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| Count von Bernstorff and Franz von Pappen Best Known Members of the Secret Council |
Even for Roads to the Great War readers The Secret War Council: The German Fight Against the Entente in America in 1914 is likely to expand their appreciation for the breadth of the Great War. Neutrals are not necessarily unbiased or uninvolved. Readers of this tome may come to the conclusion that Clausewitz’s axiom that “War is a mere continuation of policy by other means” could also be applied to neutrality. In 1914 the United States remained neutral but it became a venue for belligerent rivalries.
The American armaments industry was small but poised to grow in 1914. Although, as a neutral, the United States was free to sell arms to anyone, Britannia’s rule of the waves effectively made American factories adjuncts to the Entente war machine, although not without contest from Germany. Germany’s Secret War Council assembled in New York to coordinate German interest in America. Including Imperial German Ambassador, Johann Heinrich Count von Bernstorff, former German Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, naval attaché, Karl Boy-Ed and Military attaché, Franz von Papen, the council embarked on a series of projects aimed to shift the needle in American support in Germany’s favor. It could call on strategically placed German industrialists in American businesses, prominently Dr. Hugo Schweitzer, U. S. Chief executive of Bayer Chemical Company, for intelligence and financial support.
At commencement of hostilities, the large German-American population, particularly in the heartland, gave hope that German propaganda could nudge American public sentiment toward Germany. As the propaganda battle was lost, the Council turned its attention to economic pressure. At the inception of belligerency Germany was a creditor of the United States. War materials, both direct and indirect, were for sale to the highest bidder. While delivery to Germany was blocked, purchase could keep the materials out of Entente hands. Mexico, torn by Civil War, was a market for armaments, where Germany might be able to create distracting mischief for the United States.
The scope of Council activities included the coordination of German military reservists in the United States. Many immigrants were regarded as reservists of the German Army. On 4 August 1914, 54 German merchant ships tied up in U. S. ports to avoid Royal Navy patrols. This stranded many German naval reservists who added to the manpower pool for the Council to repatriate or employ in some other way. Fraudulent passports did enable some to return to Germany.
As propaganda, diplomatic and monetary efforts to advance German interests failed, the Council turned to more direct action. Concluding that the United States was, in all practical respects, at war with Germany, Council agents turned to initiatives both legal and illegal. One grandiose plan was to attack British Honduras (present-day Belize). The one belligerent within striking distance of the Council was Canada. The accounts of plans for attacks on the Welland Canal and the Canadian Pacific Railway make for particularly interesting reading. The Canal is a twenty-six-mile water link between Lakes Ontario and Erie. Its disruption would have interrupted transport between the western Great Lakes and the Atlantic. The planned destruction of the St. Croix River Bridge between Maine and New Brunswick would have disrupted rail travel between the U.S. and Canada. Those, plus attacks on the harbor of Quebec, the Canadian army assembly camp at Valcartier, Quebec, scattered grain elevators and other targets were planned to impair both Canadian morale and ability to contribute to the Entente cause. Although the materials could be purchased in the U.S., their use on Canadian soil was prevented.
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Readers owe a debt of thanks to Author Heribert von Feilitzsch for his broadening of the scope of Great War literature. His trilogy, of which The Secret War Council is one, has plumbed the depths of Germany’s secret schemes in neutral America. Adhering Deep Throat’s literary advice to “follow the money,” von Feilitzsch has delved into extensive financial records to piece together the individuals involved and the scope of their operations. Although many of the names are unfamiliar the author intersperses enough references to places and events to recapture readers’ interest if ever it starts to wane. The Secret War Council is an excellent choice for Roads to the Great War readers seeking a deeper understanding of the Great War in neutral America.
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Jim Gallen
Many of us were not too familiar with this aspect of the war, so your review helped a lot. Thank you, Jim!
ReplyDeleteAnother insight into this aspect of the war is Howard Blum's "Dark Invasion." That book describes the New York City Police Department's investigation into German sabotage of shipping and war materials. (There were no Federal agencies to investigate espionage at the time.) In addition to explosives, bullets, and conventional sabotage, the Germans used germ warfare against horses being shipped to the Allies.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of the deliberate spreading of disease among horses destined for the Allied war effort, try Robert Koenig's "The Fourth Horseman" (2006) which details the attempts made by Anton Dilger to carry out this plan.
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