dispossessed of his - stock in them, he will be the first who has ever given a - solid fact in favour of this ridiculous charge. In a previous - paragraph of his book he declares that it was President Kruger - who made the war and that he was praiseworthy for so doing. - Both statements cannot be true. If it was President Kruger - who made the war, then it was not forced on by Great Britain - in order to possess herself of the goldfields.</p> - <p> - So much for the specific allegations against Great Britain. - One can hardly regard them as being so serious as to wipe out - the various - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_117" - id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> - - claims, racial, religious, and historical, which unite the - two countries. However, we are only concerned with General - von Bernhardi's conclusions, since he declares that his - country is prepared to act upon them. There remain two - general grounds upon which he considers that Germany should - make war upon the British Empire. The first is to act as - the champion of the human race in winning what he calls the - freedom of the seas. The second is to further German expansion - as a world-Power, which is cramped by our opposition.</p> - <p> - The first of these reasons is difficult to appreciate. British - maritime power has been used to ensure, not to destroy, the - freedom of the seas. What smallest Power has ever been - hindered in her legitimate business? It is only the pirate, - the slaver, and the gun-runner who can justly utter such a - reproach. If the mere fact of having predominant latent - strength upon the water is an encroachment upon the freedom - of the sea, then some nation must always be guilty of it. - After our mild supremacy we may well say to Germany, as - Charles said to James: "No one will assassinate me in order - to put you on the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_118" - id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> throne.” - - Her mandate is unendorsed by those whom she claims to - represent.</p> - <p> - But the second indictment is more formidable. We lie athwart - Germany’s world ambitions, even as, geographically, we lie - across her outlets. But when closely looked at, what is it of - which we deprive her, and is its attainment really a matter of - such vital importance? Do we hamper her trade? On the - contrary, we exhibit a generosity which meets with no - acknowledgment, and which many of us have long held to be - altogether excessive. Her manufactured goods are welcomed in - without a tax, while ours are held out from Germany by a 20 - per cent. tariff. In India, Egypt, and every colony which does - not directly control its own financial policy, German goods - come in upon the same footing as our own. No successful war - can improve her position in this respect. There is, however, - the question of colonial expansion. General von Bernhardi - foresees that Germany is increasing her population at such a - pace that emigration will be needed soon in order to relieve - it. It is a perfectly natural national ambition that this - emigration - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_119" - id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> - - should be to some place - where the settlers need not lose their flag or nationality. - But if Great Britain were out of the way, where would they - find such a place? Not in Canada, Australia, South Africa, - or New Zealand. These States could not be conquered if the - Motherland had ceased to exist. General von Bernhardi talks - of the high lands of Africa, but already Germany possesses - high lands in Africa, and their colonisation has not been a - success. Can any one name one single place upon the - earth’s surface suitable for white habitation from which - Germany is excluded by the existence of Great Britain? It - is true that the huge continent of South America is only - sparsely inhabited, its whole population being about equal - to that of Prussia. But that is an affair in which the - United States, and not we, are primarily interested, and - one which it is not our interest either to oppose or to - support.</p> - <p> - But, however inadequate all these reasons for war may seem to - a Briton, one has still to remember that we have to reckon - with the conclusions exactly as if they were drawn from the - most logical premises. These - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_120" - id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> - - conclusions appear in such sentences as follows:—</p> - - <blockquote> - <p> - “What we now wish to attain must be fought for and won - against a superior force of hostile interests and - Powers.”</p></blockquote> - <blockquote> - <p> - “Since the struggle is necessary and inevitable, we must - fight it out, cost what it may.”</p></blockquote> - <blockquote> - <p> - “A pacific agreement with England is a - will-o’-the-wisp, which no serious German statesman would - trouble to follow. We must always keep the possibility of war - with England before our eyes and arrange our political and - military plans accordingly. We need not concern ourselves with - any pacific protestations of English politicians, publicists, - and Utopians, which cannot alter the real basis of - affairs.”</p></blockquote> - <blockquote> - <p> - “The situation in the world generally shows there can - only be a short respite before we once more face the question - whether we will draw the sword for our position in the world, - or renounce such position once for all. We must not in any - case wait until our opponents have completed their arming and - decide that the hour of attack has come.”</p></blockquote> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_121" - id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></p> - - <blockquote> - <p> - “Even English attempts at a <i lang="fr" - xml:lang="fr">rapprochement</i> must not blind us to the - real situation. We may at most use them to delay the - necessary and inevitable war until we may fairly imagine we - have some prospect of success.”</p></blockquote> - - <p> - This last sentence must come home to some of us who have - worked in the past for a better feeling between the two - countries. And this is the man who dares to accuse <em>us</em> - of national perfidy.</p> - <p> - These extracts are but a few from a long series which show - beyond all manner of doubt that Germany, so far as General von - Bernhardi is an exponent of her intentions, will undoubtedly - attack us suddenly should she see an opportunity. The first - intimation of such attack would, as he indicates, be a torpedo - descent upon our Fleet, and a wireless message to German - liners which would bring up their concealed guns, and turn - each of them into a fast cruiser ready to prey upon our - commerce. That is the situation as he depicts it. It may be - that he mistakes it. But for what it is worth, that is his - opinion and advice.</p> - <p> - He sketches out the general lines of a war - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_122" - id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> - - between England and - Germany. If France is involved, she is to be annihilated, - as already described. But suppose the two rivals are left - face to face. Holland and Denmark are to be bound over to - the German side under pain of conquest. The German Fleet is - to be held back under the protection of the land forts. - Meanwhile, torpedoes, submarines, and airships are to be - used for the gradual whittling down of the blockading - squadrons. When they have been sufficiently weakened the - Fleet is to sally out and the day has arrived. As to the - chances of success, he is of opinion that in material and - <em>personnel</em> the two fleets may be taken as being - equal—when once the numbers have been equalised. In quality - of guns, he considers that the Germans have the advantage. - Of gunnery he does not speak, but he believes that in - torpedo work his countrymen are ahead of any others. In - airships, which for <em>reconnaissance</em>, if not for - actual fighting power, will be of supreme importance, he - considers also that his country will have a considerable - advantage.</p> - <p> - Such, in condensed form, is the general thesis and forecast of - this famous German - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_123" - id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> - - officer. If it be true, - there are evil days coming both for his country and for - ours. One may find some consolation in the discovery that - wherever he attempts to fathom our feelings he makes the - most lamentable blunders. He lays it down as an axiom, for - example, that if we were hard-pressed the Colonies would - take the opportunity of abandoning us. We know, on the - other hand, that it is just such a situation which would - bring about the federation of the Empire. He is under the - delusion also that there is deep commercial and political - jealousy of the United States in this country, and that - this might very well culminate in war. We are aware that - there is no such feeling, and that next to holding the - trident ourselves we should wish to see it in the hands of - our American cousins. One thing he says, however, which is - supremely true, which all of us would endorse, and which - every German should ponder: it is that the idea of a war - between Germany and ourselves never entered into the - thoughts of any one in this country until the year 1902. - Why this particular year? Had the feeling risen from - commercial - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_124" - id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> - - jealousy upon the part of - Great Britain, it must have shown itself far earlier than - that—as early as the “Made in Germany” enactment. - It appeared in 1902 because that was the close of the Boer - War, and because the bitter hostility shown by the Germans - in that war opened our eyes to the fact that they would do - us a mischief if they could. When the German Navy Act of - 1900 gave promise that they would soon have the means of - doing so, the first thoughts of danger arose, and German - policy drove us more and more into the ranks of their - opponents. Here, then, General von Bernhardi is right; but - in nearly every other reference to our feelings and views - he is wrong; so that it is to be hoped that in those - matters in which we are unable to check him, such as the - course of German thought and of German action in the - future, he is equally mistaken. But I repeat that he is a - man of standing and reputation, and that we should be mad - if we did not take most serious notice of the opinions - which he has laid down.</p> - <p> - I have headed this article “Great Britain and the Next - War,” since it looks at the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_125" - id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> - - arguments and problems - which General von Bernhardi has raised in his <cite>Germany - and the Next War</cite> from the British point of view. May - it prove that the title is an absurdity and the war an - imaginative hypothesis. But I should wish, before I close, - to devote a few pages to my view upon the defensive - measures of our country. I am well aware that I speak with - no expert authority, which makes it the more embarrassing - that my opinions do not coincide with those of any one whom - I have encountered in this controversy. Still, it is better - to be a voice, however small, than an echo.</p> - <p> - It would simplify the argument if we began by eliminating - certain factors which, in my opinion, simply darken counsel, - as they are continually brought into the front of the question - to the exclusion of the real issues which lie behind them. One - of them is the supposed possibility of an invasion—either on a - large scale or in the form of a raid. The former has been - pronounced by our highest naval authorities of the time as - being impossible, and I do not think any one can read the - Wilson Memorandum without being convinced by its condensed - logic. Von Bernhardi, - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_126" - id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> - - in his chapter upon the - possible methods of injuring Great Britain, though he - treats the whole subject with the greatest frankness, - dismisses the idea either of raid or invasion in a few - short sentences. The raid seems to me the less tenable - hypothesis of the two. An invasion would, at least, play - for a final stake, though at a deadly risk. A raid would be - a certain loss of a body of troops, which would necessarily - be the flower of the army; it could hope to bring about no - possible permanent effect upon the war, and it would upset - the balance of military power between Germany and her - neighbours. If Germany were an island, like ourselves, she - might risk such a venture. Sandwiched in between two armed - nations as strong as herself, I do not believe that there - is the slightest possibility of it.</p> - <p> - But if, as Von Bernhardi says, such plans are visionary, what - is the exact object of a Territorial Army, and, even more, - what would be the object of a National Service Army upon - compulsory lines for home defence? Is it not a waste of money - and energy which might be more profitably employed - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_127" - id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> - - in some other form? Every - one has such an affection and esteem for Lord - Roberts—especially if one has the honour of his personal - acquaintance—that one shrinks from expressing a view which - might be unwelcome to him. - - <a name="FNanchor_5_5" - id="FNanchor_5_5"></a> - <a href="#Footnote_5_5" - class="fnanch2" - title="More now, alas! than ever.—Nov. 26, A. C. D."> - [5]</a> - - And yet he would be the first to admit that it is one’s duty - to add one’s opinion to the debate, if that opinion has - been conscientiously formed, and if one honestly believes - that it recommends the best course of action for one’s - country. So far as his argument for universal service is - based upon national health and physique, I think he is on - ground which no one could attack. But I cannot bring myself - to believe that a case has been made out for the - substitution of an enforced soldier in the place of the - volunteer who has always done so splendidly in the past. - Great as is Lord Roberts’s experience, he is talking here - of a thing which is outside it, for he has never seen an - enforced British soldier, and has, therefore, no data by - which he can tell how such a man would compare with the - present article. There were enforced British sailors - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_128" - id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> - - once, and I have seen - figures quoted to show that of 29,000 who were impressed - 27,000 escaped from the Fleet by desertion. It is not such - men as these who win our battles.</p> - <p> - The argument for enforced service is based upon the plea that - the Territorial Army is below strength in numbers and - deficient in quality. But if invasion is excluded from our - calculations this is of less importance. The force becomes a - nursery for the Army, which has other reserves to draw upon - before it reaches it. Experience has shown that under warlike - excitement in a virile nation like ours, the ranks soon fill - up, and as the force becomes embodied from the outbreak of - hostilities, it would rapidly improve in quality. It is idle - to assert that because Bulgaria can, in a day, flood her - troops into Turkey, therefore we should always stand to arms. - The Turko-Bulgarian frontier is a line of posts—the - Anglo-German is a hundred leagues of salt water.</p> - <p> - But am I such an optimist as to say that there is no danger in - a German war? On the contrary, I consider that there is a vast - danger, that it is one which we ignore, and - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_129" - id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> - - against which we could at - a small cost effect a complete insurance. Let me try to - define both the danger and the remedy. In order to do this - we must consider the two different forms which such a war - might take. It might be a single duel, or it might be with - France as our ally. If Germany attacked Great Britain - alone, it may safely be prophesied that the war would be - long, tedious, and possibly inconclusive, but our <i lang="fr" - xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> would be a comparatively passive - one. If she attacked France, however, that <i lang="fr" - xml:lang="fr">rôle</i> would be much more active, since we - could not let France go down, and to give her effective - help we must land an expeditionary force upon the - Continent. This force has to be supplied with munitions of - war and kept up to strength, and so the whole problem - becomes a more complex one.</p> - <p> - The element of danger, which is serious in either form of war, - but more serious in the latter, is the existence of new forms - of naval warfare which have never been tested in the hands of - competent men, and which may completely revolutionise the - conditions. These new factors are the submarine and the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_130" - id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> - - airship. The latter, save - as a means of acquiring information, does not seem to be - formidable—or not sufficiently formidable to alter the - whole conditions of a campaign. But it is different with - the submarines. No blockade, so far as I can see, can hold - these vessels in harbour, and no skill or bravery can - counteract their attack when once they are within striking - distance. One could imagine a state of things when it might - be found impossible for the greater ships on either side to - keep the seas on account of these poisonous craft. No one - can say that such a contingency is impossible. Let us see, - then, how it would affect us if it should come to pass.</p> - <p> - In the first place, it would not affect us at all as regards - invasion or raids. If the German submarines can dominate our - own large ships, our submarines can do the same for theirs. We - should still hold the seas with our small craft. Therefore, if - Great Britain alone be at war with Germany, such a naval - revolution would merely affect our commerce and food supply. - What exact effect a swarm of submarines, lying off the mouth - of the Channel - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_131" - id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> - - and the Irish Sea, would - produce upon the victualling of these islands is a problem - which is beyond my conjecture. Other ships besides the - British would be likely to be destroyed, and international - complications would probably follow. I cannot imagine that - such a fleet would entirely, or even to a very large - extent, cut off our supplies. But it is certain that they - would have the effect of considerably raising the price of - whatever did reach us. Therefore we should suffer - privation, though not necessarily such privation as would - compel us to make terms. From the beginning of the war, - every home source would naturally be encouraged, and it is - possible that before our external supplies were seriously - decreased, our internal ones might be well on the way to - make up the deficiency. Both of the two great - protagonists—Lord Haldane and Lord Roberts—have declared - that if we lost the command of the seas we should have to - make peace. Their reference, however, was to complete naval - defeat, and not to such a condition of stalemate as seems - to be the more possible alternative. As to complete naval - defeat, our - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_132" - id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> - - estimates, and the grand - loyalty of the Overseas Dominions, seem to be amply - adequate to guard against that. It is useless to try to - alarm us by counting in the whole force of the Triple - Alliance as our possible foes, for if they came into the - war, the forces of our own allies would also be available. - We need only think of Germany.</p> - <p> - A predominance of the submarine would, then, merely involve a - period of hard times in this country, if we were fighting - Germany single-handed. But if we were in alliance with France, - it becomes an infinitely more important matter. I presume that - I need not argue the point that it is our vital interest that - France be not dismembered and sterilised. Such a tragedy would - turn the western half of Europe into a gigantic Germany with a - few insignificant States crouching about her feet. The period - of her world dominance would then indeed have arrived. - Therefore, if France be wantonly attacked, we must strain - every nerve to prevent her going down, and among the measures - to that end will be the sending of a British expeditionary - force to cover the left or Belgian wing of the French - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_133" - id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> - - defences. Such a force - would be conveyed across the Channel in perhaps a hundred - troopships, and would entail a constant service of - transports afterwards to carry its requirements.</p> - <p> - Here lies, as it seems to me, the possible material for a - great national disaster. Such a fleet of transports cannot be - rushed suddenly across. Its preparation and port of departure - are known. A single submarine amid such a fleet would be like - a fox in a poultry yard destroying victim after victim. The - possibilities are appalling, for it might be not one - submarine, but a squadron. The terrified transports would - scatter over the ocean to find safety in any port. Their - convoy could do little to help them. It would be a debacle—an - inversion of the Spanish Armada.</p> - <p> - If the crossing were direct from the eastern ports to Antwerp, - the danger would become greater. - - <a name="FNanchor_6_6" - id="FNanchor_6_6"></a> - <a href="#Footnote_6_6" - class="fnanch2" - title="This, of course, would presuppose that Holland -was involved in the war.—A. C. D.">[6]</a> - - It is less if it should be from Portsmouth to Havre. - But this is a transit of seven hours, and the railways from - Havre to - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_134" - id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> - - the Belgian frontier - would be insufficient for such a force. No doubt the - Straits of Dover would be strongly patrolled by our own - torpedo craft, and the crossing would, so far as possible, - be made at night, when submarines have their minimum of - efficiency; but, none the less, it seems to me that the - risk would be a very real and pressing one. What possible - patrol could make sure of heading off a squadron of - submarines? I should imagine it to be as difficult as to - bar the Straits to a school of whales.</p> - <p> - But supposing such a wholesale tragedy were avoided, and that - in spite of the predominance of submarines the army got safely - to France or to Belgium, how are we to ensure the safe passage - of the long stream of ships which, for many months, would be - employed in carrying the needful supplies? We could not do it. - The army might very well find itself utterly isolated, with - its line of communications completely broken down, at a time - when the demand upon the resources of all Continental - countries was so great that there was no surplus for our use. - Such a state of affairs seems to me to be a perfectly possible - one, - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_135" - id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> - - and to form, with the - chance of a disaster to the transports, the greatest danger - to which we should be exposed in a German war. But these - dangers and the food question, which has already been - treated, can all be absolutely provided against in a manner - which is not only effective, but which will be of equal - value in peace and in war. The Channel Tunnel is essential - to Great Britain’s safety.</p> - <p> - I will not dwell here upon the commercial or financial - advantages of such a tunnel. Where the trade of two great - nations concentrates upon one narrow tube, it is obvious that - whatever corporation controls that tube has a valuable - investment, if the costs of construction have not been - prohibitive. These costs have been placed as low as five - million pounds by Mr. Rose Smith, who represents a practical - company engaged in such work. If it were twice, thrice, or - four times that sum it should be an undertaking which should - promise great profits, and for that reason should be - constructed by the nation, or nations, for their common - national advantage. It is too vital a thing for any private - company to control.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_136" - id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></p> - - <p> - But consider its bearing upon a German war. All the dangers - which I have depicted are eliminated. We tap (<em>via</em> - Marseilles and the tunnel) the whole food supply of the - Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Our expeditionary force makes - its transit, and has its supplies independent of weather or - naval chances. Should anything so unlikely as a raid occur, - and the forces in this country seem unable to cope with it, a - Franco-British reinforcement can be rushed through from the - Continent. The Germans have made great works like the Kiel - Canal in anticipation of war. Our answer must be the Channel - Tunnel, linking us closer to our ally.</p> - <p> - Though this scheme was discarded (under very different naval - and political conditions) some twenty years ago, no time has, - as a matter of fact, been lost by the delay; as I am informed - that machinery for boring purposes has so enormously improved - that what would have taken thirty years to accomplish can now - be done in three. If this estimate be correct, there may still - be time to effect this essential insurance before - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_137" - id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> - - the war with which General von Bernhardi threatens us breaks - upon us.