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Otto drank the brandy and stretched his legs toward the fire. "So, young Dewar appeared-with some kind of message?"
"In strictest confidence. "
"Of course. "
Walter could not feel much affection for his father. Their disagreements were too passionate, and Father was too flintily intransigent. He was narrow-minded, outdated, and deaf to reason, and he persisted in these faults with a kind of gleeful obstinacy that Walter found repellent. The consequence of his foolishness, and the foolishness of his generation in all European countries, was the slaughter of the Somme. Walter could not forgive that.
All the same, he spoke to his father with a soft voice and a friendly manner. He wanted this conversation to be as amiable and reasonable as possible. "The American president doesn't want to be drawn into the war," he began.
"Good. "
"In fact, he would like us to make peace. "
"Ha!" It was a shout of derision. "The cheap way to defeat us! What a nerve the man has. "
Walter was dismayed by such immediate scorn, but he persisted, choosing his words with care. "Our enemies claim that German militarism and aggression caused this war, but of course that is not so. "
"Indeed not," said Otto. "We were threatened by Russian mobilization on our eastern border and French mobilization to the west. The Schlieffen Plan was the only possible solution. " As usual, Otto was speaking as if Walter were still twelve years old.
Walter answered patiently. "Exactly. I recall you saying that for us this was a defensive war, a response to an intolerable threat. We had to protect ourselves. "
If Otto was surprised to hear Walter repeating the cliches of war justification he did not show it. "Correct," he said.
"And we have done so," Walter said, playing his ace. "We have now achieved our aims. "
His father was startled. "What do you mean?"
"The threat has been dealt with. The Russian army is destroyed, and the tsar's regime teeters on the brink of collapse. We have conquered Belgium, invaded France, and fought the French and their British allies to a standstill. We have done what we set out to do. We have protected Germany. "
"A triumph. "
"What more do we want, then?"
"Total victory!"
Walter leaned forward in his chair, looking intently at his father. "Why?"
"Our enemies must pay for their aggression! There must be reparations, perhaps border adjustments, colonial concessions. "
"These were not our original war aims. . . were they?"
But Otto wanted to have it both ways. "No, but now that we have expended so much effort and money, and the lives of so many fine young Germans, we must have something in return. "
It was a weak argument, but Walter knew better than to try to change his father's mind. Anyway, he had made the point that Germany's war aims had been achieved. Now he changed tack. "Are you quite sure that total victory is attainable?"
"Yes!"
"Back in February we launched an all-out assault on the French fortress of Verdun. We failed to take it. The Russians attacked us in the east, and the British threw everything into their offensive at the river Somme. These huge efforts by both sides have failed to end the stalemate. " He waited for a response.
Grudgingly, Otto said: "So far, yes. "
"Indeed, our own high command has acknowledged this. Since August, when von Falkenhayn was fired and Ludendorff became chief of staff, we have changed our tactics from attack to defense in depth. How do you imagine defense in depth will lead to total victory?"
"Unrestricted submarine warfare!" Otto said. "The Allies are being sustained by supplies from America, while our ports are blockaded by the British navy. We have to cut off their lifeline-then they'll give in. "
Walter had not wanted to get into this, but now that he had begun he had to go on. Gritting his teeth, he said as mildly as he could: "That would certainly draw America into the war. "
"Do you know how many men there are in the United States Army?"
