Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/232

228 of the XXIst Army Corps, August 3rd, 9.40 a.m.: Three aeroplanes and an airship (broad in front and tapering behind) were bombarded with machine guns early this morning above the railway station of Saarburg, Lorraine. The aeroplanes did not give the prescribed signals of identification.

"6. Report from the Lines of Communication Commandant in Ludwigshafen on the Rhine of August 2nd, evening : Two enemy aeroplanes reported to-day (August 2nd) at Neustadt a. d. Haardt towards 10 p.m. last night.

"7. Report from the Lines of Communication Commandant at Wesel (received in the evening of August 2nd) : An enemy aeroplane shot down near Wesel."

In this compilation of August 3rd the first thing that strikes us is that there is no mention in it of blowing up the Aachen tunnel. For good reasons. Although it was based on "absolutely reliable reports" it was proved to be false the very next day. It proved to be one of the many rumours which were current in those days of excitement, but which ought not to have been accepted as correct by a serious statesman without investigation.

Even the reports of the military authorities did not always prove correct. Thus on the morning of August 3rd at 10 a.m. the Luxemburg Minister of State Eyschen telegraphed to Jagow:

"There is just being distributed in the town of Luxemburg a proclamation by the General commanding the VIIIth Army Corps, Tulff von Tscheepe, which contains the following: