Then the last treaty, all of which, of course; belong to the days of the Weimar Republic, is the Arbitration Treaty between Germany and Luxembourg, executed in 1929. That is Document TC 20 in the bundle. It is two documents further on than the one the Tribunal has last referred to--TC 20, on the right-hand top corner. That is the Treaty of Arbitration and Conciliation between Germany and Luxembourg, signed at Geneva in 1929. May I just read the first few words of Article 1, which are familiar:
"The contracting parties undertake to settle by peaceful means all disputes of any nature whatever which may arise between them and which it may not be possible to settle by diplomacy." And then there follow the clauses dealing with the machinery for peaceful settlement of disputes, which follow the common form. obliged to my friend Captain Gordon. May I put in that last treaty, TC 20, which will be GB 98. Belgium at the time when the Nazi Party came into power in 1933, and, as you have heard from my learned friend, Hitler adopted and ratified the obligations of Germany under the Weimar Republic with regard to the treaties which had been entered into. My Lord, nothering more occurred to alter the position of Belgium until March 1936. Germany reoccupied the Rhineland; announced, of course, the resumption of conscription; and so on. And Hitler, on the 7th of March, 1936, purported in a speech to repudiate the obligations of the German Government under the Locarno Pact, the reason being given as the execution of the Franco-Soviet Pact of 1935. Sir David has dealt with that and has pointed out that there was no legal foundation for this claim to be entitled to renounce obligations under the Locarno Pact. But Belgium was, of course, left in the air, in the sense that it had entered itself into various obligations under the Locarno Pact in return for the liabilities which other nations acknowledged, and now one of these liabilities, namely, the liability of Germany to observe the Pact, had been renounced.
Hitler realized the position of Belgium and of the Netherlands, Hitler in the next document in the bundle, TC 33 and 35, which I hand in and will be GB 99, gave solemn assurance--he used the word "solemn". That has already been read by the Attorney General, and so I don't want to read it again. But the Tribunal will see that it is a full guarantee. In April of 1937, in a document which is net before the Court, France and England released Belgium from her obligations under the Locarno Pact. It is a matter of history and it does occur in an exhibit, but it hasn't been copied. Belgium, of course, gave guarantees of strict independence and neutrality, and France and England gave guarantees of assistance should Belgium be attacked. And it was because of that that Germany, on the 13th of October, 1937, in the next document, gave a very clear and unconditional guarantee to Belgium--Document TC 34, which I offer in evidence as Exhibit GB 100--the German declaration of the 13th of October, 1937, which shows the minutes:
"I have the honor on behalf of the German Government to make the following communication to Your Excellency: The German Government has taken cognizance with particular interest of the public declaration in which the Belgium Government defines the inter-national position of Belgium. For its part, it has repeatedly given expressions, especially through the declaration of the Chancellor of the German Reich in his speech of January 30th, 1937, to its own point of view. The German Government has also taken cognizance of the declaration made by the British and French Governments on the 24th of April 1937". That is a document to which I have previously referred. "Since the conclusion of a treaty. . ."
THE PRESIDENT: When you are reading a document to which you attach importance, would you go a little bit slower?
MR. ROBERTS: I certainly will. A little bit slower or faster?
THE PRESIDENT: Slower in the documents you attach great importance to.
MR. ROBERTS: Yes. "Since the conclusion of a treaty to replace the Treaty of Locarno may still take some time, and being desirous of strengthening the peaceful aspirations of the two countries, the German Government regards it as appropriate to define now its own attitude towards Belgium. To this end, it makes the following declaration: First, the German Government has taken note of the views which the Belgian Government has thought fit to express. That is to say, (a) of the policy of independence which it intends to exercise in full sovereignty; (b) of its determination to defend the frontiers of Belgium with all its forces against any aggression or invasion and to prevent Belgian territory from being used for purposes of aggression against another state as a passage or as a base of operation by land, by sea, or in the air, and to organize the defense of Belgium in an effecient manner to this purpose. Two: The German Government considers that the inviolability and integrity of Belgium are common interests of the Western Powers. It confirms its determination that in no circumstances will it impair this invoilability and integrity, and that it will at all times respect Belgian territory except, of course, in the event of Belgium's taking part in a military action directed against Germany in an armed conflict in which Germany is involved.