</p> - <p> - Let us, before leaving the subject, glance briefly at the - objections which have formerly been urged against the tunnel. - Such as they are, they are as valid now as ever, although the - advantages have increased to such an extent as to throw the - whole weight of the argument upon the side of those who favour - its construction. The main (indeed, the only) objection was - the fear that the tunnel would fall into wrong hands and be - used for purposes of invasion. By this was meant not a direct - invasion through the tunnel itself—to invade a nation of - forty-five million people through a hole in the ground - twenty-five miles long would stagger the boldest mind—but that - the tunnel might be seized at each end by some foreign nation, - which would then use it for aggressive military purposes.</p> - <p> - At the time of the discussion our relations with France were - by no means so friendly as they are now, and it was naturally - to France only that we alluded, since they would already hold - one end of the tunnel. We need - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_138" - id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> - - not now discuss any other - nation, since any other would have to seize both ends by - surprise, and afterwards retain them, which is surely - inconceivable. We are now bound in close ties of friendship - and mutual interest to France. We have no right to assume - that we shall always remain on as close a footing, but as - our common peril seems likely to be a permanent one, it is - improbable that there will be any speedy or sudden change - in our relations. At the same time, in a matter so vital as - our hold upon the Dover end of the tunnel, we could not be - too stringent in our precautions. The tunnel should open - out at a point where guns command it, the mouth of it - should be within the lines of an entrenched camp, and a - considerable garrison should be kept permanently within - call. The latter condition already exists in Dover, but the - numbers might well be increased. As an additional - precaution, a passage should be driven alongside the - tunnel, from which it could, if necessary, be destroyed. - This passage should have an independent opening within the - circle of a separate fort, so that the capture of the end - of the tunnel would - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_139" - id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> - - not prevent its - destruction. With such precautions as these, the most - nervous person might feel that our insular position had not - really been interfered with. The strong fortress of the - Middle Ages had a passage under the moat as part of the - defence. This is our passage.</p> - <p> - Could an enemy in any way destroy it in time of war?</p> - <p> - It would, as I conceive, be sunk to a depth of not less than - two hundred feet below the bed of the ocean. This ceiling - would be composed of chalk and clay. No explosive from above - could drive it in. If it were designed on a large scale—and, - personally, I think it should be a four-line tunnel, even if - the cost were doubled thereby—no internal explosion, such as - might be brought about by secreting explosive packets upon the - trains, would be likely to do more than temporarily obstruct - it. If the very worst happened, and it were actually - destroyed, we should be no worse off than we are now. As to - the expense, if we are driven into a war of this magnitude, a - few millions one way or the other will not be worth - considering.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_140" - id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></p> - - <p> - Incidentally, it may be noted that General von Bernhardi has a - poor opinion of our troops. This need not trouble us. We are - what we are, and words will not alter it. From very early days - our soldiers have left their mark upon Continental warfare, - and we have no reason to think that we have declined from the - manhood of our forefathers. He further calls them - “mercenaries,” which is a misuse of terms. A - mercenary is a man who is paid to fight in a quarrel which is - not his own. As every British soldier must by law be a British - citizen, the term is absurd. What he really means is that they - are not conscripts in the sense of being forced to fight, but - they are sufficiently well paid to enable the army as a - profession to attract a sufficient number of our young men to - the colours.</p> - <p> - Our military and naval preparations are, as it seems to me, - adequate for the threatened crisis. With the Channel Tunnel - added our position should be secure. But there are other - preparations which should be made for such a contest, should - it unhappily be forced upon us. One is financial. Again, as so - often before in the history of British wars, - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_141" - id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> - - it may prove that the - last guinea wins. Everything possible should be done to - strengthen British credit. This crisis cannot last - indefinitely. The cloud will dissolve or burst. Therefore, - for a time we should husband our resources for the supreme - need. At such a time all national expenditure upon objects - which only mature in the future becomes unjustifiable. Such - a tax as the undeveloped land tax, which may bring in a - gain some day, but at present costs ten times what it - produces, is the type of expenditure I mean. I say nothing - of its justice or injustice, but only of its - inopportuneness at a moment when we sorely need our present - resources.</p> - <p> - Another preparation lies in our national understanding of the - possibility of such a danger and the determination to face the - facts. Both Unionists and Liberals have shown their - appreciation of the situation, and so have two of the most - famous Socialist leaders. No audible acquiescence has come - from the ranks of the Labour Party. I would venture to say one - word here to my Irish fellow-countrymen of all political - persuasions. - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_142" - id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> - - If they imagine that they - can stand politically or economically while Britain falls, - they are woefully mistaken. The British Fleet is their one - shield. If it be broken, Ireland will go down. They may - well throw themselves heartily into the common defence, for - no sword can transfix England without the point reaching - Ireland behind her.</p> - <p> - Let me say in conclusion, most emphatically, that I do not - myself accept any of those axioms of General von Bernhardi - which are the foundation-stones of his argument. I do not - think that war is in itself a good thing, though a - dishonourable peace may be a worse one. I do not believe that - an Anglo-German war is necessary. I am convinced that we - should never, of our own accord, attack Germany, nor would we - assist France if she made an unprovoked attack upon that - Power. I do not think that as the result of such a war, - Germany could in any way extend her flag so as to cover a - larger white population. Every one of his propositions I - dispute. But that is all beside the question. We have not to - do with his argument, but with its results. Those results are - that he, a man whose opinion - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_143" - id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> - - is of weight, and a - member of the ruling class in Germany, tells us frankly - that Germany will attack us the moment she sees a - favourable opportunity. I repeat that we should be mad if - we did not take very serious notice of the warning.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_144" - id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></p> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <h2 class="v2"> - <a name="IX" - id="IX">IX</a></h2> - <h3> - AFTERTHOUGHTS</h3> - - <p> - So it was so after all. I write after perusing what was - written two years ago. I lean back in my chair and I think of - the past. “So it really was so after all,” - represents the thought which comes to my mind.</p> - <p> - It seems hardly fair to call it a conspiracy. When a certain - action is formulated quite clearly in many books, when it is - advocated by newspapers, preached by professors, and discussed - at every restaurant, it ceases to be a conspiracy. We may take - Bernhardi’s book as a text, but it is only because here - between two covers we find the whole essence of the matter in - an authoritative form. It has been said a thousand times - elsewhere. And now we know for all time that these countless - scolding and minatory voices were not mere angry units, but - that they were in. - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_145" - id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> - - truth the collective - voice of the nation. All that Bernhardi said, all that - after long disbelief he made some of us vaguely realise, - has now actually happened. So far as Germany is concerned - it has been fulfilled to the letter. Fortunately so far as - other nations have been concerned it has been very - different. He knew his own, but he utterly misjudged all - else, and in that misjudgment he and his spy-trusting - Government have dug a pit for themselves in which they long - may flounder.</p> - <p> - Make war deliberately whenever you think that you may get - profit from it. Find an excuse, but let it be an excuse which - will give you a strong position before the world and help your - alliances. Take advantage of your neighbour’s temporary - weakness in order to attack him. Pretend to be friendly in - order to screen warlike preparations. Do not let contracts or - treaties stand in the way of your vital interests. All of - these monstrous propositions are to be found in this - <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">vade mecum</i> of the German - politician and soldier, and each of them has been put in actual - practice within a very few years of the - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_146" - id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> - - appearance of the book. Take each of them in turn.</p> - <p> - Take first the point that they made war deliberately, and took - advantage of the imagined weakness of their neighbours in - order to attack them. When was it that they backed up, if they - did not actually dictate, the impossible ultimatum addressed - as much to Russia as to Servia? When was it that they were so - determined upon war that they made peace impossible at the - moment when Austria was showing signs of reconsidering her - position? Why so keen at that particular moment? Was it not - that for the instant each of her three antagonists seemed to - be at a disadvantage? Russia was supposed not to have - recovered yet from her Japanese misadventure. France was torn - by politics, and had admitted in the Senate that some - important branches of her armies were unprepared. Britain - seemed to be on the verge of civil war. It was just such a - combination as was predicated by Bernhardi. And his country - responded to it exactly as he had said, choosing the point of - quarrel against the Slav race so as to conciliate - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_147" - id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> - - the more advanced or liberal nations of the world.</p> - <p> - Then again they pretended to be friendly in order to cover - hostile preparations. To the very last moment the German - Minister in Brussels was assuring the Government of King - Albert that nothing but the best intentions animated those - whom he represented, and that Belgian neutrality was safe. The - written contract was deliberately dishonoured on the false and - absurd plea that if they did not dishonour it some one else - would. Thus, of the five propositions which had seemed most - monstrous and inhuman in Bernhardi’s book in 1912, every - single one had been put into actual practice by his country in - 1914. Those of us who advised at the time that the book should - be taken seriously have surely been amply justified.</p> - <p> - It is a singular thing that Bernhardi not only indicated in a - general way what Germany was contemplating, but in his other - book upon modern warfare he gives a very complete sketch of - the strategic conception which has been followed by the - Germans. He shows there how their armies might come through - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_148" - id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> - - Belgium, how their - eastern forces might mark time while the western, which - were to consist of the picked troops, would travel by - forced marches until they reached the neighbourhood of the - coast, or at least the west of Paris, after which the whole - line should swing round into France. The chance that by - these movements the German right would come into the region - of the British expeditionary force is dismissed lightly, - since he entirely underestimated the power of such a force, - while as to the Belgian army it is hardly admitted as a - factor at all. A comparison of the opinions of this great - military authority with the actual facts as we have - recently known them, must weaken one’s faith in the value - of expert judgment. He is, for example, strongly of opinion - that battles will not as a rule last for more than one day. - He has also so high an opinion of the supreme fighting - value of the German soldiers, that he declares that they - will always fight in the open rather than behind - entrenchments. It makes strange reading for us who have - seen them disappear from sight into the ground for a month - at a time.</p> - <p> - In what I have said in the previous article - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_149" - id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> - - of the naval and military - position, I find nothing to withdraw, and little to modify. - I write with the Germans at Ostend, and yet the possibility - of either a raid or an invasion seems to me as remote as it - did two years ago. I do not of course refer to an aerial - raid, which I look upon as extremely probable, but to a - landing in these islands. The submarine which has been used - so skilfully against us is an all-powerful defensive weapon - in our hands. As to the submarine, I think that I may claim - to have foreseen the situation which has actually come upon - us. “No blockade,” I remarked, “can hold - these vessels in harbour, and no skill or bravery can - counteract their attack when once they are within striking - distance. One could imagine a state of things when it might - be found impossible for the greater ships on either side to - keep the seas on account of these poisonous craft. No one - can say that such a contingency is impossible.” It is - largely true at the present moment as regards the North - Sea. But the submarine will not shake Great Britain as - mistress of the seas. On the contrary, with her - geographical position, it will, - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_150" - id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> - - if her internal economic policy be wise, put her in a - stronger position than ever.</p> - <p> - The whole question of the Channel Tunnel and its strategic - effect, which is treated of in the last essay, becomes - entirely academic, since even if it had been put in hand when - the German menace became clearer it could not yet have been - completed. The idea of an invasion through it has always - seemed and still seems to me to be absurd, but we should have - been brought face to face at the present moment with the - possibility of the enemy getting hold of the farther end and - destroying it, so as to wreck a great national enterprise. - This is a danger which I admit that I had not foreseen. At the - same time, when a tunnel is constructed, the end of it will no - doubt be fortified in such a fashion that it could be held - indefinitely against any power save France, which would have - so large a stake in it herself that she could not destroy it. - The whole operation of sending reinforcements and supplies to - the scene of war at the present instant would be enormously - simplified if a tunnel were in existence.</p> - -<p class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_151" - id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></p> - - <p> - There remains the fiercely debated question of compulsory - national service. Even now, with the enemy at the gate, it - seems to me to be as open as ever. Would we, under our - constitution and with our methods of thought, have had such a - magnificent response to Lord Kitchener’s appeal, or would we - have had such splendid political unanimity in carrying the war - to a conclusion, if a large section of the people had started - by feeling sore over an Act which caused themselves or their - sons to serve whether they wished or not? Personally I do not - believe that we should. I believe that the new volunteer - armies now under training are of really wonderful material and - fired with the very best spirit, and that they will be worth - more than a larger force raised by methods which are alien to - our customs. I said in my previous essay, “Experience has - shown that under warlike excitement in a virile nation like - ours the ranks soon fill up, and as the force becomes embodied - from the outbreak of hostilities it would rapidly improve in - quality.” Already those Territorials who were so - ignorantly and ungenerously criticised in times of peace are, - -<span class="pagenum"> - <a name="Page_152" - id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> - - after nearly three months - of camp-life, hardening into soldiers who may safely be - trusted in the field. Behind them the greater part of a - million men are formed who will also become soldiers in a - record time if a desperate earnestness can make them so. It - is a glorious spectacle which makes a man thankful that he - has been spared to see it. One is more hopeful of our - Britain, and more proud of her, now that the German guns - can be heard from her eastern shore, than ever in the long - monotony of her undisturbed prosperity. Our grandchildren - will thrill as they read of the days that we endure.</p> - - <h6 class="v12"> - <em>Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., - <br /> - London and Aylesbury.</em></h6> - - <hr class="full" /> - - <div class="footnote"> - <h3> - <a name="Footnotes" - id="Footnotes">Footnotes</a></h3> - <table> - <tr> - <td class="rt"> - <a name="Footnote_1_1" - id="Footnote_1_1"></a> - <a href="#FNanchor_1_1">[1]</a></td> - <td> - August 20, 1914.</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt"> - <a name="Footnote_2_2" - id="Footnote_2_2"></a> - <a href="#FNanchor_2_2">[2]</a></td> - <td> - September 10, 1914.</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt"> - <a name="Footnote_3_3" - id="Footnote_3_3"></a> - <a href="#FNanchor_3_3">[3]</a></td> - <td> - Two months later, according to <cite>The Times</cite>, - official evidence of this was actually - forthcoming.—A. C. D.</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt"> - <a name="Footnote_4_4" - id="Footnote_4_4"></a> - <a href="#FNanchor_4_4">[4]</a></td> - <td> - Published, <cite>Fortnightly Review</cite>, - February 1913.</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt"> - <a name="Footnote_5_5" - id="Footnote_5_5"></a> - <a href="#FNanchor_5_5">[5]</a></td> - <td> - More now, alas! than ever.—Nov. 26, A. C. D.</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="rt"> - <a name="Footnote_6_6" - id="Footnote_6_6"></a> - <a href="#FNanchor_6_6">[6]</a></td> - <td> - This, of course, would presuppose that Holland was - involved in the war.—A. C. D.</td></tr> - </table> - </div> - - <hr class="chap" /> - <div class="tn"> - <h3> - <a name="Tnotes" - id="Tnotes">Transcriber’s Notes:</a></h3> - <blockquote class="blockhang"> - <p> - Variable spelling has been retained for:<br /> - after-thoughts and afterthoughts<br /> - coast-line and coastline</p></blockquote> - <blockquote> - <p> - Book was written in a period when many words had not - become standardized in their spelling. Numerous words have - multiple spelling variations in the text. These have been - left unchanged unless noted below:</p></blockquote> - - <table> - <tr> - <td> - p 29</td> - <td> - — added missing - <a name="TN_1" - id="TN_1"></a> - <a href="#TNanchor_1">the</a> - (in the future).</td></tr> - <tr> - <td> - p 75</td> - <td> - — at corrected to - <a name="TN_2" - id="TN_2"></a> - <a href="#TNanchor_2">as</a> - (he exclaimed, as he gazed).</td></tr> - <tr> - <td> - p 86</td> - <td> - — added missing - <a name="TN_3" - id="TN_3"></a> - <a href="#TNanchor_3">the</a> - (in the future).</td></tr> - <tr> - <td> - p 111</td> - <td> - — added missing - <a name="TN_4" - id="TN_4"></a> - <a href="#TNanchor_4">the</a> - (in the future).</td></tr> - </table> - </div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The German War, by Arthur Conan Doyle - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GERMAN WAR *** - -***** This file should be named 42127-h.htm or 42127-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/1/2/42127/ - -Produced by Richard Hulse, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The German War - Some Sidelights and Reflections - -Author: Arthur Conan Doyle - -Release Date: February 18, 2013 [EBook #42127] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GERMAN WAR *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Hulse, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - -THE GERMAN WAR - - - - -THE GERMAN WAR - - - -BY - -ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE - -AUTHOR OF "THE GREAT BOER WAR," ETC. - - - -HODDER AND STOUGHTON - -LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO - -MCMXIV - - - - -_Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.,_ - -_London and Aylesbury_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -These essays, upon different phases of the wonderful world-drama -which has made our lifetime memorable, would be unworthy of -republication were it not that at such a time every smallest thing -which may help to clear up a doubt, to elucidate the justice of our -cause, or to accentuate the desperate need of national effort, -should be thrown into the scale. The longest essay appeared in _The -Fortnightly Review_ and the shorter ones for the most part in _The -Daily Chronicle_. I have left them as written at the time, even -where after-events have caused some modification of my views. - - ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. - WINDLESHAM, CROWBOROUGH, - _November 1914._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - I. THE CAUSES OF THE WAR 1 - - II. THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY 32 - - III. THE DEVIL'S DOCTRINE 41 - - IV. THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT 55 - - V. THE "CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY" 65 - - VI. A POLICY OF MURDER 79 - - VII. MADNESS 89 - - VIII. GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR 99 - - IX. AFTERTHOUGHTS 144 - - - * * * * * - - - - -I - -THE CAUSES OF THE WAR - - - This article, stating the British case, was issued as a - recruiting pamphlet in Great Britain, but was used abroad - as a simple explanation which would enable neutrals to - understand the true facts. It was published in full by - fifty leading journals in the United States, and was - translated into Dutch and Danish, 25,000 copies being - distributed in each country. - -The causes of the war are only of moment to us, at this stage, in -that we gain more strength in our arms and more iron in our souls by -a knowledge that it is for all that is honourable and sacred for -which we fight. What really concerns us is that we are in a fight -for our national life, that we must fight through to the end, and -that each and all of us must help, in his own fashion, to the last -ounce of his strength, that this end may be victory. That is the -essence of the situation. It is not words and phrases that we need, -but men, men--and always more men. If words can bring the men, then -they are of avail. If not, they may well wait for the times to mend. -But if there is a doubt in the mind of any man as to the justice of -his country's quarrel, then even a writer may find work ready to his -hand. - -Let us cast our minds back upon the events which have led up to this -conflict. They may be divided into two separate classes--those which -prepared the general situation, and those which caused the special -quarrel. Each of these I will treat in its turn. - -It is a matter of common knowledge, one which a man must be blind -and deaf not to understand, that for many years Germany, intoxicated -by her success in war and by her increase of wealth, has regarded -the British Empire with eyes of jealousy and hatred. It has never -been alleged by those who gave expression to this almost universal -national passion that Great Britain had in any way, either -historically or commercially, done Germany a mischief. Even our most -bitter traducers, when asked to give any definite historical reasons -for their dislike, were compelled to put forward such ludicrous -excuses as that the British had abandoned the Prussian King in the -year 1761, quite oblivious of the fact that the same Prussian King -had abandoned his own allies in the same war under far more damaging -circumstances, acting up to his own motto that no promises are -binding where the vital interests of a State are in question. With -all their malevolence they could give no examples of any ill turn -done by us until their deliberate policy had forced us into -antagonism. On the other hand, a long list of occasions could very -easily be compiled on which we had helped them in some common cause -from the days of Marlborough to those of Bluecher. Until the -twentieth century had turned they had no possible cause for -political hatred against us. In commerce our record was even more -clear. Never in any way had we interfered with that great -development of trade which has turned them from one of the poorest -to one of the richest of European States. Our markets were open to -them untaxed, whilst our own manufactures paid 20 per cent. in -Germany. The markets of India, of Egypt, and of every portion of -the Empire which had no self-appointed tariff, were as open to -German goods as to British ones. Nothing could possibly have been -more generous than our commercial treatment. No doubt there was some -grumbling when cheap imitations of our own goods were occasionally -found to oust the originals from their markets. Such a feeling was -but natural and human. But in all matters of commerce, as in all -matters political before the dawn of this century, they