Minister Herbert Asquith who informed French that he was ‘a little surprised and perturbed by the drastic action of shooting so many of the rebel leaders’. French warned Maxwell about Asquith’s reservations but added that he personally would not interfere with his freedom of action. 66 Again, French’s remark makes perfect sense if he had been informed by Hall or simply if he saw the execution of republican leaders as a perfect way to rid Ireland of disloyal elements.
But how had the French and the Austro-Hungarians reacted to the Rising in Dublin? Colonel Artus de la Panouse, the French military attaché in London, reported that it was obvious that Germany’s plan was to divert more British troops to Ireland, troops that would be better used on the front line. He also wrote that Sir Edward Carson had to bear some of the responsibility as it was he who had introduced the fashion of smuggling German arms into the country. 67 On 19 June 1916 he sent a report to General Joseph Joffre, the commander in chief of the French army. About the republican leaders, de la Panouse wrote: ‘All those who took part in the [Rising] … showed real courage during their court martial and also when about to die.’ After this military tribute, he said that the British 59th division was now occupying Ireland whereas it should have been sent to France. This was bad news for Joffre who was planning, with General Douglas Haig, an offensive on the Somme, due to begin shortly, in order to relieve Verdun. 68
In Austria-Hungary the news of the Rising was greeted with satisfaction and glee by the press. This was no surprise as the ‘hunger blockade’ imposed by the royal navy in the north and the Italians in the south was having dreadful effects. 69 In Vienna the conservative Reichspost wrote that the Irish people had ceased to support John Redmond’s policy of reconciliation between the Irish and the British. It also made a comparison between the present British ‘hunger blockade’ and the Great Famine in Ireland: ‘England’s war of starvation plan … has not been invented for the first time by British rulers. It was already used by [English royal] dynasties with cold calculation against the Irish.’ 70 In Budapest the liberal Pester Lloyd opined: ‘In this war, liberal England has had the dubious honour to have had to put down a long and well-prepared rising … Not in fermenting Russia, not in the polyglot Austro-Hungarian monarchy did the revolution flare up, but in liberal England who lets herself be called the defender of small nations.’ 71
It was, of course, in Germany that news of the Rising was most eagerly awaited. Once the seriousness of the fighting in Dublin became known in Berlin, mainly through the reports of an agent codenamed W.29d (which were forwarded to spymaster Walter Nicolai), the German secret service conceived a disinformation and scaremongering campaign directed against the Allies. 72 The operation took place in Berne in Switzerland on 29 April. A double agent, pretending to work for France, contacted the French embassy and handed over a bogus report containing information he had gathered in Germany. The report was a clever mixture of true facts and lies. Among other things, it described the preparations for the Rising and stated that ‘Casement was assured by the German government that he would get twenty million shillings if it succeeded’. The impression the report wanted to give was Germany’s total commitment to the Irish cause and that her navy was able to reach the Irish coast whenever it wanted. Although this cannot be substantiated, Nicolai was probably behind the operation. But French military intelligence knew that the spy was, in fact, working for Germany and was not duped. It is not known whether the French informed the British about this German operation, but General Joffre’s headquarters were kept up to date. 73
As early as 6 May 1916 Ambassador Bernstorff sent a coded message to
But how had the French and the Austro-Hungarians reacted to the Rising in Dublin? Colonel Artus de la Panouse, the French military attaché in London, reported that it was obvious that Germany’s plan was to divert more British troops to Ireland, troops that would be better used on the front line. He also wrote that Sir Edward Carson had to bear some of the responsibility as it was he who had introduced the fashion of smuggling German arms into the country. 67 On 19 June 1916 he sent a report to General Joseph Joffre, the commander in chief of the French army. About the republican leaders, de la Panouse wrote: ‘All those who took part in the [Rising] … showed real courage during their court martial and also when about to die.’ After this military tribute, he said that the British 59th division was now occupying Ireland whereas it should have been sent to France. This was bad news for Joffre who was planning, with General Douglas Haig, an offensive on the Somme, due to begin shortly, in order to relieve Verdun. 68
In Austria-Hungary the news of the Rising was greeted with satisfaction and glee by the press. This was no surprise as the ‘hunger blockade’ imposed by the royal navy in the north and the Italians in the south was having dreadful effects. 69 In Vienna the conservative Reichspost wrote that the Irish people had ceased to support John Redmond’s policy of reconciliation between the Irish and the British. It also made a comparison between the present British ‘hunger blockade’ and the Great Famine in Ireland: ‘England’s war of starvation plan … has not been invented for the first time by British rulers. It was already used by [English royal] dynasties with cold calculation against the Irish.’ 70 In Budapest the liberal Pester Lloyd opined: ‘In this war, liberal England has had the dubious honour to have had to put down a long and well-prepared rising … Not in fermenting Russia, not in the polyglot Austro-Hungarian monarchy did the revolution flare up, but in liberal England who lets herself be called the defender of small nations.’ 71
It was, of course, in Germany that news of the Rising was most eagerly awaited. Once the seriousness of the fighting in Dublin became known in Berlin, mainly through the reports of an agent codenamed W.29d (which were forwarded to spymaster Walter Nicolai), the German secret service conceived a disinformation and scaremongering campaign directed against the Allies. 72 The operation took place in Berne in Switzerland on 29 April. A double agent, pretending to work for France, contacted the French embassy and handed over a bogus report containing information he had gathered in Germany. The report was a clever mixture of true facts and lies. Among other things, it described the preparations for the Rising and stated that ‘Casement was assured by the German government that he would get twenty million shillings if it succeeded’. The impression the report wanted to give was Germany’s total commitment to the Irish cause and that her navy was able to reach the Irish coast whenever it wanted. Although this cannot be substantiated, Nicolai was probably behind the operation. But French military intelligence knew that the spy was, in fact, working for Germany and was not duped. It is not known whether the French informed the British about this German operation, but General Joffre’s headquarters were kept up to date. 73
As early as 6 May 1916 Ambassador Bernstorff sent a coded message to
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