During the last years of his reign Emperor William the Great had commanded Field Marshal Moltke to report on the situation, since the Russian armies, under the influence of France, were being posted ever more conspicuously on the eastern frontier of Prussia, arousing apprehension as to the possibility of irruptions of great masses of Russian cavalry into Prussia, Posen, and Silesia. Quartermaster-General Count Waldersee and I were present at the reading of this report. From it came the resolve to shift Prussian troops eastward and to push toward completion the neglected railway system. The measures ordained by Emperor William I and begun by him required time, particularly as the new railway bridges over the Vistula and Nogat had to be built by the military authorities in the teeth of strong official opposition (Maybach). Since the railways were considered a "national pocketbook," there was a desire to build only "paying" lines, which caused prejudice against outlays for military lines designed for the defense of the fatherland, since it diminished the fine surplus funds by which such great store was laid. Not until my reign were the plans of Emperor William I brought to realization. Anyone taking up a railway map of 1888 will be amazed at the lack of railway connection in the east, particularly in East Prussia, especially if he compares it with a 1914 map showing the development in the intervening years. If we had had the old network, we should have lost our eastern territory in 1914. Unquestionably, Minister von Maybach rendered valuable services in the promotion and development of the railway system. He had to take into account the wishes and demands of the rapidly developing industrial sections of Western Germany, in doing which he naturally considered military desires also, as far as he could. But during his régime Eastern Germany was very badly treated with regard to railway lines, bridges, and rolling stock. Had there been mobilization at that time, it would have been necessary to transfer hundreds of locomotives to the east in order to maintain schedules capable of meeting even part of the requirements of the General Staff. The only means of communication with the east were the two antiquated trestle bridges at Dirschau and Marienburg. The General Staff became insistent, which brought quarrels between it and Maybach.