Less German . . .
Sir: Unskyll, Herr von Billow! Like Hamlet I 'took you for your better', supposing you to be 'more an antique Prussian than a Dane' (Letters, 2 May). The von Billows have long played impor- tant parts in German and European histo- ry, and we are indebted to two of them for helping in their different ways to ensure that Germany lost the first world war. The policies and postures of Chancellor von Billow and his imperial master led to the setting up of the Entente Cordiale. General Karl von Billow's defeat at the Battle of Guise (29 August 1914) brought about the fatal modification of — here comes Alice! — the Schlieffen Plan which culminated in the Battle of the Marne. Which, bitter to a Prussian, should be pleasing to a Dane.
Michael Samuelson
Harborne, Hailsham Road, Pevensey, East Sussex
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