o the Baltic. Ammunition and heavy projectiles were
transported from the central part of the empire to the borders. And
everywhere these operations had to be carried on with haste. One can
thus say that the German mobilization was the greatest movement of men
and materials that the world has ever seen.

And how was it carried on? No one could have wondered if there had been
hundreds of unforeseen incidents, if military trains had arrived at
their stations with great delays, if there had resulted in many places a
wild hugger-mugger from the tremendous problems on hand. But there was
not a trace of this. On the Monday evening of the first week of
mobilization a high officer of the General Staff said: "It had to go
well today, but how about tomorrow, the main day?" Tuesday evening saw
no reason for complaint, no delay, no requests for instructions. All had
moved with the regularity of clockwork. Regiments that had been ordered
to mobilize in the forenoon left in the evening for the field, fully
equipped. Not a man was lacking. There were no deserters, no shirkers,
no cowards. Instead, there were volunteers whose numbers far exceeded
the number that could be used. Every German wanted to do his duty.

The most noteworthy thing was the earnest quietness with which the
gigantic gathering proceeded. Not a city, not a village reported unrest
or even an untoward incident. The separation was hard for many a
soldier. Many a volunteer tore himself away from his dear ones with
bleeding heart, but with face beaming with the light of one who looks
forward to victory. Following the Kaiser's wish, those who remained
behind filled the churches and, kneeling, prayed to God for victory for
the just German cause. The folk-war, brought on by the wantonness of the
opponents, in itself brought peace and order, safety and discipline.
Never, probably, have the police had fewer excesses to deal with than in
the days of the mobilization, although great crowds gathered constantly
in every city.

The best criterion of the enthusiasm of the people is without doubt the
number of volunteers. More than 1,000,000 of these, a number greater
than that of the standing army, presented themselves within a few days.
They came from all classes. There were sons of the nobility, university
students, farmers, merchants, common laborers. No calling hung back.
Every young man sorrowed when he was rejected. No section of the
Fatherland was unrepresented, not even th