concerning the internal political situation with the King, who felt the necessity of establishing a definite Government (October 7). I was still in Vienna when His Majesty was informed that it was possible for me to enter into confidential negotiations with diplomats of the Entente concerning conditions of peace in Switzerland. Our peace-loving monarch thereupon dispatched me without delay (October 11). The information that had been given to His Majesty was, however, of an earlier date, and the situation had changed considerably in the meantime. The official negotiations had begun with Wilson so that confidential discussions would already have been inopportune. The diplomats of the Entente would only have been inclined to discuss matters with me if I had been officially empowered to conclude an agreement. This, however, was not the case.
In Switzerland I gathered the impression that the Entente realized fully her military superioritv, and that, especially as regards Germany, she was determined upon the most cruel method of procedure. The mere fact that the German military command demanded an immediate armistice was irrefutable proof that even Berlin regarded our position as hopeless. Public opinion of the Entente longed for a complete military victory, and they would have liked to conclude peace in Berlin as the Germans concluded peace in Paris in 1871. I further gathered the impression that the fate of Austria and Hungary had not yet been settled finally, but that our only chance of getting bearable conditions
