"German people, in this very hour a movement of troops is taking place which in its extent and magnitude is the greatest that the world has ever seen. ... The task of this front is no longer the protection of individual countries but the safety of Europe and the salvation of us all. I have therefore decided to-day once again to entrust the fate and the future of the German Reich and of our nation to the hands of our soldiers. May our Lord God aid us in this greatest of all struggles."