The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-09-08
by ALFRED Won TIRPlTZ, Grand
Admiral Of the German Navy.)
Copyright, 1919. by the Bell Syndi-

NSOpyllbHlb Icl5, NY Ihc bSil oShui-
cate, Inc.)
Germany was forced into the world
war prematurely. Bethmann- Hollweg
precipitated the war after Austria
had gained diplomatic victory
which would have enabled the GEN.
trail powers to postpone the crash I'M
til Germany was really ready.
OF course, it was finally Russian
duplicity that forced Bethmann- Holl-
weggs hand. The emperor also made
mistake when he believed Prince
Henry, who, on his return from Eng
land, reported that King George had
told him England would remain neu-
trail. The kaiser erred in accepting
this statement.
l frankly questioned this report to
the emperor, and he promptly re-
Joined.
1.-THE word of king is good enough
for me-"
| deny that ruthless autocracy and
bellicose military caste let loose
this war. The emperor in parti-
cular, did not want war and our mis-
fortune did not proceed from the &C
QUESTION of power, but from our
weakness which did not know how to
use that power either for the purpose
of preserving or concluding peace.
In addition, we were stepped in il
lusions about our enemies, the nature
of their war aims, their conduct of
the war, and the nature of the eco
nomic war.
regret I will be compelled to
speak the truth in these memoirs
about persons still alive, although, in
speaking that truth, l do not desire
to impute to them ignoble ends.
Appointed to Supreme Command
German Navy.
In June, 1892, when appointed to
the chief supreme command, the
kaiser personally charged me to de-
velop the tactics of the high seas
fleet. had at that time gone through
better strategical apprenticeship
than any other officer in the German
ravy. The task, which had been set
me in 1877, of developing the posi-
blities of the torpedo and torpedo
attack, confined me for time to
purely technical field of action. The
stiff, infinitely exacting work OF de-
veloping this branch of the naval
service was dry material. and little
in my line then, though, like mathe-
mates. it trained me to proceed
methodically, and little did I appre-
ciate of what use it would he to me
in the years to come.
/ soon realized, however, how i'm
portant it was to master the laws Of
this new naval weapon since it
opened. out great prospects for the
warlike virtues of the German people
h, I tn ha fYvNt, No
forced to combat the larger navies of
the older, and then richer, countries.
The precise method of procedure that
had learned in previous training
soon proved of great advantage to
me in the technical experiments re-
uuired in this branch of the service.
During the period of this assignment
in the torpedo service, l spent the
eleven happiest years of my life.
After l had been placed in supreme
command of the German navy, the
English paid no attention to the
progress we made for some period.
The attention of the British was first
drawn TO the improvement, develop
ment and work Of the German feet
by some official documents which fell
into their possession. These were
either stolen by spy, or recovered
from sunken German torpedo boat.
We OF the German navy never were
able TO determine which, but | be-
lieve they were obtained from the
latter source.
About 1896, however, a feeling de-
veloped in the British navy that we
were their rivals at sea, and, when
they once began to regard us as such.
they at once commenced to study us
and, in fact, TO adopt our
especially in battle maneu-
vers. or course, they will never ac-
that they learned anything
from us. but 1t is nevertheless a fact,
quite clear from the first. that the
British feet owed TO us new in
centive, and a new spirit was thus
developed.
1t was characteristic of the German
position in the world that our navy
which as yet had no ships, so to