have no -shadow of a grievance against us. - -And yet they hated us with a most bitter hatred, a hatred which long -antedates the days when we were compelled to take a definite stand -against them. In all sorts of ways this hatred showed itself--in the -diatribes of professors, in the pages of books, in the columns of -the Press. Usually it was a sullen, silent dislike. Sometimes it -would flame up suddenly into bitter utterance, as at the time of the -unseemly dispute around the deathbed of the Emperor's father, or on -the occasion of the Jameson Raid. And yet this bitter antagonism was -in no way reciprocated in this country. If a poll had been taken at -any time up to the end of the century as to which European country -was our natural ally, the vote would have gone overwhelmingly for -Germany. "America first and then Germany" would have been the -verdict of nine men out of ten. But then occurred two events which -steadied the easy-going Briton, and made him look more intently and -with a more questioning gaze at his distant cousin over the water. -Those two events were the Boer War and the building of the German -fleet. The first showed us, to our amazement, the bitter desire -which Germany had to do us some mischief, the second made us realise -that she was forging a weapon with which that desire might be -fulfilled. - -We are most of us old enough to remember the torrent of calumny and -insult which was showered upon us in the day of our temporary -distress by the nation to whom we had so often been a friend and an -ally. It is true that other nations treated us little better, and -yet their treatment hurt us less. The difference as it struck men at -the time may be summarised in this passage from a British writer of -the period. - -"But it was very different with Germany," he says. "Again and again -in the world's history we have been the friends and the allies of -these people. It was so in the days of Marlborough, in those of the -Great Frederick, and in those of Napoleon. When we could not help -them with men we helped them with money. Our fleet has crushed their -enemies. And now, for the first time in history, we have had a -chance of seeing who were our friends in Europe, and nowhere have we -met more hatred and more slander than from the German Press and the -German people. Their most respectable journals have not hesitated to -represent the British troops--troops every bit as humane and as -highly disciplined as their own--not only as committing outrages on -person and property, but even as murdering women and children. - -"At first this unexpected phenomenon merely surprised the British -people, then it pained them, and finally, after two years of it, it -has roused a deep, enduring anger in their minds." - -He goes on to say, "The continued attacks upon us have left an -enduring feeling of resentment, which will not and should not die -away in this generation. It is not too much to say that five years -ago a complete defeat of Germany in a European war would have -certainly caused British intervention. Public sentiment and racial -affinity would never have allowed us to see her really go to the -wall. And now it is certain that in our lifetime no British guinea -and no soldier's life would under any circumstances be spent for -such an end. That is one strange result of the Boer War, and in the -long run it is possible that it may prove not the least important." - -Such was the prevailing mood of the nation when they perceived -Germany, under the lead of her Emperor, following up her expressions -of enmity by starting with restless energy to build up a formidable -fleet, adding programme to programme, out of all possible proportion -to the German commerce to be defended or to the German coastline -exposed to attack. Already vainglorious boasts were made that -Germany was the successor to Britain upon the seas. "The Admiral of -the Atlantic greets the Admiral of the Pacific," said the Kaiser in -a message to the Czar. What was Britain to do under this growing -menace? So long as she was isolated the diplomacy of Germany might -form some naval coalition against her. She took the steps which were -necessary for her own safety, and without forming an alliance she -composed her differences with France and Russia and drew closer the -friendship which united her with her old rival across the Channel. -The first-fruit of the new German fleet was the _entente cordiale_. -We had found our enemy. It was necessary that we should find our -friends. Thus we were driven into our present combination. - -And now we had to justify our friendship. For the first time we were -compelled to openly oppose Germany in the deep and dangerous game of -world politics. They wished to see if our understanding was a -reality or a sham. Could they drive a wedge between us by showing -that we were a fair-weather friend whom any stress would alienate. -Twice they tried it, once in 1906 when they bullied France into a -conference at Algeciras, but found that Britain was firm at her -side, and again in 1911 when in a time of profound peace they -stirred up trouble by sending a gunboat to Agadir, and pushed -matters to the very edge of war. But no threats induced Britain to -be false to her mutual insurance with France. Now for the third and -most fatal time they have demanded that we forswear ourselves and -break our own bond lest a worse thing befall us. Blind and foolish, -did they not know by past experience that we would keep our promise -given? In their madness they have wrought an irremediable evil to -themselves, to us, and to all Europe. - -I have shown that we have in very truth never injured nor desired to -injure Germany in commerce, nor have we opposed her politically -until her own deliberate actions drove us into the camp of her -opponents. But it may well be asked why then did they dislike us, -and why did they weave hostile plots against us? It was that, as it -seemed to them, and as indeed it actually may have been, we -independently of our own wills stood between Germany and that world -empire of which she dreamed. This was caused by circumstances over -which we had no control and which we could not modify if we had -wished to do so. Britain, through her maritime power and the energy -of her merchants and people, had become a great world power when -Germany was still unformed. Thus, when she had grown to her full -stature she found that the choice places of the world and those most -fitted for the spread of a transplanted European race were already -filled up. It was not a matter which we could help, nor could we -alter it, since Canada, Australia, and South Africa would not, even -if we could be imagined to have wished it, be transferred to German -rule. And yet the Germans chafed, and if we can put ourselves in -their places we may admit that it was galling that the surplus of -their manhood should go to build up the strength of an alien and -possibly a rival State. So far we could see their grievance, or -rather their misfortune, since no one was in truth to blame in the -matter. Had their needs been openly and reasonably expressed, and -had the two States moved in concord in the matter, it is difficult -to think that no helpful solution of any kind could have been -found. - -But the German method of approaching the problem has never been to -ask sympathy and co-operation, but to picture us as a degenerate -race from whom anything might be gained by playing upon our imagined -weakness and cowardice. A nation which attends quietly to its own -sober business must, according to their mediaeval notions, be a -nation of decadent poltroons. If we fight our battles by means of -free volunteers instead of enforced conscripts, then the military -spirit must be dead amongst us. Perhaps, even in this short -campaign, they have added this delusion also to the dust-bin of -their many errors. But such was their absurd self-deception about -the most virile of European races. Did we propose disarmament, then -it was not humanitarianism but cowardice that prompted us, and their -answer was to enlarge their programme. Did we suggest a -navy-building holiday, it was but a cloak for our weakness, and an -incitement that they should redouble their efforts. Our decay had -become a part of their national faith. At first the wish may have -been the father to the thought, but soon under the reiterated -assertions of their crazy professors the proposition became -indisputable. Bernhardi in his book upon the next war cannot conceal -the contempt in which he has learned to hold us. Niebuhr long ago -had prophesied the coming fall of Britain, and every year was -believed to bring it nearer and to make it more certain. To these -jaundiced eyes all seemed yellow, when the yellowness lay only in -themselves. Our army, our navy, our Colonies, all were equally -rotten. "Old England, old, indeed, and corrupt, rotten through and -through." One blow and the vast sham would fly to pieces, and from -those pieces the victor could choose his reward. Listen to Professor -Treitschke, a man who, above all others, has been the evil genius of -his country, and has done most to push it towards this abyss: "A -thing that is wholly a sham," he cried, in allusion to our Empire, -"cannot, in this universe of ours, endure for ever. It may endure -for a day, but its doom is certain." Were ever words more true when -applied to the narrow bureaucracy and swaggering Junkerdom of -Prussia, the most artificial and ossified sham that ever our days -have seen? See which will crack first, our democracy or this, now -that both have been plunged into the furnace together. The day of -God's testing has come, and we shall see which can best abide it. - -I have tried to show that we are in no way to blame for the -hostility which has grown up between us. So far as it had any solid -cause at all it has arisen from fixed factors, which could no more -be changed by us than the geographical position which has laid us -right across their exit to the oceans of the world. That this -deeply-rooted national sentiment, which for ever regarded us as the -Carthage to which they were destined to play the part of Rome, -would, sooner or later, have brought about war between us, is, in my -opinion, beyond all doubt. But it was planned to come at the moment -which was least favourable for Britain. "Even English attempts at a -_rapprochement_ must not blind us to the real situation," says -Bernhardi. "We may, at most, use them to delay the necessary and -inevitable war until we may fairly imagine we have some prospect of -success." A more shameless sentence was never penned, and one -stands marvelling which is the more grotesque--the cynicism of the -sentiment, or the folly which gave such a warning to the victim. For -be it remembered that Bernhardi's words are to be taken very -seriously, for they are not the ravings of some Pan-German -monomaniac, but the considered views of the foremost military writer -of Germany, one who is in touch with those inner circles whose -opinions are the springs of national policy. "Our last and greatest -reckoning is to be with Great Britain," said the bitter Treitschke. -Sooner or later the shock was to come. Germany sat brooding over the -chessboard of the world waiting for the opening which should assure -a winning game. - -It was clear that she should take her enemies separately rather than -together. If Britain were attacked, it was almost certain that -France and Russia would stand by her side. But if, on the contrary, -the quarrel could be made with these two Powers, and especially with -Russia, in the first instance, then it was by no means so certain -that Great Britain would be drawn into the struggle. Public opinion -has to be strongly moved before our country can fight, and public -opinion under a Liberal Government might well be divided upon the -subject of Russia. Therefore, if the quarrel could be so arranged as -to seem to be entirely one between Teuton and Slav there was a good -chance that Britain would remain undecided until the swift German -sword had done its work. Then, with the grim acquiescence of our -deserted Allies, the still bloody sword would be turned upon -ourselves, and that great final reckoning would have come. - -Such was the plan, and fortune favoured it. A brutal murder had, not -for the first time, put Servia into a position where a State may be -blamed for the sins of individuals. An ultimatum was launched so -phrased that it was impossible for any State to accept it as it -stood and yet remain an independent State. At the first sign of -argument or remonstrance the Austrian army marched upon Belgrade. -Russia, which had been already humiliated in 1908 by the forcible -annexation of Bosnia, could not possibly submit a second time to the -Caudine Forks. She laid her hand upon her sword-hilt. Germany -sprang to the side of her Ally. France ranged herself with Russia. -Like a thunderclap the war of the nations had begun. - -So far all had worked well for German plans. Those of the British -public who were familiar with the past and could look into the future -might be well aware that our interests were firmly bound with those -of France, and that if our faggots were not tied together they would -assuredly be snapped each in its turn. But the unsavoury -assassination which had been so cleverly chosen as the starting-point -of the war bulked large in the eyes of our people, and, setting -self-interest to one side, the greater part of the public might well -have hesitated to enter into a quarrel where the cause seemed remote -and the issues ill-defined. What was it to us if a Slav or a Teuton -collected the harbour dues of Salonica! So the question might have -presented itself to the average man who in the long run is the ruler -of this country and the autocrat of its destinies. In spite of all -the wisdom of our statesmen, it is doubtful if on such a quarrel we -could have gained that national momentum which might carry us to -victory. But at that very moment Germany took a step which removed -the last doubt from the most cautious of us and left us in a position -where we must either draw our sword or stand for ever dishonoured and -humiliated before the world. The action demanded of us was such a -compound of cowardice and treachery that we ask ourselves in dismay -what can we ever have done that could make others for one instant -imagine us to be capable of so dastardly a course? Yet that it was -really supposed that we could do it, and that it was not merely put -forward as an excuse for drawing us into war, is shown by the anger -and consternation of the Kaiser and his Chancellor when we drew back -from what the British Prime Minister has described as "an infamous -proposal." One has only to read our Ambassador's description of his -interview with the German Chancellor after our decision was -announced, "so evidently overcome by the news of our action," to see -that through some extraordinary mental aberration the German rulers -did actually believe that a vital treaty with Britain's signature -upon it could be regarded by this country as a mere "scrap of paper." - -What was this treaty which it was proposed so lightly to set aside? -It was the guarantee of the neutrality of Belgium signed in 1839 -(confirmed verbally and in writing by Bismarck in 1870), by Prussia, -France, and Britain, each of whom pledged their word to observe and -to enforce it. On the strength of it Belgium had relied for her -security amidst her formidable neighbours. On the strength of it -also France had lavished all her defences upon her eastern frontier, -and left her northern exposed to attack. Britain had guaranteed the -treaty, and Britain could be relied upon. Now, on the first occasion -of testing the value of her word it was supposed that she would -regard the treaty as a worthless scrap of paper, and stand by -unmoved while the little State which had trusted her was flooded by -the armies of the invader. It was unthinkable, and yet the wisest -brains of Germany seem to have persuaded themselves that we had sunk -to such depths of cowardly indolence that even this might go -through. Surely they also have been hypnotised by those foolish -dreams of Britain's degeneration, from which they will have so -terrible an awakening. - -As a matter of fact, the General Staff had got ahead of the -diplomatists, and the German columns were already over the border -while the point was being debated at Berlin. There was no retreat -from the position which had been taken up. "It is to us a vital -matter of strategy and is beyond argument," said the German soldier. -"It is to us a vital matter of honour and is beyond argument," -answered the British statesman. The die was cast. No compromise was -possible. Would Britain keep her word or would she not? That was the -sole question at issue. And what answer save one could any Briton -give to it? "I do not believe," said our Prime Minister, "that any -nation ever entered into a great controversy with a clearer -conscience and stronger conviction that she is fighting, not for -aggression, not for the maintenance of her own selfish interest, but -in defence of principles the maintenance of which is vital to the -civilisation of the world." So he spoke, and History will endorse -his words, for we surely have our quarrel just. - -So much for the events which have led us to war. Now for a moment -let us glance at what we may have to hope for, what we may have to -fear, and above all what we must each of us do that we win through -to a lasting peace. - -What have we to gain if we win? That we have nothing material to -gain, no colonies which we covet, no possessions of any sort that we -desire, is the final proof that the war has not been provoked by us. -No nation would deliberately go out of its way to wage so hazardous -and costly a struggle when there is no prize for victory. But one -enormous indirect benefit we will gain if we can make Germany a -peaceful and harmless State. We will surely break her naval power -and take such steps that it shall not be a menace to us any more. It -was this naval power, with its rapid increase, and the need that we -should ever, as Mr. Churchill has so well expressed it, be ready at -our average moment to meet an attack at their chosen moment--it was -this which has piled up our war estimates during the last ten years -until they have bowed us down. With such enormous sums spent upon -ships and guns, great masses of capital were diverted from the -ordinary channels of trade, while an even more serious result was -that our programmes of social reform had to be curtailed from want -of the money which could finance them. Let the menace of that -lurking fleet be withdrawn--the nightmare of those thousand hammers -working day and night in forging engines for our destruction, and -our estimates will once again be those of a civilised Christian -country, while our vast capital will be turned from measures of -self-protection to those of self-improvement. Should our victory be -complete, there is little which Germany can yield to us save the -removal of that shadow which has darkened us so long. But our -children and our children's children will never, if we do our work -well now, look across the North Sea with the sombre thoughts which -have so long been ours, while their lives will be brightened and -elevated by money which we, in our darker days, have had to spend -upon our ships and our guns. - -Consider, on the other hand, what we should suffer if we were to -lose. All the troubles of the last ten years would be with us still, -but in a greatly exaggerated form. A larger and stronger Germany -would dominate Europe and would overshadow our lives. Her coast-line -would be increased, her ports would face our own, her coaling -stations would be in every sea, and her great army, greater then -than ever, would be within striking distance of our shores. To avoid -sinking for ever into the condition of a dependant, we should be -compelled to have recourse to rigid compulsory service, and our -diminished revenues would be all turned to the needs of -self-defence. Such would be the miserable condition in which we -should hand on to our children that free and glorious empire which -we inherited in all the fulness of its richness and its splendour -from those strong fathers who have built it up. What peace of mind, -what self-respect could be left for us in the remainder of our -lives? The weight of dishonour would lie always upon our hearts. And -yet this will be surely our fate and our future if we do not nerve -our souls and brace our arms for victory. No regrets will avail, no -excuses will help, no after-thoughts can profit us. It is -now--_now_--even in these weeks and months that are passing that the -final reckoning is being taken, and when once the sum is made up no -further effort can change it. What are our lives or our labours, our -fortunes or even our families, when compared with the life or death -of the great mother of us all? We are but the leaves of the tree. -What matter if we flutter down to-day or to-morrow, so long as the -great trunk stands and the burrowing roots are firm? Happy the man -who can die with the thought that in this greatest crisis of all he -has served his country to the uttermost; but who would bear the -thoughts of him who lives on with the memory that he has shirked his -duty and failed his country at the moment of her need? - -There is a settled and assured future if we win. There is darkness -and trouble if we lose. But if we take a broader sweep and trace the -meanings of this contest as they affect others than ourselves, then -ever greater, more glorious are the issues for which we fight. For -the whole world stands at a turning-point of its history, and one or -other of two opposite principles, the rule of the soldier or the -rule of the citizen, must now prevail. In this sense we fight for -the masses of the German people, as some day they will understand, -to free them from that formidable military caste which has used and -abused them, spending their bodies in an unjust war and poisoning -their minds by every device which could inflame them against those -who wish nothing save to live at peace with them. We fight for the -strong, deep Germany of old, the Germany of music and of philosophy, -against this monstrous modern aberration the Germany of blood and of -iron, the Germany from which, instead of the old things of beauty, -there come to us only the rant of scolding professors with their -final reckonings, their Welt-politik, and their Godless theories of -the Superman who stands above morality and to whom all humanity -shall be subservient. Instead of the world-inspiring phrases of a -Goethe or a Schiller, what are the words in the last decade which -have been quoted across the sea? Are they not always the -ever-recurring words of wrath from one ill-balanced man? "Strike -them with the mailed fist." "Leave such a name behind you as Attila -and his Huns." "Turn your weapons even upon your own flesh and blood -at my command." These are the messages which have come from this -perversion of a nation's soul. - -But the matter lies deep. The Hohenzollerns and the Hapsburgs have -used their peoples as a great landowner might use the serfs upon his -estate. It was, and is, their openly expressed theory that they were -in their position by the grace of God, that they owed no reckoning -to any man, and that kingdom and folk were committed for better or -worse to their charge. Round this theory of the dark ages there -gathered all the forces of the many Courts of the Empire, all the -nobility who make so huge a class in Germanic countries, all the -vast army to whom strict discipline and obedience were the breath of -life, all the office-holders of the State, all the purveyors of -warlike stores. These and their like were the natural setting to -such a central idea. Court influence largely controlled the -teaching at schools and universities, and so the growing twig could -be bent. But all these forces together could not have upheld so -dangerous and unnatural a theory had it not been for the influence -of a servile Press. - -How that Press was managed, how the thoughts of the people could be -turned to the right or the left with the same precision as a platoon -of Grenadiers, has been shown clearly enough in the Memoirs of -Bismarck. Public opinion was poisoned at its very roots. The average -citizen lived in a false atmosphere where everything was distorted -to his vision. He saw his Kaiser, not as an essentially weak and -impetuous man with a dangerous entourage who were ever at his ear, -but as Germany personified, an angel with a flaming sword, beating -back envious assailants from the beloved Fatherland. He saw his -neighbours not as peaceful nations who had no possible desire to -attack him, but, on the contrary, lived in constant fear of him, but -as a band of envious and truculent conspirators who could only be -kept in order by the sudden stamp of the jackboot and the menacing -clatter of the sabre. He insensibly imbibed the Nietzsche doctrine -that the immorality of the Superman may be as colossal as his -strength and that the slave-evangel of Christianity was superseded -by a sterner law. Thus when he saw acts which his reason must have -told him were indefensible, he was still narcotised by this -conception of some new standard of right. He saw his Kaiser at the -time of a petty humiliation to Great Britain sending a telegram of -congratulation to the man who had inflicted this rebuff. Could that -be approved by reason? At a time when all Europe was shuddering over -the Armenian massacres he saw this same Kaiser paying a -complimentary visit to the Sultan whose hands were still wet with -the blood of murdered Christians. Could that be reconciled with what -is right? A little later he saw the Kaiser once again pushing -himself into Mediterranean politics, where no direct German interest -lay, and endeavouring to tangle up the French developments in -Northern Africa by provocative personal appearances at Morocco, and, -later, by sending a gunboat to intrude upon a scene of action which -had already by the Treaty of Algeciras been allotted to France. - -How could an honest German whose mind was undebauched by a -controlled Press justify such an interference as that? He is or -should be aware that in annexing Bosnia, Austria was tearing up a -treaty without the consent of the other signatories, and that his -own country was supporting and probably inciting her ally to this -public breach of faith. Could he honestly think that this was right? -And, finally, he must know, for his own Chancellor has publicly -proclaimed it, that the Invasion of Belgium was a breach of -international right, and that Germany, or rather, Prussia, had -perjured herself upon the day that the first of her soldiers passed -over the frontier. How can he explain all this to himself save on a -theory that might is right, that no moral law applies to the -Superman, and that so long as one hews one's way through the rest -can matter little? To such a point of degradation have public morals -been brought by the infernal teachings of Prussian military -philosophy, dating back as far as Frederick the Second, but -intensified by the exhortations of Press and professors during our -own times. The mind of the average kindly German citizen has been -debauched and yet again debauched until it needed just such a world -crisis as this to startle him at last from his obsession and show -him his position and that of his country in its true relation with -humanity and progress. - -Thus I say that for the German who stands outside the ruling classes -our victory would bring a lasting relief, and some hope that in the -future his destiny should be controlled by his own judgment and not -by the passions or interests of those against whom he has at present -no appeal. A system which has brought disaster to Germany and chaos -to all Europe can never, one would think, be resumed, and amid the -debris of his Empire the German may pick up that precious jewel of -personal freedom which is above the splendour of foreign conquest. A -Hapsburg or a Hohenzollern may find his true place as the servant -rather than the master of a nation. But apart from Germany, look at -the effects which our victory must have over the whole wide world. -Everywhere it will mean the triumph of reasoned democracy, of -public debate, of ordered freedom in which every man is an active -unit in the system of his own government; whilst our defeat would -stand for a victory to a privileged class, the thrusting down of the -civilian by the arrogance and intolerance of militarism, and the -subjection of all that is human and progressive to all that is -cruel, narrow, and reactionary. - -This is the stake for which we play, and the world will lose or gain -as well as we. You may well come, you democratic over-sea men of our -blood, to rally round us now, for all that you cherish, all that is -bred in your very bones, is that for which we fight. And you, lovers -of Freedom in every land, we claim at least your prayers and your -wishes, for if our sword be broken you will be the poorer. But fear -not, for our sword will not be broken, nor shall it ever drop from -our hands until this matter is for ever set in order. If every ally -we have upon earth were to go down in blood and ruin, still would we -fight through to the appointed end. Defeat shall not daunt us. -Inconclusive victory shall not turn us from our purpose. The grind -of poverty and the weariness of hopes deferred shall not blunt the -edge of our resolve. With God's help we shall go to the end, and -when that goal is reached it is our prayer that a new era shall come -as our reward, an era in which, by common action of State with -State, mutual hatreds and strivings shall be appeased, land shall no -longer be estranged from land, and huge armies and fleets will be -nightmares of the past. Thus, as ever, the throes of evil may give -birth to good. Till then our task stands clear before us--a task -that will ask for all we have in strength and resolution. Have you -who read this played your part to the highest? If not, do it now, or -stand for ever shamed. - - - * * * * * - - - - -II - -THE WORLD-WAR CONSPIRACY - - -It is instructive and interesting now,[1] before fresh great events -and a new situation obliterate the old impressions, to put it on -record how things seemed to some of us before the blow fell. A -mental position often seems incredible when looked back to from some -new standpoint. - - [1] August 20, 1914. - -I am one of those who were obstinate in refusing to recognise -Germany's intentions. I argued, I wrote, I joined the Anglo-German -Friendship Society; I did everything I could for the faith that was -in me. But early last year my views underwent a complete change, and -I realised that I had been wrong, and that the thing which seemed -too crazy and too wicked to be true actually was true. I recorded my -conversion at the time in an article entitled "Great Britain and -the Next War" in the _Fortnightly_ of March, and reading over that -article I find a good deal which fits very closely to the present -situation. Forecasts are dangerous, but there is not much there -which I would wish to withdraw. What brought about my change of view -was reading Bernhardi's book on Germany and the next war. - -Up to then I had imagined that all this sabre-rattling was a sort of -boyish exuberance on the part of a robust young nation which had a -fancy to clank about the world in jackboots. Some of it also came, -as it seemed to me, from a perfectly natural jealousy, and some as -the result of the preaching of those extraordinary professors whose -idiotic diatribes have done so much to poison the minds of Young -Germany. This was clear enough. But I could not believe that there -was a conspiracy hatching for a world-war, in which the command of -the sea would be challenged as well as that of the land. No motive -seemed to me to exist for so monstrous an upheaval, and no prize to -await Germany, if she won, which could at all balance her enormous -risks if she lost. Besides, one imagined that civilisation and -Christianity did stand for something, and that it was inconceivable -that a nation with pretensions to either the one or the other could -at this date of the world's history lend itself to a cold-blooded, -barbarous conspiracy by which it built up its strength for a number -of years with the intention of falling at a fitting moment upon its -neighbours, without any cause of quarrel save a general desire for -aggrandisement. - -All this, I say, I could not bring myself to believe. But I read -Bernhardi's book, and then I could not help believing. I wrote an -article in the hope that others who had been as blind as myself -might also come to see the truth. For who was Bernhardi? He was one -of the most noted officers in the German army. And here was a book -addressed to his own fellow-countrymen, in which these sentiments -were set forth. You could not set such a document aside and treat it -as of no account. As I said at the time, "We should be mad if we did -not take very serious notice of the warning." - -But the strange thing is that there should have been a warning. -There is a quaint simplicity in the German mind, which has shown -itself again and again in the recent events. But this is surely the -supreme example of it. One would imagine that the idea that the book -could be translated and read by his intended victims had never -occurred to the author. As a famous soldier, it is impossible to -believe that he was not in touch with the General Staff, and he -outlines a policy which has some reason, therefore, to be looked -upon as an official one. It is as bright a performance as if some -one on Lord Roberts's staff had written a description of the -Paardeberg flank march and sent it to Cronje some weeks before it -was carried out. And yet it was not an isolated example, for Von -Edelsheim, who actually belongs to this amazing General Staff, -published a shorter sketch, setting forth how his country would deal -with the United States--an essay which is an extraordinary example -of bombastic ignorance. Such indiscretions can only be explained as -manifestations of an inflated national arrogance, which has blown -itself up into a conviction that Germany was so sure of winning -that it mattered little whether her opponents were upon their guard -or not. - -But Bernhardi's programme, as outlined in his book, is actually -being carried through. The whole weight of the attack was to be -thrown upon France. Russia was to be held back during her slow -mobilisation, and then the victorious legions from Paris were to -thunder across in their countless troop trains from the western to -the eastern firing-line. Britain was to be cajoled into keeping -aloof until her fate was ripe. Then her fleet was to be whittled -down by submarines, mines, and torpedo-boats until the numbers were -more equal, when the main German fleet, coming from under the forts -of Wilhelmshaven, should strike for the conquest of the sea. Such -were the plans, and dire the fate of the conquered. They were in -accordance with the German semi-official paper, which cried on the -day before the declaration of war: "We shall win--and when we do, -'Vae victis!'" With France it was to be a final account. Our own -fate would be little better. It needs a righteous anger to wage war -to the full, and we can feel it when we think of the long-drawn -plot against us, and of the fate which defeat would bring. - -However favourable the general trend of events, we can hardly hope -to escape some bad hours during this war. The Germans are a great -and brave people, with a fine record in warlike history. They will -not go down without leaving their mark deep upon the Allies. We must -not take the opening successes too seriously, or allow ourselves to -have the edge taken off our resolution by the idea that things will -necessarily go well with us. On land and sea vast efforts and -occasional disappointments will await us. But it will not be long. -It is, as it seems to me, absolutely impossible that it should be -long. The temper of the times will not brook slow measures, nor will -the enormous financial strain upon Germany be tolerated -indefinitely. How dangerous is prophecy, and these very words may -come back to mock me; but I cannot myself see how it can be over in -less than six months, or how it could extend for more than twelve. - -If it should happen that the military affairs of Germany are as -rotten as her diplomacy, then it certainly should not last long. -That, no doubt, is too much to expect, but there are many degrees of -incapacity which are short of that extreme limit. For of that, at -least, there can be no dispute. What has come from all this crazy -science of Real-politik and Welt-politik and the rest of it? Simply -that wherever it was possible to lose the trick Germany and her -partner have done so. An alliance with Italy so loose that it was -useless, a Mediterranean understanding with Austria so vague that it -only operated after it had become of no service to the German -cruisers, the drawing of Servia, Montenegro, and, finally, of -Belgium, into the field against them, the dealing with England in -the one fashion which must unite our ranks and cut the ground from -under the feet of any party which might cause dissension--these are -the results of the Wilhelmstrasse combinations, with Potsdam -embellishments. Was there ever so colossal a muddle? Is there any -one point which could have been worse handled? And then as a -by-product the universal distrust and anger which such policy has -aroused in the neutral countries--yes, it really is a thing -complete. - -But the German soldier may prove himself as good as ever. That he -will be as brave as ever I have no doubt at all. That he will be as -hardy as ever is less likely, as the population of the Fatherland -has drifted largely from fields to factories, and as the standard of -comfort, and even luxury, have greatly increased. The Westphalian -artisan of William is very different material from the Brandenburg -peasant of Frederick, even as the short-service soldier of 1914 is -very different from the ten-year man of 1750. I should expect to see -the German as good, but no better than his neighbours. But the whole -issue of this campaign depends, from his point of view, upon his -being better. He has to win against superior numbers. He must not -only win, but win quickly. If an equilibrium were established, the -strangulation from England must bring victory to the Allies. It is a -great deal that the Kaiser has asked from his men. - -And there is his much-vaunted military organisation. An American -friend of mine, who had means of forming an opinion, remarked to -me, "Yes, it is a huge and smooth-running machine, with delicate -adjustments. Like all such machines, if a few cogwheels stuck the -whole might racket itself to pieces." A cogwheel stuck at Liege, -another may stick before long, and it all depends on how the machine -can adjust itself. The lesson of history is ominous. The Prussians -of Jena and Auerstadt were men who had been swollen up by the -tradition of Frederick's prowess. Yet in a single day their defeat -was so great and their power of recuperation so slight that they -were utterly dispersed, and their country for seven years ceased to -exist as a factor in European politics. They have always been great -winners. They have not always been great in adversity. How will they -now stand this test if it should come their way? - - - * * * * * - - - - -III - -THE DEVIL'S DOCTRINE - - -I have been interesting and exasperating myself, during a most -untimely illness,[2] by working through a part of the literature of -German Imperial Expansion. I know that it is only a part, and yet -when I look at this array--Treitschke and Bernhardi, Schiemann and -Hasse, Bley, Sybel, "Gross-Deutschland" and "Germania Triumphans"--it -represents a considerable body of thought. And it is the literature -of the devil. Not one kindly sentiment, not one generous expression, -is to be found within it. It is informed with passionate cupidity for -the writer's country and unreasoning, indiscriminate hatred and -jealousy towards everything outside it--above all, towards the -British Empire. How could such a literature fail to bring about a -world-coalition against the country which produced it! Were there no -Germans who foresaw so obvious a result? The whole tendency of the -doctrine is that Germany should, artichoke fashion, dismember the -world. Not a word is said as to the world suddenly turning and -dismembering her. But was not that the only protection against such -monstrous teaching as these books contain? - - [2] September 10, 1914. - -You may object that these Imperialists were but a group of -monomaniacs and did not represent the nation. But the evidence is -the other way. They represented that part of the nation which counts -in international politics--they represented the Kaiser and his -circle, Von Tirpitz and the Navy men, Krupp, von Bohlen and the -armour-plated gang, the universities where such doctrines were -openly preached, the Army, the Junkers--all the noisy, aggressive -elements whose voice has sounded of late years as the voice of -Germany. All were infected by the same virus of madness which has -compelled Europe to get them once for all into a strait-jacket. - -The actual policy of State was conducted on the very lines of these -teachings, where the devilish doctrine that war should be for ever -lurking in a statesman's thoughts, that he should be prepared to -pounce upon a neighbour should it be in a state of weakness, and that -no treaty or moral consideration should stay his hand, is repeated -again and again as the very basis of all state-craft. At the time of -the Agadir crisis we have the German Minister of Foreign Affairs -openly admitting that he took the view of the fanatical Pan-Germans. -"I am as good a Pan-German as you," said Kiderlen-Waechter to the -representative of the League. Each was as good or as bad as the -other, for all were filled with the same heady, pernicious stuff -which has brought Europe to chaos. - -Where, now, is that "deep, patient Germany" of which Carlyle wrote? -Was ever a nation's soul so perverted, so fallen from grace! Read -this mass of bombast--learned bombast of professors, vulgar bombast -of Lokal-Anzeigers and the like, but always bombast. Wade through -the prophetic books with their assumption that Britain must perish -and Germany succeed her; consult the scolding articles and -lectures, so narrow, ungenerous, and boastful in their tone, so -utterly wanting in the deeper historical knowledge or true reading -of a rival's character; see the insane Pan-German maps, with their -partitions of Europe for the year 1915 or thereabouts; study the -lectures of the crazy professors, with their absurd assumption of -accurate knowledge and their extraordinary knack of getting every -fact as wrong as it could possibly be--take all this together, and -then say whether any nation has ever in this world been so foolishly -and utterly misled as have the Germans. - -I have alluded to their knack of getting everything wrong. It is -perfectly miraculous. One would not have thought it possible that -people could be _always_ wrong. So blinded have they been by hate -that everything was distorted. Never even by accident did they -stumble upon the truth. Let us take a list of their confident -assertions--things so self-evident that they were taken for granted -by the average journalist: - - "The British Army was worthless; its presence on the Continent, - even if it could come, was immaterial. - - "Britain herself was absolutely decadent. - - "Britain's commerce could be ruined by the German cruisers. - - "The United States would fall upon us if we were in trouble. - - "Canada and Australia were longing to break away from the Empire. - - "India loathed us. - - "The Boers were eager to reconquer South Africa. - - "The Empire was an artificial collection of States which must - fly to pieces at the first shock." - -This was the nonsense which grave Berlin Professors of History -ladled out to their receptive students. The sinister Treitschke, who -is one of half a dozen men who have torn down Imperial Germany just -as surely as Roon, Bismarck, and Moltke built it up, was the -arch-priest of this cult. Like Nietzsche, whose moral teaching was -the supplement to the Pan-German Material doctrine, Treitschke was -not, by extraction, a German at all. Both men were of the magnetic -Slav stock, dreamers of dreams and seers of visions--evil dreams and -dark visions for the land in which they dwelt. With their magic -flutes they have led the whole blind, foolish, conceited nation down -that easy, pleasant path which ends in this abyss. - -Nietzsche was, as his whole life proved, a man upon the edge of -insanity, who at last went obviously mad. Treitschke was a man of -great brain power, who had an _idee fixe_--a monomania about -Britain. So long as he raved in Berlin, Englishmen took no more -notice than they do of an anarchist howling in the park; for it is -the British theory that a man may say and think what he will so long -as he refrains from doing. But Treitschke was always dangerous. He -was magnetic, eloquent, enthusiastic, flashing wondrous visions of -the future before his listeners, varying in beauty, but always alike -in that they were seen across our prostrate body. Those who are in a -position to judge, like the late Professor Cramb, say that his -influence on young Germany could only be compared with that of -Carlyle and Macaulay united in Great Britain. And now, after his -death, his words have all sprung to deeds to the ruin of his own -country and to the deep misfortune of ours. He used to visit -England, this strange and sinister man, but as he was stone deaf his -bodily presence brought him little nearer to us. With useless ears -and jaundiced eyes he moved among us, returning to Berlin for the -new Semester as ignorant as he had left it, to rail against us once -again. He worked to harm us, and he has done so, but Lord! what is -the worst that he has done to us compared with the irretrievable -ruin that he has brought to his own country! He and Von Tirpitz, -Count Bieberstein, Maximilian Harden and a few more, to say nothing -of the head plotter of all--a fine Germany they will leave behind -them! Treitschke is dead, and so is Bieberstein, but a good many of -their dupes may live to see the day when Indian princes ride as -conquerors down Unter den Linden and the shattered remains of the -braggadocio statues of the Sieges Allee, that vulgar monument of -bastard Imperialism, will expiate the honoured ashes of Louvain. - -But the stupidity of it all--that is the consideration which comes -in a wave to submerge every other aspect of the matter. For consider -the situation: as lately as 1897 the European grouping was clear. -The antagonists were already ranged. Russia had definitely taken her -side with France; against them, equally definitely, were Germany and -Austria, whilst Italy clearly was on an orbit by herself. War sooner -or later was a certainty. Unattached, but with a distinct bias to -Germany on racial, religious, and other grounds, lay Great Britain, -the richest Power in the world, the ruler of the seas, and a nation -which was historically tenacious and unconquerable in war. Was it -not clear that the first interest of Germany was to conciliate such -a Power and to make sure that if she were not an ally she would at -least never be an enemy? No proposition could be clearer than that. -And yet cast your minds back and remember the treatment and bearing -of Germany towards Britain since that date--the floods of scorn, the -libels, the bitter attacks, the unconcealed determination to do her -harm. See how it has all ended, and how this atmosphere of hatred -has put a driving force into Great Britain which has astonished -ourselves. This is the end of all the clever Welt-Politik. Truly -_Quos Deus vult perdere_--the gods must have willed it much, for no -nation was ever madder. - -Where were the sane Germans? Why was there no protest from them? -Perhaps there was, but we never heard of it amid the beating of -those great Pan-German drums. Did the whole nation, for example, -really agree in so harebrained a scheme as the Bagdad Railway? Think -of the insanity of such a project as that. Here is a railway -representing very many millions of German capital which is built in -the heart of Asia Minor, as far removed from any sort of German -protection or effective control as if it were in the moon. The next -step, vaguely thought out, was that German settlers were to be -planted along the line of the railroad, but upon that being advanced -the Turks, who had smiled most amiably at the actual railway -construction, put down their slippers in the most emphatic manner. -The net result, therefore, would seem to be that Turkey holds a -hostage of a great many millions of German capital which, so long -as Germany behaves herself, may or may not return some interest; but -if Germany goes against Turkish wishes could at once be confiscated. -Apart from Turkey, Russia in the Caucasus, and England in North-West -India regard with a good deal of interested attention this singular -and helpless German railway which projects out into space. - -There is one phase of their doctrines which has, perhaps, received -less attention than it deserves. It will be found very fully treated -in Professor Usher's book on _Pan-Germanism_, which, coming from an -American authority who seems to have studied his subject very -thoroughly, has the merit of impartiality. This proposition is that -just as a treaty is only a scrap of paper, so also is a bond or -debenture, and that just as the highest interest of a nation may at -any moment override ordinary morality, the same vital urgency may -justify anything in the nature of repudiation of debt. This is not -to be done on account of inability to pay the debt; but through a -deliberate, cold-blooded plot to weaken the creditor by robbing him -of his property. - -Modern Germany has been largely built up by foreign capital. In war, -if Germany is conquered the debt necessarily holds good. But if -Germany wins, part of her reward of victory is the complete -repudiation of all debts. Thus the glorious or inglorious prize of -success would be, that all her vast industrial plant would be freed -from every debenture and start without an encumbrance, a free -present from the enemy. This example, they hope, would lead other -nations to do the same, and so still further ruin the finances of -England and France, which are the great lending nations of the -earth. They frankly admit that such a _coup_ would make it very -difficult for their nation to borrow money again, but on the other -hand, they would have made such an immense profit over the -transaction that they would be able to go on for many years without -any need of more capital. "To secure so stupendous a result as -this," said the American Professor, "is well worth the expenditure -of money for building a fleet. That money, so far as the German -nation is concerned, is merely invested in an enterprise from which -they confidently expect returns perhaps a hundred-fold." - -As to the morality of this transaction, the Professor, who has -certainly no anti-German bias, expresses their views very plainly. -It is the same as Frederick the Great's views as to the morality of -treaties which have descended with such fatal effects upon his -successor on the Prussian throne. Once admit such anti-social -theories and there is no end to their application. Here it is in the -domain of economics just as shameless as in that of politics. "Once -more," says the Professor, "the Germans hear around them our cries -against the morality of this procedure. The Germans refuse to -recognise as moral anything which jeopardises their national -existence." They are to be the judges of what these are, and if -repudiation of debt is considered to be one of them, then all debt -may be repudiated. They will not put their views into practice this -time because they will not be the victors, but when the -reconstruction of Germany begins and she comes once again as a -chastened borrower into the market-place of the world, it would be -well to have some assurance as to how far she retains these views -upon commercial morality. - -But I have visions of a really chastened Germany, of a Germany which -has sloughed all this wicked nonsense, which has found her better -self again, and which is once more that "deep, patient Germany" with -which I began this essay. She never can be now what she could so -easily have been. She could have continued indefinitely to extend -from Poland to the Vosges, one vast community, honoured by all for -industry and for learning, with a huge commerce, a happy, peaceful, -prosperous population, and a Colonial system which, if smaller than -that of nations which were centuries older in the field, would at -least be remarkable for so short a time. None of these things would -the world have grudged her, and in the future as in the past she -would have found in the British Dominions and in Great Britain -herself an entry for her products as free as if she were herself -part of the Empire. - -All this must be changed for the worse, and it is just that she -should suffer for her