The German Government, like the British and French Governments, is prepared to assist Belgium should she be subjected to an attack or to invasion."
And then, on the following page: "The Belgian Government has taken note with great satisfaction of the declaration communicated to it this day by the German Government. It thanks the German Government warmly for this communication."
My Lords, may I pause there to emphasize that document. There, in October of 1937, is Germany giving a solemn guarantee to this small nation of its peaceful aspiration towards her, and its assertion that the integrity of the Belgian frontier was a common interest between her and Belgium and the other Western Powers. and the leaders of the German armed forces. One doesn't have to prove, does one, that everyone of those accused must have known perfectly well of that solemn undertaking given by its government? Every one of these accused, in their various spheres of activity, some more active than the other, were a party to the shameless breaking of that treaty eighteen months afterwards, and I submit that on the ordinary laws of inference and justice all those men must be fixed as active participators in that disgraceful breach of faith which brought misery and death to so many millions. Keitel and Jodl, that they were merely honorable soldiers carrying out their duty. This Tribunal, no doubt, will inquire what code of honor they observe which permits them to violate the pledged word of their country. the leaders and to the high command of Germany can be seen by the next document, which is Document PS 375 in the bundle. It is already an Exhibit, USA 84, and has been referred to many times already. May I just refer or remind the Tribunal of one sentence or two.
The document comes into existence on the 24th of August 1938, at the time when the Czech drama--the Czechoslovakia drama-was unfolding, and it was uncertain at that time whether there would be war with the Western Powers. It is Top Secret, addressed to the General Staff of the 5th Section of the German Air Force. The Subject: Extended Case Green - Estimate of the Situation. Probably the more correct word would be "Appreciation of the Situation with Special Consideration of the Enemy." Apparently some staff officer had been asked to prepare this appreciation. In view of the fact that it has been read before, I think I need only read the last paragraph, which is paragraph No. H, and it comes at the bottom of page 6, the last page but one of the document. Now H:
"Requests to Armed Forces Supreme Command, Army and Navy." This, you see, was appreciation addressed by an Air Force staff officer. So these are requests to the Army and Navy. And then, if one turns over the page, No. 4:
"Belgium and the Netherlands would, in German hands, represent an extraordinary advantage in the prosecution of the air war against Great Britain as well as against France. Therefore it is held to be essential to obtain the opinion of the Army as to the conditions under which an occupation of this area could be carried out and how long it would take, and in this case it would be necessary to reassess the commitment against Great Britain." is that it is apparently assumed by the staff officer who prepared this, and assumed quite rightly that the leaders of the German nation, the high command, would not pay the smallest attention to the fact that Germany had given her word not to invade Holland or Belgium. They are recommending it as a militarily advantageous thing to do, strong in the knowledge that, if the commanders and the Fuehrer agree with that view, treaties are to be completely ignored.
Such, I repeat, was the honor of the German Government and of its leaders. Czechoslovakia was peacefully annexed, and then there came the time for further guarantees in the next document, the assurances, TC 35 and 39, which were given to Belgium and the Netherlands on the 28th of April 1939.
Those have been read, by my learned friend, Mr. Elwyn Jones. They bear number GB 78. I need not read them again. TC 42A. That was given in the same speech by Hitler in the Reichstag, and this 42A was where Hitler was dealing with a communication from Mr. Roosevelt who was feeling a little uneasy on the other side of the Atlantic as to Hitler's intentions, and may I, before I read this document, say that I believ the Tribunal will be seeing a film of the delivery by Hitler of this part of this speech, and you will have the privilege of seeing Hitler in one of his jocular moods because this was greeted and was delivered in a jocular vein, and you will see in the film that the defendant Goering, who sits above Hitler in the Reichstag, appreciates very much the joke, the joke being this:
That it is an absurd suggestion to make that Germany could possibly go to war with any of its neighbors, and that was the point of the joke that everybody appears to have appreciated very much.
Now, if I may read this document:
"Finally Mr. Roosevelt demands the readiness to give him an assurance that the German fighting forces will not attack the territory or possessions of the following independent nations, and above all, that they will not march into them. And he goes on to name the following as the countries in question: Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Esthonia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Russia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iraq, Arabia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Iran.
