Poem ~ Peace In A Note - Thursday, 28 December 1916 - Friday, 29 December 1916

Source: File: Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg. See an original image at: <https://macedonia1912-1918.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/ww1-leaders-german-statesmen-and-army.html> [Accessed 28 December 2016]

Possibly prompted and basking in glow

Of success over Roumanian defeat,

Germany purveyed idea of negotiated

Peace - perhaps to believe that with

Advent of Christmas and goodwill to all

Men that this might be taken seriously.

Came an echo of previous attestations,

Where war's conclusion might become

Reality - another chapter for peace

Emerged from words by the German

Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg

12 December 1916, given in a speech.

The act of Roumania's entry to conflict

Began the body of the speech before

The Reichstag podium - in seriousness

Of the situation was noted Field Marshall

Von Hindenburg's strength - who had

Captured Bucharest and Wallachia.

This had been achieved alongside other

Fronts; the Somme, Italy and Russian -

Without any let up Hiddenburg pushed

All operations onwards. A twist existed

In Roumanian foodstuffs stocks,

While German enemies felt a famine.

The speech entwined praise and awe

On emperor's heart, by 1st anniversary

August 1915 - words told how Germany's

Empire was not a besieged fortress, but

An organised nation - having limitless

Resources, alongside a force of allies. 

Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg

Laid out claims to a nation of defence

And freedom - having quite forgotten

Their initial invading aggression -

Ever ready to hold out the German

Hand made claim of a peaceful country.

'God, humanity and nation' - three

Elements evoked the story, how all

Attempts for German declarations

Of peace were always avoided -

A reluctant Kaiser had mobilised,

Prompted by Russian mobilisation.

To claim throughout months of war,

The emperor wanted only peace -

His morals and religion nature finally

Prompted him to make official

Request for war's end, for harmony

With hostile countries in mutual peace.

Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg

Advised he had sent a transmission

Of a note for peace to major neutral

States; Switzerland, America and

Spain - ensuring all hostile powers

Received this, as well as neutrals.

To include the Pope who had always

Been an agent for a peaceful end

To conflict - the peace note circulated

To Constantinople, Vienna and Sofia.

The Chancellor edged towards reading

Circulated note in challenging enemy.

Greatest of all claims was the real

Existence of German world power,

And their clear conscience to act

In choosing peace over slaughter -

If declined than those that fought

Against them are wars perpetuators.

By suggestion that their enemies

Seek only to conquer how they,

With such words, spin doctor this

Situation - 'God will be the judge'

As Germany carrys on their way;

A burden of horror will be enemies.

To state the obvious catastrophe

Of conflict over much of the world,

Germany was not out to annihilate

Their adversaries, in a war forced

On them - yet a strong economy

Would enable them to continue.

A bitter end would be no problem,

Though civilization might dissolve

Into ruin - victories in Balkan arena

Only showed German power - how

That situation justifies their nations

Claim to unrelenting successes.

'Germany then carries on a war

Of defence' - she fights to assure

Integrity of frontiers and liberty

Of her nation' - for free intellect

And to develop peaceful energy

Alongside neighboring nations.

A pontification address to pope's

Intentions was to set out Germany

As subject of victimisation - only

Germany was ready for peace -

Setting forth an understanding for

The Holy See to channel outcome.

Making out his congratulations for

Imperial chancellors speech came

Reports via neutrals, quoting words

Of Marshal von Hindenburg - whose

Emotion was a soldier’s response;

'To live and die for the fatherland.'

Words from a Berlin telegram added

More prophetic rhetoric; Hiddenburg

Declared the highest holy duty by

Prosecuting victory another, Dr von

Bethmann-Hollweg, stated the words

As being both the army and peoples.

To reinforce that if German enemies

Did not terminate the war, guarantee

Of Germany is to fight and secure

Fatherland a strong, lasting peace -

Meanwhile neutral reactions came

In with importance of United States.

Missouri politician and chairman

Of Senate Committee for Foreign

Relations, William Stone, addressed

The 'League to Enforce Peace' - as

An advocate of American neutrality,

With right to open up negotiations.

William Stone refused all warnings

From any foreign statesmen opinions,

That United states peace movements

Would be seen as futile and offensive.

He pointed out that USA had lost lives

And property due to European events.

Despite this that the USA movements

Should not be considered as meddlers,

But as a friend who had been affected

By wars ruthless acts - what might then

Happen from the latest initiatives from
Germany; might peace come in 1917?

