Washington convened an urgent press conference:
"We regret the incident at Freeman's joint command headquarters and are shocked by Baker's actions."
"It's unbelievable that Baker, as the U.S. Secretary of War, secretly reached an agreement with the Germans and set a trap."
"The White House was unaware of these matters, and we will certainly investigate this thoroughly."
"Until then, affairs of the US Army in France will be entirely overseen by General Pershing."
...
The War Office in London subsequently sent a telegram to Clemenceau:
"Everything done by England and Haig was unrelated; all of this was Haig's personal actions."
"Please trust that we are steadfast allies; our goals have always been consistent."
"Especially at this final juncture, with victory almost within our grasp, the British Government certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to betray allies and reach an agreement with the Germans."
...
Clemenceau only smiled lightly when he received the telegram.