sins. The work of sixty years will be -destroyed. But will not the spiritual Germany be the stronger and -better? We cannot say. We can but hope and wait and wonder. What is -sure is that the real Germany, of whom Carlyle spoke, can never be -destroyed. Nor would we desire it. Our wrath is not against Germany, -but against that Krupp-Kaiser-Junker combination which has brought -her to such a deadly pass. - - - * * * * * - - - - -IV - -THE GREAT GERMAN PLOT - - -It will be a fascinating task for the historian of the immediate -future to work out the various strands of evidence which seem to be -independent and yet when followed up converge upon the central -purpose of a prearranged war for the late summer of 1914--a war in -which Germany should be the prime mover and instigator and Austria -the dupe and catspaw. - -Of course, there are some great facts patent to all the world. There -is the sudden rapid acceleration of German preparations for the last -two years, the great increase of the army with the colours, and the -special emergency tax which was to bring in fifty millions of money. -Looking back, we can see very clearly that these things were the run -before the jump. Germany at the moment of declaring war had -accumulated by processes extending over years all the money which -by borrowing or taxation she could raise, and she cannot really -expect the rest of the world to believe that it was a mere -coincidence that a crisis came along at that particular and -favourable moment. All the evidence tends to show that the -long-planned outbreak--the "letting-go" as it was called in -Germany--was carefully prepared for that particular date and that -the Bosnian assassinations had nothing whatever to do with the -matter. A pretext could very easily be found, as Bernhardi remarks, -and if the Crown Prince of Austria were still alive and well we -should none the less have found ourselves at death-grips with the -Kaiser over the Belgian infraction. - -There are a number of small indications which will have to be -investigated and collated by the inquiring chronicler. There is, for -example, the reception of guns for a merchant cruiser in a South -American port which must have been sent off not later than July 10, -three weeks before the crisis developed. There is the document of -this same date, July 10, found upon a German officer, which is said -to have censured him for not having answered some mobilisation form -on that day. Then there is the abnormal quantity of grain ordered in -Canada and America in May; and finally there is the receipt of -mobilisation warnings by Austrian reservists in South Africa, -advising them that they should return at a date which must place -their issue from Vienna in the first week of July. All these small -incidents show the absurdity of the German contention that at a -moment of profound peace some sort of surprise was sprung upon them. -There was, indeed, a surprise intended, but they were to be the -surprisers--though, indeed, I think their machinations were too -clumsy to succeed. They had retained the immorality but lost the -ability for that sudden tiger pounce which Frederick, in a moment of -profound peace, made upon Silesia. - -I fancy that every Chancellery in Europe suspected that something -was in the wind. It was surely not a mere coincidence that the grand -Fleet lay ready for action at Spithead and that the First Army Corps -was practising some very useful mobilisation exercises at -Aldershot. After all, our British Administration is not so -simple-minded as it sometimes seems. Indeed, that very simplicity -may at times be its most deadly mask. At one time of my life I was -much bruised in spirit over the ease with which foreigners were -shown over our arsenals and yards. Happening to meet the head of the -Naval Intelligence Department, I confided my trouble to him. It was -at a public banquet where conversation was restricted, but he turned -his head towards me, and his left eyelid flickered for an instant. -Since then I have never needed any reassurance upon the subject. - -But there is another matter which will insist on coming back into -one's thoughts when one reviews the events which preceded the war. I -was in Canada in June, and the country was much disturbed by the -fact that a shipload of Hindus had arrived at Vancouver, and had -endeavoured to land in the face of the anti-Asiatic immigration -laws. It struck me at the time as a most extraordinary incident, for -these Indians were not the usual Bengalee pedlars, but were Sikhs of -a proud and martial race. What could be their object in -endeavouring to land in Canada, when the climate of that country -would make it impossible for them to settle in it? It was a most -unnatural incident, and yet a most painful one, for the British -Government was placed in the terrible dilemma of either supporting -Canada against India or India against Canada. Could anything be -better calculated to start an agitation in one country or the other? -The thing was inexplicable at the time, but now one would wish to -know who paid for that ship and engineered the whole undertaking. I -believe it was one more move on Germany's world-wide board.[3] - - [3] Two months later, according to _The Times_, official - evidence of this was actually forthcoming.--A. C. D. - -In connection with the date at which the long-expected German war -was to break out, it is of interest now to remember some of the -conversations to which I listened three years ago, when I was a -competitor in the Anglo-German motor competition, called the Prince -Henry Tour. It was a very singular experience, and was itself not -without some political meaning, since it could hardly have been -chance that a German gunboat should appear at Agadir at the very -instant when the head of the German Navy was making himself -agreeable (and he can be exceedingly agreeable) to a number of -Britons, and a genial international atmosphere was being created by -the nature of the contest, which sent the whole fleet of seventy or -eighty cars on a tour of hospitality through both countries. I -refuse to believe that it was chance, and it was a remarkable -example of the detail to which the Germans can descend. By the rules -of the competition a German officer had to be present in each -British car and a British officer in each German one during the -whole three weeks, so as to check the marks of the driver. It was -certainly an interesting situation, since every car had its foreign -body within it, which had to be assimilated somehow with the -alternative of constant discomfort. Personally we were fortunate in -having a Rittmeister of Breslau Cuirassiers, with whom we were able -to form quite a friendship. Good luck to you, Count Carmer, and bad -luck to your regiment! To you also, little Captain Tuerck, -_Fregattencapitaen am dienst_, the best of luck, and ill betide -your cruiser! We found pleasant friends among the Germans, though -all were not equally fortunate, and I do not think that the net -result helped much towards an international entente. - -However, the point of my reminiscence is that on this tour I, being -at that time a champion of Anglo-German friendship, heard continual -discussions, chiefly on the side of British officers, several of -whom were experts on German matters, as to when the impending war -would be forced upon us. The date given was always 1914 or 1915. -When I asked why this particular year, the answer was that the -German preparations would be ready by then, and especially the -widening of the Kiel Canal, by which the newer and larger -battleships would be able to pass from the Baltic to the North Sea. -It says something for the foresight of these officers that this -widening was actually finished on June 24 of this year, and within -six weeks the whole of Europe was at war. I am bound to admit that -they saw deeper into the future than I did, and formed a truer -estimate of our real relations with our fellow-voyagers. "Surely -you feel more friendly to them now," said I at the end to one -distinguished officer. "All I want with them now is to fight them," -said he. We have all been forced to come round to his point of view. - -Yes, it was a deep, deep plot, a plot against the liberties of -Europe, extending over several years, planned out to the smallest -detail in the days of peace, developed by hordes of spies, prepared -for by every conceivable military, naval, and financial precaution, -and finally sprung upon us on a pretext which was no more the real -cause of war than any other excuse would have been which would serve -their turn by having some superficial plausibility. The real cause -of war was a universal national insanity infecting the whole German -race, but derived originally from a Prussian caste who inoculated -the others with their megalomania. - -This insanity was based upon the universal supposition that the -Germans were the Lord's chosen people, that in the words of Buy, -they were "the most cultured people, the best settlers, the best -warriors"--the best everything. Having got that idea thoroughly -infused into their very blood, the next step was clear. If they were -infinitely the best people living amidst such tribes as "the -barbarous Russians, the fickle French, the beastly Servians and -Belgians," to quote one of their recent papers, then why should they -not have all the best things in the world? If they were really the -most powerful, who could gainsay them? They need not do it all at -once, but two great national efforts would give them the whole of -unredeemed Germany, both shores of the Rhine down to the sea, the -German cantons of Switzerland, and, in conjunction with Austria, the -long road that leads to Salonica. All local causes and smaller -details sink into nothing compared with this huge national ambition -which was the real driving force at the back of this formidable -project. - -And it was a very formidable project. If such things could be -settled by mere figures and time-tables without any reference to the -spirit and soul of the nations, it might very well have succeeded. I -think that we are not indulging too far in national complacency if -we say that without the British army--that negligible factor--it -would for the time at least have succeeded. Had the Germans -accomplished their purpose of getting round the left wing of the -French, it is difficult to see how a debacle could have been -avoided, and it was our little army which stood in the pass and held -it until that danger was past. It is certain now that the huge sweep -of the German right had never been allowed for, that the French -troops in that quarter were second-line troops, and that it was our -great honour and good fortune to have dammed that raging torrent and -stopped the rush which must have swept everything before it until it -went roaring into Paris. And yet how many things might have -prevented our presence at the right place at the right time, and how -near we were to a glorious annihilation upon that dreadful day when -the artillery of five German army corps--eight hundred and thirty -guns in all--were concentrated upon Smith-Dorrien's exhausted men. -The success or failure of the great conspiracy hung upon the -over-matched British covering batteries upon that one critical -afternoon. It was the turning-point of the history of the world. - - - * * * * * - - - - -V - -THE "CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMY" - - -Early last year, in the course of some comments which I made upon -the slighting remarks about our Army by General von Bernhardi, I -observed, "It may be noted that General von Bernhardi has a poor -opinion of our troops. This need not trouble us. We are what we are, -and words will not alter it. From very early days our soldiers have -left their mark upon Continental warfare, and we have no reason to -think that we have declined from the manhood of our forefathers." -Since then he has returned to the attack. With that curious power of -coming after deep study to the absolutely diametrically wrong -conclusion which the German expert, political or military, appears -to possess, he says in his _War of To-day_, "The English Army, -trained more for purposes of show than for modern war," adding in -the same sentence a sneer at our "inferior Colonial levies." He will -have an opportunity of reconsidering his views presently upon the -fighting value of our over-sea troops, and surely so far as our own -are concerned he must already be making some interesting notes for -his next edition, or rather for the learned volume upon _Germany and -the Last War_ which will no doubt come from his pen. He is a man to -whom we might well raise a statue, for I am convinced that his -cynical confession of German policy has been worth at least an army -corps to this country. We may address to him John Davidson's lines -to his enemy-- - - "Unwilling friend, let not your spite abate, - Spur us with scorn, and strengthen us with hate." - -There is another German gentleman who must be thinking rather -furiously. He is a certain Colonel Gadke, who appeared officially at -Aldershot some years ago, was hospitably entreated, being shown all -that he desired to see, and on his return to Berlin published a -most depreciatory description of our forces. He found no good thing -in them. I have some recollection that General French alluded in a -public speech to this critic's remarks, and expressed a modest hope -that he and his men would some day have the opportunity of showing -how far they were deserved. Well, he has had his opportunity, and -Colonel Gadke, like so many other Germans, seems to have made a -miscalculation. - -An army which has preserved the absurd _Paradeschritt_, an exercise -which is painful to the bystander, as he feels that it is making -fools of brave men, must have a tendency to throw back to earlier -types. These Germans have been trained in peace and upon the theory -of books. In all that vast host there is hardly a man who has -previously stood at the wrong end of a loaded gun. They live on -traditions of close formations, vast cavalry charges, and other -things which will not fit into modern warfare. Braver men do not -exist, but it is the bravery of men who have been taught to lean -upon each other, and not the cold, self-contained, resourceful -bravery of the man who has learned to fight for his own hand. The -British have had the teachings of two recent campaigns fought with -modern weapons--that of the Tirah and of South Africa. Now that the -reserves have joined the colours there are few regiments which have -not a fair sprinkling of veterans from these wars in their ranks. -The Pathan and the Boer have been their instructors in something -more practical than those Imperial Grand Manoeuvres where the -all-highest played with his puppets in such a fashion that one of -his generals remarked that the chief practical difficulty of a -campaign so conducted would be the disposal of the dead. - -Boers and Pathans have been hard masters, and have given many a slap -to their admiring pupils, but the lesson has been learned. It was -not show troops, General, who, with two corps, held five of your -best day after day from Mons to Compiegne. It is no reproach to -your valour: but you were up against men who were equally brave and -knew a great deal more of the game. This must begin to break upon -you, and will surely grow clearer as the days go by. We shall often -in the future take the knock as well as give it, but you will not -say that we have a show army if you live to chronicle this war, nor -will your Imperial master be proud of the adjective which he has -demeaned himself in using before his troops had learned their -lesson. - -The fact is that the German army, with all its great traditions, has -been petrifying for many years back. They never learned the lesson -of South Africa. It was not for want of having it expounded to them, -for their military attache--"'im with the spatchcock on 'is -'elmet," as I heard him described by a British orderly--missed -nothing of what occurred, as is evident from their official history -of the war. And yet they missed it, and with it all those ideas of -individual efficiency and elastic independent formations, which are -the essence of modern soldiering. Their own more liberal thinkers -were aware of it. Here are the words which were put into the mouth -of Guentz, the representative of the younger school, in Beyerlein's -famous novel: - -"The organisation of the German army rested upon foundations which -had been laid a hundred years ago. Since the great war they had -never seriously been put to the proof, and during the last three -decades they had only been altered in the most trifling details. In -three long decades! And in one of those decades the world at large -had advanced as much as in the previous century. - -"Instead of turning this highly developed intelligence to good -account, they bound it hand and foot on the rack of an everlasting -drill which could not have been more soullessly mechanical in the -days of Frederick. It held them together as an iron hoop holds -together a cask the dry staves of which would fall asunder at the -first kick." - -Lord Roberts has said that if ten points represent the complete -soldier, eight should stand for his efficiency as a shot. The German -maxim has rather been that eight should stand for his efficiency as -a drilled marionette. It has been reckoned that about 200 books a -year appear in Germany upon military affairs, against about 20 in -Britain. And yet after all this expert debate the essential point of -all seems to have been missed--that in the end everything depends -upon the man behind the gun, upon his hitting his opponent and upon -his taking cover so as to avoid being hit himself. - -After all the efforts of the General Staff the result when shown -upon the field of battle has filled our men with a mixture of -admiration and contempt--contempt for the absurd tactics, admiration -for the poor devils who struggle on in spite of them. Listen to the -voices of the men who are the real experts. Says a Lincolnshire -sergeant, "They were in solid square blocks, and we couldn't help -hitting them." Says Private Tait (2nd Essex), "Their rifle shooting -is rotten. I don't believe they could hit a haystack at 100 yards." -"They are rotten shots with their rifles," says an Oldham private. -"They advance in close column, and you simply can't help hitting -them," writes a Gordon Highlander. "You would have thought it was a -big crowd streaming out from a Cup-tie," says Private Whitaker of -the Guards. "It was like a farmer's machine cutting grass," so it -seemed to Private Hawkins of the Coldstreams. "No damned good as -riflemen," says a Connemara boy. "You couldn't help hitting them. -As to their rifle fire, it was useless." "They shoot from the hip, -and don't seem to aim at anything in particular." - -These are the opinions of the practical men upon the field of -battle. Surely a poor result from the 200 volumes a year, and all -the weighty labours of the General Staff! "Artillery nearly as good -as our own, rifle fire beneath contempt," that is the verdict. How -will the well-taught _Paradeschritt_ avail them when it comes to a -stricken field? - -But let it not seem as if this were meant for disparagement. We -should be sinking to the Kaiser's level if we answered his -"contemptible little army" by pretending that his own troops are -anything but a very formidable and big army. They are formidable in -numbers, formidable, too, in their patriotic devotion, in their -native courage, and in the possession of such material, such great -cannon, aircraft, machine guns, and armoured cars, as none of the -Allies can match. They have every advantage which a nation would be -expected to have when it has known that war was a certainty, while -others have only treated it as a possibility. There is a minuteness -and earnestness of preparation which are only possible for an -assured event. But the fact remains, and it will only be brought out -more clearly by the Emperor's unchivalrous phrase, that in every arm -the British have already shown themselves to be the better troops. -Had he the Froissart spirit within him he would rather have said: -"You have to-day a task which is worthy of you. You are faced by an -army which has a high repute and a great history. There is real -glory to be won to-day." Had he said this, then, win or lose, he -would not have needed to be ashamed of his own words--the words of -an ungenerous spirit. - -It is a very strange thing how German critics have taken for granted -that the British Army had deteriorated, while the opinion of all -those who were in close touch with it was that it was never so good. -Even some of the French experts made the same mistake, and General -Bonnat counselled his countrymen not to rely upon it, since "it -would take refuge amid its islands at the first reverse." One would -think that the causes which make for its predominance were obvious. -Apart from any question of national spirit or energy, there is the -all-important fact that the men are there of their own free will, an -advantage which I trust that we shall never be compelled to -surrender. Again, the men are of longer service in every arm, and -they have far more opportunities of actual fighting than come to any -other force. Finally, they are divided into regiments, with -centuries of military glory streaming from their banners, which -carry on a mighty tradition. The very words the Guards, the Rifles, -the Connaught Rangers, the Buffs, the Scots Greys, the Gordons, -sound like bugle-calls. How could an army be anything but dangerous -which had such units in its line of battle? - -And yet there remains the fact that both enemies and friends are -surprised at our efficiency. This is no new phenomenon. Again and -again in the course of history the British Armies have had to win -once more the reputation which had been forgotten. Continentals have -always begun by refusing to take them seriously. Napoleon, who had -never met them in battle, imagined that their unbroken success was -due to some weakness in his marshals rather than to any excellence -of the troops. "At last I have them, these English," he exclaimed, -as he gazed at the thin red line at Waterloo. "At last they have me, -these English," may have been his thought that evening as he spurred -his horse out of the debacle. Foy warned him of the truth. "The -British infantry is the devil," said he. "You think so because you -were beaten by them," cried Napoleon. Like von Kluck or von Kluck's -master, he had something to learn. - -Why this continual depreciation? It may be that the world pays so -much attention to our excellent right arm that it cannot give us -credit for having a very serviceable left as well. Or it may be that -they take seriously those jeremiads over our decay which are -characteristic of our people, and very especially of many of our -military thinkers. I have never been able to understand why they -should be of so pessimistic a turn of mind, unless it be a sort of -exaltation of that grumbling which has always been the privilege of -the old soldier. Croker narrates how he met Wellington in his -latter years, and how the Iron Duke told him that he was glad that -he was so old, as he would not live to see the dreadful military -misfortunes which were about to come to his country. Looking back we -can see no reasons for such pessimism as this. Above all, the old -soldier can never make any allowance for the latent powers which lie -in civilian patriotism and valour. Only a year ago I had a long -conversation with a well-known British General, in which he asserted -with great warmth that in case of an Anglo-German war with France -involved the British public would never allow a trained soldier to -leave these islands. He is at the front himself and doing such good -work that he has little time for reminiscence, but when he has he -must admit that he underrated the nerve of his countrymen. - -And yet under the pessimism of such men as he there is a curious -contradictory assurance that there are no troops like our own. The -late Lord Goschen used to tell a story of a letter that he had from -a captain in the Navy at the time when he was First Lord. This -captain's ship was lying alongside a foreign cruiser in some port, -and he compared in his report the powers of the two vessels. Lord -Goschen said that his heart sank as he read the long catalogue of -points in which the British ship was inferior--guns, armour, -speed--until he came to the postscript, which was: "I think I could -take her in twenty minutes." - -With all the grumbling of our old soldiers there is always some -reservation of the sort at the end of it. Of course those who are -familiar with our ways of getting things done would understand that -a good deal of the croaking is a means of getting our little army -increased, or at least preventing its being diminished. But whatever -the cause, the result has been the impression abroad of a -"contemptible little army." Whatever surprise in the shape of -17-inch howitzers or 900-foot Zeppelins the Kaiser may have for us, -it is a safe prophecy that it will be a small matter compared to -that which Sir John French and his men will be to him. - -But above all I look forward to the development of our mounted -riflemen. This I say in no disparagement of our cavalry, who have -done so magnificently. But the mounted rifleman is a peculiarly -British product--British and American--with a fresh edge upon it -from South Africa. I am most curious to see what a division of these -fellows will make of the Uhlans. It is good to see that already the -old banners are in the wind--Lovat's Horse, Scottish Horse, King -Edward's Horse, and the rest. All that cavalry can do will surely be -done by our cavalry. But I have always held, and I still very -strongly hold, that the mounted rifleman has it in him to alter our -whole conception of warfare, as the mounted archer did in his day; -and now in this very war will be his first great chance upon a large -scale. Ten thousand well-mounted, well-trained riflemen, young -officers to lead them, all broad Germany with its towns, its -railways, and its magazines before them--there lies one more -surprise for the doctrinaires of Berlin. