The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-07-30
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vea xrolsks's Cos@asss " 1sanes DsA MOT
Lie In . Bureau Drawn IA
That fine old lie about Won Moltke hsv.
the tho defeat Of France all ,sStAh1A Oh
paper In his desk 90 completely Wicked
out that the German commanders hAd only
to be supplied with copies md SAlRn and
Metz were the consequahoes II ang the
rounds Of tho press with brilliant varla-
tions. The latest variation 10 that Won
Moltko was awakened from. a sound sleep
to be told that France had declared war,
that he instructed the aid to go to cabinet
A and take from drawer 80 a paper mark
ed schedule 2 and resumed his slumher.
Inasmuch as the Prussian ambassador left
Paris several days before the declaration
Of war by France and as the order for
mobilizing went out from Berlin while
public peace was yet maintained, there was
no need to break Won Moltke's slumber
to tell him what he knew in daylight
France decided on war July 10, hut the
formal notification to that effect was not
sent to the nearest Prussian outposts un-
til four days later. Neither Bismarck,
Won Room nor Won Moltkc was caught
mapping either literally or metaphorically.
On tho contrary, they were arranging
even before France voted its fatefrl deola-
ration to make war inevitable. France de.
clared war, but 1t was Bismarck who
forced her to do 1t, and both Won Moltke
and Won Room were in tho game from
which the king Of Prussia was excluded,
for he was not let into it until it was too
late for him to undo what they had done.
Nor did Won Moltke issue orders at the
outset which made Sedan inevitable The
most he did, as he tells us himself, was to
mako plans in advance against every con-
ceivable hypothesis of French invasion of
Germany. The first position he took up
was that Of observation In order that
France might not by sudden rush sepa.
rate north and south Germany.
When he found the French were unequal
to invading Germany, he turned the tables
on them. He could not foresee Sedan at
the outset of the war, for the simple reason
that he could not foresee that MacMahon
would lot 60 his hold on the road to Paris
and start off on that attempt to relieve
Metz which ended at Sedan. Won Moltke
candidly admits in his books on the war
that he was puzzled by the French move
ments because they were SO obviously
wing 10 W oWdhSn HIS Suspicion, anu
that he was at fault in not pushing
straight through the Vosges, whose passes
the French did not even attempt to dc.
fend He did not anticipate that these
gateways would be left unguarded and
lost time in working around the noun
tains In consequence.
Won Moltke's books are those of frank
man who tells what he did. Possibly II
they were read more some of those who
arc forever comparing our operations with
those of Germany in 1870 would know
better than to set up the great strategist
as performing impossibilities Won Moltke
himself found 1t hard to stamp out all the
absurd variations of his achievements that
became current in Germany. He was
once, as he has told u.s. invited to private
view of a picture representing the council
of war before Sadowa, in which he was
grouped with other historical personagos.
He complimented the painter on his skill
and dryly added that the picture was Of
fective despite tho fact that no such coun-
Gil was held.-Boston Transcript.