"Answer: I started off by taking the trouble to find out in the case of the countries listed, firstly, whether they feel themselves threatened and secondly and particularly, whether this question Mr. Roosevelt has asked us was put as the result of a demarche by them or at least with their consent.
"The answer was a general negative, which in some cases took the form of a blunt rejection. Actually, this counter-question of mine could not be conveyed to some of the states and nations listed, since they are not at present in possession of their liberty (as for instance Syria), but are occupied by the military forces of democratic states, and therefore, deprived of all their rights.
"Thirdly, apart from that, all the states bordering on Germany have received much more binding assurances and, above all, much more binding proposals than Mr. Roosevelt asked of me in his peculiar telegram."
You will see that, although that is sneering at Mr. Roosevelt, it is suggesting in the presence, certainly, of the accused Goering as being quite absurd that Germany should nurture any warlike feeling against its neighbors, but the hollow falsity of that and the preceding guarantee is shown by the next document. May I put this 42A in as GB 101.
The next document, which is Hitler's conference of the 23rd of May, has been referred to many times and is marked USA 27. Therefore, I need only very shortly remind the Tribunal of two passages. First of all, on the first page, it is interesting to see who was present: The Fuehrer; Goering, Admiral Raeder, Brauchitsch, Colonel General Keitel, and various others who are not accused. Colonel Warlimont was there. He, I understand, was Jodl's deputy. Then, may I refer to the third page, down at the bottom. The stencil number is 819:
(Reading)
"What will this struggle be like?"
And then these words:
"The Dutch and Belgian air bases must be occupied by armed force. Declarations of neutrality must be ignored."
Then, at the bottom:
"Therefore, if England intends to intervene in the Polish war, we must occupy Holland with lightening speed. We must aim at securing a new defence line on Dutch soil up to the Zuider Zee."
There is that decision made: "Declarations of neutrality must be ignored," and there is the Grand Admiral present, and there is the Air Minister and Chief of the German Air Force, and there is General Keitel present. They all appear, and all their subsequent actions show that they acquiesced in that -- that to give your word and then break it.
That is their code of honor, and you will see that at the end of the meeting, the very last page -- the stencil number is 823 -- Field Marshall Goering asked one or two questions.
There was the decision -- the 23rd of May. Is it overstating the matter to submit that any syllable of guarantee, any assurance given after that, is just purely hypocrisy, is just the action -- apart from the multiplicity of the crimes here -- of the common criminal?
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Roberts, I think we would like you, so far as possible, to confine yourself to the document.
MR. ROBERTS: Yes, sir. Milord, then we go to the 22nd of August, 798-PS. That has already been put in and is USA 29. Milord, that was Hitler's speech on the 22nd of August. It has been read and re-read. I only, Milords, refer to one passage, and that is at the bottom of the second page:
"Attack from the West from the Maginot Line: I consider this impossible, "Another possibility is the violation of Dutch, Belgian, and Swiss neutrality I have no doubts that all these states as well as Scandinavia will defend their neutrality by all-available means," Milords, I desire to emphasize the next sentence:
"England and France will not violate the neutrality of these countries."
Then I desire to comment. I ask your Lordship to bear that sentence in mind, that correct prophecy, when remembering the excuses given for the subsequent invasion of Belgium and the Netherlands.
Milords, the next documents are TC-36, 40 and 42. Those are three assurances. Number 36 is by the Ambassador of Germany in the Belgium Government.
(Reading)
"In view of the gravity of the international situation, I am expressly instructed by the Head of the German Reich to transmit to Your Majesty the following communication:
"Though the German Government is at present doing everything in its power to arrive at a peaceful solution of the questions at issue between the Reich and Poland, it nevertheless desires to define clearly, here and now, the attitude which it proposes to adopt towards Belgium should a conflict in Europe become inevitable.
