THE SECOND WAR AND THE SIGNING OF PEACE
During the first few days following the breaking off of negotiations the
German government hesitated, not knowing what course to pursue. The
politicians and diplomats evidently thought that the principal objects
had been accomplished and that there was no reason for coveting our
signatures. The military men were ready, in any event, to break through
the lines drawn by the German Government at Brest-Litovsk. Professor
Krigge, the advisor of the German delegation, told a member of our
delegation that a German invasion of Russia under the existing
conditions was out of the question. Count Mirbach, then at the head of
the German missions at Petrograd, went to Berlin with the assurance that
an agreement concerning the exchange of prisoners of war had been
satisfactorily reached. But all this did not in the least prevent
General Hoffmann from declaring on the fifth day after the Brest-Litovsk
negotiations had been broken off--that the armistice was over,
antedating the seven-day period from the time of the last Brest-Litovsk
session. It were really out of place to dilate here on the moral
indignation caused by this piece of dishonesty. It fits in perfectly
with the general state of diplomatic and military morality of the ruling
classes.
The new German invasion developed under circumstances most fatal for
Russia. Instead of the week's notice agreed upon, we received notice
only two days in advance.
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