subcommittee came to the conclusion, again heavily watered down, that mistakes had been made in the formal handling of the mediation attempt but that it had not been the decisive factor in its failure. The report was published in all major newspapers on 3 September 1922 and triggered a significant public debate. Social Democratic publications in particular saw the Pope's attempt at mediation as a great forgone opportunity for peace. The Foreign Office once again made sure that the files and minutes of the negotiations were not published and thus prevented a constructive public discussion. After the Peace of Brest-Litovsk between the Central Powers and Russia, large numbers of German troops were moved to the Western Front. A feeler conducted by Hans von Haeften, the lead military liaison at the Foreign Office, along with members of the American legation in The Hague, learned that under the threat of a major German attack the Allies would be willing to make peace on the condition that Belgium be freed and part of Alsace–Lorraine returned to France. Haeften reported the response to Ludendorff, but Ludendorff, without informing the government about the Allies' offer, ordered an attack. He apparently kept secret the possibility of a favorable peace in order not to jeopardize his planned spring offensive. The subcommittee's conclusion was that the fault had not been on the German side but that the American demands had been unacceptable. Third subcommittee: violations of international law Under the original breakdown of each committee's tasks, it proved difficult for the third and fourth subcommittees to separate military and economic violations of international law. The two subcommittees agreed on 8 March 1920 that the third would "deal with all violations of international law pending investigation" and that the fourth would clarify "responsibility for the military and political collapse in the fall of 1918". The third committee hoped to clarify such issues as the violation of Belgian neutrality (the Rape of Belgium), the "punitive actions" of the German army at Leuven (Louvain) and Dinant, the treatment of the crews of torpedoed ships, the deportation of Belgian workers to Germany, the use of poisonous gas, the economic war, violation of Greece's neutrality and the devastation caused by the German Army during its retreat. With a view to "providing food for thought for the conception of new contemporary regulations under international law", the committee members also wished to consider the punitive