Herr Oswald Sprengler, the German historian whose book, Downfall of the Occident, was one of the sensations of the past few years, accuses France of carrying on Napoleon’s ambitions: “When Napoleon founded the Grand Duchy of Berg in the Ruhr Basin and the Kingdom of Westphalia he observed to his brother-in-law that the Ruhr was the strategic road to the North Sea. This thought of Napoleon’s . . . is gradually taking shape in Premier Poincaré’s policy . . . it is only a short distance from the Ruhr to the North Sea. . . . France could seize the North Sea coast in no time if she were allowed to keep the Ruhr territory. France will then be able to use it as a strategic naval base against England.”
During the war one of the principal aims of the German High Command was to secure a foothold on the north French sea coast for the identical purpose that Herr Sprengler attributed to the French policy.
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