"In comradeship with the army stands my navy. In the unshakable will to victory, in the struggle with opponents who are often superior, and despite the united efforts of the greatest naval powers of the world, my submarines, sure of success, are tenaciously attacking and fighting the vital forces which are streaming across the sea to the enemy. Ever ready for battle, the high-sea forces in untiring work guard the road for the submarines to the open sea and, in union with the defenders of the coast, safeguard for them the sources of their strength. "Far from home, a small heroic band of our colonial troops is offering a brave resistance to a crushingly superior force. "We remember with reverence all who have given their lives for the Fatherland. Filled with care for its brothers in the field, the people at home is in its self-sacrificing devotion placing its entire strength at the service of our great cause. We must and we shall continue the fight until the enemy's will to destruction is broken. We will make every sacrifice and put forth every effort to that end. In this spirit the army and the homeland are inseparably bound together. Their united stand and their unbending will will bring victory in the struggle for Germany's right and Germany's freedom. God grant it!" It was not long, however, before signs appeared that this spirit of confidence was gradually, but surely waning. During the latter part of August and the early part of September, 1918, no opportunity was permitted to pass by the leading men of the German Government that they did not use to indicate to the Allies that German demands had been extensively pared down. The emperor, the crown prince, Von Hindenburg, the chancellor (Von Hertling), Dr. Solf, the foreign minister, and a large number of minor lights continuously expressed in their speeches at every possible occasion how eager they were for peace and how willing they were to come to an understanding. Early in September, 1918, it became known that General von Linsingen had placed the city of Berlin and the province of Brandenburg in a state of siege and had announced that heavy penalties would be imposed on persons inventing or circulating untrue rumors calculated to disquiet the populace. About the same time a proclamation of considerable length was issued by Field Marshal von Hindenburg warning the German people to resist the "poisonous" propaganda by which the Allies were attempting to undermine their morale. A few days later the emperor made a remarkable speech to the workers of the Krupp works at Essen, remarkable for its unusual moderation as well as for the plea it contained to support the army. Never before in the history of the German emperor had he addressed an assembly of workers in a similar tone of appeal and with as little of the spirit of command.