Evening star., 1925-11-11
REAL s:FALSE ARMISTICE'' STORY
is NOW TOLD BY EYEWITNESS
Member of Star Staff, War Adutan at Brest, Tells of
Strange Condolences Which Led to Premature
Report Cabled to United States.

ana lIleil Oh uulS lIleEe WITH WiitI Httu
occurred.
We believed the report. There was
no reason to doubt it. 1t had reached
us in the form of an official telegram
to the admiral commanding the
United States naval forces in France,
from the naval attache at the United
States embassy in Parish. Further
more, those on the inside" We're
aware that everything was set for
the war to end.
Had Called i'm Subs
Fully a week prior to the date of
'the false armistice" / was admitted
to the chart room of the flag officer.
was permitted to see, because | was
an officially recognized liaison officer,
what none other than the naval Off
GERS on duty there had seen--a map
on which was charted every German
submarine then 'at large Every
one OF them was shown as headed to-
ward the British Isles. l was in
formed that all submarines had been
called home; they We're heading
around the north of Scotland for their
bases.
THAT means.' naval officer
prophesied, only one thing-the end
of the war"
1t is interesting to note that to the
oSSt ol IilS lillpliililiOll anu btlISA'
based on daily visits to the Navy flag
office and communion with the
officers, there never was II moment
during the war when the United
States Navy high command in France
was not aware of the exact location
Of every enemy submarine, and the
probable location of each enemy
underseas craft at future given
time, within a reasonable period of
10
Conveys proceeding TO France We're
enabled to dodge submarines time and
again as a result of information
wirelesSed to the convoy commander,
setting forth the location and course
of subs" This feature of the work
of the Navy was n tremendous factor
in winning the war.
Wild Time i'm Brest.
No city of its size and population
in the United States surpassed Brest
in the wildness and unrestrained
eXuberence of it's celebration of the
supposed victory, during the after
noon and evening of November Z,
1918. The Army, in Brest, had not
been advised by higher authority that
an armistice had been signed. How
ever, as stated. we had no reason to
doubt the announcement of the Navy,
buI we dtlcilued 10 DuSlHeSS anu CON
tinued quietly at Work-and we
worked seven days a week, without
regard to hours.
1t was in the midst of the quiet re
ferred to that a meteor appeared.
1t was none other than Col. Lareau,
head of the French mission in Brest
through whom the American Army
officials there transacted all necessary
business with the French government
'n1 H.,
and punctiliously polite. He snapped
his spurred heels together, saluted
me, and each of my assistants. in
turn, shook hands all around Com
ment-allez VouS"-ed uS as individuals,
and then-eXploded The verbal
shrapnel was about as follows:
What was the matter? What was
1t all about? Why We're the people
paradfng about the streets and
shouting? What did we mean? Why
had we done it, whatever it was?
People We're saying that the war had
ended. that an armistice had been
signed. That could not be true. He
had not been so notified. He would
have been notified had it been true
We must stop the people celebrating
and at once.
Not understanding much French eX-
cept pommes de terre, frites, and then
oiiIN "HeI SDOheIl SLOWLY. calmly and
spaSSionately, we were handicapped,
for our official visitor was unques.
tionably upset and excited. I prompt
ly ushered him into the office and
presence of Gen. Harries, who was
as calm and unperturbed as Col
Lareau was the opposite. Thereupon
ensued what will always be to me
another remarkable episode of the
false armistice." And, again, there
We're only four persons present
The visitor repeated, through our
headquarters interpreter, what he had
stated while in the adjutantS office.
Gen. Harries listened intently, with
out comment, until the end. His re-
ply was a recital in detail, laborious,
because 1t had to go through the in
terpreter, of how a we'll known Flu
ropean character had been reported
to have died. and the report was pub
hshed throughout the world. The
report was later denied, and the mat
ter was one of doubt for five or six
days. Finally official announce
ment was made of the death.
1t developed that the individual
was dead at the time of the
original report, but the fact could
not be Officially proclaimed until
the return of a parsonage of the
court, on leave of absence at a Sum
mer resort, whose duty it was to
make the official announcements. It
had been necessary to recall the per
sonage in question from his vacation
Therefore five or six days elapsed be-
fore the deceased could be Officially"
pronounced dead.
Story Might BE True.
And" said Gen. Harries to Col.
Lareau, through the interpreter, ''it
Is just barely possible, even though
you have not been officially notified.
that the armistice has been signed.
Anyhow, we know absolutely nothing
about 1t, one way or the other We have
not made any sort of an announce
ment. We have not heard anything.
except that the Navy has received a
telegram to the effect that an arnis- |
tlce has been signed. We cannot stop
the people from celebrating | would |
suggest that you confer with the
Navy officials
The wild celebration continued far