Book: In the World War

C >> Count Ottokar Czernin >> In the World War




"In the afternoon I had more trouble with the Germans. The German
military party 'fear' that the Entente may, perhaps, be inclined to
agree to a general peace, and could not think of ending the war in
this 'unprofitable' fashion. It is intolerable to have to listen to
such twaddle.

"If the great victories which the German generals are hoping for on
the Western front should be realised, there will be no bounds to their
demands, and the difficulty of all negotiations will be still further
increased.

"_December 25, 1917._--The plenary sitting took place to-day, when we
gave the Russians our answer to their peace proposals. I was
presiding, and delivered the answer, and Joffe replied. _The general
offer of peace is thus to be made, and we must await the result._ In
order to lose no time, however, the negotiations on matters concerning
Russia are being continued meanwhile. We have thus made a good step
forward, and _perhaps_ got over the worst. It is impossible to say
whether yesterday may not have been a decisive turning point in the
history of the world.

"_December 26, 1917._--The special negotiations began at 9 A.M. The
programme drawn up by Kuehlmann, chiefly questions of economical matters
and representation, were dealt with so rapidly and smoothly that by 11
o'clock the sitting terminated, for lack of further matter to discuss.
This is perhaps a good omen. Our people are using to-day to enter the
results of the discussion in a report of proceedings, as the sitting
is to be continued to-morrow, when territorial questions will be
brought up.

"_December 26, 1917._--I have been out for a long walk alone.

"On the way back, I met an old Jew. He was sitting in the gutter,
weeping bitterly. He did not beg, did not even look at me, only wept
and wept, and could not speak at first for sobs. And then he told me
his story--Russian, Polish, and German, all mixed together.

"Well, he had a store--heaven knows where, but somewhere in the war
zone. First came the Cossacks. They took all he had--his goats and his
clothes, and everything in the place--and then they beat him. Then the
Russians retired, beat him again, _en passant_ as it were, and then
came the Germans. They fired his house with their guns, pulled off his
boots, and beat him. Then he entered the service of the Germans,
carrying water and wood, and received his food and beatings in return.
But to-day he had got into trouble with them in some incomprehensible
fashion; no food after that, only the beatings; and was thrown into
the street.

"The beatings he referred to as something altogether natural. They
were for him the natural accompaniment to any sort of action--but he
could not live on beatings alone.

"I gave him what I had on me--money and cigars--told him the number of
my house, and said he could come to-morrow, when I could get him a
pass to go off somewhere where there were no Germans and no Russians,
and try to get him a place of some sort where he would be fed and not
beaten. He took the money and cigars thankfully enough; the story of
the railway pass and the place he did not seem to believe. Railway
travelling was for soldiers, and an existence without beatings seemed
an incredible idea.

"He kept on thanking me till I was out of sight, waving his hand, and
thanking me in his German-Russian gibberish.

"A terrible thing is war. Terrible at all times, but worst of all in
one's own country. We at home suffer hunger and cold, but at least we
have been spared up to now the presence of the enemy hordes.

"This is a curious place--melancholy, yet with a beauty of its own. An
endless flat, with just a slight swelling of the ground, like an ocean
set fast, wave behind wave as far as the eye can see. And all things
grey, dead grey, to where this dead sea meets the grey horizon. Clouds
race across the sky, the wind lashing them on.

"This evening, before supper, Hoffmann informed the Russians of the
German plans with regard to the outer provinces. The position is this:
As long as the war in the West continues, the Germans cannot evacuate
Courland and Lithuania, since, apart from the fact that they must be
held as security for the general peace negotiations, these countries
form part of the German munition establishment. The railway material,
the factories, and, most of all, the grain are indispensable as long
as the war lasts. That they cannot now withdraw from there at once is
clear enough. If peace is signed, then the self-determination of the
people in the occupied territory will decide. But here arises the
great difficulty: how this right of self-determination is to be
exercised.

"The Russians naturally do not want the vote to be taken while the
German bayonets are still in the country, and the Germans reply that
the unexampled terrorism of the Bolsheviks would falsify any election
result, since the 'bourgeois,' according to Bolshevist ideas, are not
human beings at all. My idea of having the proceedings controlled by a
_neutral_ Power was not altogether acceptable to anyone. During the
war no neutral Power would undertake the task, and the German
occupation could not be allowed to last until the ultimate end. In
point of fact, both sides are afraid of terrorisation by the opposing
party, and each wishes to apply the same itself.

