Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/245

Rh all things required for her troops, and make good all damage which might be done by German troops.

"Should Belgium offer a hostile resistance to the German troops, in particular to impede their advance by the resistance of the Meuse fortresses or by destroying railways, roads, tunnels and other works, Germany, to her regret, will be forced to regard the kingdom as an enemy. In this case, Germany will not be able to assume any obligations to the kingdom, but would have to leave to the decision of arms the later arrangement of the relation of the two States to one another.

"The Imperial Government confidently hope that this contingency will not arise, and that the Royal Belgian Government will know how to take measures to prevent the occurrence of events such as those mentioned. In this case the friendly tie that unites the two neighbouring States would be drawn more closely and permanently."

To this text was appended the following passage, drafted by Moltke:

""An unequivocal answer to this communication must be made within twenty-four hours after delivery, otherwise hostilities will be opened immediately.""

Jagow, however, considered this too rude. He deleted this sentence in the communication to the Belgian Government, and substituted the following instructions for the German Minister in Brussels:

"Your Excellency will at once communicate this in strict confidence to the Belgian Government and