24th and 31st the whole German nation had been converted to the
uncompromising attitude of the Government.

Further, it is evident that the German people believed they were about
to march against Russia. The very last remark which I heard from German
lips as we entered the train to leave Erlangen on July 31st was: "Jetzt
werden die Russen abgeklöpft." ("Now the Russians will get a
whacking.")[18]

[Footnote 18: We left Erlangen at 3.30 p.m. Martial law had been
proclaimed some time previous to that. But the proclamation in Berlin
occurred at 3.30 p.m. on the same day. The _Berliner Abendblatt_
published on the same evening states that the Kaiser had been waiting
and hoping for a peaceful answer from Russia. The Bavarian authorities
could not have taken so serious a step without an order from the Highest
War Lord, which leads to the conclusion that it was a device to get
military preparation well under way.]

The Berlin cabinet mobilized Germany's armed strength, as they alleged,
against Russia, and the Government succeeded in arousing and enlisting
national enthusiasm against the Eastern neighbour. Yet when the time
came to strike, Germany's might was hurled against neutral Belgium and
unwilling France, while Russia was left free to overrun the Eastern part
of Germany. The blood-guilt rests in the first place with the Kaiser and
his Government, and in the second place (although in no less a degree)
with the German people, because they condoned the crime and acquiesced
in the duplicity.

While the war fury seethed through the nation the cry echoed on all
sides: "We want peace! We have worked for a peaceful solution!" Yet a