If war comes, millions of Germans must go
to the front, must leave their parents, their families, their children.
They must. And this "must" means not only the command of their Emperor,
but also the necessity to defend their own land. Did not this necessity
exist, these sons, husbands, and fathers would assuredly not go gladly
to the battlefield, and it is likewise certain that those who stayed at
home would not rejoice so enthusiastically to see them go as we Germans
have seen them rejoicing in these days. Again, then, let us repeat that
the German Army is a weapon which can be and is used only for defense
against foreign aggressions. When these aggressions come, the whole
German folk stands with its army, as it does now.
The German Army is divided into 25 corps in times of peace. In war times
reservists, members of the Landwehr, and occasionally also of the
Landsturm, are called to the colors. The result is that the German Army
on a war footing is a tremendously powerful organ.
Our opponents in foreign countries have for years consistently
endeavored to awaken the belief that the German soldier does his
obligatory service very unwillingly, that he does not get enough to eat
and is badly treated. These assertions are false, and anybody who has
seen in these weeks of mobilization how our soldiers, reservists, and
Landwehr men departed for the field or reported at the garrisons,
anybody who has seen their happy, enthusiastic and fresh faces knows
that mishandled men, men who have been drilled as machines, cannot
present such an appearance.
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