“Yes, your Excellency, the battle-field near Vionville.”
“It is a pity you were not with us to share our adventures on the 18th.”
The Chancellor then went on to give us a full account of his experiences during the last hours of the battle and the following night. I shall give these and other particulars later on, as I heard them from the Minister. Here I will only mention that the King had ventured too far to the front, which Bismarck thought was not right. Referring to our men, the American General Sheridan said: “Your infantry is the best in the world; but it was wrong of your generals to advance their cavalry as they did.” I may further mention that Bohlen in the course of the conversation said to the Chancellor: “Did you hear how the Bavarian muttered when the result seemed doubtful—‘Things look bad! It’s a bad case!’—and was obviously delighted to think we were going to be beaten?” The Bavarian referred to was Prince Luitpold. The name of General Steinmetz then came up. The Chancellor said that he was brave, but self-willed and excessively vain. Small and slight of figure, when he came into the Diet he always stood near the President’s chair so as to be noticed. He used to attract attention by pretending to be very busy taking notes of what went on, as if he were following the debate with great care. “He evidently thought the newspapers would mention it, and praise his zeal. If I am not mistaken his calculation proved correct.”
On Monday, the 22nd of August, I wrote in my diary: “Called to the Chief at 10.30 A.M. He asked first after my health and whether I also had been attacked by dysentery. He had had a bad time of it the night before. The Count down with dysentery! God save him from it! It would be worse than the loss of a battle. Without him our whole cause would be reduced to uncertainty and vacillation.”
On the instructions of the Chief I sent the Kölnische Zeitung the translation of part of a confidential report according to which the Emperor Alexander was favourably disposed towards the French. I also wired to Berlin respecting the closing of some small telegraph offices the officials of which were required for the field service.
There is no longer any doubt that we shall retain Alsace and Metz, with its environs, in case of a final victory over France. The considerations that have led the Chancellor to this conclusion, and which have already been discussed in an academic way in the English press, are somewhat as follows:
A war indemnity, however great it may be, would not compensate us for the enormous sacrifices we have made. We must protect South Germany with its exposed position against French attacks, and thus put an end to the pressure exercised upon it by France during two centuries, especially as this pressure has during the whole time greatly contributed to German disorganisation and confusion. Baden, Würtemberg, and the other south-western districts must not in future be threatened by Strassburg and subject to attack from that point. This also applies to Bavaria. Within 150 years the French have made war upon South-west Germany more than a dozen times. Efforts were made in 1814 and 1815 in a forbearing spirit to secure guarantees against a renewal of such attacks. That forbearance, however, was without effect, and it would now also remain fruitless. The danger lies in the incurable arrogance and lust of power which is part of the French character, qualities that might be abused by every ruler—not by any means by the Bonapartes alone—for the purpose of attacking peaceful neighbours. Our protection against this evil does not lie in vain attempts periodically to soothe French susceptibilities, but rather in securing a well-defended frontier. France, by repeatedly annexing German territory and all the natural defences on our western frontier, has put herself in a position to force her way into South Germany with a comparatively small force before assistance can be brought from the north. Such invasions have repeatedly occurred under Louis XIV. and his successor, as well as under the Republic and the First Empire, and the sense of insecurity obliges the German States to reckon constantly with France. That the annexation of a piece of territory will produce bitter feelings amongst the French is a matter of no consequence. Such feelings would exist in any case, even without any cession of territory. Austria did not lose an acre of soil in 1866, and yet what thanks have we had? Our victory at Sadowa had already filled the French with hatred and vexation. How much stronger must that sentiment be after our victories at Wörth and Metz! Revenge for those defeats will continue to be the war cry in Paris even without any annexation, and will spread to influential circles in the provinces, just as the idea of revenge for Waterloo was kept alive there for decades. An enemy who cannot be turned into a friend by considerate treatment must be rendered thoroughly and permanently harmless. Not the demolition, but the surrender, of the eastern fortresses of France can alone serve our purpose. Whoever desires disarmament must wish to see France’s neighbours adopt this course, as France is the sole disturber of European peace, and will remain so as long as she can.
It is astonishing how freely this idea of the Chief’s now flows from one’s pen. What looked like a miracle ten days ago seems now quite natural and a matter of course. Perhaps the suggestion as to a German Empire which is understood to have been mentioned during the visit of the Crown Prince is also an idea of the same kind. Blessings follow closely upon each other’s heels. We may now regard everything as probable.
At dinner the Minister complained of the excessive frugality with which the principal officials of the Royal Household catered for the King’s table. “There is seldom any champagne, and in the matter of food also short commons is the rule. When I glance at the number of cutlets I only take one, as I am afraid that otherwise somebody else would have to go without.” These remarks, like similar hints given recently, were intended for one or other of the gentlemen from the Court, with a view to their being repeated in the proper quarter. The conversation then turned on the improper, not to say disgraceful, manner in which the French soldiers carried on the war. The Minister said they had killed one of our officers near Mars la Tour (Finkenstein, I believe it was) while he was sitting wounded by the roadside. One of the company maintained that he had been shot, but another said that an examination of the body by a doctor showed that the officer had been stabbed. The Chief remarked that if he had to choose, he should prefer being stabbed to being shot.
Count Herbert has been brought in from the Field Hospital, and a bed has been prepared for him on the floor in his father’s room. I was talking to him to-day. His wound is painful, but up to the present it does not appear to be dangerous. He is to return to Germany one of these days, where he will remain until he has recovered.