The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-10-08
Won TIRPITZ STORY
.OF GERMAN DEFEAT

|UF GERMAN DEFEAI
Continued From Previous Issue.)
--------------------< --
The war had been in progress only a
year when two great discoveries were
maze by me, each Of which had to do
| with events which played a more or
less prominent part in deciding the
Ilnal issue. The more striking was the
revelation, which came TO me July g.
1913, that the entente had offered a
| virtual bride Of millions Of dollars to
King Alfonso II Spain would join the
allies. The other was that the kali
ser's advisers. even this early in the
| development Of our campaign, were not
| 70 be trusted, and that they were lead
Ing the way to the ruin of our plans.
! me revelations of the plot to bride
| spain came to me almost directly from
1 KING Alfonso himself As to the clowns
In official position VINO had the final
word at great headquarters. my opin
| ION OF them was identical with the con-
victions Of both Field Marshal Won Hin
, denburg and Quartermaster- General Won
Ludendorff which we openly discussed
when was guest OF Won linden
burg at his headquarters on the east
ern front
On the morning of July g. 1915, |
journeyed to Tesehen, Austrian Silesia,
a picturesque town, which at that time
was the headquarters OF the Archduke
Frederick, field marshal ard commander
Of the Austrian armies. We were well
coined with great friendliness there,
and ! took particular note of the en-
vironment, because 1t was what might
be called our first intimate glimpse Of
our allies, for whose cause we had gone
to war
The Archduke Frederick impressed
me at once as an absolutely harmless
old gentleman, with whom Conrad Won
Hoetzendorff the chief of the Austrian
general staff, would have no difficulty
In dealing.
Editors Note: As a matter of fact
Iirpitz's deductions again played him
false, for Archduke Frederick's cam
paigns were such failures that he was
succeeded by HoetZendorff himself In
February, 1917. after the latter had
been elevated to field marshal follow
ing the disastrous Austrian campaign
against the Italian drive for Goriza)
Afterward we were received by the
heir to the throne, who later was to
be a participant in the war as the
titular commander in hief-the future
Emperor Charles, He seemed to us at
that time very youthful, but his interest
in the Erandly betitled Austrian staff
was frank and great We were intro
duced to this staff. and heard nothing
for several minutes but Count So-and-
So" Count This-and- That" and
Count the Other" At breakfast l sat
next to the Archduke Frederick. who
seemed much more interested in his
only SON., the Archduke Albert, then IS
wears old, than in the war. "A
Alfonso Charged Bribery.
The boy had Just finished his school
examinations in both German and Hun
garian which he was being taught to
speak with equal facility. The old
who at that time doomed up as one
of the great heirs of European royalty
as his father owned great estates in
Hungary.
During the repast the Archduke Fred
erick confided to me that his nephew,
the king Of Spain, had written to him
that he (the king had received an offer
of hundreds of millions of marks II he
would join the quadruple alliance. King
Alfonso, as quoted by his uncle to me-
had written that SO long as he was
king he would not hear Of an alliance
with the entente; moreover, he had his
army to support him In an emergency,
editors Note. The late dowager
queen Of Spain, Maria Cristina, mother
OF King Alfonso, was a sister OF the
Archduke Frederick
Everyone at Austrian headquarters
felt incensed at the. latest note from
the United States, which had been re-
ceived In Berlin five days before, grow
Ing out Of the sinking of the Lusitania
The note had served warning on Ger
many that President Wilson regarded
our communication Of July as very
unsatisfactory" and the forebodings at
time when Americas attitude was
open TO our grave suspicion, were not
to be denied in all quarters.
Nobody at Teschen could conceivA
that we would be so weak as to draw
back--if only that sentiment had been
shared by our pantaloons In office
EDITORS Note: Won Tirpitz thus
pays his respects to the German for
eign office, with which he was CON
stantly experiencing friction, over its
Endorsement, Sent. IA. OF that year, OF
Won Bernstorffs assurance to the
United States that there would be no
more submarine sinkings without warn
inE)
My discovery that not alone Won
Hindenburg, but also Ludendorff were
Just as dissatisfied as l was over the
turn OF affairs. due to the workings of
the intimate personal circle OF the kali
sers advisers, came during a visit to
the field marshal less than month
after had been the guest of Archduke
Frederick. | Joined Won Hindenburg
at his headquarters at ISodz on Aug. 49,
Immediately held long conference
with Hindenburg and Ludendorff over
this situation, and found their views in
absolute conveyance with mine. AS a
whole Hindenburg told me- he saw no
prospect OF altering the situation 'au-
tour du roi.' tAround the kaiser The
mass. he told me, was too strong to
penetrate. It was an attribute of this
great soldier that he regarded the no.
lttical problem thus presented as
military problem and instinctiyely
sensed that he was confronting in ali
verify mass-a hostile mass, which
extensively was strong, and impene-
trable to the assaults Of his good sense
and my counsels
He revealed to me how he had i'm.
plored the kaiser not to follow the
recommendations of Gen. Won Falken-
hayn, chief Of the general staff, and
that also, in the previous great OPERA
tons, he had urgently advised against
the strategy which always went on at
lacking the enemy from the front. so
that the Russians by this method were
enabled to slip away. He went on 10
tell me that this policy had caused us
enormous losses.
Editors note: This revelation by