THE GREAT WAR HOAX

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 145, 19 June 1915, Page 13

THE GREAT WAR HOAX

,HOW RUSSIANS SAVED PARIS KITCHENER'S "CUTE TRICK. (I'.y Af.BKRT DORIUXGTOX.)

LONDON, April 24. The true history of the Great Iloa: will b" delivered to the British publi when Peace is declared. To appreciat j the Hoax in all its hearings, one has tc go back to August last, when the Ger man Deluge threatened to sweep tin British ami French Armies into the Bay of Biscay. It. was just here that till 110-a.x ,-aved Paris, Europe, and probably you and no-. Schools of arm-chair strategists havi sought to account for the sudden de liriun, of panic that seized yon Kluck at tin. very moment his right wing was beating at tin- gatis of Paris. Some people cisscrt. that the German "debacle" was caused by that mystery of mysteries, General Manourney. During the retreat from Alons, whe n our little army was n. chaff .before the gale, -Manourney is said to lutve appeared <,„ yon Klm-lds centre, like a thunderbolt from tin- blue The German text-books knew nothing of Manourney or his army. He is credited with stopping the Germans' terrific onslaught. || c absorbed the shocks 0 f ten army corps while .lofl'ie got his lighting wind. Yon Kluck', battering-ram was shattered before his defence The Germans turned; Manourney flew at them like a ti-'er They , ~,. • o -

We have believed all this until today. And now something has transpired to throw fresh light on the German panic at the Manic. It was not tin- fear of our little army, or Manournev's unex pected appearance. that turned yon Muck'- right wing. It was owinrr to .1 trick ot Kitchener: and the facts" are' just leaking out. The complete document will read something like this: — In Angii-i Inst, when our Army was disputing every foot of giound with the German, at Mons, a statement was flashed abroad that half -a million Russian troop, were being entrained in the north of Scotland, hurried by rail to various ports of embarkation' on the South coast of England, and thence -'■nt per transports, to Belgium. We had the testimony of thousand, of re. pulahle citizens. who proved bevoml doubt that trainloads of ,S| a v soldiers were passing through (he prim '•'l-al Engl.sh towns. We had the joke <' Li- snow 111 the trains to prove that they writ- Russians.

'.he writer saw one 0 f these tran,,.«„(, blind, down, moving into Jsoutliampton. Here and there an open r».mh W .Tr"' « rc ' u,,s of ""-"U | rough-coated figures, armed and equip. ;!'.'"! after the style of the typical Klls- ■»•■'< «old,er. All this was -noted by crowds of inquisitive people. And each | ni.y brought Iresl, news of other Russian |.cgiine.its hurrying to the ports of em'arkatio,,. Ministers and p„ l>)jc nlen '""' s l ,o , kon '» then, ami hud been answered ,n Russia,,: and still our t less maintained a discreet silence Not a -ingle r,.f,. rprK . ( . ,„ ~„. „,„,.„„,;„,; of oreig,, troops m England was made m .* n\ jirjti.-li iKvpcr, And to crown all, the Premier Mr Asqutth j,, response to a question put '•V an Ins, member in t1,,. Commons, .ta er] emphatically that „ 0 Russian "oops had ever ,usscd thr0,,,,, this I ;'"' ""' " ntt ' r "as laughed at by every pressman to whom he had confided hi's Southampton experiences I ' h,t '' » otes that the Premier did not contradict the rumour of entrained Russians until every German sp y in England md sent the report to Berlin. Ihe people „f this country believed it; oi, Kb,"."",' T ral Staff »««»owed it: on Muck heard it at the moment Paris was in h,s grip. He had not counted 0.1 ..c -udden appearance of half a million troops on Ins Kcl-rjan flank. ] t w as this that sent bin, pelting tack in his tracks. D was a great hoax! We know now ta-il Ix,teener had rigged „,, ~P v eral regiments „f Pommies in Russian „n,iims. and sent then, trave||j„ t) , rhe land for the benefit of the German spies. \\ o ; ,|,. 0 kno „. thnt aftpr thp Ala rue these spies were dealt with by iscothiiid 1 ard. But these spies am] several t o„s of lalsc beards saved Paris: