France could
wait; we, however, could not, because a French invasion in our
lower Rhein flanks would have proved fatal. So we were forced
to disregard the protests of the Luxemburg and Belgian
Governments. We shall try to make good the injustice we have
committed as soon as our military goal has been reached. Who,
like we, are fighting for the highest, must only consider how
victory can be gained.
On Dec. 2 last Dr. von Bethmann-Hollweg said:
When, on Aug. 4, I spoke of the wrong which we were committing
with our march into Belgium, it was not yet established
whether the Belgian Government at the last moment would not
desire to spare the country and retire under protest to
Antwerp.... Now, however, that it is demonstrated by documents
found in Brussels how the Belgians surrendered their
neutrality to England the entire world knows two facts. One is
that when our troops on the night of Aug. 3-4 entered Belgian
territory they were on the ground of a State which had given
up its neutrality long ago....
To both these charges the Belgium Government has made reply. To the
first it said that, while the assurance that France would not invade
Belgium was sufficient, yet if France did take the initiative the
Belgian Army stood ready to defend its territory from a French invasion.
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