Stewardess from Titanic Britannica and Olympic. The luckiest loser in history

On November 21, 1916, the liner Britannic, the “sibling” of the Titanic, sank after being hit by a German mine.

The Girl and the Sea Giants

The tragic fate of the famous ocean liner Titanic, which sank during its maiden voyage, is known to everyone. Less is known about the fact that the Titanic had two “twin brothers,” as well as the fact that their fate was also not very happy.

And even fewer people know that all three giants were connected by a lady, whose story can serve as the most striking illustration of the old maritime superstition “a woman on a ship is bad luck.” Violet Constance Jessop can rightfully be called the “black widow” of world navigation, and at the same time the luckiest lady in the history of sea travel.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the British shipping company White Star Line decided to acquire several huge transoceanic liners, which were supposed to amaze the imagination with their size, luxury and speed.

The design bureau of the Harland and Wolfe shipyard in Belfast began work on the project in 1907.

The first of three liners, named Olympic, was put into service on June 14, 1911. The second, Titanic, in April 1912. The third and last, "Britannic" - in December 1915.

A stewardess named Violet

October 2, 1887 in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, in a family of Irish emigrants William Jessop And Katherine Kelly, a girl was born who was named Violet. As a child, she fell ill with tuberculosis, and doctors considered her almost hopeless, but Violet survived. After her father died, Violet and her family moved to Britain, where she attended convent school.

Violet was the eldest child in the family, and when her mother fell ill, taking care of everyone fell on her shoulders. The girl managed to get a job as a flight attendant at a shipping company, where she served wealthy ship passengers.

23-year-old Violet Jessop was among those flight attendants who were transferred to work on the newly built Olympic in June 1911. The girl was not happy about this - the liner was intended for sailing across the Atlantic, and weather Violet was categorically disliked on this line.

But her position forced her to accept the employer’s conditions, and Violet resigned herself.

On September 20, 1911, the Olympic collided with the cruiser Hawk due to unsuccessful maneuvering. The ships were damaged, but remained afloat. No one was killed in the incident, including flight attendant Jessop. By the way, the Olympic was commanded at that moment by Edward John Smith, the captain of the Titanic on its first and last voyage.

The Olympic outlived both of its "brothers", survived the First World War, returned to transatlantic service, making a total of 257 flights to and from New York, and was taken out of service and scrapped in 1935. Perhaps Olympic was just lucky to get rid of Violet Jessop in time.

View of the stern of the Titanic from the America, April 11, 1912. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Survivor

In April 1912, the stewardess was transferred to the Titanic, which she strongly opposed. She was persuaded, however, by saying that working on the much-publicized Titanic would be an excellent reference in the future.

On the evening of April 14, Violet, having completed her shift, went to her cabin and was almost falling asleep when she felt a jolt. The Titanic collided with an iceberg.

Like other flight attendants, she was ordered to go to upper deck. There were only 23 women on the Titanic's crew, and they could not provide any help in this situation. At 1:20 a.m., the flight attendants were put on boat number 16. As Violet was boarding the boat, she was handed a child, whom she safely delivered to the Carpathia. A woman took him there. The girl later admitted that she never found out whether it was the child’s mother - at that moment she, frozen and scared, had no time to ask questions.

Only 710 people out of 2,224 on board survived the Titanic disaster. After this, it would seem that Violet Jessop had to go ashore completely.

Folding boat D approaches the Carpathia Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Nurse from Britannica

Fate, however, was willing to bring her together with her third “brother” - “Britannic”. Work on the ship was completed at the end of 1915, when the First World War was in full swing. The British Admiralty requisitioned the ship, intending to use it as a hospital ship. In 1916, Violet boarded a hospital ship as a British Red Cross nurse. There could not have been a more bad sign for the ship, despite the fact that the Britannic, taking into account the Titanic disaster, was significantly rebuilt to increase its unsinkability.

On October 28, 1916, the German submarine U73, under the command of Gustav Siss, laid mines in the Kea channel - between the island of Kea and mainland Greece. On November 21, 1916, the Britannic, traveling at a speed of 20 knots, was blown up by a German mine.

At first the seriousness of the situation was not appreciated. It happened in the morning, and the nurses were ordered not to interrupt breakfast. However, it soon turned out that the Britannic was sinking. The ship was flooding through portholes open on the starboard side for ventilation, and water from the flooded compartments continued to flow further due to a jammed door in the bulkhead between the boiler rooms.