"_December 26, 1917._--There is no hurry apparently in this place. Now
it is the Turks who are not ready, now the Bulgarians, then it is the
Russians' turn--and the sitting is again postponed or broken off
almost as soon as commenced.

"I am reading some memoirs from the French Revolution. A most
appropriate reading at the present time, in view of what is happening
in Russia and may perhaps come throughout Europe. There were no
Bolsheviks then, but men who tyrannised the world under the battle-cry
of freedom were to be found in Paris then as well as now in St.
Petersburg. Charlotte Corday said: 'It was not a man, but a wild beast
I killed.' These Bolsheviks in their turn will disappear, and who can
say if there will be a Corday ready for Trotski?

"Joffe told me about the Tsar and his family, and the state of things
said to exist there. He spoke with great respect of Nicolai
Nicolaievitch as a thorough man, full of energy and courage, one to be
respected even as an enemy. The Tsar, on the other hand, he considered
cowardly, false, and despicable. It was a proof of the incapacity of
the bourgeois that they had tolerated such a Tsar. Monarchs were all
of them more or less degenerate; he could not understand how anyone
could accept a form of government which involved the risk of having a
degenerate ruler. I answered him as to this, that a monarchy had first
of all one advantage, that there was at least one place in the state
beyond the sphere of personal ambition and intrigues, and as to
degeneration, that was often a matter of opinion: there were also
degenerates to be found among the uncrowned rulers of states. Joffe
considered that there would be no such risk when the people could
choose for themselves. I pointed out that Hr. Lenin, for instance, had
not been 'chosen,' and I considered it doubtful whether an impartial
election would have brought him into power. Possibly there might be
some in Russia who would consider him also degenerate.

"_December 27, 1917._--The Russians are in despair, and some of them
even talked of withdrawing altogether. They had thought the Germans
would renounce all occupied territory without further parley, or hand
it over to the Bolsheviks. Long sittings between the Russians,
Kuehlmann, and myself, part of the time with Hoffmann. I drew up the
following:--

"1. As long as general peace is not yet declared, we cannot give up
the occupied areas; they form part of our great munition works
(factories, railways, sites with buildings, etc.).

"2. After the general peace, a plebiscite in Poland, Courland, and
Lithuania is to decide the fate of the people there; as to the form in
which the vote is to be taken, this remains to be further discussed,
in order that the Russians may have surety that no coercion is used.
Apparently, this suits neither party. Situation much worse.

"_Afternoon._--Matters still getting worse. Furious wire from
Hindenburg about "renunciation" of everything; Ludendorff telephoning
every minute; more furious outbursts, Hoffmann very excited, Kuehlmann
true to his name and 'cool' as ever. The Russians declare they cannot
accept the vague formulas of the Germans with regard to freedom of
choice.

"I told Kuehlmann and Hoffmann I would go as far as possible with them;
but should their endeavours fail, then I would enter into separate
negotiations with the Russians, since Berlin and Petersburg were
really both opposed to an uninfluenced vote. Austria-Hungary, on the
other hand, desired nothing but final peace. Kuehlmann understands my
position, and says he himself would rather _go_ than let it fail.
Asked me to give him my point of view in writing, as it 'would
strengthen his position.' Have done so. He has telegraphed it to the
Kaiser.

"_Evening._--Kuehlmann believes matters will be settled--or broken off
altogether--by to-morrow.

"_December 28, 1917._--General feeling, dull. Fresh outbursts of
violence from Kreuznach. But at noon a wire from Bussche: Hertling had
spoken with the Kaiser, who is perfectly satisfied. Kuehlmann said to
me: 'The Kaiser is the only sensible man in the whole of Germany.'

"We have at last agreed about the form of the committee; that is, a
committee _ad hoc_ is to be formed in Brest, to work out a plan for
the evacuation and voting in detail. _Tant bien que mal_, a
provisional expedient. All home to report; next sitting to be held
January 5, 1918.

"Russians again somewhat more cheerful.

