New York Times Current History The European War From The Beginning To March Part 17

All the cables controlled by the English-French-Russian coalition disseminate the lie about the ostensibly "preventive war" that Germany wished and prepared for. The German "White Book" prints doc.u.ments proving the white purity of the German conscience as represented by Kaiser, Chancellor, and people. It reveals also the profound grief of the German Kaiser over the sly and insidious perfidy of the Czar, toward whom he steadily maintained German fidelity even in hours of grave danger. What Russia did was more than a mere attack, it was a treacherous a.s.sault. The following facts prove this:

The German mobilization was ordered on Aug. 1, whereas Russia began to mobilize fully four weeks earlier, or about the beginning of July. Papers found on several Russian harvest laborers arrested in the district of Konitz show that the Russian military authorities had already by the first of July--i.e., immediately after the tragedy at Serajevo--sent to the leaders of these men mustering-in orders, which were to be distributed immediately after a further word should be given. These confiscated papers prove that Russia hoped to be able to mobilize against Austria before Germany could get official information of Russia's measures. The Russian authorities purposely avoided the usual course of sending these orders through the Russian Consuls, and they a.s.signed "military exercises" as the object of this call to the colors.

July 25--Military exercises at Krasnoye-Selo were suddenly broken off and the troops returned at once to their garrisons. The manoeuvres had been called off. The military cadets were advanced at once to officers, instead of waiting, as usual, till Autumn.

July 26--All s.h.i.+ps and boats are forbidden to sail in the waters between Helsingfors and Yorkkele; and navigation between Sweden and Finland is closed.

July 28--Partial mobilization; sixteen army corps to be increased to the strength of thirty-two corps. On the same day the Czar begs for friendly mediation; and on the same day the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Russian Minister of War give the German Military Attache, upon their own initiative, their solemn word of honor that no mobilization has taken place.

July 30--The Second and Third Russian Cavalry Divisions appear on the German frontier between Wirballen and Augustov. The Czar issues a ukase calling to the colors the reserves in twenty-three entire Governments and in eighty districts of other Governments; also the naval reserves in sixty-four districts, or twelve Russian and one Finnish Government; also the Cossacks on furlough in a number of districts; also the necessary reserve officers, physicians, horses and wagons.

July 31--General mobilization of the whole Russian Army and Navy.

The German steamer Eitel Friedrich, which keeps up a regular service between Stettin and St. Petersburg, is stopped by a Russian torpedo boat and brought into Revel, where the crew were made prisoners. The Russians blow up the railway bridge on Austrian territory between Szozakowa and Granica.

Night of Aug. 1--Russian patrols attack the German railway bridge near Eichenried and try to surprise the German railway station at Miloslaw. A Russian column crosses the German frontier at Schwidden, and two squadrons of Cossacks ride against Johannisburg.

Aug. 1--(At last) Germany's mobilization.

And France?

July 27--The Fourteenth Army Corps breaks off its manoeuvres.

July 31--General mobilization.

Aug. 2--French troops attack German frontier posts, cross the frontier, and occupy German towns. Bomb-throwing aviators come into Baden and Bavaria; also, after violating Belgium's neutrality by crossing Belgian territory, they enter the Rhine Province and try to destroy bridges.

Only after all this is the German Amba.s.sador at Paris instructed to demand his pa.s.sports.

And England?

In London war must already have been decided upon by July 31; the English Admiralty had even before that date advised Lloyd's against insuring German s.h.i.+ps. On the same day the German Government gave emphatic support in Vienna to the English mediatory proposal of Sir Edward Grey. But the entire English fleet had already been a.s.sembled.

Of course, English public opinion was and still is divided. As late as Aug. 1 The Daily Graphic wrote in reference to the Russian mobilization order: "Will the Russian order also be carried out in the provinces on the German frontier? If so, then the labor of the peace-preservers is at an end, for Germany is compelled to answer with the mobilization of its armed forces. We confess that we are not able to understand this att.i.tude of Russia, in view of the resumption of negotiations at Vienna."

And a leaflet distributed in the streets of London said that "a war for Russia is a war against civilization."

So much as to the preparations for the war--and now we take up the conduct of the war itself.

By glancing at the foreign press during this one week we have been able to collect the following specimen pieces of news:

London--The British Admiralty reports that the English fleet had driven back the German fleet to the Dutch coast.

There is not one word of truth in this. The Admiralty itself appears later to have recovered its senses; at least, it denied a Reuter story about a "great English naval victory near the Dogger Bank." But the English manufactories of lies are already so actively at work that members of Parliament have protested in the House itself against the "lying reports of the English press."

Paris--From Paris the a.s.sertion was made and disseminated throughout the world that "the landing of English troops in Belgium has begun; they were enthusiastically received by the population.

The landing proceeded rapidly and in the best order, as the agreement between the two General Staffs guaranteed the perfect carrying out of the disembarkment plans."

Not a single word of this is true. At present not one English soldier has been landed.

In a similar way the Baltic Sea has become the scene of invented "battles"--of "German defeats," of course; the Russian Baltic Fleet sank a German war vessel in a battle that never occurred.

