Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/225

Rh That no French Government, even the most pacifist with a Jaurès at the head of it, could accede to this demand, and that the question about neutrality was not intended "to confine the conflagration to the east" but to force France to war at once, is obvious. At 4 p.m. on August 1st they expected to have a ground for war against France, and at 5 p.m. the declaration of war was to be handed to Russia. It was thus hoped to be able to begin the war at the same time on both fronts, and the front against France seemed to the General Staff more urgent than that against Russia. On August 4th Jagow assured the Belgian Ambassador, Baron Beyens:

""To avoid being destroyed, Germany must first destroy France and then turn against Russia.""

It was therefore very upsetting that France's answer was quite an unexpected one. Viviani did not refuse neutrality, as Bethmann-Hollweg had assumed he would, nor did he promise it, so that there was no opportunity to produce the demand for the surrender of Toul and Verdun; Schön therefore had to telegraph on August 1st:

""To my definite and repeated question whether France would remain neutral in the case of a Russo-German war, the Premier replied to me that France would do what her interest demanded.""

Schon had no instructions to meet this answer. Nor was it easy for the Foreign Office to declare themselves, on the strength of it, "forced to war" and "assailed by France," which was, however, necessary if they were to create a favourable moral atmosphere for the war.