"This note from the Greek Government was not a cry for help, It was a statement of the Greek position. and a request that we should state ours. In the face of these conditions, the Government decided to maintain the decision they had previously arrived at, to halt the desert advance at Benghazi, and to prepare forces to go to the help of Greece. That decision was the decision of the Government and of their chief military advisers.
"Tt was obvious that help must be made ready and brought to bear very rapidly. Many problems required discussion and solution,—the position of Yugoslavia, the necessity for keeping Turkey informed of our plans and so forth, It seemed to the Government that the wisest step was to attempt direct negotiations, so they entrusted the Chief of the Imperial Gener! Staff and myself with this task.
"Neither of us ever had the least doubt of the odds against full success of our mission, We knew perfectly well that German plans were far advanced, We knew how great were their material powers, but T still think we should have been to blame if we had not made that attempt.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.