The German people and army indeed are now one and the same and look up to you with gratitude. Every man out there knows what he is fighting for, the enemy himself admits that, and in consequence we shall gain victory--the victory of the German standpoint. That is what is in question. The Emperor referred to the period of peace, which he described as "twenty-six years of profitable but hard work, though they could not always be regarded as successful in a political respect and had brought disappointments." His interests had been centred in the work connected with the development of the army and the effort to maintain it at the level at which it had been intrusted to him. Now, in time of war, he could not better celebrate the day than under the same roof with the Field Marshal and his faithful, highly gifted Generals and General Staff. The Emperor continued: In peace time in the preparation of my army for war my grandfather's war comrades gradually passed away, and as the German horizon gradually darkened, many a German, and not the least I, hoped with assurance that God would in this danger place the right man at our side. Our hope has not been disappointed. In your Excellency and in you, General Ludendorff, Heaven bestowed upon the German Empire and the German Army and staff men who are called upon in these great times to lead the German people in arms in its decisive struggle for existence and the right to live, and with its help to gain victory. He sent the following telegram to the Crown Prince: Under your leadership the armies of Generals von Boehm, von Below, and von Hutier have severely defeated the enemy and shattered the storm of his hurriedly brought-up army reserves. Eighty-five thousand prisoners and more than 1,000 guns are the outward signs of this tremendous battle success. To you and the participating commanders and troops I express my thanks and those of the Fatherland. The fighting spirit and fighting strength of my incomparable troops guarantee our final victory. God will further help. Field Marshal von Hindenburg, in congratulating the Emperor on behalf of the army, extolled the Emperor's "wise care for peace" during the first twenty-six years of his reign and Germany's brilliant progress in all works of peace in that period. If the German Army and people had been able for nearly four years in the face of a world of enemies to show such proof of their strength and right to existence as never yet in history had been demanded and given in such measure, he added, they also owed this to their war lord, who had indefatigably watched over the fighting efficiency of his armies. The Field Marshal renewed the unswerving loyalty until death of Germany's sons at the front, and concluded: