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72 decks must have been cleared for action before William set out towards the Midnight Sun.

It is thus by no means surprising that we should find a “Memorandum of the Under-Secretary of State, Freiherr von der Bussche, for the Secretary of State Zimmermann,” dated August 30th, 1917. In this we read:

"“In July, 1914, on the same day [July 5], after the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador had handed His Majesty the Emperor the letter of the Emperor Francis Joseph, which had been brought by Count Hoyos, and after the Imperial Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg and the Secretary of State Zimmermann had been received at Potsdam, there took place at Potsdam a council of military authorities before His Majesty. The following took part: His Excellency Capelle, on behalf of Tirpitz, Captain Zenker, for the Admirals' Staff, representatives of the War Office and of the General Staff. It was resolved, in preparation for all emergencies, to take preparatory steps for a war. Orders in agreement with this have thereupon been issued.—A thoroughly reliable source. “.”"

The information given by Herr von Tirpitz in his “Memoirs” (1919, page 209) points in the same direction. He reports that William, with all his optimism, found it necessary to be armed for all eventualities:

“For this reason, on the 5th he commanded the Imperial Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg, von Falkenhayn the Minister of War, Zimmermann, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,