The Guns of August (82 page)

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Authors: Barbara W. Tuchman

Goeben
flew the Russian flag and “Our trick succeeded”: Kopp, 23–4.

Milne reports position to Admiralty: Churchill, 239.

“Very good. Hold her”:
ibid.

Churchill’s “urgent” message to Asquith:
ibid.,
240.

“Winston with war paint”: Asquith, II, 21.

Stokers’ deaths: Kopp, 28–31, 53; Souchon, 42.

“Tortures of Tantalus”: Churchill, 242.

Order to respect Italian neutrality and “petty incident”:
ibid.,
241.

Two messages from Tirpitz:
Krieg zur See,
13; Souchon, 47. Turkish hesitations which caused the cancellation are reported by Wangenheim, Kautsky, Nos. 852 and 854.

“To force the Turks”: Souchon, 47.

Sicilian headlines: Souchon, 45.

“Prevent the Austrians from coming out”: Corbett, 62.

Troubridge, “handsomest officer” and “Believed in seamanship”: Kenworthy, 32.

Gloucester
ordered to “avoid capture”: Milne, 104.

Admiralty clerk’s error about Austria: Churchill, 275.

“Indispensable military necessity.”:
Krieg zur See,
20.

“Enter. Demand surrender”:
ibid.

Wangenheim’s “agitated interest”: Morgenthau, 70–71.

Enver’s interview with Col. Kress: Kannengiesser, 25–26.

“More slaughter, more misery”: Churchill, 271.

Admiralty order to blockade Dardanelles: Corbett, 73

Asquith, “We shall insist”: Asquith, II, 26.

“Sale” of the
Goeben:
Djemal, 119–20; Morgenthau, 76–78. The “sale” and the diplomatic furor aroused by the arrival of the German warships is documented in the reports of the various ambassadors in Constantinople to their governments, especially Giers to the Russian Foreign Office and Sir Louis Mallet to the British, contained in the
Russian Orange Book, II,
and the
British Blue Book, II,
respectively.

Sazonov, “Even if we are victorious”: Paléologue, 84–85.

“Most bellicose” and “violently anti-Turk”: Asquith, II, 26, 28.

Gallieni’s comment:
Gallieni parle,
78.

Kitchener, “strike the first blow”:
ibid.,
26.

Souchon’s attack in Black Sea: Emin, 75–76; Giers to Foreign Office,
Russian Orange Book, II,
No. 98; Roberts to Grey,
British Blue Book, II,
No. 178; Memorandum by Sir Louis Mallet, November 20,
ibid.

“He did forbear to chase”: article on Troubridge,
DNB.
On the ground that the House of Commons had the constitutional right to review courts-martial, Commander Bellairs, an M.P., made several attempts to force the Admiralty to release the report of the Court, without success. As the finding was acquittal, the Commander said he could see no reason for the Admiralty to keep the report secret, “except to prevent the public from knowing the bad arrangements they made at the outset of the war.” April 15, 1919,
Parliamentary Debates,
5th series, Vol. 114, 2863–71.

“Their Lordships approved”: article on Milne,
DNB.

11. Liège and Alsace

Unless otherwise noted, the operations of the Belgian Army in this chapter are based chiefly on Galet, van der Essen, and Cammaerts; of the German Army on Ludendorff’s chapter “Liège,” 28–46, and on Reichsarchiv,
Weltkrieg,
Vol. I, 108–20, which, rather disproportionately, gives twelve pages to the infantry assault and only one to the work of the siege guns. The assembly, transport, and operations of the guns are taken chiefly from Schindler. Operations of the Army of Alsace are from Dubail and
AF,
I, I, Chapters 4 and 5, 90–154.

Encourage an uprising in Alsace: Joffre, 136; Engerand,
Bataille,
193.

“I will go through Belgium”: qtd. J. M. Kennedy,
The Campaign Round Liège,
London, 1915.

“Rage of dreaming sheep”: a remark applied by Baron von Stein to the Tugenbund, qtd. Buchan, 129.

Moltke on the 39th day: In correspondence with Conrad in 1909 Moltke at first said he expected to be able to transfer troops to help Austria, after defeating France, “between the 36th and 40th day of mobilization.” Conrad, I, 369. Later he thought he could defeat France by the 21st day if she took the offensive and by the 28th day if she fought behind her frontiers.
Ibid.,
374. Five years later, on May 12, 1914, when Conrad visited Moltke at Karlsbad, Moltke said, “We hope to be finished with France in six weeks from the start of operations or at least to be so far forward that we can turn our main forces to the East.”
Ibid.,
III, 669. On this occasion, he specified achieving a decision in the west “on the 39th or 40th day after mobilization.” Karl Friedrich Nowak,
Les Dessous de la défait,
Paris, Payot, 1925, 53.

