My War Memories, 1914-1918
obtained, Although we had no clear knowledge of the situation, we had to bear the moral responsibility,
On the 3ist January our Note as to the declaration of the submarine campaign was delivered in NVa-shin^ton, as also, I assume, was the Government's above-mentioned proposal of the 29th January.
After the glh January there were no military reasons whatever to cause cither the Field-Marshal or myself to modify our views as to the urgent need for the unrestricted campaign.
According to a report from the Chief of the Naval Staff in Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian Government also decided to wage unrestricted warfare with their submarines. I welcomed with gratitude this loyal act on the part of our allies, which I hud, of course, confidently expected. The new campaign could only be really effective if it included the Mediterranean, where prospects of success seemed particularly good ; the important tiling was to sink as much shipping as possible* General von Conrad had also advocated the adhesion of Austria to the campaign.
When later, in 1918, Count Cxcirnin stated that he Imd adopted this policy in order to avoid a quarrel with Germany, he stated something that was quite new to me. There was never any idea of bringing military pressure to bear on Austria-Hungary.
In judging public opinion on the matter at home, ! regarded as a very important element the sitting of the Reichstag of the 27th February, in which it appeared that, after the failing of our peace offer, the German people were practically unanimous in supporting the Government. The leader of the Majority Socialists, Herr Scheidcmann, while refusing any responsibility for the submarine campaign, spoke as follows ;
" Everyone will understand the deep satisfaction which we felt when we learnt that the Government had made an offer of peace to the world, based on arguments similar to our own. When the enemy's notorious reply to Wilson stripped the veil from their plans for conquest and annihilation, the determination to defend our country resolutely was again restored. The people cried with one voice : Anything rather than such a peace! No one had expected that the enemy would accept the German
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