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VI - -A POLICY OF MURDER - - -When one writes with a hot heart upon events which are still recent -one is apt to lose one's sense of proportion. At every step one -should check oneself by the reflection as to how this may appear ten -years hence, and how far events which seem shocking and abnormal may -prove themselves to be a necessary accompaniment of every condition -of war. But a time has now come when in cold blood, with every -possible restraint, one is justified in saying that since the most -barbarous campaigns of Alva in the Lowlands, or the excesses of the -Thirty Years' War, there has been no such deliberate policy of -murder as has been adopted in this struggle by the German forces. -This is the more terrible since these forces are not, like those of -Alva, Parma, or Tilly, bands of turbulent and mercenary soldiers, -but they are the nation itself, and their deeds are condoned or even -applauded by the entire national Press. It is not on the chiefs of -the army that the whole guilt of this terrible crime must rest, but -it is upon the whole German nation, which for generations to come -must stand condemned before the civilised world for this reversion -to those barbarous practices from which Christianity, civilisation, -and chivalry had gradually rescued the human race. They may, and do, -plead the excuse that they are "earnest" in war, but all nations are -earnest in war, which is the most desperately earnest thing of which -we have any knowledge. How earnest we are will be shown when the -question of endurance begins to tell. But no earnestness can condone -the crime of the nation which deliberately breaks those laws which -have been endorsed by the common consent of humanity. - -War may have a beautiful as well as a terrible side, and be full of -touches of human sympathy and restraint which mitigate its -unavoidable horror. Such have been the characteristics always of the -secular wars between the British and the French. From the old -glittering days of knighthood, with their high and gallant courtesy, -through the eighteenth-century campaigns where the debonair guards -of France and England exchanged salutations before their volleys, -down to the last great Napoleonic struggle, the tradition of -chivalry has always survived. We read how in the Peninsula the -pickets of the two armies, each of them as earnest as any Germans, -would exchange courtesies, how they would shout warnings to each -other to fall back when an advance in force was taking place, and -how, to prevent the destruction of an ancient bridge, the British -promised not to use it on condition that the French would forgo its -destruction--an agreement faithfully kept upon either side. Could -one imagine Germans making war in such a spirit as this? Think of -that old French bridge, and then think of the University of Louvain -and the Cathedral of Rheims. What a gap between them--the gap that -separates civilisation from the savage! - -Let us take a few of the points which, when focussed together, show -how the Germans have degraded warfare--a degradation which affects -not only the Allies at present, but the whole future of the world, -since if such examples were followed the entire human race would, -each in turn, become the sufferers. Take the very first incident of -the war, the mine-laying by the _Koenigin Luise_. Here was a -vessel, which was obviously made ready with freshly charged mines -some time before there was any question of a general European war, -which was sent forth in time of peace, and which, on receipt of a -wireless message, began to spawn its hellish cargo across the North -Sea at points 50 miles from land in the track of all neutral -merchant shipping. There was the keynote of German tactics struck at -the first possible instant. So promiscuous was the effect that it -was a mere chance which prevented the vessel which bore the German -Ambassador from being destroyed by a German mine. From first to last -some hundreds of people have lost their lives on this tract of sea, -some of them harmless British trawlers, but the greater number -sailors of Danish and Dutch vessels pursuing their commerce as they -had every right to do. It was the first move in a consistent policy -of murder. - -Leaving the sea, let us turn to the air. Can any possible term save -a policy of murder be applied to the use of aircraft by the Germans? -It has always been a principle of warfare that unfortified towns -should not be bombarded. So closely has it been followed by the -British that one of our aviators, flying over Cologne in search of a -Zeppelin shed, refrained from dropping a bomb in an uncertain light, -even though Cologne is a fortress, lest the innocent should suffer. -What is to be said, then, for the continual use of bombs by the -Germans, which have usually been wasted in the destruction of cats -or dogs, but which have occasionally torn to pieces some woman or -child? If bombs were dropped on the forts of Paris as part of a -scheme for reducing the place, then nothing could be said in -objection, but how are we to describe the action of men who fly over -a crowded city dropping bombs promiscuously which can have no -military effect whatever, and are entirely aimed at the destruction -of innocent civilians? These men have been obliging enough to drop -their cards as well as their bombs on several occasions. I see no -reason why these should not be used in evidence against them, or why -they should not be hanged as murderers when they fall into the hands -of the Allies. The policy is idiotic from a military point of view; -one could conceive nothing which would stimulate and harden national -resistance more surely than such petty irritations. But it is a -murderous innovation in the laws of war, and unless it is sternly -repressed it will establish a most sinister precedent for the -future. - -As to the treatment of Belgium, what has it been but murder, murder -all the way? From the first days at Vise, when it was officially -stated that an example of "frightfulness" was desired, until the -present moment, when the terrified population has rushed from the -country and thrown itself upon the charity and protection of its -neighbours, there has been no break in the record. Compare the story -with that of the occupation of the South of France by Wellington in -1813, when no one was injured, nothing was taken without full -payment, and the villagers fraternised with the troops. What a -relapse of civilisation is here! From Vise to Louvain, Louvain to -Aerschott, Aerschott to Malines and Termonde, the policy of murder -never fails. - -It is said that more civilians than soldiers have fallen in Belgium. -Peruse the horrible accounts taken by the Belgian Commission, who -took evidence in the most careful and conscientious fashion. Study -the accounts of that dreadful night in Louvain which can only be -equalled by the Spanish Fury of Antwerp. Read the account of the -wife of the burgomaster of Aerschott, with its heart-rending -description of how her lame son, aged sixteen, was kicked along to -his death by an aide-de-camp. It is all so vile, so brutally -murderous that one can hardly realise that one is reading the -incidents of a modern campaign conducted by one of the leading -nations in Europe. - -Do you imagine that the thing has been exaggerated? Far from it--the -volume of crime has not yet been appreciated. Have not many Germans -unwittingly testified to what they have seen and done? Only last -week we had the journal of one of them, an officer whose service had -been almost entirely in France and removed from the crime centres of -Belgium. Yet were ever such entries in the diary of a civilised -soldier? "Our men behaved like regular Vandals." "We shot the whole -lot" (these were villagers). "They were drawn up in three ranks. The -same shot did for three at a time." "In the evening we set fire to -the village. The priest and some of the inhabitants were shot." "The -villages all round were burning." "The villages were burned and the -inhabitants shot." "At Leppe apparently two hundred men were shot. -There must have been some innocent men among them." "In the future -we shall have to hold an inquiry into their guilt instead of merely -shooting them." "The Vandals themselves could not have done more -damage. The place is a disgrace to our army." So the journal runs on -with its tale of infamy. It is an infamy so shameless that even in -the German record the story is perpetuated of how a French lad was -murdered because he refused to answer certain questions. To such a -depth of degradation has Prussia brought the standard of warfare. - -And now, as the appetite for blood grows ever stronger--and nothing -waxes more fast--we have stories of the treatment of prisoners. Here -is a point where our attention should be most concentrated and our -action most prompt. It is the just duty which we owe to our own -brave soldiers. At present the instances are isolated, and we will -hope that they do not represent any general condition. But the -stories come from sure sources. There is the account of the -brutality which culminated in the death of the gallant motor-cyclist -Pearson, the son of Lord Cowdray. There is the horrible story in a -responsible Dutch paper, told by an eye-witness, of the torture of -three British wounded prisoners in Landen Station on October 9. - -The story carries conviction by its detail. Finally, there are the -disquieting remarks of German soldiers, repeated by this same -witness, as to the British prisoners whom they had shot. The whole -lesson of history is that when troops are allowed to start murder -one can never say how or when it will stop. It may no longer be part -of a deliberate, calculated policy of murder by the German -Government. But it has undoubtedly been so in the past, and we -cannot say when it will end. Such incidents will, I fear, make peace -an impossibility in our generation, for whatever statesmen may write -upon paper can never affect the deep and bitter resentment which a -war so conducted must leave behind it. - -Other German characteristics we can ignore. The consistent, -systematic lying of the German Press, or the grotesque blasphemies -of the Kaiser, can be met by us with contemptuous tolerance. After -all, what is is, and neither falsehood nor bombast will alter it. -But this policy of murder deeply affects not only ourselves but the -whole framework of civilisation so slowly and painfully built -upwards by the human race. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VII - -MADNESS - - -We have all, I suppose, read and marvelled at the wonderful German -"song of hate." This has been so much admired over the water that -Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria (who had just stated his bitter hatred of -us in a prose army order) distributed copies of the verses to his -Bavarians as a stimulant in their long, unsuccessful tussle with our -troops at Ypres. In case the reader has forgotten its flavour, I -append a typical verse: - - "We will never forgo our hate. - We have all but a single hate. - We love as one, we hate as one, - We have one foe and one alone-- - ENGLAND." - -This sort of thing is, it must be admitted, very painful and odious. -It fills us with a mixture of pity and disgust, and we feel as if, -instead of a man, we were really fighting with a furious, screaming -woman. Germany used to be a very great nation, mentally and morally -as well as in material ways, and many of us, even while we fight -her, are honestly pained by the depths of degradation into which she -has fallen. This shrill scream of hate and constant frenzied ranting -against Great Britain may reach its highest note in this poem, but -we know that it pervades the whole Press and every class of national -thought. It is deliberately fed by lying journals, which publish -bogus letters describing the imaginary sufferings of German -prisoners, and also by the Government itself, which upon receiving a -Socialist report partly favourable to Britain, excised those -passages and circulated the rest as a complete document, so as to -give the idea that it was wholly condemnatory. Wherever we touch -Germany in its present phase, whether it be the Overlord himself -with his megalomaniac messages, the princes with their looting of -chateaux, the Foreign Office with its trick of stealing American -passports for the use of German spies, the army with its absolute -brutality, the navy with its tactics of mine-laying in neutral -waters, the Press with its grotesque concoctions, the artists with -their pictures, which are so base that the decent Germans have -themselves at last rebelled against them, or the business men with -their assertion that there is less economic disturbance in Germany -than in Great Britain--wherever, I say, you touch them you come -always upon what is odious and deceitful. A long century will have -passed before Germany can wash her hands clean from murder, or purge -from her spirit the shadow of this evil time. - -If the words of one humble individual could reach across the seas, -there are two things upon which I should wish to speak earnestly to -a German: the one, our own character, the other, the future which he -is deliberately preparing for the Fatherland which he loves. Our -papers do get over there, even as theirs come over here, so one may -hope it is not impossible that some German may give a thought to -what I say, if he is not so bemused by the atmosphere of lies in -which his Press has enveloped him that he cannot recognise cold -truth when he sees it. - -First as to ourselves: we have never been a nation who fought with -hatred. It is our ideal to fight in a sporting spirit. It is not -that we are less in earnest, but it is that the sporting spirit -itself is a thing very largely evolved by us and is a natural -expression of our character. We fight as hard as we can, and we like -and admire those who fight hard against us so long as they keep -within the rules of the game. Let me take an obvious example. One -German has done us more harm than any other in this war. He is -Captain von Mueller of the _Emden_, whose depredations represent -the cost of a battleship. Yet an honest sigh of relief went up from -us all when we learned that he had not perished with his ship, and -if he walked down Fleet Street to-day he would be cheered by the -crowd from end to end. Why? Because almost alone among Germans he -has played the game as it should be played. It is true that -everything that he did was illegal. He had no right to burn -uncondemned prizes, and a purist could claim that he was a pirate. -But we recognised the practical difficulties of his position; we -felt that under the circumstances he had acted like a gentleman, and -we freely forgave him any harm that he had done us. With this -example before you, my German reader, you cannot say that it is -national hatred when we denounce your murderers and brigands in -Belgium. If they, too, had acted as gentlemen, we should have felt -towards them as to von Mueller. - -If you look back in British history, you will find that this absence -of hatred has always been characteristic of us. When Soult came to -London after the Napoleonic wars, he was cheered through the City. -After the Boer War, Botha, de Wet, and Delarey had a magnificent -reception. We did not know that one of them was destined to prove a -despicable and perjured traitor. They had been good fighters, the -fight was done, we had shaken hands--and we cheered them. All -British prize-fights ended with the shaking of hands. Though the men -could no longer see each other, they were led up and their hands -were joined. When a combatant refuses to do this, it has always been -looked upon as unmanly, and we say that bad blood has been left -behind. So in war we have always wished to fight to a finish and -then be friends, whether we had won or lost. - -Now, this is just what we should wish to do with Germany, and it is -what Germany is rapidly making impossible. She has, in our opinion, -fought a brave but a thoroughly foul fight. And now she uses every -means to excite a bitter hatred which shall survive the war. The -Briton is tolerant and easy-going in times of peace--too careless, -perhaps, of the opinion of other nations. But at present he is in a -most alert and receptive mood, noting and remembering very carefully -every word that comes to him as to the temper of the German people -and the prospects of the future. He is by no means disposed to pass -over all these announcements of permanent hatred. On the contrary, -he is evidently beginning, for the first time since Napoleon's era, -to show something approaching to hatred in return. He--and "he" -stands for every Briton across the seas as well as for the men of -the Islands--makes a practical note of it all, and it will not be -forgotten, but will certainly bear very definite fruits. The -national thoughts do not come forth in wild poems of hate, but they -none the less are gloomy and resentful, with the deep, steady -resentment of a nation which is slow to anger. - -And now, my problematical German reader, I want you to realise what -this is going to mean to you after the war. Whether you win or -lose--and we have our own very certain opinion as to which it will -be--Germany will still remain as a great independent State. She may -be a little trimmed at the edges, and she may also find herself with -some awkward liabilities; but none the less she will be a great -kingdom or republic--as the Fates may will. She will turn her hand -to trade and try to build up her fortunes once more--for even if we -suppose her to be the victor, she still cannot live for ever on -plunder, and must turn herself to honest trade, while if she loses -her trade will be more precious to her than ever. But what will her -position be when that time has come? - -It will be appalling. No other word can express it. No legislation -will be needed to keep German goods out of the whole British -Empire, which means more than a quarter of the globe. Anything with -that mark might as well have a visible cholera bacillus upon it for -the chance it will have of being handled after this war. That is -already certain, and it is the direct outcome of the madness which -has possessed Germany in her frantic outcry of hatred. What chance -they have of business with France, Russia, or Japan they know best -themselves; but the British Empire, with that wide trade toleration -which has long been her policy (and for which she has had so little -gratitude), would have speedily forgiven Germany and opened her -markets to her. Now it is not for many a long year that this can be -so--not on account of the war, but on account of the bitterness -which Germany has gone out of her way to import into the contest. It -is idle to say that in that case we should lose our exports to -Germany. Even if it were so, it would not in the least affect the -sentiments of the retail sellers and buyers in this country, whose -demands regulate the wholesale trade. But as a matter of fact, what -Germany buys from the British Empire is the coal, wool, etc., which -are the raw materials of her industry, with which she cannot -possibly dispense. - -But the pity of it all! We might have had a straight, honest fight, -and at the end of it we might have conceded that the German people -had been innocently misled, by their military caste and their Press, -into the idea that their country was being attacked, and so were -themselves guiltless in the matter. They, on their side, might at -last have understood that Britain had been placed in such a position -by her guarantees to Belgium that it was absolutely impossible that -she could stand out of the war. With these mutual concessions, some -sort of friendship could possibly have been restored, for it is no -one's interest, and least of all ours, that the keystone should be -knocked right out of the European arch. But all this has been -rendered impossible by these hysterical screamers of hate, and by -those methods of murder on land, sea, and in air with which the war -has been conducted. Hate is a very catching emotion, and when it -translates itself into action it soon glows on either side of the -North Sea. With neither race, to use Carlyle's simile, does it blaze -like the quick-flaming stubble, but with both it will smoulder like -the slow red peat. Are there not even now strong, sane men in -Germany who can tell these madmen what they are sowing for the next -generation and the one that comes after it? It is not that we ask -them to abate the resistance of their country. It is understood that -this is a fight to the end. That is what we desire. But let them -stand up and fight without reviling; let them give punishment -without malice and receive it without wincing; let their press cease -from lying, and their prophets from preaching hatred--then, lose or -win, there may still be some chance for their future. But, alas! the -mischief is already, I fear, too deep. When the seeds are sown, it -is hard to check the harvest. Let the impartial critic consider von -Mueller of the _Emden_, and then, having surveyed our Press and -that of Germany, let him say with whom lies the blame. - - - * * * * * - - - - -VIII - -GREAT BRITAIN AND THE NEXT WAR[4] - - [4] Published, _Fortnightly Review_, February 1913. - - - This essay is of some interest, as it was written two - years before the war, and was one of the first attempts - to make the public realise the importance of Bernhardi's - notorious book. The author follows it by an unpublished - essay called "Afterthoughts," in which he examines how - far his reading of the future has been justified by the - event. - -I am a member of the Anglo-German Society for the improvement of the -relations between the two countries, and I have never seriously -believed in the German menace. Frequently I have found myself alone -in a company of educated Englishmen in my opinion that it was -non-existent--or at worst greatly exaggerated. This conclusion was -formed upon two grounds. The first was, that I knew it to be -impossible that we could attack Germany save in the face of -monstrous provocation. By the conditions of our government, even if -those in high places desired to do such a thing, it was utterly -impracticable, for a foreign war could not be successfully carried -on by Great Britain unless the overwhelming majority of the people -approved of it. Our foreign, like our home, politics are governed by -the vote of the proletariat. It would be impossible to wage an -aggressive war against any Power if the public were not convinced of -its justice and necessity. For this reason we could not attack -Germany. On the other hand, it seemed to be equally unthinkable that -Germany should attack us. One fails to see what she could possibly -hope to gain by such a proceeding. She had enemies already upon her -eastern and western frontiers, and it was surely unlikely that she -would go out of her way to pick a quarrel with the powerful British -Empire. If she made war and lost it, her commerce would be set back -and her rising colonial empire destroyed. If she won it, it was -difficult to see where she could hope for the spoils. We could not -give her greater facilities for trade than she has already. We could -not give her habitable white colonies, for she would find it -impossible to take possession of them in the face of the opposition -of the inhabitants. An indemnity she could never force from us. Some -coaling stations and possibly some tropical colonies, of which -latter she already possesses abundance, were the most that she could -hope for. Would such a prize as that be worth the risk attending -such a war? To me it seemed that there could be only one answer to -such a question. - -It still seems to me that this reasoning is sound. I still think -that it would be an insane action for Germany deliberately to plan -an attack upon Great Britain. But unfortunately an attack delivered -from mistaken motives is as damaging as any other attack, and the -mischief is done before the insanity of it is realised. If I now -believe such an attack to be possible, and it may be imminent, it is -because I have been studying _Germany and the Next War_, by General -von Bernhardi. - -A book written by such a man cannot be set aside as the mere ravings -of a Pan-Germanic Anglophobe. So far as appears, he is not a -Pan-German at all. There is no allusion to that Germania _irredente_ -which is the dream of that party. He is a man of note, and the first -living authority in Germany upon some matters of military science. -Does he carry the same weight when he writes of international -politics and the actual use of those mighty forces which he has -helped to form? We will hope not. But when a man speaks with the -highest authority upon one subject, his voice cannot be entirely -disregarded upon a kindred one. Besides, he continually labours, and -with success, to make the reader understand that he is the direct -modern disciple of that main German line of thought which traces -from Frederick through Bismarck to the present day. He moves in -circles which actually control the actions of their country in a -manner to which we have no equivalent. For all these reasons, his -views cannot be lightly set aside, and should be most carefully -studied by Britons. We know that we have no wish for war, and desire -only to be left alone. Unfortunately, it takes two to make peace, -even as it takes two to make a quarrel. There is a very clear -statement here that the quarrel is imminent, and that we must think -of the means, military, naval, and financial, by which we may meet -it. Since von Bernhardi's book may not be accessible to every reader -of this article, I will begin by giving some idea of the situation -as it appears to him, and of the course of action which he -foreshadows and recommends. - -He begins his argument by the uncompromising statement that war is a -good thing in itself. All advance is founded upon struggle. Each -nation has a right, and indeed a duty, to use violence where its -interests are concerned and there is a tolerable hope of success. As -to the obvious objection that such a doctrine bears no possible -relation to Christianity, he is not prepared to admit the validity -of the Christian ethics in international practice. In an ingenious -passage he even attempts to bring the sanction of Christianity to -support his bellicose views. He says:-- - - "Again, from the Christian standpoint, we arrive at the - same conclusion. Christian morality is based, indeed, on - the law of love. 