Siege guns: In addition to Schindler, whose account is largely concerned with the transport and actual operation of the guns, the technical facts are taken from Army War College,
Study on Development of Large Calibre Mobile Artillery in the European War,
Washington, GPO, 1916, p. 8;
U.S. Field Artillery Journal,
October 1914, p. 591 and January 1915, p. 35; “Austria’s Famous ‘Skoda’ Mortars,”
Scientific American,
July 3, 1915.

Emerson, mark of the beast: qtd. Whitlock, 126.

“One of the greatest soldiers”: Ludendorff, 28.

“Nobody believed in Belgium’s neutrality”:
ibid.,
29.

“Hold to the end”: Galet, 56.

M. Flechet, Burgomaster of Warsage: Hanotaux, III, 84.

German proclamations: van der Essen, 52.

“Chocolate soldiers”: Schryver, qtd.
AQ,
October, 1922, 157.

Belgian Government proclamations: Gibson, 31; Cobb, 90.

“Summary executions of priests”: Bülow, III, 160. General von Bülow was killed the same day. According to rumor at the time, he committed suicide; according to an investigation conducted by Prince Bülow, he was shot by a
franc-tireur.

Six hostages of Warsage shot: Hanotaux, III, 125.

Battice “burnt out … gutted”: Bloem, 27, 29.

“Our advance is certainly brutal”: Conrad, IV, 193.

Belgian officer’s account: qtd.
Times History of the War,
I, 336.

“To intimidate the governor”: Ludendorff, 41.

Ultimatum to Leman to surrender: Schryver, 103.

Zeppelin attack:
Weltkrieg,
I, 115

Attempt to kidnap Leman: van der Essen, 62.

“Spared not but slew”: Martin H. Donohue in NYT, August 10.

“Hummed with wild plans”: Cammaerts, 147.

Woman offers flowers by mistake to German: Bloem, 48.

Joffre’s refusal to divert troops to Belgium: Poincaré, III, 7.

Joffre’s letter to King Albert and King’s reply: Galet, 83–4.

Belgium “defending the independence of Europe”: M. Deschanel, qtd.
Times,
August 7. So great was the moral effect of Belgium’s resistance that even the Irish Nationalist leader, John Redmond, said there was no sacrifice he would not make on behalf of Belgium,
Times History of the War,
I, 357.

“Hurrah in Liège!”: Bülow, 22.

Kaiser reproaches, then kisses Moltke: Moltke,
Erinnerungen,
24.

Kaiser “despondent”: Gerard, 198, 206.

German Note of August 9: Gibson, 44.

“We were cornered into it”: Cammaerts, 20.

Berthelot’s mission and King’s reply: Galet, 93–5.

Dubail: Engerand, 456–7.

Lanrezac “a veritable lion”: Spears, 345. One of Joffre’s choices: Joffre, 12, 236.

Lanrezac’s letter criticizing strategy:
AF,
I, I, Annexe 19, 59–60; Lanrezac, 54–56; Engerand, 412–15.

Joffre ignored it: Joffre, 130–31.

Joffre’s reply to Ruffey: Briey, April 15, 1919, evidence of Ruffey.

“That may be your plan”:
ibid.,
also Dubail, 12, and Lanrezac, 60–61.

Chauffeur, Georges Bouillot: NYT, September 20, IV, 3.

Joffre’s habits and characteristics: Mayer, 40; Pierrefeu,
GQQ,
96–99.

“Il m’a toujours fait mousser”:
Gallieni perle,
69.

Bonneau’s fears: Dubail, 14–20.

Entry into Altkirch and parade in Mulhouse: Hanotaux, III, 179, 185–92.

“Faulty execution”: qtd. Mayer, 35; Joffre, 152, 156.

Storks leave Alsace: Poincaré III, 51.

“Silently and anonymously” and Joffre’s orders to generals not to discuss strategy: Gallieni,
Mémoires,
172; Corday, 138; Poincaré, III, 92. Messimy, 243–52, gives a heart-rending account of the Government’s “anguish” at being kept uninformed by GQG of events at the front and of its persistent efforts to force Joffre out of his “obstinate mutism.” Although his exasperation nerved Messimy at one point to inform his liaison officer with GQG that “this intolerable and even ridiculous situation” could not continue, and to appoint André Tardieu as his own representative at GQG, Joffre calmly continued in his “systematic defiance” of the Government and managed to “seduce” Tardieu to his views.

Joffre orders generals not to discuss strategy: Gallieni,
Mémoires,
172; Corday, 138.

“That is how history is written”: Gallieni,
Carnets,
33, n. 1.

Gallieni worries:
ibid.,
32, n. 2.

