TRAIN IN THE FOREST

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 30 March 1929, Page 9

TRAIN IN THE FOREST

"SO THIS IS THE GERMAN EMPIRE”

PAGE IN FOCH’S LIFE

X, on November 8, 1918; by u. chilly and cdoudy morning-, Weygand came to my car, and announced, •Here they are/ I slightly raised a blind and inked through the window. We were in one of the densest corners of the Compeigne Eorest. It had rained for several days, and the ground was a mere lake of mud. Although the German train was only sixty yards distant from my own train, a. sort of gangway had been thrown on the soil and four men were seen striding along it. I looked at them, and said to myself: ‘So this is the German Empire, at last it is beaten and begs for peace. Well, I am going to treat it as it deserves, without hate of brutality, but with lirmness/ ” Thus spoke Eoch in his slow and moj tullic tone of voice. He had told mo once or twice the story, but only by ! piecemeal, writes Stephen Lauzamiie, in I the “National Review. ” This time he felt in a mood for telling it completely, not only stating what had happened, but what had been his impressions; not only reporting the words exchanged, but describing the scene. I can see the scene, because a- few years after the Armistice, in 192.1, 1 went to that x’emote part of the Compeigne Eorest and found things just as they were on November S, I9IS. Everywhere trees, bushes, copses. Grass had grown between the rails of the railroad. Alone, a wooden board, nailed j against an oak, reminded one .that there, in that lone spot, an historic deed had been enacted. “The train of Marshal Eoch/' was written on the board. And, sixty yards farther, on another board, the following inscription could be read in. half-obliterated letters: “Train of the German plenipotentiaries. ’ ’ It was deplorable, but it was grand. Reality, naked reality is always grand. I can still see the scene. And to-day nobody can see it any more. The spot has become theatrical. The trees have been felled and an immense square, a .space, almost as large as that of the Arc de Triomphe, has been cleared in the forest. A triumphal avenue leads to the adjacent road right up to the square. Between the rails and the railroad, where nice line sand has been i strewn-, two huge grey stones have -been, placed. On one. you may read: “Wagon tie Eoch”; on the other, “Wagon des plenipotentiarcs allcmands.” A little' farther on, a small station lias been, j erected in beautiful white stones, with -large columns, and the car has been placed under shelter in the station —an ordinary dining-car, bearing the number 2419-D —-where, on November 11, 1918, Eoch received the German plenipotentiaries. Everywhere one sees lovely alleys well raked, carefully cut grass, tiny fir trees artistically planted. Lt is magnificently staged. But the staging of the theatre is not the staging of life. The theatre, under pretext of embellishing reality, spoils it. One should never permit the theatre •to touch the great scenes of history. Eoch told an actor in the drama its story with an extraordinary simplicity —-just as if he had had no part in it. “When,” he says, “a few seconds later they entered my drawing-room in the car, I saw them standing, pale and stilt'. One of them, whom I guessed to be Mathias Erzberger, asked, in a

rather weak voice, permission to make the presentations. I simply replied: ‘Gentlemen, have you any documents? We shall examine their validity.’ They showed me documents signed, by Max do, Bade, which I deemed to be satisfactory. Then, turning towards Erzberger, I said to him: “What do you want?’ He replied in a still troubled voice: ‘We have come to receive the proposal of the Allied Powers in view of an armistice.’ I cut in rather sharply (and this .was the only time I was sharp): ‘Well,’ said one of them, Count

/ Obcndorff, ‘tell us, -Monsieur >le Marelchal, how you wish us to express ourselves. Our delegation is prepared to aslc you the conditions of an armistice.' I insisted: ‘Do you aslc formally for an armistice?’ ‘ Yes, we do.’ ‘Then, please sit down and I will read the conditions of the Allies to you.’ ’’ Foch not only mimics the scene, but taking a. sheet of paper and a pencil, he indicates the place of each one at the table with a rapid stroke. In fact, there, was no protocol, and, with the exception that the French and the British were on one side .whilst, the Germans were on the other, they seated themselves at haphazard. General Weygand, Foch’s Chief of Staff, was at his right, and at his left were the English Admirals Hope and Wemyss. Exactly facing Foch was General von Winterfeldt, who was only the second German plenipotentiary, whereas Mathias Erzberger was facing Admiral Hope. A German marine, Captain Vamselow, was seated beside General von Winterfeldt and a German diplomat, Count Obcndorff, sat beside Mathias Erzberger. An interpreter. Lieutenant Leperclie, seated himself at the end of the table. Two of Foch’s staff-officers, Major liiedinger and Captain do Mierry j were seated farther on, at two small tables, before the maps and near to two telephone apparatus placed in the car.