"The German Government is firmly determined to abide by the terms of the declaration contained in the German note of October 13, 1937. This provides in effect that Germany will in no circumstances impair the inviolability and integrity of Belgium and will at all times respect Belgium territory. The German Government renews this undertaking; however, in the expectation that the Belgium Government, for its part, will observe an attitude of strict neutrality and that Belgium will tolerate no violations on the part of a third power, but that, on the contary, she will oppose it with all the forces at her disposal. It goes without saying that if the Belgium Government were to adopt a different attitude, the German Government would naturally be compelled to defend its interests - in conformity with the new situation thus created." ment? I submit it is clear that the decision having been made to violate the neutrality as we know, those last words were put in to afford some excuse in the future.
Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, on the same day, the 26th August 1939. Subject to the Tribunal's direction, I don't think I need read it. It is a public document in the German document book, and it has exactly the same features. Luxembourg. That is dated the 26th August, the same day. I'm not certain; it has two dates. I think the 26th of August in Europe. Milords, that is in the same terms, a complete guarantee with the sting in the tail as in the other two documents. Perhaps I needn't read it. lightning victory, and in October German aimed forces were free for other tasks. The first step that was taken, so far as the Netherlands and Belgium are concerned, is shown by the next document, which, I think, is in as GB 80, but the true, essential portions refer to Belgium and the Netherlands. It is the next document in your Lordships' bundle,
THE PRESIDENT: TC-32?
MR. ROBERTS: Yes. It begins with TC 32, and then if you go to the next one, TC 37 on the same page - and then TC 41, but 37 and 41 refer to this matter. Now, this is a German assurance on the 6th of October, 1939:
"Belgium.
"Immediately after I had taken over the affairs of the state I tried to create friendly relations with Belgium. I renounced any revision or any desire for revision. The Reich has not made any demands which would in any way be likely to be considered in Belgium as a threat." part of the document:
(Reading)
"The new Reich has endeavored to continue the traditional friendship with Holland. It has not taken over any existing differences between the two countries and has not created any new ones."
assurances of Germany's good faith. which is the very next day, the 7th of October. Those two guarantees were the 6th of October. Now we come to 2329 PS, dated the 7th of October. It is from the Commander in Chief of the Army, Von Brauchitsch, and it is addressed to various Army Group, He said; 'third paragraph:
"The Dutch Border between Ems and Rhine is to be observed only.
"At the same time, Army Group B has to make all preparations according to special orders, for immediate invasion of Dutch and Belgian territory, if the political situation so demands."
"If the political situation so demands"--the day after the guarantee, and it is quite clear from the next document--I put in the last documents. That is an original typewritten signature of Von Brauchitsch, and it will be GB 105.
Milords, the next document is in two parts. Both are number C 62. The first part is dated 9th of October, two days after the document I have read. Milord, that was all read by the Attorney General in opening. It was read down to the end of paragraph (c). Therefore, I won't read it again. May I remind, the Tribunal of just one sentence.
(Reading)
"Preparations should be made for offensive action on the northern flank of the Western Front crossing the area of Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland. This attack must be carried out as soon and as forcefully as possible."
In the next paragraph, may I just read six words:
"The object of this attack is to acquire as great an area of Holland, Belgium and Northern France as possible."
That document is signed by Hitler himself. It is addressed to the three accused, the Supreme Commander of the Army, Keitel; Navy, Raeder; and Air Minister, Commander in Chief of the Air Force, Goering. That is the distribution.
I'll hold that document and I'll put that other one in with it.
Milord, the next document is the 15th of October 1939. It is from the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces. It is signed by Keitel in what is to some of us his familiar red pencil signature, and it is again addressed to Raeder and Goering and to the General Staff of the Army. I just remind the Tribunal that at the bottom of the page there is:
"It must be the object of the Army's preparations, therefore, to occupy -- on receipt of a special order -- the territory of Holland, in the first instance as far as the Grebbe-Maas line." West Frisian islands. that moment, the decision to violate the neutrality of these three countries had been made. All that remained was to work out the details, to wait until the weather became favorable, and in the meantime, to give no hint that Germany's word was about to be broken again. Otherwise, these small countries might have had some chance of combining with themselves and their neighbors.
Well, the next document is a Keitel directive. It is Number 440 PS. It is again sent to the Supreme Commander of the Army, Navy and Air Forces, and it gives details of how the attack is to be carried out. I want to read only a very few selected passages.
Paragraph (2) on the first page: "Contrary to previously issued instructions, all action intended against Holland may be carried out without a special order which the general attack will start.
"The attitude of the Dutch armed forces cannot be anticipated ahead of time." that this is a German concession:
"Wherever there is no resistance, the entry should carry the character of a peaceful occupation."
Then paragraph (b) of the next paragraph:
"At first the Dutch area, including the West-Frisian islands situated just off the coast, for the present without Texel, is to be occupied up to the Grebbe-Haas line."
The next two paragraphs I needn't read. They deal with action against the Belgians, however, and in paragraph (5):
"The 7th Airborne Division--" They were parachutists -will be committed for the airborne operation only after the possession of bridges across the Albert Canal--" which is in Belgium, as the Court knows-- "has been assured."
And then in paragraph (6) (b), Luxembourg is mentioned. It is mentioned in paragraph (5) as well. The signature is "Keitel", but that is typed. It is authenticated by a staff officer.
Then the next document is C No.10 and it is dated the 28 November 1939. That has the signature of Keitel, in his red pencil, and it is addressed to the Army, Navy and Airforce. It deals with the fact that if a quick breakthrough should fail north of Liege, other machinery for carrying out the attack will be used. It speaks of "The occupation of Walcheren Island and thereby Flushing harbour, or of some other southern Dutch island especially valuable for our sea and air warfare," and "b) Taking of one or more Maas crossings between Namur and Dinant..."
1940 the High Command and the Fuehrer were waiting for favorable weather before A-Day, as they called it.
That was the attack on Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. which range in date from 7 November until 9 May 1940. They are certified photostats I put in and they are all signed either by Keitel or by Jodl personally, and I don't think it is necessary for me to read them. The defense, I think, have all had copies of them, but they show that successively A-Day is being postponed for about a week, having regard to the weather reports, and so forth. That will be GB 109. the Tribunal, a German airplane made a forced landing in Belgium. The occupants endeavored to burn the orders of which they were in possession, but they were only partially successful. The next document I offer is TC 58, I think it is called, GB 110. The original is a photostat certified by the Belgian Government who, of course, came into possession of the original.
My Lord, 1 can summarize it. It consists of orders to the Commander of the Second Army Group, Air Force Group -- Luftflotte -the Second Air Force Fleet, clearly for offensive action against France, Holland and Belgium. One looks at the bottom of the first page. It deals with the disposition of the Belgian Army. The Belgian Army covers the Liege-Antwerp Line. Then it deals with the disposition of the Dutch Army; and then if you turn over the page, No.3, you see that the German Western Army directs its attack between the North Sea and the Moselle, with the strongest possible air-force support, through the Belgo-Luxembourg region.
My Lord, I think I need read no more. The rest are operational details as to the bombing of the various targets in Belgium and in Holland.
My Lord, as to the neat document, my learned friend Mr. Elwyn Jones put in Jodl's diary, which is GB 88, and I desire to refer very, very briefly to some extracts which are printed first in Bundle No.4.
If one looks at the entry for 1 February 1940 and then some
THE PRESIDENT: 1809 PS?
MR. ROBERTS: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: We haven't got the GB numbers on the documents.
MR. ROBERTS: I am sorry, My Lord.
If your Lordship will look eight lines down it says: "1700 hours General Jeschonnek" and then:
"1) Behaviour of parachute units. In front of The Hague they have to be strong enough to break in if necessary by sheer brute force. The 7th Division intends to drop units near the town.
"2) Political mission contrasts to some extent with violent action against the Dutch air force."
My Lord, I think the rest I need not read; it is operational detail.
"2nd February." I refer again to Jodl's entry under "a" as to "landings can be made in the centre of The Hague."
THE PRESIDENT: Which date?
MR. ROBERTS: That was the 2 February, My Lord, the bottom of the same page, under "a". I was endeavouring not to read more than a word or two.
THE PRESIDENT: Quite right.
MR. ROBERTS: If Your Lordship will turn over the page--I omit February 5--you come to "26th February. Fuehrer raises the question whether it is better to undertake the Weser Exercise before or after case 'Yellow.'" And then on the 3 March, the last sentence:
"Fuehrer decides to carry out Weser Exercise before case 'Yellow', with a few days' interval." Lordship's attention to on May 8, that is, two days before the invasion, the top of the page:
"Alarming news from Holland, cancelling of furloughs, evacuations, road-blocks, other mobilization measures; according to reports of the intelligence service the British have asked for permission to march in, but the Dutch have refused."