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. Hindenburg And Peace - Significant Telegrams. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 15 December 1916. P.10. Col.3. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12213996/Daily-Telegraph-December-15-1916.htmll> [Accessed: 28 December 2016].

Anon.,1916. The Peace Proposal - An American View. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 15 December 1916. P.10. Col.6. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12213996/Daily-Telegraph-December-15-1916.htmll> [Accessed: 28 December 2016].

Source: File: Extract from the Speech of Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg in the German Reichstag, December 12, 1916. Available at: <https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Extract_from_the_Speech_of_Chancellor_von_Bethmann-Hollweg_in_the_German_Reichstag,_December_12,_1916> [Accessed 25 December 2016]

Source: File: Official Communications and Speeches Relating to Peace Proposals 1916-1917. Available at: <https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Official_Communications_and_Speeches_Relating_to_Peace_Proposals_1916-1917> [Accessed 25 December 2016]

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 28 December 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12213996/Daily-Telegraph-December-15-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ A Swiss Spies for Germans - Monday, 16 October - Thursday, 19 October 1916

Impression sketch; recruitment of Swiss spy Felix Malherbe.

From neutral Switzerland came source

Of subjects, willing to sell services

For purposes of Germany's war intent.

Exact numbers to be then classified

By the French army - for their missions

Such recruited spies travelled miles.

A subject of Switzerland Felix Malherbe,

An electrician, later confessed how his

Involvement as a spy began - six months

Of war had passed, when in February

1915, Felix Malherbe was sat on a bench.

A man came to him asking his situation.

Felix Malherbe had no work or money.

The stranger talked to him asking about

His past, his knowledge and his ability

To speak French - studying his passport

Malherbe evidenced he could freely travel

About France - did he want to earn money?

In agreeing to idea of taking work Malherbe

Was asked to report to a brewery in Geneva.

On arrival there he met a German man from

Loerrach - being a German city close to the

Swiss border - Malherbe learned from him

About the German Intelligence Service.

Given 100 francs Malherbe then agreed

To go on an initial trip across France - war

Was still young and battles over frontiers

Had happened - in the proximity of Cernay

With the battle of Mulhouse, Malherbe

Was issued with specific orders to follow.

This was to be a trial to see how well he did
Various tasks - Malherbe was requested

First to travel via Bellegarda to Lyon, Dijon

And Duchy of Bar, to finally reach Troyes.

A return journey to take in Belfort and Delle,

Having gained information to make a report.

Specifically Felix Malherbe was ordered

To find out about cost of raw materials,

Commodities and resources - to observe

The French state of mind at Villefranche;

Where the engineering company Vermorel

Was engaged in manufacturing of shells.

The Germans wanted to know how many

Worked there - age groups and if men 
Or women. At Dijon Malherbe had to find

How well the army shops were supplied -

Onwards to Neufchâteau, where he would

Discover that a woman of the intelligence

Group had been arrested, as suspected.

At Brienne-le-Château Malherbe learnt

About artillery ammunition of the French.

With the trip going to plan, he returned to

Loerrach via Troyes - here questioned

At length - Malherbe was given 800 francs.

Next he was asked to travel to Cherbourg.

21 March 1915 Felix Malherbe set upon

A mission - meeting a woman of German

Secret Service who had passed him

A newspaper - a series of codes had been

Written In the margin that he conveyed

To Basel. Next he travelled to Cherbourg.

There he looked into state of naval guns,

Then onto Saint-Malo - Malherbe passed on

Information - along to coast from Manche

Into Brittany to arrive Brest; here to discover

About Bretagne Battleship progression and

Goods and coal being shipped to England.

Other boats Malherbe looked for information

On were transatlantic SS Paris, along with

SS France; turned into a merchant cruiser.

Also in Brittany Malherbe arrived in Nantes,

To spy on imports of British steel and state

Of plants; idle by lack of labor or materials?

After passing on information to a German

Spy in Nantes, Malherbe soon travelled

To Paris - to meet four German officers

Disguised as British Red Cross - at end

Of March Malherbe was back in Loerrach,

Providing the secret service with a report.

Handed a total of 1,100 francs Malherbe

Was asked to travel again - at Villefranche

His mission to look into Vermorel plants.

