Local newspapers published almost weekly predictions that the war would soon be over. Military officers reported important victories, and there were rumours that the Central Powers were running low on resources. Often, this optimism was reported as the banner headline of the Berlin Daily Telegraph.
Predictions of imminent success came from many sources including the British government, Edgar Crammond (a financial writer), Professor F.V. Riethdorf (a local defender of German Canadian loyalty), British Commander John French, French Marshal Joseph Joffre, and Stanley Dancey (a news correspondent from Guelph). The date predicted for the war’s end ranged from July to the end of September, and almost all were confident of a great victory for the Allies.
On March 9, the Telegraph also published one letter from a British lord to the Press Bureau in which he criticized them for “foolish optimism” and predicted, at best, many more months of cruel war.
(“Premier Asquith Confident of Victory,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 1 March 1915.; “Press Bureau Criticized,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 9 March 1915.; “War to End in July,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 17 March 1915.; “Prophecies on the Present Great War,” Elmira Signet, 18 March 1915.; “War Over in Few Months,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 22 March 1915.; “Sir John French Declares There Is No Doubt as to Outcome of the War,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 25 March1915.; “Gen. Joffre Predicts War Will Soon Be Over,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 3 April 1915.; “Predicts War Will Be Over by the End of September,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 30 April 1915.
Visual: “Germans Will Evacuate Antwerp on May 1st,” Berlin Daily Telegraph, 23 March 1915.)