My Lord, may I make two short comments on that? The first is that the Germans are rather objecting because the Dutch are actually making some preparation to resist their endeavor. "Alarming news" they say.
The second point is that Jodl is there recording that the Dutch armies, according to their intelligence reports, are still adhering properly to their neutrality. But I need not read any more diary extracts. presented to Holland and to Belgium and to Luxemburg after the invasion was a fait accompli, because, as history now knows, at 4:30 a.m. on the 10 May these three small countries were violently invaded with all the fury of modern warfare. No warning was given by Germany and no complaint was made by Germany of any breaches of any neutrality before this action was taken.
THE PRESIDENT: perhaps this will be a convenient place to break off until two o'clock.
MR. ROBERTS: Yes. My Lord.
(Whereupon at 1245 hours the hearing of the Tribunal adjourned to reconvene at 1400 hours.)
Military Tribunal, in the matter of: The
MR. G. D. ROBERTS, K.C.: May it please the Tribunal, when the Court adjourned, I had just come to the point at four-thirty a.m. on the 10th of May, 1940, when the Germans invaded those three small countries without any warning - a violation which the Prosecution submits, it is clear from the Documents, had been planned and decided upon months before. three documents in conclusion. My Lord, the invasion having taken place at four-thirty in the morning, in each of the throe countries, the German Ambassador called upon representatives of the three Governments some hours later and handed in a document which was similar in each case and which is described as a memorandum or an ultimatum, My Lord, an account of what happened in Belgium. It is set our in Document TC-58, which is about five documents from the end of the bundle. It is headed "EXTRACT FROM BELGIUM - THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED 1939-1940", and I hand in an original copy, certified by the Belgium Government, which is GB-111.
My Lord, might I read short extracts. I read the third paragraph:
"From 4:30 information was received which left no shadow of doubt: the hour had struck. Aircraft were first reported in the east. At five o'clock came news of the bombing of two Netherlands aerodromes, the violation of the Belgian frontier, the landing of German soldiers at the Eben-Emael Fort, the bombing of the Jemelle station."
My Lord, then I think I can go to two paragraphs lower down:
"At 8:30 the German Ambassador came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When he entered the Minister's room, he began to take a paper from his pocket. M. Spaak" - that is the Belgium Minister - "stopped him:
'I beg your pardon, Mr. Ambassador. I will speak first.' And in an indignant voice, he read the Belgian Government's protest: 'Mr. Ambassador, the German Army has just attacked our country. This is the second time in twenty-five years that Germany has committed a criminal aggression against a neutral and loyal Belgium. What has just happened is perhaps even more odious than the aggression of 1914. No ultimatum, no note, no protest of any kind has ever been placed before the Belgian Government. It is through the attack itself that Belgium has learned that Germany has violated the undertakings given by her on October 13th, 1937, and renewed spontaneously at the beginning of the war. The act of aggression committed by Germany, for which there is no justification whatever, will deeply shock the conscience of the world. The German Reich will be held responsible by history. Belgium is resolved to defend herself. Her cause, which is the cause of Right, cannot be vanquished'."
And in the last paragraph, "In the middle of this communication, Mr. Spaak, who had by his side the Secretary-General of the Department, interrupted the Ambassador: 'Hand me the document', he said. 'I should like to spare you so painful a task After studying the note, M. Spaak confined himself to pointing out that he had already replied by the protest he had just made."
THE PRESIDENT: The Tribunal would like you to read what the Ambassador read.
MR. ROBERTS: I am sorry. I was thinking of the next document I was going to read. I read the last paragraph on the first page:
"The Ambassador was then able to read the note he had brought: 'I am instructed by the Government of the Reich, ' he said, 'to make the following declaration: In order to forestall the invasion of Belgium, Holland, and Luxemburg, for which Great Britain and France have been making preparations clearly aimed at Germany, the Government of the Reich is compelled to ensure the neutrality of the three countries mentioned by means of arms. For this purpose, the Government of the Reich will bring up an armed force of the greatest size, so that resistance of any kind will be useless.