It was to me as though something very wonderful had quite suddenly
descended upon the distress of my soul, something very holy, very
beautiful; but that was almost more than I could bear.... Touching had
been that wish when hope shone before us like a star, but now it was
more than touching, it was grand and sacred, for it was pronounced at
an hour when darkest disaster had overthrown our land, when inch by
inch our armies were retreating before the all-invading foe. There in
that chamber of suffering those dying lips still spoke of the hope they
clung to, of the dream that, in spite of sacrifice, death and misery,
one day must surely come true....
That dying man was but one of many, a voice out of the unknown, a
martyr without a name; but his words had gone home to my heart.
As I bent over him, laying my hand gently upon his crimson-stained
rags, I prayed to God to listen to his wish; prayed that the blood of
so many humble heroes should not be given in vain; prayed that when
that great hour of liberation should sound at last an echo of the shout
of victory that that day would sound over all our land should reach the
heart of this nameless one beyond the shadow into which he was sinking,
so that even beyond the grave he should still have a share in the glory
his living eyes were not destined to see....
"WITH THE GERMAN ARMIES IN THE WEST"--VISITS TO THE GENERAL STAFF
_Told by Sven Hedin, Noted Swedish Explorer--Authorized Translation
from, the Swedish by H. G. Dewalterstorff_
This is one of the most remarkable narratives of the War. It is a
great historical record, as well as a fascinating story of personal
experiences. Dr. Sven Hedin is one of the great Swedish explorers
and historians. His record as a man of intrepid daring is known
throughout Europe. By special permission of the Kaiser, Dr. Hedin
was commissioned to visit and observe the German Armies in Belgium
and France. He is the friend of Kings and was received with open
arms at the headquarters of the general staff of the German Army.
These experiences he describes in a volume entitled "With the German
Armies in the West," which is one of the few War books which has been
accepted by the German government as a true record. Dr. Hedin's talks
with the Kaiser, the Crown Prince, and the Army Officers, with his
journeys along the battle grounds of the Western front, allow us to
look behind the scenes for the first time. A few selections from his
remarkable tales are here given by permission of his publishers _John
Lane Company_.
[2] I--"ON MY WAY TO WILHELMSTRASSE, BERLIN"
The rain falls thick and heavy and patters down on the dripping lines
outside my balcony. Berlin is dull and miserable in the autumn when the
rain sweeps its long, monotonously straight streets with their heavy,
dark houses. Not even the trooping of the colors and the march past
at midday raise the drooping spirits, and only a few pedestrians with
open umbrellas join the band and march in step with the soldiers. No
calls are made, no visits paid, for the whole of the aristocracy is in
mourning for lost relatives and everybody's thoughts are centered on
the war. Nobody feels inclined for the futile pleasures of ordinary
times when the newspapers speak of a father who has lost four sons at
the front, or of a mother whose three sons have each died a hero's
death for Emperor and country. But no complaints are heard, no tears
seen. In the streets one seldom sees signs of mourning. There is
perhaps a tacit convention not to express in black and white the
sorrow which is felt at the bottom of the heart, but to make the grief
subservient to the proud consciousness that the beloved one has fallen
for his country, never to return!...
But the rain keeps on falling and beats against the window-panes.
I hurry downstairs, jump into a taxi and in a few minutes I am
sitting in an elegant drawing-room at the dainty new residence of
the Swedish Minister, at the corner of Friedrich Wilhelmstrasse and
Tiergartenstrasse, chatting with old friends--needless to say, about
the war. When I last met Count Taube in Berlin, I had just returned
from a long journey in the Far East. Now I stood on the threshold of a
new journey, which might be infinitely longer than the last! Later in
the day I visited another nobleman, Prince von Wedel, whom I had met
in Vienna when he was ambassador there, and in Strassburg when he was
Governor. We had much to talk about, but what is there to discuss in
these days but the great and bloody drama which occupies everyone's
thoughts--the War!
My most important visit in Berlin was to the Foreign Office. But before
narrating what took place there I must say a few words about the
reasons which led up to my journey. It was desirable that no one in
a responsible position in Sweden should have an inkling of my journey
to the front. Our country belonged to the neutral states, and thus no
authority must entertain the slightest shadow of suspicion that I was
traveling on any sort of secret mission. No,--the reason was a very
simple one. Only a few days' journey away the greatest war of all time
was being waged. It was clear that the outcome of this struggle would
decide the political development for the next fifty or hundred years,
or perhaps longer. In any case its shadows must envelop the remainder
of the lives of the present generation....
Once this war is over, whole libraries of books will be written about
it. I do not think it an exaggeration to say that on the western front
alone upwards of a million and a half diaries are being kept at the
present moment. In all directions, in all fighting units down to the
company, the platoon and the battery, official war journals are being
kept and accounts of the fighting are being prepared from the bedrock
furnished on the one hand by the draft of outgoing reports and on the
other by incoming papers, orders, reports and communications. The
soldiers record their own personal experiences, the officers their
military observations. Many a notebook has no doubt protected a heart
or checked the death-dealing bullet. Thus the sections of the German
General Staff, whose task it will be in due course to prepare the
materials, will be occupied for many years to come with this monumental
labor.
When I went out to the front, it was clearly established in my mind
that my narrative would be quite different from the military accounts.
I was not going to devote any attention to matters of purely military
science, which could only be dealt with by experts.