View notes

Transcription

18728 HELMETED GERMAN SOLDIERS LINED UP FOR REVIEW. For more than half a century prior to 1914, Germany, with Prussia as its most powerful state and guiding spirit, had been molding itself into a more perfect empire, animated by the idea that Germans were superior to all other peoples. Previous to 1864, Austria had been the leading state among the loose array of Germanic peoples. In that year Prussian persuaded Austria to join with her in an attack upon Denmark, which resulted in the seizure of Schleswig and Holstein by the two assailants. In 1866, Prussia attacked and humbled Austria, seized for herself alone the two Danish provinces and stepped into Austria's place as leader of the German people. Then, under the guidance of the shrewd statesmanship of Bismarck, and with an army perfected by General Von Moltke, Prussia played upon the vanity of the Emperor Napoleon III and provoked him int the war of 1870, in which France, ill-prepared for such a struggle, was humbled in the dust. Standing upon the prostrate form of France and following plans long and carefully prepared, Bismarck consolidated a new German Empire with Prussia at its head. Then following forty-three years of careful education of the German people in ideas of superiority of German "Kultur," the military training of its young manhood until practically the whole male population was familiar with arms, and the systematizing of German industries and railroads to make them readily viable for military purposes. Finally, the August, 1914, this mighty military machine was set in motion. But the liberty loving peoples of the world were able to survive the first overwhelming attack and finally to utterly defeat their assailants in the greatest war of history. Copyright by The Keystone Company