“The Secret War Council: The German Fight Against the Entente in America in 1914” is an introduction to German activities in the early stages of World War I while America remained neutral.

Neutrals in name are not necessarily so in thought or deed. With a change of a sole word, one could truthfully convert Clausewitz’ axion to “Neutrality is a mere continuation of policy by other means”. Though neutral in 1914, the United States became a venue for belligerent rivalries.

The small American armaments industry was set to grow to fill belligerents’ orders. Though the United States was free to sell arms to anyone, Britannia’s Rule of the waves limited delivery to the Entente War Machine, although not without a contest from Germany. Assembling in in New York to coordinate German interest in America, Germany’s Secret War Council Included Imperial German Ambassador, Johann Heinrich Count von Bernstorff, former German Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, Military attaché, Franz von Papen and naval attaché, Karl Boy-Ed. It undertook a series projects aimed to increase American support for Germany’s position. Dr. Hugo Schweitzer, U. S. Chief executive of Bayer Chemical Company was prominent among the strategically placed German industrialists in American businesses on whom it could call for intelligence and financial support. In 1914 the large German-American population, particularly in the heartland, gave hope that German propaganda could nudge American public opinion toward Germany. As the propaganda battle bore little fruit, the Council tried economic pressure. Germany began the war as a creditor of the United States. War materials were for sale to the highest bidder. While delivery to Germany was blocked, purchase could prevent their use by the Entente. Their diversion to Mexico, torn by Civil War, might even create distracting mischief for the United States.

Many German immigrants were regarded as reservists of the German Army. They and the naval reservists among the fifty-four German merchant ships tied up in U. S. ports to avoid Royal Navy patrols presented manpower for the Council to either repatriate to Germany or employ in some other way. Fraudulent passports did enable some to return to Germany.

As propaganda, diplomatic and monetary efforts ran their course, the Council turned to more direct action. Regarding the United States, for all practical respects, at war with Germany, Council agents turned to other projects, both legal and illegal. One plan was to attack British Honduras (present day Belize) but more effort was directed to the closer and more significant Dominion of Canada. I found the accounts of plans for attacks on the Welland Canal and the Canadian Pacific Railway make for particularly interesting reading. A twenty-six-mile water link between Lakes Ontario and Erie, the disruption of the Welland. would have interrupted transport between the western Great Lakes and the Atlantic. The planned destruction of the St. Croix River Bridge between Maine and New Brunswick would have disrupted rail travel between the U.S. and Canada. Those, plus attacks on the harbor of Quebec, the Canadian army assembly camp at Valcartier, Quebec, scattered grain elevators and other targets were planned to impair both Canadian morale and ability to contribute to the Entente cause. Although the materials could be purchased in the U.S., their use on Canadian soil was prevented.

World War I buffs owe thanks to Author Heribert von Feilitzsch. His trilogy (see my review of “Felix A. Summerfield and the Mexican Front in the Great War”), of which “The Secret War Councill “is the first, has uncovered the extent of Germany’s clandestine schemes in neutral America. von Feilitzsch has delved into voluminous financial records to identify the individuals involved and the scope of their operations. Although many of the names are unfamiliar the author intersperses enough references to places and events to recapture readers’ interest if ever it starts to wane. “The Secret War Council” is an excellent choice for readers seeking a deeper understanding of the Great War in neutral America.

I did receive a free copy of this book without an obligation to post a review. ( )