Discovery of the "bordereau" The staff of the Military Intelligence Service (SR) worked around the clockSee especially Reinach, History of the Dreyfus Affair, Volume 1, pp. 40–42. to spy on the German Embassy in Paris. They had managed to get a French housekeeper named "Madame Bastian" hired to work in the building and spy on the Germans. In September 1894, she found a torn-up note"usual way" jargon of the SR meaning: documents retrieved by the housekeeper of the German Embassy: Thomas, The Affair Without Dreyfus, p. 140 et seq. which she handed over to her employers at the Military Intelligence Service. This note later became known as "the bordereau".The French word bordereau means simply a note or slip of paper and can be applied to any note. In French, many documents in the case were called bordereaux; however, in this translation the term bordereau is used only for this note. This piece of paper, torn into six large pieces,Not small pieces. In addition the paper was not wrinkled. Bredin, The Affair, p. 67. unsigned and undated, was addressed to the German military attaché stationed at the German Embassy, Maximilian von Schwartzkoppen. It stated that confidential French military documents regarding the newly developed "hydraulic brake of 120, and the way this gun has worked"J. Jacobs's entry: "Dreyfus Case" ("L'Affaire Dreyfus"), in "Jewish Encyclopedia.com" (originally published between 1901 and 1906, reprinted in the 1960s by KTAV Publishing House).The only important information in the document was a note on the 120 C Baquet gun, an artillery piece that represented only 1.4% of modern French artillery in 1914 and 0.6% of all artillery. Doise, A well kept secret, p. 55 et seq. About the other points: 2) "A note upon the 'troupes de couverture' (some modifications will be carried out)"; 3) "A note concerning a modification in the formations of artillery"; 4) "A note relative to Madagascar" [The War Office was preparing an expedition to conquer that island]; 5) "The proposed 'manual de tir' of field artillery (March 14, 1894)" in J. Jacobs's entry: "Dreyfus Case" (Jewish Encyclopedia.com), already cited. were about to be sent to a foreign power.
Discovery of the "bordereau" The staff of the Military Intelligence Service (SR) worked around the clockSee especially Reinach, History of the Dreyfus Affair, Volume 1, pp. 40–42. to spy on the German Embassy in Paris. They had managed to get a French housekeeper named "Madame Bastian" hired to work in the building and spy on the Germans. In September 1894, she found a torn-up note"usual way" jargon of the SR meaning: documents retrieved by the housekeeper of the German Embassy: Thomas, The Affair Without Dreyfus, p. 140 et seq. which she handed over to her employers at the Military Intelligence Service. This note later became known as "the bordereau".The French word bordereau means simply a note or slip of paper and can be applied to any note. In French, many documents in the case were called bordereaux; however, in this translation the term bordereau is used only for this note. This piece of paper, torn into six large pieces,Not small pieces In addition the paper was not wrinkled. Bredin, The Affair, p. 67. unsigned and undated, was addressed to the German military attaché stationed at the German Embassy, Maximilian von Schwartzkoppen. It stated that confidential French military documents regarding the newly developed "hydraulic brake of 120, and the way this gun has worked"J. Jacobs's entry: "Dreyfus Case" ("L'Affaire Dreyfus"), in "Jewish Encyclopedia.com" (originally published between 1901 and 1906, reprinted in the 1960s by KTAV Publishing House).The only important information in the document was a note on the 120 C Baquet gun, an artillery piece that represented only 1.4% of modern French artillery in 1914 and 0.6% of all artillery. Doise, A well kept secret, p. 55 et seq. About the other points: 2) "A note upon the 'troupes de couverture' (some modifications will be carried out)"; 3) "A note concerning a modification in the formations of artillery"; 4) "A note relative to Madagascar" [The War Office was preparing an expedition to conquer that island]; 5) "The proposed 'manual de tir' of field artillery (March 14, 1894)" in J. Jacobs's entry: "Dreyfus Case" (Jewish Encyclopedia.com) already cited. were about to be sent to a foreign power.