“Certain omens of battle were beginning to appear in the heavens and in the speeches of diplomats. The first days of spring had arrived, and spring seemed, in the opinion of all men of war, to be the best time to undertake the mutual massacre of nations.

“See how the drums and flags are being prepared.  We shall have to hurl ourselves upon the poor devils of other nations, without even being able to understand the reasons for our rage.”

Paul Adam, 1893