CHAPTER IX A THE BERNHARDI OF THE SEAS FTER the break in diplomatic relations the slogan of German Militarism became: "Win or lose, we must end the war." To many observers it seemed to be insanity cou-' pled with desperation which caused the Kaiser to defy the United States. There was no doubt that Germany was desperate, economically, morally and militarily. While war had led German armies far into enemy territory, it had destroyed German influence throughout the world; it had lost Germany's colonies and Pacific possessions and it had turned the opinion of the world against Germany. But during the time Germany was trying to impress the United States with its sincerity after the Sussex incident the German Navy was building submarines. It was not building these ships to be used in cruiser warfare. It was building them for the future, when submarine war would be launched on a big scale, perhaps on a bigger scale than it had ever before been conducted. After the new blockade of the Allied Coast was proclaimed, effective Feb. 1, 1917, some explana tion had to be made to convince the public that the submarine war would be successful and would bring the victory which the people had been promised. The public was never informed directly what the arguments were which convinced the Kaiser that he could win the war by using submarines. But on the 9th of February there appeared a small book written by Rear Admiral Hollweg entitled: "Unser Recht auf den Ubootkrieg." (Our Right in Submarine Warfare.) The manuscript of this book was concluded on the 15th of January, which shows that the data which it contained and the information and arguments presented were those which the Admiralty placed before the Kaiser on his birthday. The points which Rear Admiral Hollweg makes in his book are: 1. America's unfriendly neutrality justifies a disregard of the United States; 2. The loss of merchant ships is bringing about a crisis in the military and economic conditions of the Allies; 3. England, as the heart of the Entente, must be harmed before peace can be made; 4. Submarines can and must end the war. This book is for the German people a naval text book as General von Bernhardi's book, "Germany and the Next War," was a military text book. Bernhardi's task was to school Germany into the belief in the unbeatableness of the German army. Hollweg's book is to teach the Ger man people what their submarines will accomplish and to steel the people for the plans her military leaders will propose and carry through on this basis. The keynote of Hollweg's arguments is taken from the words of the German song: "Der Gott der Eisen wachsen Liesz," written by Ernst Moritz Arndt. Hollweg quotes this sentence on page 23: "Lieber ein Ende mit Schrecken, als ein Schrecken ohne Ende." ("Rather an end with Terror than Terror without End.") In the chapter on "The Submarine War and Victory" the writer presents the following table: Status of merchant ships in 1914: (Figures for Dec. 1916 estimated) The World Tonnage at beginning of war was... 49,089,553 Added 1914-16 by new construction.... 2,000,000 51,089,553 |