'Love God above all things, and thy - neighbour as thyself.' This law can claim no significance - for the relations of one country to another, since its - application to politics would lead to a conflict of - duties. The love which a man showed to another country as - such would imply a want of love for his own countrymen. - Such a system of politics must inevitably lead men - astray. Christian morality is personal and social, and in - its nature cannot be political. Its object is to promote - morality of the individual, in order to strengthen him to - work unselfishly in the interests of the community. It - tells us to love our individual enemies, but does not - remove the conception of enmity." - -Having thus established the general thesis that a nation should not -hesitate to declare war where a material advantage may be the -reward, he sets out very clearly what are some of the causes for war -which Germany can see before her. The following passages throw a -light upon them:-- - - "Strong, healthy, and flourishing nations increase in - numbers. From a given moment they require a continual - expansion of their frontiers, they require new territory - for the accommodation of their surplus population. Since - almost every part of the globe is inhabited, new - territory must, as a rule, be obtained at the cost of its - possessors--that is to say, by conquest, which thus - becomes a law of necessity." - -Again:-- - - "Lastly, in all times the right of conquest by war has - been admitted. It may be that a growing people cannot win - colonies from uncivilised races, and yet the State wishes - to retain the surplus population which the mother country - can no longer feed. Then the only course left is to - acquire the necessary territory by war. Thus the instinct - of self-preservation leads inevitably to war, and the - conquest of foreign soil. It is not the possessor, but - the victor, who then has the right." - -And he concludes:-- - - "Arbitration treaties must be peculiarly detrimental to - an aspiring people, which has not yet reached its - political and national zenith, and is bent on expanding - its power in order to play its part honourably in the - civilised world." - -And adds:-- - - "It must be borne in mind that a peaceful decision by an - arbitration court can never replace in its effects and - consequences a warlike decision, even as regards the - State in whose favour it is pronounced." - -To many of us it would seem a legitimate extension of the author's -argument if we said that it would have a virile and bracing effect -upon our characters if, when we had a grievance against our -neighbour, we refrained from taking it into the law courts, but -contented ourselves with breaking his head with a club. However, we -are concerned here not so much with the validity of the German -general's arguments as with their practical application so far as -they affect ourselves. - -Brushing aside the peace advocates, the writer continues: "To such -views, the off-spring of a false humanity, the clear and definite -answer must be made that, under certain circumstances, it is not -only the right but the moral and political duty of the statesman to -bring about a war. The acts of the State cannot be judged by the -standard of individual morality." He quotes Treitschke: "The -Christian duty of sacrifice for something higher does not exist for -the State, for there is nothing higher than it in the world's -history--consequently it cannot sacrifice itself to something -higher." One would have hoped that a noble ideal and a moral purpose -were something higher, but it would be vain to claim that any -country, ourselves included, have ever yet lived fully up to the -doctrine. And yet some conscious striving, however imperfect, is -surely better than such a deliberate negation. - -Having laid down these general propositions of the value of war, and -of the non-existence of international moral obligations, General von -Bernhardi then proceeds to consider very fully the general position -of Germany and the practical application of those doctrines. Within -the limits of this essay I can only give a general survey of the -situation as seen by him. War is necessary for Germany. It should be -waged as soon as is feasible, as certain factors in the situation -tell in favour of her enemies. The chief of these factors are the -reconstruction of the Russian fleet, which will be accomplished -within a few years, and the preparation of a French native colonial -force, which would be available for European hostilities. This also, -though already undertaken, will take some years to perfect. -Therefore, the immediate future is Germany's best opportunity. - -In this war Germany places small confidence in Italy as an ally, -since her interests are largely divergent, but she assumes complete -solidarity with Austria. Austria and Germany have to reckon with -France and Russia. Russia is slow in her movements, and Germany, -with her rapid mobilisation, should be able to throw herself upon -France without fear of her rear. Should she win a brilliant victory -at the outset, Russia might refuse to compromise herself at all, -especially if the quarrel could be so arranged that it would seem as -if France had been the aggressor. Before the slow Slavonic mind had -quite understood the situation and set her unwieldy strength in -motion, her ally might be struck down, and she face to face with the -two Germanic Powers, which would be more than a match for her. - -Of the German army, which is to be the instrument of this -world-drama, General von Bernhardi expresses the highest opinion: -"The spirit which animates the troops, the ardour of attack, the -heroism, the loyalty which prevail among them, justify the highest -expectations. I am certain that if they are soon to be summoned to -arms their exploits will astonish the world, provided only that they -are led with skill and determination." How their "ardour of attack" -has been tested it is difficult to see, but the world will probably -agree that the German army is a most formidable force. When he goes -on, however, to express the opinion that they would certainly -overcome the French, the two armies being approximately of the same -strength, it is not so easy to follow his argument. It is possible -that even so high an authority as General von Bernhardi has not -entirely appreciated how Germany has been the teacher of the world -in military matters and how thoroughly her pupils have responded to -that teaching. That attention to detail, perfection of arrangement -for mobilisation, and careful preparation which have won German -victories in the past may now be turned against her, and she may -find that others can equal her in her own virtues. - -Poor France, once conquered, is to be very harshly treated. Here is -the passage which describes her fate:-- - - "In one way or another _we must square our account with - France_ if we wish for a free hand in our international - policy. This is the first and foremost condition of a - sound German policy, and since the hostility of France - once for all cannot be removed by peaceful overtures, the - matter must be settled by force of arms. France must be - so completely crushed that she can never again come - across our path." - -It is not said how Germany could permanently extinguish France, and -it is difficult to think it out. An indemnity, however large, would -eventually be paid and France recover herself. Germany has found the -half-German border provinces which she annexed so indigestible that -she could hardly incorporate Champagne or any other purely French -district. Italy might absorb some of Savoy and the French Riviera. -If the country were artificially separated the various parts would -fly together again at the first opportunity. Altogether, the -permanent sterilisation of France would be no easy matter to -effect. It would probably be attempted by imposing the condition -that in the future no army, save for police duties, would be allowed -her. The history of Prussia itself, however, shows that even so -stringent a prohibition as this can be evaded by a conquered but -indomitable people. - -Let us now turn to General von Bernhardi's views upon ourselves; -and, first of all, it is of interest to many of us to know what are -those historical episodes which have caused him and many of his -fellow-countrymen to take bitter exception to our national record. -From our point of view we have repeatedly helped Germany in the -past, and have asked for and received no other reward than the -consciousness of having co-operated in some common cause. So it was -in Marlborough's days. So in the days of Frederick. So also in those -of Napoleon. To all these ties, which had seemed to us to be of -importance, there is not a single allusion in this volume. On the -other hand, there are very bitter references to some other -historical events which must seem to us strangely inadequate as a -cause for international hatred. - -We may, indeed, congratulate ourselves as a nation, if no stronger -indictment can be made against us than is contained in the book of -the German general. The first episode upon which he animadverts is -the ancient German grievance of the abandonment of Frederick the -Great by England in the year 1761. One would have thought that there -was some statute of limitations in such matters, but apparently -there is none in the German mind. Let us grant that the premature -cessation of a campaign is an injustice to one's associates, and let -us admit also that a British Government under its party system can -never be an absolutely stable ally. Having said so much, one may -point out that there were several mitigating circumstances in this -affair. We had fought for five years, granting considerable -subsidies to Frederick during that time, and dispatching British -armies into the heart of Germany. The strain was very great, in a -quarrel which did not vitally affect ourselves. The British nation -had taken the view, not wholly unreasonably, that the war was being -waged in the interests of Hanover, and upon a German rather than a -British quarrel. When we stood out France did the same, so that the -balance of power between the combatants was not greatly affected. -Also, it may be pointed out as a curious historical fact that this -treatment which he so much resented was exactly that which Frederick -had himself accorded to his allies some years before at the close of -the Silesian campaign. On that occasion he made an isolated peace -with Maria Theresa, and left his associates, France and Bavaria, to -meet the full force of the Austrian attack. - -Finally the whole episode has to be judged by the words of a modern -writer: "Conditions may arise which are more powerful than the most -honourable intentions. The country's own interests--considered, of -course, in the highest ethical sense--must then turn the scale." -These sentences are not from the work of a British apologist, but -from this very book of von Bernhardi's which scolds England for her -supposed adherence to such principles. He also quotes, with -approval, Treitschke's words: "Frederick the Great was all his life -long charged with treachery because no treaty or alliance could -ever induce him to renounce the right of free self-determination." - -Setting aside this ancient grievance of the Seven Years' War, it is -of interest to endeavour to find out whether there are any other -solid grounds in the past for Germany's reprobation. Two more -historical incidents are held up as examples of our perfidy. The -first is the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, when the British -took forcible possession in time of peace of the Danish fleet. It -must be admitted that the step was an extreme one, and only to be -justified upon the plea of absolute necessity for vital national -reasons. The British Government of the day believed that Napoleon -was about to possess himself of the Danish fleet and would use it -against themselves. Fouche has admitted in his Memoirs that the -right was indeed given by a secret clause in the Treaty of Tilsit. -It was a desperate time, when the strongest measures were -continually being used against us, and it may be urged that similar -measures were necessary in self-defence. Having once embarked upon -the enterprise, and our demand being refused, there was no -alternative but a bombardment of the city with its attendant loss of -civilian life. It is not an exploit of which we need be proud, and -at the best can only be described as a most painful and unfortunate -necessity; but I should be surprised if the Danes, on looking back -to it, judge it more harshly than some more recent experiences which -they have had at the hands of General von Bernhardi's own -fellow-countrymen. That he is himself prepared to launch upon a -similar enterprise in a much larger and more questionable shape is -shown by his declaration that if Holland will not take sides against -England in the next war it should be overrun by the German troops. - -General von Bernhardi's next historical charge is the bombardment of -Alexandria in 1882, which he describes as having been affected upon -hypocritical pretences in a season of peace. To those who have a -recollection of that event and can recall the anti-European movement -of Arabi and the massacre which preceded the bombardment, the charge -will appear grotesque. But it is with a patchwork quilt of this sort -that this German publicist endeavours to cover the unreasoning, but -none the less formidable, jealousy and prejudice which inflame him -against this country. The foolish fiction that the British -Government declared war against the Boers in order to gain -possession of their gold mines is again brought forward, though one -would have imagined that even the gutter-Press who exploited it -twelve years ago had abandoned it by now. If General von Bernhardi -can explain how the British Government is the richer for these -mines, or whether a single foreign shareholder has been dispossessed -of his stock in them, he will be the first who has ever given a -solid fact in favour of this ridiculous charge. In a previous -paragraph of his book he declares that it was President Kruger who -made the war and that he was praiseworthy for so doing. Both -statements cannot be true. If it was President Kruger who made the -war, then it was not forced on by Great Britain in order to possess -herself of the goldfields. - -So much for the specific allegations against Great Britain. One can -hardly regard them as being so serious as to wipe out the various -claims, racial, religious, and historical, which unite the two -countries. However, we are only concerned with General von -Bernhardi's conclusions, since he declares that his country is -prepared to act upon them. There remain two general grounds upon -which he considers that Germany should make war upon the British -Empire. The first is to act as the champion of the human race in -winning what he calls the freedom of the seas. The second is to -further German expansion as a world-Power, which is cramped by our -opposition. - -The first of these reasons is difficult to appreciate. British -maritime power has been used to ensure, not to destroy, the freedom -of the seas. What smallest Power has ever been hindered in her -legitimate business? It is only the pirate, the slaver, and the -gun-runner who can justly utter such a reproach. If the mere fact of -having predominant latent strength upon the water is an encroachment -upon the freedom of the sea, then some nation must always be guilty -of it. After our mild supremacy we may well say to Germany, as -Charles said to James: "No one will assassinate me in order to put -you on the throne." Her mandate is unendorsed by those whom she -claims to represent. - -But the second indictment is more formidable. We lie athwart -Germany's world ambitions, even as, geographically, we lie across -her outlets. But when closely looked at, what is it of which we -deprive her, and is its attainment really a matter of such vital -importance? Do we hamper her trade? On the contrary, we exhibit a -generosity which meets with no acknowledgment, and which many of us -have long held to be altogether excessive. Her manufactured goods -are welcomed in without a tax, while ours are held out from Germany -by a 20 per cent. tariff. In India, Egypt, and every colony which -does not directly control its own financial policy, German goods -come in upon the same footing as our own. No successful war can -improve her position in this respect. There is, however, the -question of colonial expansion. General von Bernhardi foresees that -Germany is increasing her population at such a pace that emigration -will be needed soon in order to relieve it. It is a perfectly -natural national ambition that this emigration should be to some -place where the settlers need not lose their flag or nationality. -But if Great Britain were out of the way, where would they find such -a place? Not in Canada, Australia, South Africa, or New Zealand. -These States could not be conquered if the Motherland had ceased to -exist. General von Bernhardi talks of the high lands of Africa, but -already Germany possesses high lands in Africa, and their -colonisation has not been a success. Can any one name one single -place upon the earth's surface suitable for white habitation from -which Germany is excluded by the existence of Great Britain? It is -true that the huge continent of South America is only sparsely -inhabited, its whole population being about equal to that of -Prussia. But that is an affair in which the United States, and not -we, are primarily interested, and one which it is not our interest -either to oppose or to support. - -But, however inadequate all these reasons for war may seem to a -Briton, one has still to remember that we have to reckon with the -conclusions exactly as if they were drawn from the most logical -premises. These conclusions appear in such sentences as follows:-- - - "What we now wish to attain must be fought for and won against - a superior force of hostile interests and Powers." - - "Since the struggle is necessary and inevitable, we must fight - it out, cost what it may." - - "A pacific agreement with England is a will-o'-the-wisp, which - no serious German statesman would trouble to follow. We must - always keep the possibility of war with England before our - eyes and arrange our political and military plans accordingly. - We need not concern ourselves with any pacific protestations - of English politicians, publicists, and Utopians, which cannot - alter the real basis of affairs." - - "The situation in the world generally shows there can only be a - short respite before we once more face the question whether we - will draw the sword for our position in the world, or renounce - such position once for all. We must not in any case wait until - our opponents have completed their arming and decide that the - hour of attack has come." - - "Even English attempts at a _rapprochement_ must not blind us - to the real situation. We may at most use them to delay the - necessary and inevitable war until we may fairly imagine we - have some prospect of success." - -This last sentence must come home to some of us who have worked in -the past for a better feeling between the two countries. And this is -the man who dares to accuse _us_ of national perfidy. - -These extracts are but a few from a long series which show beyond -all manner of doubt that Germany, so far as General von Bernhardi is -an exponent of her intentions, will undoubtedly attack us suddenly -should she see an opportunity. The first intimation of such attack -would, as he indicates, be a torpedo descent upon our Fleet, and a -wireless message to German liners which would bring up their -concealed guns, and turn each of them into a fast cruiser ready to -prey upon our commerce. That is the situation as he depicts it. It -may be that he mistakes it. But for what it is worth, that is his -opinion and advice. - -He sketches out the general lines of a war between England and -Germany. If France is involved, she is to be annihilated, as already -described. But suppose the two rivals are left face to face. Holland -and Denmark are to be bound over to the German side under pain of -conquest. The German Fleet is to be held back under the protection -of the land forts. Meanwhile, torpedoes, submarines, and airships -are to be used for the gradual whittling down of the blockading -squadrons. When they have been sufficiently weakened the Fleet is to -sally out and the day has arrived. As to the chances of success, he -is of opinion that in material and _personnel_ the two fleets may be -taken as being equal--when once the numbers have been equalised. In -quality of guns, he considers that the Germans have the advantage. -Of gunnery he does not speak, but he believes that in torpedo work -his countrymen are ahead of any others. In airships, which for -_reconnaissance_, if not for actual fighting power, will be of -supreme importance, he considers also that his country will have a -considerable advantage. - -Such, in condensed form, is the general thesis and forecast of this -famous German officer. If it be true, there are evil days coming -both for his country and for ours. One may find some consolation in -the discovery that wherever he attempts to fathom our feelings he -makes the most lamentable blunders. He lays it down as an axiom, for -example, that if we were hard-pressed the Colonies would take the -opportunity of abandoning us. We know, on the other hand, that it is -just such a situation which would bring about the federation of the -Empire. He is under the delusion also that there is deep commercial -and political jealousy of the United States in this country, and -that this might very well culminate in war. We are aware that there -is no such feeling, and that next to holding the trident ourselves -we should wish to see it in the hands of our American cousins. One -thing he says, however, which is supremely true, which all of us -would endorse, and which every German should ponder: it is that the -idea of a war between Germany and ourselves never entered into the -thoughts of any one in this country until the year 1902. Why this -particular year? Had the feeling risen from commercial jealousy -upon the part of Great Britain, it must have shown itself far -earlier than that--as early as the "Made in Germany" enactment. It -appeared in 1902 because that was the close of the Boer War, and -because the bitter hostility shown by the Germans in that war opened -our eyes to the fact that they would do us a mischief if they could. -When the German Navy Act of 1900 gave promise that they would soon -have the means of doing so, the first thoughts of danger arose, and -German policy drove us more and more into the ranks of their -opponents. Here, then, General von Bernhardi is right; but in nearly -every other reference to our feelings and views he is wrong; so that -it is to be hoped that in those matters in which we are unable to -check him, such as the course of German thought and of German action -in the future, he is equally mistaken. But I repeat that he is a man -of standing and reputation, and that we should be mad if we did not -take most serious notice of the opinions which he has laid down. - -I have headed this article "Great Britain and the Next War," since -it looks at the arguments and problems which General von Bernhardi -has raised in his _Germany and the Next War_ from the British point -of view. May it prove that the title is an absurdity and the war an -imaginative hypothesis. But I should wish, before I close, to devote -a few pages to my view upon the defensive measures of our country. I -am well aware that I speak with no expert authority, which makes it -the more embarrassing that my opinions do not coincide with those of -any one whom I have encountered in this controversy. Still, it is -better to be a voice, however small, than an echo. - -It would simplify the argument if we began by eliminating certain -factors which, in my opinion, simply darken counsel, as they are -continually brought into the front of the question to the exclusion -of the real issues which lie behind them. One of them is the -supposed possibility of an invasion--either on a large scale or in -the form of a raid. The former has been pronounced by our highest -naval authorities of the time as being impossible, and I do not -think any one can read the Wilson Memorandum without being convinced -by its condensed logic. Von Bernhardi, in his chapter upon the -possible methods of injuring Great Britain, though he treats the -whole subject with the greatest frankness, dismisses the idea either -of raid or invasion in a few short sentences. The raid seems to me -the less tenable hypothesis of the two. An invasion would, at least, -play for a final stake, though at a deadly risk. A raid would be a -certain loss of a body of troops, which would necessarily be the -flower of the army; it could hope to bring about no possible -permanent effect upon the war, and it would upset the balance of -military power between Germany and her neighbours. If Germany were -an island, like ourselves, she might risk such a venture. Sandwiched -in between two armed nations as strong as herself, I do not believe -that there is the slightest possibility of it. - -But if, as Von Bernhardi says, such plans are visionary, what is the -exact object of a Territorial Army, and, even more, what would be -the object of a National Service Army upon compulsory lines for home -defence? Is it not a waste of money and energy which might be more -profitably employed in some other form? Every one has such an -affection and esteem for Lord Roberts--especially if one has the -honour of his personal acquaintance--that one shrinks from -expressing a view which might be unwelcome to him.[5] And yet he -would be the first to admit that it is one's duty to add one's -opinion to the debate, if that opinion has been conscientiously -formed, and if one honestly believes that it recommends the best -course of action for one's country. So far as his argument for -universal service is based upon national health and physique, I -think he is on ground which no one could attack. But I cannot bring -myself to believe that a case has been made out for the substitution -of an enforced soldier in the place of the volunteer who has always -done so splendidly in the past. Great as is Lord Roberts's -experience, he is talking here of a thing which is outside it, for -he has never seen an enforced British soldier, and has, therefore, -no data by which he can tell how such a man would compare with the -present article. There were enforced British sailors once, and I -have seen figures quoted to show that of 29,000 who were impressed -27,000 escaped from the Fleet by desertion. It is not such men as -these who win our battles. - - [5] More now, alas! than ever.