The German Kaiser in two telegrams acknowledging congratulations on the
thirtieth anniversary of his accession to the throne made announcements
of historic interest regarding the issues of the war and the uses of
militarism. On June 17 he telegraphed to the German Chancellor, Count
von Hertling:
I express cordial thanks and kind good wishes to your Excellency
and the State Ministry on the day on which, thirty years ago, I
ascended the throne. When I celebrated my twenty-five-year jubilee
as ruler I was able, with special gratitude, to point out that
I had been able to do my work as a prince of peace. Since then
the world picture has changed. For nearly four years, forced to
it by our enemies, we have been engaged in the hardest struggle
history records. God the Lord has laid a heavy burden upon my
shoulders, but I carry it in the consciousness of our good right,
with confidence in our ship, our sword, and our strength, and in
the realization that I have the good fortune to stand at the head
of the most capable people on earth. Just as our arms under strong
leadership have proved themselves invincible, so also will the
home land, exerting all its strength, bear with strong will the
sufferings and privations which just now are keenly felt.
Thus, I have spent this day 'midst my armies, and it moved me
to the depths of my heart, yet filled with the most profound
gratitude to God's mercy.
I know that Prussian militarism, so much abused by our enemies,
which my forefathers and I, in a spirit of dutifulness, loyalty,
order, and obedience, have nurtured, has given Germany's sword and
the German Nation strength to triumph, and that victory will bring
a peace which will guarantee the German life.
It will then be my sacred duty, as well as that of the States,
with all our power to see to healing the wounds caused by the war
and to secure a happy future for the nation. In most faithful
recognition of the work hitherto performed, I rely on your
approved strength and the help of the State Ministry. God bless
our land and people!
In an address at Main Headquarters on June 15 he said that the war
was not a matter of strategic campaign, but a struggle of two world
views wrestling with each other. "Either German principles of right,
freedom, honor, and morality must be upheld," he added, "or Anglo-Saxon
principles with their idolatry of mammon must be victorious."
The Anglo-Saxons, he asserted, aimed at making the peoples of the world
work as slaves for the Anglo-Saxon ruling race, and such a matter could
not be decided in days or weeks, or even in a year.
The Emperor emphasized the fact that from the first he had realized
that the trials of war would be great. The first outbreak of enthusiasm
had not deceived him. Great Britain's intervention had meant a world
struggle, whether he desired it or not. He said he was thankful that
Field Marshal von Hindenburg and General Ludendorff had been placed
at his side as counselors. Drinking to the health of the army and its
leaders, the Emperor said:
The German people and army indeed are now one and the same and
look up to you with gratitude. Every man out there knows what he
is fighting for, the enemy himself admits that, and in consequence
we shall gain victory--the victory of the German standpoint. That
is what is in question.
The Emperor referred to the period of peace, which he described as
"twenty-six years of profitable but hard work, though they could not
always be regarded as successful in a political respect and had brought
disappointments."
His interests had been centred in the work connected with the
development of the army and the effort to maintain it at the level
at which it had been intrusted to him. Now, in time of war, he could
not better celebrate the day than under the same roof with the Field
Marshal and his faithful, highly gifted Generals and General Staff. The
Emperor continued:
In peace time in the preparation of my army for war my
grandfather's war comrades gradually passed away, and as the
German horizon gradually darkened, many a German, and not the
least I, hoped with assurance that God would in this danger place
the right man at our side. Our hope has not been disappointed.
In your Excellency and in you, General Ludendorff, Heaven bestowed
upon the German Empire and the German Army and staff men who are
called upon in these great times to lead the German people in arms
in its decisive struggle for existence and the right to live, and
with its help to gain victory.
He sent the following telegram to the Crown Prince:
Under your leadership the armies of Generals von Boehm, von
Below, and von Hutier have severely defeated the enemy and
shattered the storm of his hurriedly brought-up army reserves.
Eighty-five thousand prisoners and more than 1,000 guns are the
outward signs of this tremendous battle success. To you and the
participating commanders and troops I express my thanks and those
of the Fatherland. The fighting spirit and fighting strength of my
incomparable troops guarantee our final victory. God will further
help.
Field Marshal von Hindenburg, in congratulating the Emperor on behalf
of the army, extolled the Emperor's "wise care for peace" during the
first twenty-six years of his reign and Germany's brilliant progress
in all works of peace in that period. If the German Army and people
had been able for nearly four years in the face of a world of enemies
to show such proof of their strength and right to existence as never
yet in history had been demanded and given in such measure, he added,
they also owed this to their war lord, who had indefatigably watched
over the fighting efficiency of his armies. The Field Marshal renewed
the unswerving loyalty until death of Germany's sons at the front, and
concluded:
"May our old motto, 'Forward with God for King and Fatherland, for
Kaiser and Empire,' result in many years of peace being granted to your
Majesty after our victorious return home."