There discovering amounts of shells

Being made, also to find about industrial

Goods produced and moved out by train.

Journeying to Poitiers central France, the

Experienced spy Malherbe looked into

French army enrollment and movements

Across to Evereux in Normandy - after

To Rouen, where 20,000 British 40,000

French troops were being moved to front.

Whilst in Normandy, Malherbe found out

About shipping boats origins and cargos,

To observe unloading of army supplies

By the British - then he looks into numbers

Of wounded or sick troops, to consider

French women’s morality for reference.

German newspapers intentions to say

French immorality was rife and debauchery

Existed in the country - after trying to find

About barracks to house recruits, Malherbe

Moved onto Valbonne southeast France,

To spy on colonial and Montluel troops.

Close to Rhone Alps city Lyon, he sought

Information of troops stationed at Banne

Camp - in same region Malherbe paused

At a station of Saint-Germain-des-Fosses,

To watch troop transports and presence

Of artillery - noting details of an airfield.

After Orleans he found where British were

Stationed - Malherbe back in Paris delved

Into the city’s economy - from 29 March

Spy Malherbe had covered many miles -

Throughout April he had asked questions

To then look at Paris' people and defences.

On 4 May Malherbe journeyed to Troyes,

North central France - his subject there

To look into how factories operated again

And the moves of transport - this talented

Electrician started to falter, running out

Of luck; to be stopped at the train station.

With routine passport checks done more

Thoroughly, Felix Malherbe was detained

And quizzed - due to lack of a diplomatic

Signature - a further search of the Swiss

Subject had found he possessed details;

Regiment numbers and other information.

Imprisoned at Troyes Malherbe underwent

A trial - providing all details of his activities.

In his defence he made an appeal to Troyes

Protestant Chaplin - but charges were held;

Felix Malherbe had conspired with enemy

In 12 months. 12 May 1916 came sentence.

Whilst no immediate execution was made,

He sought a presidential pardon; time ran out.

Monday 9 October 1916 spy Felix Malherbe

Aged 41, finally faced his firing squad 5 a.m.

At Hauts-Clos, Troyes - to be given a small

Paragraph in the English Daily Telegraph.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. Spy Shot In France. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 10 October 1916. P.6. Col.6. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12213413/Daily-Telegraph-October-10-1916.html> [Accessed: 16 October 2016].

Source: File: Une affaire d'espionnage à Troyes. Available at: <http://www.jschweitzer.fr/notre-histoire/espionnage/m> [Accessed 16 October 2016]

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 16 October 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12213413/Daily-Telegraph-October-10-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary #worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1Spies

Poem ~ Roumania: A New Alliance - Wednesday, 2 August 1916

Source: File: WWI propaganda poster, welcoming Romania's decision to join the Entente. See an original image at: <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WWI_Poster_Rumania.jpg> [Accessed 2 August 2016]

With the last day of July,

Came a new possibility

From the Swiss federal

City of Berne - a neutral

Country carried news

Of another neutral state.

The European country,

Roumania was a place

Of medieval towns, being

Ringed by Carpathian

Mountains and regional

Forested Transylvania.

Bordering Hungary, Serbia, 
Bulgaria and Ukraine - the

State, some 33 years earlier,

Had made a treaty to bring
countries together - signed 

By Roumanian King Carol.

A treaty that formed Triple

Alliance made obligations

That Roumania would only

Enter into conflict, should

Their neighbour Austro-

Hungary come under attack.

Yet from August 1914

A difference of opinion

Arose - while King Carol

Wished to enter war, his

Country’s party's or people 
Did not share such views.

The majority favoured

Not the Triple Alliance

But the triple Entente -

Finally Roumania made

Decision of neutrality

From either side.

The reason argued

Was Austria-Hungary

Had in fact created

State of war - Roumania

Therefore, had no

Obligations to join them.

German newspapers

Were noting awareness

Of Roumanian position,

Suggesting apprehension

Of the then, so far, neutral

Country to join the war.

A social democratic paper

Of Leipzig city, ‘Leipziger

Neueste Nachrichten,’ told

How Roumania had not

Stayed neutral from any

Love of central powers.

By Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. Roumania And The War. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 1 August1916. P.8. Col.7. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12212356/Daily-Telegraph-August-1-1916.html> [Accessed: 2 August 2016].