"This evening at dinner I rose to express thanks on the part of the
Russians and the four Allies to Prince Leopold. He answered at once,
and very neatly, but told me immediately afterwards that I had taken
him by surprise. As a matter of fact, I had been taken by surprise
myself; no notice had been given; it was only during the dinner itself
that the Germans asked me to speak.

"Left at 10 P.M. for Vienna.

"From the 29th to the morning of the 3rd I was in Vienna. Two long
audiences with the Emperor gave me the opportunity of telling him what
had passed at Brest. He fully approves, of course, the point of view
that peace must be made, if at all possible.

"I have dispatched a trustworthy agent to the outer provinces in order
to ascertain the exact state of feeling there. He reports that _all_
are against the Bolsheviks except the Bolsheviks themselves. The
entire body of citizens, peasants--in a word, everyone with any
possessions at all--trembles at the thought of these red robbers, and
wishes to go over to Germany. The terrorism of Lenin is said to be
indescribable, and in Petersburg all are absolutely _longing_ for the
entry of the German troops to deliver them.

"_January 3, 1918._--Return to Brest.

"On the way, at 6 P.M., I received, at a station, the following
telegram, in code, from Baron Gautsch, who had remained at Brest:

"'Russian delegation received following telegram from Petersburg
this morning: To General Hoffmann. For the representatives of the
German, Austro-Hungarian, Bulgarian and Turkish delegations. The
Government of the Russian Republic considers it necessary to carry
on the further negotiations on neutral ground, and proposes
removing to Stockholm. Regarding attitude to the proposals as
formulated by the German and Austro-Hungarian delegation in Points
1 and 2, the Government of the Russian Republic and the
Pan-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Councils of
Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies consider, in entire
agreement with the view expressed by our delegation, that the
proposals are contrary to the principle of national
self-determination, even in the restricted form in which it
appears in Point 3 of the reply given by the Four Powers on the
12th ult. President of the Russian Delegation, A. Joffe." Major
Brinkmann has communicated this by telephone to the German
delegation, already on the way here. Herr von Kuehlmann has sent a
telephone message in return that he is continuing the journey, and
will arrive at Brest this evening.'

"I also went on of course, considering this manoeuvre on the part of
the Russians as rather in the nature of bluffing. If they do not come,
then we can treat with the Ukrainians, who should be in Brest by now.

"In Vienna I saw, among politicians, Baernreither, Hauser, Wekerle,
Seidler, and some few others. The opinion of almost all may be summed
up as follows: 'Peace _must_ be arranged, but a separate peace without
Germany is _impossible_.'

"No one has told me how I am to manage it if neither Germany nor
Russia will listen to reason.

"_January 4, 1918._--Fearful snowstorm in the night; the heating
apparatus in the train was frozen, and the journey consequently far
from pleasant. On awaking early at Brest the trains of the Bulgarians
and Turks were standing on adjacent sidings. Weather magnificent now:
cold, and the air as at St. Moritz. I went across to Kuehlmann, had
breakfast with him, and talked over events in Berlin. There seems to
have been desperate excitement there. Kuehlmann suggested to Ludendorff
that he should come to Brest himself and take part in the
negotiations. After long discussion, however, it appeared that
Ludendorff himself was not quite clear as to what he wanted, and
declared spontaneously that he considered it superfluous for him to go
to Brest; he would, at best, 'only spoil things if he did.' Heaven
grant the man such gleams of insight again, and often! It seems as if
the whole trouble is more due to feeling against Kuehlmann than to
anything in the questions at issue; people do not want the world to
have the impression that the peace was gained by 'adroit diplomacy,'
but by military success alone. General Hoffmann appears to have been
received with marked favour by the Kaiser, and both he and Kuehlmann
declare themselves well satisfied with the results of their journey.

"We talked over the reply to the Petersburg telegram, declining a
conference in Stockholm, and further tactics to be followed in case of
need. We agreed that if the Russians did not come, we must declare the
armistice at an end, and chance what the Petersburgers would say to
that. On this point Kuehlmann and I were entirely agreed. Nevertheless,
the feeling, both in our party and in that of the Germans, was not a
little depressed. Certainly, if the Russians do break off
negotiations, it will place us in a very unpleasant position. The only
way to save the situation is by acting quickly and energetically with
the Ukrainian delegation, and we therefore commenced this work on the
afternoon of the same day. There is thus at least a hope that we may
be able to arrive at positive results with them within reasonable
time.

