Joseph Caillaux

This is the big lie historians have perpetrated since World War I. They”€™ve refused to acknowledge this fact. According to most British writers, Germany pushed Austria to declare war on Russia and make war on Serbia. Germany in fact declared war on Russia once the silly Tsar had mobilized and sent hundreds of thousands of troops to its western front. (If a man’s about to punch you, you hit him first, which is why Germany declared war on Russia.)

Well, we all know the rest. Yes, the great powers sleepwalked into war, and war was declared while all foreign ministers involved were on holiday, the French one taking the waters in Vichy, the German getting married in Baden-Baden, the Englishman”€”and among the few desperate to keep Britain out”€”Sir Edward Grey somewhere up in Scotland, and all three monarchs on their respective yachts working on their gout. European civilization has never recovered. Russia in its drive to dismantle Turkey and have access to the Dardanelles wanted war with Turkey’s ally, Germany. France wanted war to avenge her 1870 drubbing by Germany that saw Prussian troops march down the Champs-Élysées. Britain, ever sneaky, wanted to limit German power and to surround her with hostile alliances. Serbia wanted to split the Austrian Empire. Germany had to stick with her brothers the Austrians and reluctantly went to war.

It is a very sad story, a great tragedy that didn”€™t fully end until 1945. The intervention of American troops saved the day for the imperialists, and the Treaty of Versailles and that awful man Wilson ensured that Germany would be put to the cross. Hitler was a direct result of the narrow-mindedness of the victorious allies, especially the frog Clemenceau. Oh yes, I almost forgot. Monsieur Caillaux went on to divorce his wife and marry Henriette. He lived until 1944, long enough to see the Germans marching down the Champs-Élysées daily.