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 2 August 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12212356/Daily-Telegraph-August-1-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary #worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1Roumania

Poem ~ Swiss Bombed - Tuesday, 4 April 1916

Impression sketch of Cartoon showing Germans dropping bombs on Porrentruy, Switzerland - by Jamie. From an original image that can be seen at: <http://aetdebesancon.blog.lemonde.fr/2016/04/04/cinq-bombes-sur-porrentruy/> [Accessed: 3 April 2016] 

An enforced pressured conversation

Occurred, between Swiss Federal

Council and Imperial German

Government, over an incident.

31 March 1916, German aviators

Dropped a number of bombs

Onto Porrentruy - a village

Of neutral Switzerland.

Extolling apologies, the German

Government gave explanation

That the aviators had totally

Lost their flight bearings.

The German aviators believed

They were still over French

Soil - that Belfort, a border

Town, was directly below.

In fact, Germans were 40 km away,

Flying over Swiss border village

Porrentruy - where five bombs

Caused civilian casualties.

The act had happened with two

German aircrafts over Swiss

Jura - where sub alpine was

A state mountain range.

The situation fell under canton

Of Bern's administration, that

Held a sympathetic union

With the French Swiss.

With close held French ties, this

Prompted solid anti German

Feelings; from the actions

Of five bombs on Swiss.

The incident was then reported

In the Petit Comtois - whose

Reporter quoted locals, as

Saying this was no error.

Whereas the French towns were

Under Curfews, Porrentruy had

No such light restrictions and

Belfort was the larger town.

As a country, Switzerland kept up

Stand of their armed neutrality -

Having arms only in purposes

Of self-protection defence.

Ready for insurgence from any

Other nation, the Swiss army

Manned all borders; against

Spilling over of trench war.

In this incident Government

Of Germany extolled deep

Regret - that the aviators

Would be punished.

Further they prompted suggestion

That some visible demarcation

Of the frontier may be made,

To prevent other repeats.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. Bombs On Swiss Town - German Apologies. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 3 April 1916. P.6. Col.1. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12206737/Daily-Telegraph-April-4-1916.html>  [Accessed: 4 April 2016].

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 4 April 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12206737/Daily-Telegraph-April-4-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ Super Zeppelins - Sunday, 13 February - Monday, 14 February 1916

Impression sketch of Engine Factory of Maybach - by Jamie. From an original image that can be seen at: <http://www.worldskyrace.com/the_maybach_motors.htm
[Accessed: 13 February 2016]

For details of original patent application in methods of metallic plating or coating see: http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US1128059

From sources of a Swiss paper

Der Bund, came the information

Of a new super type of Zeppelin.

The Berne city of Switzerland's

Union paper, told developments

Taking place on Lake Constance.

There, German waters at the foot

Of the Alps, offered wide spaces

To trial out Zeppelin machines.

On north shore of a Swiss border,
was situated the industrial city 
Of Friedrichshafen, since 1908.

Here the Maybach engine factory,

As part of the Zeppelin industry,

Tested all motors up to 48 hours.

For lengthy times during all tests,

The drone of noise carried across

Lake Constance without any stop.

From earliest designs of air ships

The Zeppelin had been elongated -

Described as forming a fish shape.

Changes to the gondolas included

making them independent, save

For any corridor within the balloon.

Both crew cars were then built with 

Armour plating; to be equipped by 

Six machine and quick fire gunnery.

While car platforms were hidden,
Another device introduced, would 
Pace out the drops of ariel bombs.

The stronger reinforced motors
made rudder gear to be a compact

Size; all making for a greater noise.

Trial flights of these air machines

Would show off manoeuvrability

And sharp improvements in power.

In addition, inventor Count Friedrich

Zeppelin, also gained M. Schoops

Patent, for his Swiss metallic plating.

A process able to give Zeppelins

A metallic sheen, to cover a fifth

Of the great airship's body length.

The likely suggestion to provide

Protection - while yet another

Invention was clever camouflage.

To attempt their invisibility, such
Ships emitted volumes of vapours,

To create billowing artificial clouds.

A technique ideally relying on other

Clouds - while on any clear day
A ship might look like a sore thumb.

by Jamie Mann.

Beaumont, A.,1916. New Arial Monsters. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 12 February 1916. P.9. Col.5. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12149082/Daily-Telegraph-February-12-1916.html [Accessed: 13 February 2016].

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12149082/Daily-Telegraph-February-12-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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