"In the evening, after dinner, came a wire from Petersburg announcing
the arrival of the delegation, including the Foreign Minister,
Trotski. It was interesting to see the delight of all the Germans at
the news; not until this sudden and violent outbreak of satisfaction
was it fully apparent how seriously they had been affected by the
thought that the Russians would not come. Undoubtedly this is a great
step forward, and we all feel that peace is really now on the way.

"_January 5, 1918._--At seven this morning a few of us went out
shooting with Prince Leopold of Bavaria. We went for a distance of 20
to 30 kilometres by train, and then in open automobiles to a
magnificent primeval forest extending over two to three hundred square
kilometres. Weather very cold, but fine, much snow, and pleasant
company. From the point of view of sport, it was poorer than one could
have expected. One of the Prince's aides stuck a pig, another shot two
hares, and that was all. Back at 6 P.M.

"_January 6, 1918._--To-day we had the first discussions with the
Ukrainian delegates, all of whom were present except the leader. The
Ukrainians are very different from the Russian delegates. Far less
revolutionary, and with far more interest in their own country, less
in the progress of Socialism generally. They do not really care about
Russia at all, but think only of the Ukraine, and their efforts are
solely directed towards attaining their own independence as soon as
possible. Whether that independence is to be complete and
international, or only as within the bounds of a Russian federative
state, they do not seem quite to know themselves. Evidently, the very
intelligent Ukrainian delegates intended to use us as a springboard
from which they themselves could spring upon the Bolsheviks. Their
idea was that we should acknowledge their independence, and then, with
this as a _fait accompli_, they could face the Bolsheviks and force
them to recognise their equal standing and treat with them on that
basis. Our line of policy, however, must be either to bring over the
Ukrainians to our peace basis, or else to drive a wedge between them
and the Petersburgers. As to their desire for independence, we
declared ourselves willing to recognise this, provided the Ukrainians
on their part would agree to the following three points: 1. The
negotiations to be concluded at Brest-Litovsk and not at Stockholm. 2.
Recognition of the former political frontier between Austria-Hungary
and Ukraine. 3. Non-interference of any one state in the internal
affairs of another. Characteristically enough, no answer has yet been
received to this proposal!

"_January 7, 1918._--This forenoon, all the Russians arrived, under
the leadership of Trotski. They at once sent a message asking to be
excused for not appearing at meals with the rest for the future. At
other times also we see nothing of them. The wind seems to be in a
very different quarter now from what it was. The German officer who
accompanied the Russian delegation from Dunaburg, Captain Baron
Lamezan, gave us some interesting details as to this. In the first
place, he declared that the trenches in front of Dunaburg are entirely
deserted, and save for an outpost or so there were no Russians there
at all; also, that at many stations delegates were waiting for the
deputation to pass, in order to demand that peace should be made.
Trotski had throughout answered them with polite and careful
speeches, but grew ever more and more depressed. Baron Lamezan had the
impression that the Russians were altogether desperate now, having no
choice save between going back with a bad peace or with no peace at
all; in either case with the same result: that they would be swept
away. Kuehlmann said: 'Ils n'ont que le choix a quelle sauce ils se
feront manger.' I answered: 'Tout comme chez nous.'

"A wire has just come in reporting demonstrations in Budapest against
Germany. The windows of the German Consulate were broken, a clear
indication of the state of feeling which would arise if the peace were
to be lost through our demands.

"_January 8, 1918._--The Turkish Grand Vizier, Talaat Pasha, arrived
during the night, and has just been to call on me. He seems
emphatically in favour of making peace; but I fancy he would like, in
case of any conflict arising with Germany, to push me into the
foreground and keep out of the way himself. Talaat Pasha is one of the
cleverest heads among the Turks, and perhaps the most energetic man of
them all.

"Before the Revolution he was a minor official in the telegraph
service, and was on the revolutionary committee. In his official
capacity, he got hold of a telegram from the Government which showed
him that the revolutionary movement would be discovered and the game
be lost unless immediate action were taken. He suppressed the message,
warned the revolutionary committee, and persuaded them to start their
work at once. The coup succeeded, the Sultan was deposed, and Talaat
was made Minister of the Interior. With iron energy he then turned his
attention to the suppression of the opposing movement. Later, he
became Grand Vizier, and impersonated, together with Enver Pasha, the
will and power of Turkey.

