HOW THE HUN COLLAPSED.

Northern Advocate, 7 December 1918, Page 1

HOW THE HUN COLLAPSED.

FOUR LEAN YEARS

INDUCED REVOLUTION

LONDON, Dec. 5

An interview with the ex-Crown Prince of Germany nas been puunsned, in whicn he declared mat tne downfall of German military power was the result of a revolution induced by four years of hunger among civilians and the troops at tne rear, together with the overwnolmnig superiority of numbers secured to. the Allies by the entry of the Americans, which undermined the confidence of the German lighting forces. The Crown Prince added: "My troops had no rest. Sometimes whole divisions had but 600 rifles. Contrary to all the statements made abroad, I never desired the war. 1 thought the moment inopportune. l was never consulted, and the report about a Crown Council being held in Berlin to decide on the war, I deny on oath. I was enjoying a stay at a watering place when mobilisation was ordered. My father, also, lam sure, did not desire war. if Get many had sought the best opportunity for war she would have chosen either the Boer war or the Russian war periods. From the beginning I was sure Britain would enter the war. This view was not shared by Prince Henry of Prussia and other members of my family, People blame me for the Verdun failure. I refused twice to attack there with the troops at m„v disposal. On the third occasion my attack was successful in the iirs,. three days, but was improperly supported. I thought the Verdun attack a mistake. The Prince was bitter regarding the work of the General Staff, which was responsible for numerous mistakes. Ludendorff and staff continuously under-estimated the enemy's forces. They never believed the American contribution would be great. He regarded the armistice terms as very severe, and almost impossible of execution. If Germany had been victorious, he said, she would not have made the terms so hard. The Prince said he always entirely disagreed with air raids on unfortified cities, the fierce submarine warfare, ,the deportation of women, and the bombing of Paris. The German diplomats made awful mistakes, being unable to see the viewpoint of the countries where they were stationed, and misreading the opinion of other countries.

Referring to the notorious Boer j war telegram, the Prince declared:] "My father was made to send the j telegram by his political advisers. Every time he disagreed he was told to attend to his own business of commanding armies." He declared the air raids on London, and the longrange gun used to bombard Par's, were useless militarly. In fact, their use was silly. He said: "I suggested two years ago an international agreement confining air activities to the war zone. My opinions were disregarded. The orders to the submarine commanders were read differently by the various officers, some of whom went much too far."—Reuter.