Although he did not express this opinion to me personally, I have it on
excellent authority that Hindenburg believes this war will last close
on four years at least. And the result--stalemate. He does not believe
that the Allies will be able to push the Germans out of Belgium, France
or Poland.
Personally, I found it impossible to get him to make any definite
statement on the probable outcome and duration of the war. "Until we
have gained an honorable peace," was his cryptic reply. He refused to
state what, in his opinion, constituted an honorable peace. If I am to
believe several of his officers--and I discussed the subject almost
every day--then Hindenburg must by now be a very disappointed man. I
was told that he calculated as a practical certainty on a separate
peace with Russia soon after the fall of Warsaw. (I should like to
point out here that this "separate peace with Russia" idea was one of
the most popular and most universal topics of conversation in Germany
last year.)
* * * * *
When Hindenburg learnt that I had come all the way from Berlin without
a pass from the General Staff, he appeared very much amused; but in a
quasi-serious manner he said:
"Well, you know that I ought to send you back at once, otherwise
I shall risk getting the sack myself; still, as all ordinary
train-service between here and Posen will be suspended for four days,
the only way for you to get back is by motor-car. It would be a pity to
come all the way from sunny Italy to this Siberian cold, and not see
something of the men and of the hardships of a Russian winter campaign.
Travelling by motor-car, you will have ample opportunity to see
something of the country, and, if you feel so inclined, of the fighting
as well. And then go home and tell them abroad about the insurmountable
obstacles, the enormous difficulties the German has to overcome."
Hindenburg does not like the Berlin General Staff officers, and that is
why he was so amused at my having got the better of them. He describes
them as "drawing-room" officers, who remain safely in Berlin. With
their spick and span uniforms they look askance at their mud-stained
colleagues at the front. His officers, who know Hindenburg's feelings
towards these gentlemen, play many a practical joke on their Berlin
_confrères_. The latter have frequently returned from a visit to some
communication trenches only to find that their car has mysteriously
retreated some two or three miles ... over Polish roads.
Any one who can tell of such an experience befalling a "Salon Offizier"
is sure to raise a good laugh from Hindenburg.
At the conclusion of our conversation he instructed the young A.D.C. to
take me over to Headquarters and present me to Captain Cämmerer. "Tell
him," and I inscribed the words that followed deeply on my mind, "to be
kind to Herr Beaufort."
* * * * *
My introduction to Cämmerer proved to be one of those curious vagaries
of fate. He was the very man who less than twenty-four hours ago
had spoken with General von Schlieffen, and who had assured him how
impossible it was for me to continue, and that I was to be sent back to
Berlin at once!
"Beaufort, Beaufort," he sniffed once or twice before he could place
me. Then suddenly he remembered. "Ah, yes, him! You are the man General
von Schlieffen telephoned about yesterday? But did he not instruct you
to return to Berlin?"
However, I remembered Hindenburg's injunction: "Tell Cämmerer to be
kind to him," so what did I care for a mere captain?
Consequently, as they say in the moving pictures, I "registered" my
most angelic smile, and sweetly said:
"Ah, yes, Captain, quite so, quite so. But, you see, I felt _certain_
that there was some misunderstanding at this end of the wire. Probably
it was not clearly explained to you that I had this very important
letter of introduction to General von Hindenburg from my friend his
nephew. As you see," and I waved my hand at the A.D.C., my master of
ceremonies, "I was quite right in my surmise."
* * * * *
However that may be, you may be certain that I saw to it that when
we mapped out my return journey, Cämmerer was being "kind" to me.
Consequently, I spent two most interesting weeks in the German Eastern
war-zones, much to the surprise and disgust of the "Drawing-room Staff"
in Berlin.
(Count De Beaufort's revelations form one of the most valuable records
of the war. He tells about "Spies and Spying;" "German Women;" "When I
Prayed with the Kaiser;" "An Incognito Visit to the Fleet and German
Naval Harbors;" "Interviews with the Leading Naval, Military and Civil
Authorities in Germany"--closing with an interview that upset Berlin,
caused his arrest, and as he describes it, "My Ultimate Escape Across
the Baltic.")