--Nov. 26, A. C. D. - -The argument for enforced service is based upon the plea that the -Territorial Army is below strength in numbers and deficient in -quality. But if invasion is excluded from our calculations this is -of less importance. The force becomes a nursery for the Army, which -has other reserves to draw upon before it reaches it. Experience has -shown that under warlike excitement in a virile nation like ours, -the ranks soon fill up, and as the force becomes embodied from the -outbreak of hostilities, it would rapidly improve in quality. It is -idle to assert that because Bulgaria can, in a day, flood her troops -into Turkey, therefore we should always stand to arms. The -Turko-Bulgarian frontier is a line of posts--the Anglo-German is a -hundred leagues of salt water. - -But am I such an optimist as to say that there is no danger in a -German war? On the contrary, I consider that there is a vast danger, -that it is one which we ignore, and against which we could at a -small cost effect a complete insurance. Let me try to define both -the danger and the remedy. In order to do this we must consider the -two different forms which such a war might take. It might be a -single duel, or it might be with France as our ally. If Germany -attacked Great Britain alone, it may safely be prophesied that the -war would be long, tedious, and possibly inconclusive, but our -_role_ would be a comparatively passive one. If she attacked -France, however, that _role_ would be much more active, since we -could not let France go down, and to give her effective help we must -land an expeditionary force upon the Continent. This force has to be -supplied with munitions of war and kept up to strength, and so the -whole problem becomes a more complex one. - -The element of danger, which is serious in either form of war, but -more serious in the latter, is the existence of new forms of naval -warfare which have never been tested in the hands of competent men, -and which may completely revolutionise the conditions. These new -factors are the submarine and the airship. The latter, save as a -means of acquiring information, does not seem to be formidable--or -not sufficiently formidable to alter the whole conditions of a -campaign. But it is different with the submarines. No blockade, so -far as I can see, can hold these vessels in harbour, and no skill or -bravery can counteract their attack when once they are within -striking distance. One could imagine a state of things when it might -be found impossible for the greater ships on either side to keep the -seas on account of these poisonous craft. No one can say that such a -contingency is impossible. Let us see, then, how it would affect us -if it should come to pass. - -In the first place, it would not affect us at all as regards -invasion or raids. If the German submarines can dominate our own -large ships, our submarines can do the same for theirs. We should -still hold the seas with our small craft. Therefore, if Great -Britain alone be at war with Germany, such a naval revolution would -merely affect our commerce and food supply. What exact effect a -swarm of submarines, lying off the mouth of the Channel and the -Irish Sea, would produce upon the victualling of these islands is a -problem which is beyond my conjecture. Other ships besides the -British would be likely to be destroyed, and international -complications would probably follow. I cannot imagine that such a -fleet would entirely, or even to a very large extent, cut off our -supplies. But it is certain that they would have the effect of -considerably raising the price of whatever did reach us. Therefore -we should suffer privation, though not necessarily such privation as -would compel us to make terms. From the beginning of the war, every -home source would naturally be encouraged, and it is possible that -before our external supplies were seriously decreased, our internal -ones might be well on the way to make up the deficiency. Both of the -two great protagonists--Lord Haldane and Lord Roberts--have declared -that if we lost the command of the seas we should have to make -peace. Their reference, however, was to complete naval defeat, and -not to such a condition of stalemate as seems to be the more -possible alternative. As to complete naval defeat, our estimates, -and the grand loyalty of the Overseas Dominions, seem to be amply -adequate to guard against that. It is useless to try to alarm us by -counting in the whole force of the Triple Alliance as our possible -foes, for if they came into the war, the forces of our own allies -would also be available. We need only think of Germany. - -A predominance of the submarine would, then, merely involve a period -of hard times in this country, if we were fighting Germany -single-handed. But if we were in alliance with France, it becomes an -infinitely more important matter. I presume that I need not argue -the point that it is our vital interest that France be not -dismembered and sterilised. Such a tragedy would turn the western -half of Europe into a gigantic Germany with a few insignificant -States crouching about her feet. The period of her world dominance -would then indeed have arrived. Therefore, if France be wantonly -attacked, we must strain every nerve to prevent her going down, and -among the measures to that end will be the sending of a British -expeditionary force to cover the left or Belgian wing of the French -defences. Such a force would be conveyed across the Channel in -perhaps a hundred troopships, and would entail a constant service of -transports afterwards to carry its requirements. - -Here lies, as it seems to me, the possible material for a great -national disaster. Such a fleet of transports cannot be rushed -suddenly across. Its preparation and port of departure are known. A -single submarine amid such a fleet would be like a fox in a poultry -yard destroying victim after victim. The possibilities are -appalling, for it might be not one submarine, but a squadron. The -terrified transports would scatter over the ocean to find safety in -any port. Their convoy could do little to help them. It would be a -debacle--an inversion of the Spanish Armada. - -If the crossing were direct from the eastern ports to Antwerp, the -danger would become greater.[6] It is less if it should be from -Portsmouth to Havre. But this is a transit of seven hours, and the -railways from Havre to the Belgian frontier would be insufficient -for such a force. No doubt the Straits of Dover would be strongly -patrolled by our own torpedo craft, and the crossing would, so far -as possible, be made at night, when submarines have their minimum of -efficiency; but, none the less, it seems to me that the risk would -be a very real and pressing one. What possible patrol could make -sure of heading off a squadron of submarines? I should imagine it to -be as difficult as to bar the Straits to a school of whales. - - [6] This, of course, would presuppose that Holland was - involved in the war.--A. C. D. - -But supposing such a wholesale tragedy were avoided, and that in -spite of the predominance of submarines the army got safely to -France or to Belgium, how are we to ensure the safe passage of the -long stream of ships which, for many months, would be employed in -carrying the needful supplies? We could not do it. The army might -very well find itself utterly isolated, with its line of -communications completely broken down, at a time when the demand -upon the resources of all Continental countries was so great that -there was no surplus for our use. Such a state of affairs seems to -me to be a perfectly possible one, and to form, with the chance of -a disaster to the transports, the greatest danger to which we should -be exposed in a German war. But these dangers and the food question, -which has already been treated, can all be absolutely provided -against in a manner which is not only effective, but which will be -of equal value in peace and in war. The Channel Tunnel is essential -to Great Britain's safety. - -I will not dwell here upon the commercial or financial advantages of -such a tunnel. Where the trade of two great nations concentrates -upon one narrow tube, it is obvious that whatever corporation -controls that tube has a valuable investment, if the costs of -construction have not been prohibitive. These costs have been placed -as low as five million pounds by Mr. Rose Smith, who represents a -practical company engaged in such work. If it were twice, thrice, or -four times that sum it should be an undertaking which should promise -great profits, and for that reason should be constructed by the -nation, or nations, for their common national advantage. It is too -vital a thing for any private company to control. - -But consider its bearing upon a German war. All the dangers which I -have depicted are eliminated. We tap (_via_ Marseilles and the -tunnel) the whole food supply of the Mediterranean and the Black -Sea. Our expeditionary force makes its transit, and has its supplies -independent of weather or naval chances. Should anything so unlikely -as a raid occur, and the forces in this country seem unable to cope -with it, a Franco-British reinforcement can be rushed through from -the Continent. The Germans have made great works like the Kiel Canal -in anticipation of war. Our answer must be the Channel Tunnel, -linking us closer to our ally. - -Though this scheme was discarded (under very different naval and -political conditions) some twenty years ago, no time has, as a -matter of fact, been lost by the delay; as I am informed that -machinery for boring purposes has so enormously improved that what -would have taken thirty years to accomplish can now be done in -three. If this estimate be correct, there may still be time to -effect this essential insurance before the war with which General -von Bernhardi threatens us breaks upon us. - -Let us, before leaving the subject, glance briefly at the objections -which have formerly been urged against the tunnel. Such as they are, -they are as valid now as ever, although the advantages have -increased to such an extent as to throw the whole weight of the -argument upon the side of those who favour its construction. The -main (indeed, the only) objection was the fear that the tunnel would -fall into wrong hands and be used for purposes of invasion. By this -was meant not a direct invasion through the tunnel itself--to invade -a nation of forty-five million people through a hole in the ground -twenty-five miles long would stagger the boldest mind--but that the -tunnel might be seized at each end by some foreign nation, which -would then use it for aggressive military purposes. - -At the time of the discussion our relations with France were by no -means so friendly as they are now, and it was naturally to France -only that we alluded, since they would already hold one end of the -tunnel. We need not now discuss any other nation, since any other -would have to seize both ends by surprise, and afterwards retain -them, which is surely inconceivable. We are now bound in close ties -of friendship and mutual interest to France. We have no right to -assume that we shall always remain on as close a footing, but as our -common peril seems likely to be a permanent one, it is improbable -that there will be any speedy or sudden change in our relations. At -the same time, in a matter so vital as our hold upon the Dover end -of the tunnel, we could not be too stringent in our precautions. The -tunnel should open out at a point where guns command it, the mouth -of it should be within the lines of an entrenched camp, and a -considerable garrison should be kept permanently within call. The -latter condition already exists in Dover, but the numbers might well -be increased. As an additional precaution, a passage should be -driven alongside the tunnel, from which it could, if necessary, be -destroyed. This passage should have an independent opening within -the circle of a separate fort, so that the capture of the end of the -tunnel would not prevent its destruction. With such precautions as -these, the most nervous person might feel that our insular position -had not really been interfered with. The strong fortress of the -Middle Ages had a passage under the moat as part of the defence. -This is our passage. - -Could an enemy in any way destroy it in time of war? - -It would, as I conceive, be sunk to a depth of not less than two -hundred feet below the bed of the ocean. This ceiling would be -composed of chalk and clay. No explosive from above could drive it -in. If it were designed on a large scale--and, personally, I think -it should be a four-line tunnel, even if the cost were doubled -thereby--no internal explosion, such as might be brought about by -secreting explosive packets upon the trains, would be likely to do -more than temporarily obstruct it. If the very worst happened, and -it were actually destroyed, we should be no worse off than we are -now. As to the expense, if we are driven into a war of this -magnitude, a few millions one way or the other will not be worth -considering. - -Incidentally, it may be noted that General von Bernhardi has a poor -opinion of our troops. This need not trouble us. We are what we are, -and words will not alter it. From very early days our soldiers have -left their mark upon Continental warfare, and we have no reason to -think that we have declined from the manhood of our forefathers. He -further calls them "mercenaries," which is a misuse of terms. A -mercenary is a man who is paid to fight in a quarrel which is not -his own. As every British soldier must by law be a British citizen, -the term is absurd. What he really means is that they are not -conscripts in the sense of being forced to fight, but they are -sufficiently well paid to enable the army as a profession to attract -a sufficient number of our young men to the colours. - -Our military and naval preparations are, as it seems to me, adequate -for the threatened crisis. With the Channel Tunnel added our -position should be secure. But there are other preparations which -should be made for such a contest, should it unhappily be forced -upon us. One is financial. Again, as so often before in the history -of British wars, it may prove that the last guinea wins. Everything -possible should be done to strengthen British credit. This crisis -cannot last indefinitely. The cloud will dissolve or burst. -Therefore, for a time we should husband our resources for the -supreme need. At such a time all national expenditure upon objects -which only mature in the future becomes unjustifiable. Such a tax as -the undeveloped land tax, which may bring in a gain some day, but at -present costs ten times what it produces, is the type of expenditure -I mean. I say nothing of its justice or injustice, but only of its -inopportuneness at a moment when we sorely need our present -resources. - -Another preparation lies in our national understanding of the -possibility of such a danger and the determination to face the -facts. Both Unionists and Liberals have shown their appreciation of -the situation, and so have two of the most famous Socialist leaders. -No audible acquiescence has come from the ranks of the Labour Party. -I would venture to say one word here to my Irish fellow-countrymen -of all political persuasions. If they imagine that they can stand -politically or economically while Britain falls, they are woefully -mistaken. The British Fleet is their one shield. If it be broken, -Ireland will go down. They may well throw themselves heartily into -the common defence, for no sword can transfix England without the -point reaching Ireland behind her. - -Let me say in conclusion, most emphatically, that I do not myself -accept any of those axioms of General von Bernhardi which are the -foundation-stones of his argument. I do not think that war is in -itself a good thing, though a dishonourable peace may be a worse -one. I do not believe that an Anglo-German war is necessary. I am -convinced that we should never, of our own accord, attack Germany, -nor would we assist France if she made an unprovoked attack upon -that Power. I do not think that as the result of such a war, Germany -could in any way extend her flag so as to cover a larger white -population. Every one of his propositions I dispute. But that is all -beside the question. We have not to do with his argument, but with -its results. Those results are that he, a man whose opinion is of -weight, and a member of the ruling class in Germany, tells us -frankly that Germany will attack us the moment she sees a favourable -opportunity. I repeat that we should be mad if we did not take very -serious notice of the warning. - - - * * * * * - - - - -IX - -AFTERTHOUGHTS - - -So it was so after all. I write after perusing what was written two -years ago. I lean back in my chair and I think of the past. "So it -really was so after all," represents the thought which comes to my -mind. - -It seems hardly fair to call it a conspiracy. When a certain action -is formulated quite clearly in many books, when it is advocated by -newspapers, preached by professors, and discussed at every -restaurant, it ceases to be a conspiracy. We may take Bernhardi's -book as a text, but it is only because here between two covers we -find the whole essence of the matter in an authoritative form. It -has been said a thousand times elsewhere. And now we know for all -time that these countless scolding and minatory voices were not mere -angry units, but that they were in truth the collective voice of -the nation. All that Bernhardi said, all that after long disbelief -he made some of us vaguely realise, has now actually happened. So -far as Germany is concerned it has been fulfilled to the letter. -Fortunately so far as other nations have been concerned it has been -very different. He knew his own, but he utterly misjudged all else, -and in that misjudgment he and his spy-trusting Government have dug -a pit for themselves in which they long may flounder. - -Make war deliberately whenever you think that you may get profit -from it. Find an excuse, but let it be an excuse which will give you -a strong position before the world and help your alliances. Take -advantage of your neighbour's temporary weakness in order to attack -him. Pretend to be friendly in order to screen warlike preparations. -Do not let contracts or treaties stand in the way of your vital -interests. All of these monstrous propositions are to be found in -this _vade mecum_ of the German politician and soldier, and each of -them has been put in actual practice within a very few years of the -appearance of the book. Take each of them in turn. - -Take first the point that they made war deliberately, and took -advantage of the imagined weakness of their neighbours in order to -attack them. When was it that they backed up, if they did not -actually dictate, the impossible ultimatum addressed as much to -Russia as to Servia? When was it that they were so determined upon -war that they made peace impossible at the moment when Austria was -showing signs of reconsidering her position? Why so keen at that -particular moment? Was it not that for the instant each of her three -antagonists seemed to be at a disadvantage? Russia was supposed not -to have recovered yet from her Japanese misadventure. France was -torn by politics, and had admitted in the Senate that some important -branches of her armies were unprepared. Britain seemed to be on the -verge of civil war. It was just such a combination as was predicated -by Bernhardi. And his country responded to it exactly as he had -said, choosing the point of quarrel against the Slav race so as to -conciliate the more advanced or liberal nations of the world. - -Then again they pretended to be friendly in order to cover hostile -preparations. To the very last moment the German Minister in -Brussels was assuring the Government of King Albert that nothing but -the best intentions animated those whom he represented, and that -Belgian neutrality was safe. The written contract was deliberately -dishonoured on the false and absurd plea that if they did not -dishonour it some one else would. Thus, of the five propositions -which had seemed most monstrous and inhuman in Bernhardi's book in -1912, every single one had been put into actual practice by his -country in 1914. Those of us who advised at the time that the book -should be taken seriously have surely been amply justified. - -It is a singular thing that Bernhardi not only indicated in a -general way what Germany was contemplating, but in his other book -upon modern warfare he gives a very complete sketch of the strategic -conception which has been followed by the Germans. He shows there -how their armies might come through Belgium, how their eastern -forces might mark time while the western, which were to consist of -the picked troops, would travel by forced marches until they reached -the neighbourhood of the coast, or at least the west of Paris, after -which the whole line should swing round into France. The chance that -by these movements the German right would come into the region of -the British expeditionary force is dismissed lightly, since he -entirely underestimated the power of such a force, while as to the -Belgian army it is hardly admitted as a factor at all. A comparison -of the opinions of this great military authority with the actual -facts as we have recently known them, must weaken one's faith in the -value of expert judgment. He is, for example, strongly of opinion -that battles will not as a rule last for more than one day. He has -also so high an opinion of the supreme fighting value of the German -soldiers, that he declares that they will always fight in the open -rather than behind entrenchments. It makes strange reading for us -who have seen them disappear from sight into the ground for a month -at a time. - -In what I have said in the previous article of the naval and -military position, I find nothing to withdraw, and little to modify. -I write with the Germans at Ostend, and yet the possibility of -either a raid or an invasion seems to me as remote as it did two -years ago. I do not of course refer to an aerial raid, which I look -upon as extremely probable, but to a landing in these islands. The -submarine which has been used so skilfully against us is an -all-powerful defensive weapon in our hands. As to the submarine, I -think that I may claim to have foreseen the situation which has -actually come upon us. "No blockade," I remarked, "can hold these -vessels in harbour, and no skill or bravery can counteract their -attack when once they are within striking distance. One could -imagine a state of things when it might be found impossible for the -greater ships on either side to keep the seas on account of these -poisonous craft. No one can say that such a contingency is -impossible." It is largely true at the present moment as regards the -North Sea. But the submarine will not shake Great Britain as -mistress of the seas. On the contrary, with her geographical -position, it will, if her internal economic policy be wise, put her -in a stronger position than ever. - -The whole question of the Channel Tunnel and its strategic effect, -which is treated of in the last essay, becomes entirely academic, -since even if it had been put in hand when the German menace became -clearer it could not yet have been completed. The idea of an -invasion through it has always seemed and still seems to me to be -absurd, but we should have been brought face to face at the present -moment with the possibility of the enemy getting hold of the farther -end and destroying it, so as to wreck a great national enterprise. -This is a danger which I admit that I had not foreseen. At the same -time, when a tunnel is constructed, the end of it will no doubt be -fortified in such a fashion that it could be held indefinitely -against any power save France, which would have so large a stake in -it herself that she could not destroy it. The whole operation of -sending reinforcements and supplies to the scene of war at the -present instant would be enormously simplified if a tunnel were in -existence. - -There remains the fiercely debated question of compulsory national -service. Even now, with the enemy at the gate, it seems to me to be -as open as ever. Would we, under our constitution and with our -methods of thought, have had such a magnificent response to Lord -Kitchener's appeal, or would we have had such splendid political -unanimity in carrying the war to a conclusion, if a large section of -the people had started by feeling sore over an Act which caused -themselves or their sons to serve whether they wished or not? -Personally I do not believe that we should. I believe that the new -volunteer armies now under training are of really wonderful material -and fired with the very best spirit, and that they will be worth -more than a larger force raised by methods which are alien to our -customs. I said in my previous essay, "Experience has shown that -under warlike excitement in a virile nation like ours the ranks soon -fill up, and as the force becomes embodied from the outbreak of -hostilities it would rapidly improve in quality." Already those -Territorials who were so ignorantly and ungenerously criticised in -times of peace are, after nearly three months of camp-life, -hardening into soldiers who may safely be trusted in the field. -Behind them the greater part of a million men are formed who will -also become soldiers in a record time if a desperate earnestness can -make them so. It is a glorious spectacle which makes a man thankful -that he has been spared to see it. One is more hopeful of our -Britain, and more proud of her, now that the German guns can be -heard from her eastern shore, than ever in the long monotony of her -undisturbed prosperity. Our grandchildren will thrill as they read -of the days that we endure. - - - * * * * * - - - _Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.,_ - _London and Aylesbury._ - - - * * * * * - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - -Italic text has been denoted by _underscores_. - -Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. - -The non-printable characters have been replaced as shown below: - - 'oe' ligature --> oe - -This book was written in a period when many words had not become -standarized in their spelling. Numerous words have multiple spelling -variations in the text. These have been left unchanged unless noted -below: - - p 29 - typo: missing 'the' added (in the future) - - p 75 - typo: at --> as (he exclaimed, as he gazed) - - p 86 - typo: missing 'the' added (in the future) - - p 111 - typo: missing 'the' added (in the future) - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The German War, by Arthur Conan Doyle - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GERMAN WAR *** - -***** This file should be named 42127.txt or 42127.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/1/2/42127/ - -Produced by Richard Hulse, Suzanne Shell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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