“I began to read the conditions of the armistice slowly,” continued Foch. ‘ ‘ After each paragraph I stopped to permit -the interpreter to translate. Then f loked at my interlocutors and followed the expression of their faces during the translation. Gradually I saw those faces change. Winterfeldt especially was very pale. I even think that he wept. When I had finished reading, I simply declared: ‘Gentlemen, I leave this text with you; you have seventytwo hours to reply to it. Meanwhile, you may present observations on details to me.’

‘‘Erzberger became pathetic. ‘For God’s sake, Monsieur le Marechal, ’ lie said, ‘do not wait for those seventy-two hours. Stop the hostilities this very day. Our armies arc a prey to anarchy. I Bolshevism threatens them; and that Bolshevism may gain ground over the whole of Germany and threaten France herself.’ I replied: ‘I do not know in 'wliat state your armies arc; I only know in wliat situation mine are. Hot only can: I not stop the offensive, but I am giving orders to continue it with redoubled energy.' Winterfeldt intervened in his turn: JMonsieur le Marcella 1, it will be necessary for our staffs to consult each other and to discuss together the whole of the details of execution. How will they be able to do so if the hostilities bo continued? 3 beg of you, for technical reasons, to stop the hostilities. Again, I retorted: 5 * The technical discussions can just as well take place in seventy-two hours. Until then the offensive will continue.’ That was the end of it. The four plenipotentiaries rose and withdrew.

During the two days which followed, November 9 and 10, Foch hardly slept at all. He had no doubt whatsoever but that the German plenipotentiairies would accept his conditions; but the wireless messages received by the Eiffel Tower all announced that the revolution had broken out in Berlin. Thus Foch was asking himself: “What Government arc these men representing?” Nevertheless, on the 10th, in the evening Foch sent Weygand to the Germans to remind them that at daybreak the seventy-two hours would have, expired and the armistice would have to be signed. Weygand had hardly accomplished his mission when Captain de Mierry, one of Foeh’s staff-officers, was called to the telephone and received the fol-

lowing wireless message, which, had just been transmitted by the Eiffel Tower: The "German Government to the German plenipotentiaries by the High Command of the Allies (IS hours 30.) The German Government accepts the conditions of the armistice which have been made to it on November S. The Chancellor of flic. Empire. 3054.

The figure 3054 was none other than I the figure ox the signature ofj the new • Chancellor Ebert, who was later to bej come President of the Reich. “Now, this time,” relates Eoch, “I did not sleep at all. A little after two o'clock in the morning the Germain ! plenipotentiaries came back into my car and started a final discussion. They requested that, in consideration of the troubled state that prevailed in the whole of Germany, the army be permitted to retain a greater number of mach-ine-guns for the purpose of maintaining order. I granted them 5000 machineguns and .100 motor-lorries. Then that was all. And, at 5.15 a.m. exactly, they signed the Act of Armistice in large letters.

“At seven 1 ordered my car and started for Paris. At nine, I arrived’at i the War Office, line Saint-Dominque, anil was ushered into the- presence of M. Clemcnceau. Ho did not appicar to be in good humour, and asked me: ‘What have you yielded to the Germans?’ I tendered him the deed in reply, and told him at. eleven o’clock the gun should be fired to announce the end of hostilities. *ln two hours,’ I said, 'the last shot will be fired and on all the front the struggle will have ceased. It is impossible that the Parisian population remain in ignorance of it.' ‘Well,’ ordered the old Tiger, ‘let the guns be fired at eleven o’clock.’ All that remained for me to do was to withdraw. ‘AT. 1c President,’ I simply said, ‘my work is finished. Your work begins.’ ”

There were, of course, many questions which 1 put to Foch when he told me this dramatic story. But two only were important concerning future history, and for the sake of truth I shall only reproduce those two questions with the two answers which the Mar shal gave. “People have said that the request for an armistice took you by surprise and that your conditions had to be improvised in the first days of November. ’ ’

“It is false. I - had been thinking of peace since the month of August. And, ever since the beginning of September, I wrote to M. Clemcnceau, saying: ‘The end of the war is approaching. Send me an official of the Foreign; Office to let me know what are the conditions of peace you are preparing, so that our armies may occupy the territories which will serve as a guarantee to the treaty you will make.’ M. Clemenceau replied that this was no business of mine. I therefore prepared my armistice, without knowing exactly what peace would, be. ’ ’

‘‘People have said that you regretted your .armistice to-day, and that you regretted not to have made it harsher. ” “That is false again. What is au armistice? An. armistice is a suspension of hostilities, the purpose of which is to discuss peace by placing the countries that have consented to the armistice in n- situation which will jicrmit them to enforce that peace. Did the armistice, which I signed on November 11 in the Compiognc Forest, fulfil this purpose? Yes, since on June 2S, after seven montlis of ngeotiations. Germany accepted all the conditions of the Allies. My armistice permitted the Allies to make any kind of peace they desired. If that peace has not been a. very good one, is it my fault? My job was finished; it was up to the heads of the Governments to do theirs.”