An evacuation was announced, during which 1,036 people were saved, including Violet Jessop. For reasons still unclear, the Britannic sank in just 55 minutes, while the Titanic remained afloat for three hours. Captain Charles Bartlett did not completely lose hope of throwing the ship aground, but this only led to casualties. The ship's propeller continued to operate while the boats were being lowered, and two of them were pulled into the blades. 21 people died.

Violet Jessop was in one of these boats. She managed to jump into the water, was skidded under the keel and hit her head hard on the hull. The injury turned out to be quite serious, but the girl realized this only a few years later, when a doctor who saw her for headaches discovered a crack in her skull.

Retired witness

A survivor of this disaster, Violet was the only survivor of the accident on all three ships of the Olympic project.

After the end of the First World War, Violet Jessop continued to work as a flight attendant, making two trips around the world. Her total work experience was 42 years. Having settled in England after her retirement, she became a real find for all researchers of the Titanic and Britannic disasters. The price for luck in the wreck was an unsuccessful personal life - in her declining years, Violet was a lonely, childless old woman, whose main entertainment was talking about the Titanic.

Violet Jessop died on May 5, 1971, aged 83, from heart failure.

Sea stewardess Violet Constance Jessop managed to work on three of the most famous ocean liners - Olympic, Titanic and Britannic, got into a wreck on each of them and survived!

First success

The woman who made it into history thanks to her luck was born on October 2, 1887 in Argentina, where her father tended local sheep. The girl's parents were emigrants from Ireland who went to South America in search of a better life. However, the family in a foreign land also faced sorrows and misfortunes - three of the nine children died, and the eldest, Violet, became seriously ill with tuberculosis.

Doctors predicted her imminent death, but the girl not only remained alive, but was also completely cured of a disease with which almost no one survived in those days!

However, Violet's father soon died, and the orphaned Irish family went home.

The mother sent the children to school at the monastery, and she began working as a flight attendant on the ships of the White Star Line passenger company. But due to poor health, she was forced to leave her job, and her place was taken by her eldest daughter, who had to quit school.

It must be said that Violet really did not want to work for this particular company, since its ships sailed on voyages along the dangerous and inhospitable North Atlantic. But the family had nothing to live on, and the girl started working - 17 hours a day, receiving 210 pounds a month.

Violet worked under such a strict schedule for several years. In the fall of 1910, she found herself on the newest ship of the White Star Line - the huge Olympic liner. This was the first of three Olympic class ships - the company later built the Titanic and Britannic...

“Olympic” was distinguished by luxury and, as the creators assured, complete safety. However, on September 11, 1911, the bulky Olympic collided with the cruiser Hawk. Fortunately, there were no casualties in this disaster, although the ship suffered serious damage.

The sinking of the Titanic

When the Olympic was repaired, Violet continued to work on it. But soon the company built a new and ultra-modern ship, which was called the Titanic... Violet was offered to work on it, but she refused for a long time, because, despite the disaster, she liked it on the Britannic.

However, she was persuaded, and on April 10, 1912, Violet set off on the Titanic on its first and last voyage...

Violet's biographers note the fact that she had with her a paper on which an ancient prayer was written, designed to save her from fire and water. Devout Violet often repeated the words of this prayer - even before the Titanic’s collision with the iceberg.

As a flight attendant, during the crash she had to assist passengers and escort them to the lifeboats.

She herself ended up on boat No. 16. Violet managed to take with her a lost child, who was later found by her mother when the survivors ended up on the Carpathia ship, which was simply a miracle.

Forty-two years at sea

After the crash, Violet left the service for some time. The Second World War began and Violet became a nurse for the British Red Cross. But, as they say, you can’t escape fate. In 1916, she, along with the wounded, found herself aboard the Britannic, the third ship of the Olympic class.

On November 1, 1916, the ship was blown up by a German mine. The rescue took place without panic, Violet even managed to grab a toothbrush, as she had said more than once that this was the item she missed most after the sinking of the Titanic aboard the Carpathia.

Most of the Britannic's passengers and crew were saved, but two lifeboats were caught in the propeller, killing 21 people.

Violet Jessop was in one of these boats. She managed to jump out of the boat, but the whirlpool caught her and hit her head on the keel. The girl was saved by her thick brown hair, which softened the strong blow.

However, after this accident she suffered from severe headaches for a long time. When she later went to the doctor, he discovered a huge crack that had already healed.

Interestingly, having recovered, Violet again began working as a flight attendant on White Star Line ships.

She continued to sail the seas, made two trip around the world on the liner Belgenland. Her fate was connected with the sea for 42 years! After retirement, Violet settled in a small house in the countryside, where she raised chickens. Her home differed from other respectable British houses in the abundance of souvenirs from all over the world...

The invulnerable Violet died of heart failure at a very old age - in 1971.

Her image inspired and continues to inspire writers and directors. She became the prototype of stewardess Lucy from the film Titanic by James Cameron, as well as the heroine of Chris Burgess' play Iceberg - Straight Ahead.

If you survived a shipwreck, then you can safely count yourself among the lucky ones, and you will definitely never set foot on board a ship again. The same cannot be said about Violet Constance Jessop, the unsinkable lady and the luckiest loser in history. She not only survived the sinking of three large transatlantic twin liners - Olympic, Titanic and Britannic - but also worked on passenger ships until retirement.

Violet Jessop I have had incredible “luck” since early childhood. She was born on October 2, 1887 in Argentina and became the 9th child in a family of Irish immigrants. At an early age, Violet contracted tuberculosis, and doctors gave her only a few months to live. But, miraculously, she managed to overcome the disease and live a long and healthy life.

When Violet's father died, her mother, Catherine Kelly, moved with her family to Britain, where she got a job as a stewardess on a passenger airliner. While her mother worked, Violet attended a convent school. But Katherine soon died of illness and Violet was left with the responsibility of providing for the entire family. Then the girl decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and get a job as a flight attendant on a passenger ship.

But finding a ship that would be willing to accept her was not so easy. At that time, Vilett was only 21 years old, and at the beginning of the twentieth century, flight attendants were mostly middle-aged women. Employers believed that her youth and good looks would be a disadvantage in her job, "causing problems" with crew and passengers (over the course of her career, she received at least three marriage proposals while working on various ships, and one of they came from an incredibly wealthy first class passenger).

Violet did not accept an offer from a wealthy first class passenger. She was married once for only 6 months and never had children. She met her true love aboard the Orionto, but her boyfriend promised his mother that he would not marry until she gave him permission. As the years passed, Violet eventually decided to end their relationship.

And yet she managed to find a place. Using old clothes and no makeup, Violet was able to make herself look as unattractive as possible, and then successfully passed the interview. After briefly working aboard the Royal Mail Line's Orionto, Violet Jessop was hired by the White Star Line in 1908, the company that would make her famous.

Three twin liners: Olympic, Titanic and Britannic

Her first ship on these lines was the Magestic, but already in 1910 she transferred to the Olympic, the first of three Olympic-class transatlantic liners (the other two would be the Titanic and Britannic). Despite the long hours and minimum wage (£2.10 a month - about £200 today) Violet enjoyed working on board the huge ship. True, she initially had some concerns about bad weather conditions during the journey across the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, she really liked that the Americans treated her more humanely while she served them.

But just a year later, tragedy struck. On September 20, 1911, the Olympic, due to unsuccessful maneuvering, collided with the cruiser Hawk (a ship designed to ram ships in order to sink them). Both ships suffered enormous damage. "Olympic" received a 14-meter hole above the waterline, but miraculously managed to stay afloat. Fortunately, no one was injured in this disaster and Violet Jessop returned to the port alive and unharmed.

"Olympic" and "Hawk" after the collision

And so, a few years later, the White Star Line company began to assemble a crew for a new VIP-class ship - the unsinkable Titanic. After a bad experience, Violet was hesitant to accept the offer, but after much persuasion from friends and family, she decided to accept the offer. As everyone knows, the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank, taking with it the lives of more than 1,500 people.

Violet Jessop managed to escape on boat No. 16. She later said:

“I was called on deck. Passengers walked calmly. I stood at the bulkhead with the other flight attendants, watching the women hug their husbands before boarding the boat with their children. After some time, the navigator ordered us to board the boat first to show the other women that it was safe.”

As Violet boarded the boat, one of the men gave her his child and asked her to take care of him. On the ship "Carpathia", which rescued the survivors, the child's mother (at least that's how Jessop introduced herself) found her and took her son away (according to Violet's recollections, she simply snatched the child from her arms and ran away with him).