French cavalry’s advance: Maurice, 30; Spears, 100. The French cavalry’s habits were severely disapproved by British cavalrymen. “They never got off,” says Major Bridges, 81.

Ian Hamilton, Hoffmann and Moltke’s “crazy way”: qtd. De Weerd, 72.

Fournier’s report and dismissal: Poincaré, III, 19; Engerand, 422.

Lanrezac’s anxiety “premature”: Joffre, 159.

GQG’s arguments disposing of German threat: Joffre, 141, 147–8, 150.

Col. Adelbert’s mission: Galet, 96.

Saw themselves in Berlin and German retreat “final”:
ibid.,
too.

Siege guns begin bombardment: Schindler, 119; Muhlon, 92; Essen, 77–79; Sutherland, 34, 83, who was in Namur when the same guns shelled those forts ten days later.

Demblon describes gun dragged through streets: Demblon, 110–11.

Capture of General Leman: Hanotaux, III, 254.

“Death would not have me”: Cammaerts, 151.

12. BEF to the Continent

Unless otherwise noted, facts about the BEF are from Edmonds, and all quotations from Sir Henry Wilson and Haig are from their diaries, edited by Callwell and Blake, respectively.

“Brains of canaries”: Philip Gibbs,
Now It Can Be Told.

“Frocks” and “Boneheads”: Childs, 134

Kitchener scorns plan to “tack on” BEF: qtd. F. Maurice,
Life of General Rawlinson,
95.

“We must be prepared”: qtd. Magnus, 284. On Kitchener’s views, see also Esher,
Tragedy,
31, 38–9.

Duke of Wellington: qtd. Hurd,
British Fleet,
29.

“Like partridges”: qtd. Magnus, 279.

“See them damned first”: Esher,
Journals,
III, 58.

“Tranquilize public feeling”: Arthur, 13.

“It was never disclosed … by some flash of instinct”: Grey, II, 69.

War with Germany an “eventual certainty”: Wilson, 112.

“practical grasp of minor tactics”: article on French,
DNB.

“French is a trump”: qtd. Trevelyan, 198.

“I don’t think he is clever”: to the Duke of Connaught, May 23, 1915, qtd. Nicolson,
George V,
266.

“Mercurial temperament”: qtd. Cruttwell, 23.

“Heart of a romantic child”: Esher,
Tragedy,
43.

Proceedings of War Council of August 5: Churchill, 248–55; Haldane, 296; Wilson, 158–9; Blake, 68–9; Esher,
Tragedy,
24.

“As much an enemy as Moltke”: qtd. Magnus, 302.

Officers’ swords sharpened:
Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein,
New York, 1958, 30.

“Best-trained … best-equipped”: Edmonds, 11.

It seemed to an officer that Kluck could hear: Childs, 115.

A French witness at Rouen: qtd. Poincaré, III, 31.

Thunder and blood-red sunset: Childs, 117.

Haig told a fellow officer: Charteris, 11.

Sir John French and Callwell visit Intelligence: Callwell,
Dug-Out,
17.

Proceedings of War Council of August 12: Huguet, 41–2; Wilson, 162–3; Arthur,
Kitchener,
22.

Kitchener’s instructions to C. in C.: Edmonds, Appendix 8.

“Temptations in wine and women”: text in Spears, Appendix XIII.

French greetings along the way: Corbett-Smith, 32.

“Roses all the way”: Bridges, 75.

13. Sambre et Meuse

Spears’ narrative, Chapters IV through VIII, is the most vivid and valuable in English for the Sambre and Meuse front if its strong anti-Lanrezac bias and other prejudices are skirted and Lanrezac, Engerand, and other French accounts are read to balance it. All French orders cited are in the
Annexes
to
AF,
I, I.

“Thank God we don’t have any!”: qtd. Monteil, 34; also on the artillery, Dubail, 44; Messimy, 86–87.

“Sack” strategy of Rupprecht’s Army: Rupprecht, 12, 15.

White roses for King Charles: NYT, Obituary of Rupprecht, August 9, 1955.

“Barbarians”: Dubail, 39.

Lanrezac’s fears and efforts to shift the Fifth Army to the left: Lanrezac, 67–77.

“Maybe even two million”: Percin, 105.

“What, again!”: Lanrezac, 73.

“The responsibility is not yours”: Pierrefeu,
Plutarque,
69.

“The Germans have nothing ready there”: Lanrezac, 78.

“Death in my soul”:
ibid.

Lanrezac’s letter to Joffre on Intelligence report:
ibid.,
79; Annexe No. 283; Joffre, 159.

Gallieni goes to Vitry: Joffre, 158; Messimy, “Comment j’ai nommé Gallieni,”
Revue de Paris,
September 15, 1921, 247–61.