WORLD-WIDE CONSEQUENCES OF THE “HAMBURG TO THE PERSIAN GULF” SCHEME, AS PROVIDED FOR BY THE PLAN OF 1911.
As for the territorial acquisitions which Tannenberg advocates in Asia, in Africa, in Oceania, and in America, they would be the perfectly logical consequences of the accomplishment of the “Hamburg to the Persian Gulf” project. If that project became a reality, it would be because the European Allies, through their blunders in the management of the war, would have had to forego the notion of beating Germany and to leave the German General Staff to command an army of from 15 to 21 millions of men (see p. 91). Therefore, it is obvious that on this hypothesis the Allied peoples, after a treacherous peace, morally and financially exhausted, having to face the formidable armies of Pangermany, would be unable to oppose the accomplishment of those colonial schemes, which the success of the “Hamburg to the Persian Gulf” plan would afford to Great Germany the means of carrying out, since, always on the assumption in question, they would have given way on an issue much more vital for them—that of the independence of Europe.
Once grant this supposition, and we shall be convinced that Tannenberg’s world-wide plan of Pangerman annexations is quite stripped of that chimerical character which at first sight we might be disposed to ascribe to it.
Besides, we must add that the programme, which is fully described below, was drawn up by Tannenberg on the supposition, on which the Berlin Government also reckoned, that England would not take part in the war. In order to purchase her neutrality, Tannenberg advocated dividing the colonies of the other European powers between London and Berlin. But now that England has thrown herself into the struggle, it is clear that, assuming Germany to be victorious, she would take possession also of those colonies which Tannenberg proposed to assign to Great Britain, since Britain would be incapable of resisting. It follows that the world-wide acquisitions of Pangermany, sketched in the plan of 1911 and summarized below, are in fact less than Germany would be able to effect, since having presumably accomplished the scheme of domination “from Hamburg to the Persian Gulf,” no organized force on earth would be powerful enough to curb the boundless ambition of Berlin.
We have proved above that if the Allies allowed Germany to secure her hold on Austria-Hungary, the predominant and exclusive influence of Berlin over all the Balkans and Turkey would be inevitable. Tannenberg (op. cit., p. 323) explains that finally Asia Minor, Syria, and Mesopotamia, Palestine, Western Persia, and the larger part of Arabia would pass under the absolute protectorate of the German Empire, making a total of, say, 3,200,000 square kilometres and 16,500,000 inhabitants.
Once masters of the coasts of the Adriatic, the Ægean, the Dardanelles, and Aden, helped by the Panislamic propaganda, the Turco-German seizure of Egypt, and therefore the Suez Canal, would necessarily follow. Germany, if she commanded these essential strategical points, would then obviously be able to retake her colonies in Africa and Oceania.
| Square Kilometres. | Native Population. | |
|---|---|---|
| Togo | 87,000 | 1,003,000 |
| Kameroon | 790,000 | 2,540,000 |
| South-West Africa | 835,000 | 87,000 |
| Eastern Africa | 995,000 | 7,510,000 |
| Kaiser Wilhelm Land, Bismarck Archipelago, Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands, the Marianes, Samoa | 245,000 | 647,000 |
| Making a total of | 2,952,000 | 11,787,000 |
Always on the assumption which we have made, the Allies, having given way in Europe, could not prevent Great-Germany from snatching, according to Tannenberg’s programme, the Belgian, Portuguese, and Dutch Colonies, namely:
| Square Kilometres. | Native Population. | |
|---|---|---|
| Belgian Congo | 2,365,000 | 15,000,000 |
| Portuguese Angola | 1,270,000 | 4,200,000 |
| Dutch East Indies | 2,045,000 | 38,106,000 |
| Total | 5,680,000 | 57,306,000 |