A remarkable secret letter written from Germany to the Admiralty in London has come to light – proving that the British knew that WWI was inevitable as early as 1906.
The letter was written from Wiesbaden to Sir Evan Macgreggor, Secretary to the Admiralty, and discussed is great detail the feelings towards the war which were seething in Germany at the time.
Written by a Francis Denys – presumably a British agent – it was originally accompanied by a pamphlet entitled ‘Mit Deutschen Waffen uber Paris nach London’ (with German arms over Paris to London) with the comment ‘…one of many [such pamphlets] with which the shops are teeming just now.
Denys continues: ‘ It is very interesting though to think the writer need not have had recourse to such a dramatic ending. It would have been simpler to have attributed our defeat to the demoralization and want of co-operation of the French fleet when called upon to defend England after seeing France devastated by the land war.
‘I have been coming here for some years and though the hostile feeling against England has been notably on the increase I was quite unprepared to find this year relations on this side so strained as they unquestionably are and to hear the coming war with England discussed openly.
‘Various matters have since intensified this feeling of jealous hostility and it would appear that the press is preparing and educating the public mind to the idea of a war with England.
‘The position of Germany now is similar to that in 1870 when a war with France was necessary for Germany’s advancement for that further development and to obtain colonies for her increasing population .
‘War with G Britain has become necessary and the Germans consider that owing to their greater intelligence and better education they are entitled to be the dominant power in Europe; to be this they must have command of the sea and to obtain it and the colonies they want they must smash Gt Britain. Lord Tweedmouth and Winston Churchill speeches last week at the Eighty Club to the German Municipal Delegates will find no response in German official quarters…’
‘This is a quite remarkable letter which clearly demonstrates how the horrors of WWI were akin to a dormant volcano rumbling into life,’ commented Historical Documents Expert for auctioneers Mullock’s who will sell the letter in their next sale at Ludlow Racecourse, Shropshire on Thursday November 6th.
Auction info www.mullocksauctions.co.uk
