INTRODUCTION
thing's were done by our Emden in the Indian Ocean, by the Karlsruhe in the Atlantic, without any naval base, without any possibility of replenishing their stores of munitions, foodstuffs and other kinds of equipment in any harbour, one begins to get some sort of idea what the fortification of half the Western coast of West Africa (sic) would mean for Germany and for England ! As soon as the Suez Canal in another war is blocked against England by the Turks, the whole traffic between England and her colonies—India. Australia, and South Africa—will have to go round the Cape of Good Hope. But the whole maritime traffic round the Cape would then have to go past the coast of German Mittel-Afrika ! What would the result be? It would be impossible for England any more to concentrate her whole fleet in the North Sea and threaten Germany. Far from that, England would be compelled to station a fairly large fleet in South Africa to safeguard her commerce. That would mean no inconsiderable weakening of the naval fighting forces in European waters.
The German colonies would not only [not] constitute a drag upon German sea-power—as is asserted by a good part of the German press—but would actually, as Dr. Solf, Secretary of State for the Colonies, has already explained in his addresses, furnish German sea-power with a valuable support.*
7.—Freiherr Albrecht von Rechenberg.
Freiherr Albrecht von Rechenberg, known as a former Governor of German East Africa, contributed an article, entitled “ Kriegs - und Friedenziele ,” to the monthly periodical Nord und Süd (February, 1917). In the course of it he discusses the question of German colonies : —
That the German Empire needs colonies has been so often shown, that it is unnecessary to go further into the reasons why—for the supply of raw materials, of the products of oversea countries, etc.. All parties are agreed in this—that the German colonial empire cannot be aban-
* The end of the article seems to have been hurriedly written. The last sentence in German is nonsense as it stands, but the above rendering 1 gives what is obviously its meaning.
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