At this time we think fondly of our loved ones back home — who are far away and thinking of us with faithful devotion. Especially the mothers who have set us an example — joyfully sacrificing their sons on the altar of the Fatherland, as if it were the most natural thing in the world! Truly, it is not easy to collect one’s thoughts at such a time as this — for they are perforce all directed towards the one goal. It is time — and I’m aware of the full import of what I’m saying — it is time for victory! Victory, gentlemen — do you know what that means? It is the choice a soldier has — if he doesn’t want to die covered with glory! To this end, I shall turn a blind eye to the expectation — namely with respect to achieving a more intimate, more heartfelt contact with your, ah, men — the expectation that you, gentlemen, should have sacrificed yourselves to achieve maximum reduction of personal danger all round. (Cheering.) For as we all know, gentlemen, the heart and soul of an officer — especially a staff officer — is (Cries of “His honour!”) — Just so, gentlemen — his honour! And our honour, gentlemen, we shall not—oh, I know only too well — subversive elements exist — and they go right to the top, to the front line — but — gentlemen — we’ll still keep our heads above water! Oh yes! Our human raw material can still put up a fight! (Cries of “Bravo!”) — And we who are blood of their blood and kindred spirits — no, a thousand times, no! — an officer feels at one with the rank and file, the simple soldier, who in this day and age is our bulwark, and the enemy will just be beating his head against a brick wall and getting a bloody nose!
Let them say what they like, those scribbling hacks — you can’t generalize! (He thumps the table) — Do they have the right? (Cries of “No!”) Those damn muckrakers — I don’t of course mean the two gentlemen war correspondents who have honoured us with their presence here this evening — we know only too well what the army owes to a well uniformed coverage of the war — and the press that fulfils its highly patriotic duty by undermining — er — underlining people’s courage at home, can always count on our support! (Cries of “Bravo!”) I am not speaking of these gentlemen, and I hope you gentlemen do not think I was speaking of these gentlemen — for as far as feasible we recognize their beneficial activities to the hilt. (Cries of “Bravo!” The war correspondents bow.) I’m speaking of those — those anarchists, those defeatists — who are sowing discord and helping to propagate it by scattering rumours! Those are the mischief-makers I mean! Those are the agitators who stir things up and then foment trouble. So I ask you, gentlemen: Do we have to put up with that? (Cries of “No!”) In my corps — with all nationalities in peaceful coexistence with one another — there are German gentlemen on our staff, there are Czech-speaking gentlemen, there are Poles and Croats and Romanian gentlemen, and we’ve got some of the Mosaic persuasion, too. And have we not also representatives of our splendid Honvéd? (Cries in Hungarian: “Hoorah!”) — And no one has complained yet! All they ever say is: Nationality? — who cares! So I ask you, gentlemen — did you ever hear anything different? Well then — that’s why I always say — the frying pan is cooler than the fire. That’s how we handle things, at any rate! So please show our esteemed allies, whom we are proud to see at this table here today — (Cries of “Hurrah!”) — just how unified we are! Everyone has his role to play — putting aside personal interests — for we all know that we must hold out to the bitter end, and why we must hold out to the bitter end, and that goes for every nationality here without exception, in this defensive war that has been forced upon us, between the Germanic and the Slav races! (Cries of “Hurrah!” and cheering.)
Our weapons in this unparalleled struggle are confidence and discipline! (Cries of “Bravo!”) Oh yes! I’m all for discipline, with an iron fist! And we all of us know — how to sing that tune! At the last inspection I was obliged to recognize certain failings in this respect, and I unfortunately had to voice the criticism that too few gentlemen had died in the field. I don’t want to name names, but it is essential that we set a good example. Instead of looking after your own carcass! (“Bravo bravo!”) I take as my model His Excellency Pflanzer-Baltin (cheering), who coined the phrase “I’ll soon teach my men how to die!” I hold to that! What do people expect? Do those dogs want to live forever? This is not the moment for such selfish sentiments, gentlemen — now that the Fatherland is in danger, but, God willing, it will arise like a phoenix from the steel bath of the World War! Self before service is what we need — I mean service before self! I won’t put up with mollycoddling. What a privilege it was when His Imperial Highness, the Most Serene Archduke Friedrich — (deeply moved) — the Father of his Men (cheering) — made his way through to the front-line trenches to convey gracious greetings from His Majesty, the Commander in Chief, to the troops (cheering) — sheer delight for one and all, naturally enough. What more can they possibly want, those people? It was still pretty quiet in the field that day, not like today when they have to brave one storm after another. But no, they’re forever niggling, and there are some mischief-makers that finally managed to get the men up in arms — complaining about dried vegetables and the like — they’d doubtless like one of Sacher’s little suppers, as in peacetime (general mirth), and a cream puff three times a day! Right now we must simply hold out to the bitter end! (“Bravo, bravo!”) Gentlemen, grumbling is something I loathe, and if I see any sign of it, I shall be merciless! Discipline, gentlemen — d’you know what that means? Discipline means knocking men into shape! It means authority — the soldiers’ daily bread! If you undermine that, you can kiss goodnight to peace and quiet! These scribblers — wasn’t it Bismarck — though it’s true he was once — at any rate, now our great ally — wasn’t it Bismarck who said it alclass="underline" “What we won by the sword — we lose again by the pen!”—Gentlemen, let us not lose sight of that! Remember it! — But I’m amazed how long our esteemed War Minister has put up with it. If it was left to me, the censor should set an example and string ’em up, the lot o’them! (Cries of “Bravo!”) Counsel for the defence? Overruled! I’ve fought against the dagoes in my time, before those mischief-makers had seen the light of day! (Cries of “Bravo!”) — and I’m proud of it! But gentlemen — if concessions are made around the table, well — we surely can’t be held responsible for that! People shouldn’t believe all the lies the enemy are peddling about us. There would be no shortage of the spirit of self-sacrifice in our dear Fatherland; what we lack is commitment, and it is precisely commitment that counts! So — we mustn’t allow such subversive currents to develop — for they could undermine us! If each of us here remains steadfast, then we shall confront the enemy in the final reckoning it forces upon us — according to plan and with our honour untarnished! Which of us is not mindful of the well-nigh unparalleled, death-defying deeds of our men, who have repeatedly proved their mettle, faithfully following our orders up front — into the valley of death! And it is certainly true — our staff officers have again and again put their heads on the line, accepting responsibility and carrying it through in unprecedented fashion.
Have we not often achieved success? Success that will live on in the annals of our army, while we ourselves may lie among the fallen, covered in glory. Have we not achieved successes that make our allies — our enemies — so green with envy that they want to belittle them? They didn’t make things easy for us, gentlemen, oh no. Are we not encirculated by enemies on all sides, and yet we boldly face up to their superior numbers! One victory after another, gentlemen! Who would have thought that, when we set off into the unknown to trample Serbia underfoot — according to plan and with the “Prince Eugene March” on our lips. (Cheering.) — And were we not successful? Did we not trample Serbia underfoot, gentlemen? We did! (Cheering.) — They told us: Stop right there, not an inch further! So — we had to clean up — with the iron fist! One final step, gentlemen, and victory is ours! It becomes ever clearer that Russia is a colossus with feet of clay! It’s as good as finished! And as for the dagoes — well, which of us can doubt any longer that we will triumph in the end? A soldier’s duty, gentlemen, is to fight the good fight, and we have certainly fought it! Those brave warriors of ours, who risked their lives up front creating mayhem! They live on in our memory — for they have held their regimental banner aloft, a covenant sealed where feasible with their blood.