No one still knows the name of the child who was given to Violet on the sinking Titanic. There were 128 children on board the ship, half of whom survived. Even the gender is not known. And in all these years, no one has ever admitted that they were that child. Although she herself Violet Jessop claimed that one day a stranger called her and said that he was that child. Although before this, Violet had never told this story to anyone. According to documents, only one child was with Violet in boat No. 16 - 5-month-old Assad Alexander Thomas. But his uncle gave it to Edwina Celia Trott when the ship sank.

And again Violet survived to set sail again. Despite everything we've experienced, later Violet Jessop admitted that the first thing she regretted was this toothbrush forgotten on board the Titanic. One can easily assume that after two disasters a person will definitely not want to board, or at least sail on, Olympic-class ships. But not Violet Jessop. During World War I, Violet got a job on the Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, as a Red Cross nurse. Given her track record, it's not hard to guess what happened next.

On November 21, 1916, the Britannic hit a German mine in the Aegean Sea. The ship received significant damage and quickly began to sink. Unfortunately, this time Violet was unable to get on the rescue boat, as the ship sank very quickly. Instead, in her own words, she jumped overboard.

“I jumped into the water, but the keel of the ship began to suck me in, which hit me on the head. Still, I miraculously managed to escape. But years later, when I went to the doctor because of severe headaches, he informed me that somehow I had suffered a skull fracture!”

Violet Jessop She even joked that she was saved only thanks to her huge head of hair, which softened the blow. And she noted that this time she did not forget her toothbrush on board, as was the case with the Titanic.

But this last misfortune did not deter Vilett from further sailing. After the war, ships became an increasingly popular mode of transport. And over time, they began to appear cruise ships. She left her job with the White Star Line and went to the Red Star Line, where she worked on cruises for several years.

Fortunately for Violet Jessop and other passengers, no significant damage was caused to any of the liners on which she subsequently served. After the Second World War, she did clerical work for some time, but then returned to work on ships for the Royal Mail company. She worked there until her retirement at the age of 61. For the rest of her life, Violet raised chickens and gardened. She died on May 5, 1971 from heart failure at the ripe old age of 84.

Many people interested in history know who Violet Jessop is. After all, her amazing fate truly deserves a full-fledged television adaptation.

At the age of 23, a young and promising girl worked on board the famous giant ship Olympic, which was practically a copy of the Titanic. But in 1911, the Olympic collided with another ship at sea. Having received a 14-meter hole, the ship miraculously survived, and Violet Jessop successfully survived the first disaster in her life.

A year later, our heroine goes to work on the Titanic. Her friends said that she did not want to go there, but they convinced her that it was very promising for her future career.

On the night of April 15, the liner suffered a shipwreck, which became one of the most notorious disasters of the twentieth century. But flight attendant Violet Jessop, along with some other employees, again managed to escape. In boat No. 16 they waited for rescuers and saved their lives.

Violet herself writes in her memoirs that when she got into the boat, some officer handed her a small child, with whom she was saved. When they boarded the ship Carpathia, which came to the aid of the Titanic, a woman ran up to her and, without saying a word, snatched the child from her arms and disappeared with him into the crowd. It was probably his mother, who was scared to death.

It would seem that the second warning should have made the girl think about changing jobs. But it was not there!

During the First World War, Violet Jessop became a nurse on the HMS Britannic. In 1916, the ship hit a German mine and began to sink.

During the process of evacuating passengers, when the first two boats were launched and loaded with people, they suddenly fell into the whirlpool of the Britannic sinking under the water.

Not thinking of giving up, Violet Jessop jumped out of the boat and was saved, although more than 20 people were pulled under the propeller of the sinking ship, where they died. In her memoirs she says that after this tragic story She developed severe headaches and was forced to see a doctor, who discovered a crack in her skull.

After these three maritime accidents, the three-time surviving flight attendant worked for more than 40 years. passenger liners and even traveled around the world twice.

An interesting fact is that Violet Jessop was one of the passengers on the Titanic who heard the hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” sung on the sinking ship.

Having lived for 83 years, she died peacefully in England.

Like this amazing story the life of a woman who emerged unscathed from mortal danger three times.