And, "The Russian vanguard has crossed the German frontier without meeting with opposition." As a matter of fact there is not a single Russian soldier on German soil. All inroads have been repulsed, and the German offensive has everywhere been successful.

A Dutch newspaper prints the following report from France:

Belfort--Many hundreds of Alsatians are joining the French Army with great enthusiasm, also many Italian Swiss. A large number of Alsace-Lorrainers are waiting near the frontier with a view of crossing it at a favorable opportunity to fight on the French side.

Such absurdity in the face of the unbroken unanimity of the entire German people and despite the manifest enthusiasm of the Alsace-Lorrainers for the German cause!

Equally stupid and made up for incurably credulous readers is an official report of the French War Ministry--not a private rumor, be it noted, but an official communication. It says:

A young Frenchman reports under oath that he was arrested, along with several other Frenchmen, at the railway station in Lorrach while on the homeward journey from Baden; and they were led through the whole city under a military escort. One of the Frenchmen shouted, "Hurrah for France," and was at once shot down. Three others who protested against this suffered the same fate; and so did a fifth man who thereupon had called the Germans murderers. The rest of the Frenchmen, proceeding to Switzerland by rail, heard shots fired in the adjoining compartment; they discovered that two Italians had been shot by Germans because one had protested against the opening of the window, and another had jostled a German.

Does such stuff call for any refutation at all?

A typical example of how it is sought to work upon public opinion by means of systematic lying is afforded by the capture of Liege.

The fact is that this Belgian stronghold, along with its forts, which contained a garrison of 20,000 men, was taken by storm on Aug. 7 by the German troops, who fought with unparalleled bravery, and that 3,000 to 4,000 Belgian prisoners of war are already on their way to Germany.

Yet on Aug. 9--two days after the fall of Liege--a dispatch was still sent to the Dutch press, saying: "The Liege forts are still in Belgian hands."

And on Aug. 8, thirty-six hours after the fall of Liege--a dispatch was sent from Paris to the newspapers of Rome, saying:

The Germans lost 20,000 men at Liege and asked for an armistice of twenty-four hours. Liege has not yet fallen. The English landed 100,000 men at Antwerp, who were received with jubilation by the population. President Poincare, upon the proposal of Doumergue, the Minister of War, conferred on the City of Liege the cross of the Legion of Honor.

Another newspaper reported as follows: "The King of England sent a congratulatory dispatch to the King of Belgium upon his victory at Liege; seven German regiments were slain."

At Paris itself a note of the French War Ministry--published on the evening of Aug. 7, Liege having fallen in the early morning of that day--mentions the resistance of Liege and says that the forts are still holding out; that the Germans who had entered the city on Thursday by pa.s.sing between the forts had evacuated it on Friday; and that the Belgian division that went to the a.s.sistance of the city had therefore not even made an attack. The official note concludes from all this that the resistance of the Belgians was seriously disturbing the plan of the Germans, who were building hopes upon a rapid success.

And four full days after the capture of Liege the French Minister at Berne reported officially: "Liege has not yet been taken; the German troops were repulsed."

At Copenhagen the following dispatches were published: "The English and French troops had effected a junction with the Belgian Army and had entered Liege and made many German prisoners, among them a nephew of the German Kaiser."

Similarly at Stockholm: "The Germans had suffered a severe repulse."

Again a dispatch from Paris to Rome: "The Germans had been driven back behind the Moselle and were begging for an armistice; the French had pa.s.sed Namur and were pressing forward in forced marches, while 500,000 English were falling upon the German flank."

Still another official report from Paris: "Liege is becoming the grave of the 150,000 Germans who are breaking their heads against its walls; the Belgians had taken 3,000 prisoners, who were in a terrible condition; but for their good fortune of falling into captivity they would have starved to death."

In contrast to all this let us take the unvarnished truth as in the reported simple words of the German Quartermaster General:

We are now able to report upon Liege Without doing any harm.... We had only a weak force at Liege four days ago, for it is not possible to prepare for such a bold undertaking by collecting large ma.s.ses of men. That we attained the desired end in spite of this is due to the excellent preparation, the valor of our troops, their energetic leaders.h.i.+p, and the help of G.o.d. The courage of the enemy was broken, and his troops fought badly. The difficulties against us lay in the exceedingly unfavorable topography of the surroundings, which consisted of hills and woods, and in the treacherous partic.i.p.ation of the entire population in the fighting, not even excluding women. The people fired upon our troops from ambush, from villages and forests--fired upon our physicians who were treating the wounded, and upon the wounded themselves. Hard and bitter fighting occurred; whole villages had to be destroyed in order to break the resistance, before our brave troops penetrated the girdle of forts and took possession of the city. It is true that a part of the forts still held out, but they no longer fired.

The Kaiser did not want to waste a drop of blood in storming the forts, which no longer hindered the carrying out of our plans. We were able to await the arrival of heavy artillery to level the forts one after the other at our leisure, and without the sacrifice of a single life--in case their garrisons should not surrender sooner.... So far as can be judged at present the Belgians had more men for the defense of the city than we had for storming it. Every expert can measure from this fact the greatness of our achievement; it is without a parallel....

(Signed) VON STEIN,

Quartermaster General.