Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/227

Rh the time at which the threat to her Western frontier will become a reality, but being threatened from two sides must at once begin her defence.

"I am therefore commanded to inform your Excellency that: 'His Majesty the German Emperor declares in the name of the Empire that Germany announces she is in a state of war with France.'"

This declaration of war was not dispatched. The reasons for this are not recorded. They probably hesitated to follow up the insufficiently founded declaration of war on Russia with a second of similar calibre to France. With what embarrassment the declaration, just made, of war on Russia was regarded is shown even in the fact that they do not dare to mention it in the document in question, but simply talk of a "Russo-German war having broken out," as if it were some natural happening, like the eruption of a volcano, independent of all human determination. But on the validity of the declaration of war on Russia depended that on France. If Germany were attacked by Russia, then she had to protect herself from being attacked at pleasure by France. If, on the other hand, the German Government were the aggressors against Russia, they became the aggressors against France also, as soon as they declared war on the latter merely for the reason that she intended to do what her interests demanded.

To these considerations there might perhaps be added another, namely, that war might have been declared on England and Italy for the same reason as on France. The neutrality of the former countries was also not certain; they also could "at any moment fall on the rear" of the Central Powers, with their armies and fleets in the meanwhile mobilized. It would surely have been