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Violet Constance Jessop(English) Violet Constance Jessop listen) (2 October 1887, Bahia Blanca, Argentina - 5 May 1971, Great Ashfield, Suffolk, East Anglia) - air hostess ocean liners passenger company White Star Line" Violet Jessop served on all Olympic-class airliners and, accordingly, was an eyewitness to incidents with them. Violet Jessop was aboard the Olympic that collided with the cruiser Hawk; aboard the Titanic, which collided with an iceberg; and, during the First World War, she served as a nurse aboard the hospital ship Britannic, which sank after being struck by a mine. Her presence on board all three Olympic-class liners during their catastrophic incidents made the life story of Violet Jessop popular among researchers of the Titanic disaster.

Early life

Violet Jessop was born to Irish immigrants William Jessop and Catherine Kelly, who lived near Bahia Blanca in Argentina. William Jessop emigrated from Dublin in the mid-1880s to try his hand at sheep farming in Argentina. Katherine followed him in 1886. Violet was the first of nine children, three of whom died in childhood. Violet herself contracted tuberculosis as a child, but, despite the doctor’s predictions, she survived. After her father died, Violet and her family moved to Britain, where she attended convent school. After her mother fell ill, she left school to work as a flight attendant on wealthy airliners.

Olympic

Violet was 23 years old when, on June 14, 1911, she boarded the transatlantic liner Olympic as a stewardess. Initially, however, she did not want to work for the company of this ship." White Star Line", since she was engaged in transatlantic flights, and weather conditions Atlantic Ocean Violet didn't like it. The ship was commanded by Captain Edward John Smith. On September 20, 1911, the Olympic collided with the cruiser Hawk due to unsuccessful maneuvering. Fortunately, the disaster was completely without casualties and both ships, despite the damage, remained afloat.

Titanic

Violet Jessop died of heart failure in 1971.

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Passage characterizing Jessop, Violet Constance

Kutuzov rode silently on his gray horse, lazily responding to proposals to attack.
“You’re all about attacking, but you don’t see that we don’t know how to do complex maneuvers,” he said to Miloradovich, who asked to go forward.
“They didn’t know how to take Murat alive in the morning and arrive at the place on time: now there’s nothing to do!” - he answered the other.
When Kutuzov was informed that in the rear of the French, where, according to the Cossacks’ reports, there had been no one before, there were now two battalions of Poles, he glanced back at Yermolov (he had not spoken to him since yesterday).
“They ask for an offensive, they propose various projects, but as soon as you get down to business, nothing is ready, and the forewarned enemy takes his own measures.”
Ermolov narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly when he heard these words. He realized that the storm had passed for him and that Kutuzov would limit himself to this hint.
“He’s having fun at my expense,” Ermolov said quietly, nudging Raevsky, who was standing next to him, with his knee.
Soon after this, Ermolov moved forward to Kutuzov and respectfully reported:
- Time has not been lost, your lordship, the enemy has not left. What if you order an attack? Otherwise the guards won’t even see the smoke.
Kutuzov said nothing, but when he was informed that Murat’s troops were retreating, he ordered an offensive; but every hundred steps he stopped for three quarters of an hour.
The whole battle consisted only in what Orlov Denisov’s Cossacks did; the rest of the troops only lost several hundred people in vain.
As a result of this battle, Kutuzov received a diamond badge, Bennigsen also received diamonds and a hundred thousand rubles, others, according to their ranks, also received a lot of pleasant things, and after this battle even new movements were made at headquarters.
“This is how we always do things, everything is topsy-turvy!” - Russian officers and generals said after the Tarutino battle, - exactly the same as they say now, making it feel like someone stupid is doing it this way, inside out, but we wouldn’t do it that way. But people who say this either do not know the matter they are talking about or are deliberately deceiving themselves. Every battle - Tarutino, Borodino, Austerlitz - is not carried out as its managers intended. This is an essential condition.
An innumerable number of free forces (for nowhere is a person freer than during a battle, where it is a matter of life and death) influences the direction of the battle, and this direction can never be known in advance and never coincides with the direction of any one force.
If many, simultaneously and variously directed forces act on some body, then the direction of movement of this body cannot coincide with any of the forces; and there will always be an average, shortest direction, what in mechanics is expressed by the diagonal of a parallelogram of forces.
If in the descriptions of historians, especially French ones, we find that their wars and battles are carried out according to a certain plan in advance, then the only conclusion that we can draw from this is that these descriptions are not correct.
The Tarutino battle, obviously, did not achieve the goal that Tol had in mind: in order to bring troops into action according to disposition, and the one that Count Orlov could have had; to capture Murat, or the goals of instantly exterminating the entire corps, which Bennigsen and other persons could have, or the goals of an officer who wanted to get involved and distinguish himself, or a Cossack who wanted to acquire more booty than he acquired, etc. But , if the goal was what actually happened, and what was a common desire for all Russian people then (the expulsion of the French from Russia and the extermination of their army), then it will be completely clear that the Tarutino battle, precisely because of its inconsistencies, was the same , which was needed during that period of the campaign. It is difficult and impossible to imagine any outcome of this battle that would be more expedient than the one it had. With the least tension, with the greatest confusion and with the most insignificant loss, the greatest results of the entire campaign were achieved, the transition from retreat to offensive was made, the weakness of the French was exposed and the impetus that Napoleon’s army had only been waiting for to begin their flight was given.