"This afternoon, first a meeting of the five heads of the allied
delegations and the Russian. Afterwards, plenary sitting.

"The sitting postponed again, as the Ukrainians are still not ready
with their preparations. Late in the evening I had a conversation with
Kuehlmann and Hoffmann, in which we agreed fairly well as to tactics. I
said again that I was ready to stand by them and hold to their demands
as far as ever possible, but in the event of Germany's breaking off
the negotiations with Russia I must reserve the right to act with a
free hand. Both appeared to understand my point of view, especially
Kuehlmann, who, if he alone should decide, would certainly not allow
the negotiations to prove fruitless. As to details, we agreed to
demand continuation of the negotiations at Brest-Litovsk in the form
of an ultimatum.

"_January 9, 1918._--Acting on the principle that attack is the best
defence, we had determined not to let the Russian Foreign Minister
speak at all, but to go at him at once with our ultimatum.

"Trotski had prepared a long speech, and the effect of our attack was
such that he at once appealed for adjournment, urging that the altered
state of affairs called for new resolutions. The removal of the
conference to Stockholm would have meant the end of matters for us,
for it would have been utterly impossible to keep the Bolsheviks of
all countries from putting in an appearance there, and the very thing
we had endeavoured with the utmost of our power to avoid from the
start--to have the reins torn from our hands and these elements take
the lead--would infallibly have taken place. We must now wait to see
what to-morrow brings: either a victory or the final termination of
the negotiations.

"Adler said to me in Vienna: 'You will certainly get on all right with
Trotski,' and when I asked him why he thought so, he answered: 'Well,
you and I get on quite well together, you know.'

"I think, after all, the clever old man failed to appreciate the
situation there. These Bolsheviks have no longer anything in common
with Adler; they are brutal tyrants, autocrats of the worst kind, a
disgrace to the name of freedom.

"Trotski is undoubtedly an interesting, clever fellow, and a very
dangerous adversary. He is quite exceptionally gifted as a speaker,
with a swiftness and adroitness in retort which I have rarely seen,
and has, moreover, all the insolent boldness of his race.

"_January 10, 1918._--The sitting has just taken place. Trotski made a
great and, in its way, really fine speech, calculated for the whole of
Europe, in which he gave way entirely. He accepts, he says, the
German-Austria 'ultimatum,' and will remain in Brest-Litovsk, as he
will not give us the satisfaction of being able to blame Russia for
the continuance of the war.

"Following on Trotski's speech, the Committee was at once formed to
deal with the difficult questions of territory. I insisted on being on
the Committee myself, wishing to follow throughout the progress of
these important negotiations. This was not an easy matter really, as
the questions involved, strictly speaking, concern only Courland and
Lithuania, i.e., they are not our business, but Germany's alone.

"In the evening I had another long talk with Kuehlmann and Hoffmann, in
the course of which the General and the Secretary of State came to
high words between themselves. Hoffmann, elated at the success of our
ultimatum to Russia, wished to go on in the same fashion and 'give the
Russians another touch of the whip.' Kuehlmann and I took the opposite
view, and insisted that proceedings should be commenced quietly,
confining ourselves to the matters in hand, clearing up point by point
as we went on, and putting all doubtful questions aside. Once we had
got so far, in clearing up things generally, we could then take that
which remained together, and possibly get telegraphic instructions
from the two Emperors for dealing therewith. This is undoubtedly the
surest way to avoid disaster and a fresh breach.

"A new conflict has cropped up with the Ukrainians. They now demand
recognition of their independence, and declare they will leave if this
is not conceded.

"Adler told me at Vienna that Trotski had his library, by which he set
great store, somewhere in Vienna, with a Herr Bauer, I fancy. I told
Trotski that I would arrange to have the books forwarded to him, if
he cared about it. I then recommended to his consideration certain
prisoners of war, as L. K. and W., all of whom are said to have been
very badly treated. Trotski noted the point, declared that he was
strongly opposed to ill-treatment of prisoners of war, and promised to
look into the matter; he wished to point out, however, that in so
doing he was not in the least influenced by the thought of his
library; he would in any case have considered my request. He would be
glad to have the books.

Copyright (c) 2007. knowncrafts.net. All rights reserved.