Napoleon enters Moscow after a brilliant victory de la Moskowa; there can be no doubt about victory, since the battlefield remains with the French. The Russians retreat and give up the capital. Moscow, filled with provisions, weapons, shells and untold riches, is in the hands of Napoleon. The Russian army, twice as weak as the French, did not make a single attack attempt for a month. Napoleon's position is most brilliant. In order to fall with double forces on the remnants of the Russian army and destroy it, in order to negotiate an advantageous peace or, in case of refusal, to make a threatening move towards St. Petersburg, in order to even, in case of failure, return to Smolensk or Vilna , or stay in Moscow - in order, in a word, to maintain the brilliant position in which the French army was at that time, it would seem that no special genius is needed. To do this, it was necessary to do the simplest and easiest thing: to prevent the troops from looting, to prepare winter clothes, which would be enough in Moscow for the entire army, and to properly collect the provisions that were in Moscow for more than six months (according to French historians) for the entire army. Napoleon, this most brilliant of geniuses and who had the power to control the army, as historians say, did nothing of this.
Not only did he not do any of this, but, on the contrary, he used his power to choose from all the paths of activity that presented itself to him that which was the stupidest and most destructive of all. Of all the things Napoleon could do: winter in Moscow, go to St. Petersburg, go to Nizhny Novgorod, go back, north or south, the way that Kutuzov later went - well, no matter what you come up with, it’s stupider and more destructive than what Napoleon did, that is, stay in Moscow until October, letting the troops plunder the city, then, hesitating, leave or not leave the garrison, leave Moscow, approach Kutuzov, not start a battle, go to the right, reach Maly Yaroslavets, again without experiencing the chance of breaking through, go not along the road that Kutuzov took, but go back to Mozhaisk and along the devastated Smolensk road - nothing could have been more stupid than this, more destructive for the army, as the consequences showed. Let the most skillful strategists come up with, imagining that Napoleon’s goal was to destroy his army, come up with another series of actions that would, with the same certainty and independence from everything that the Russian troops did, would destroy the entire French army, like what Napoleon did.
The genius Napoleon did it. But to say that Napoleon destroyed his army because he wanted it, or because he was very stupid, would be just as unfair as to say that Napoleon brought his troops to Moscow because he wanted it, and because that he was very smart and brilliant.
In both cases, his personal activity, which had no more power than the personal activity of each soldier, only coincided with the laws according to which the phenomenon took place.
It is completely false (only because the consequences did not justify Napoleon’s activities) that historians present to us Napoleon’s forces as weakened in Moscow. He, just as before and after, in the 13th year, used all his skill and strength to do the best for himself and his army. Napoleon's activities during this time were no less amazing than in Egypt, Italy, Austria and Prussia. We do not know truly the extent to which Napoleon’s genius was real in Egypt, where forty centuries they looked at his greatness, because all these great exploits were described to us only by the French. We cannot correctly judge his genius in Austria and Prussia, since information about his activities there must be drawn from French and German sources; and the incomprehensible surrender of corps without battles and fortresses without siege should incline the Germans to recognize genius as the only explanation for the war that was waged in Germany. But, thank God, there is no reason for us to recognize his genius in order to hide our shame. We paid for the right to look at the matter simply and directly, and we will not give up this right.