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diff --git a/42721-8.txt b/42721-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c013d9e..0000000 --- a/42721-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5689 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's A German deserter's war experience, by Anonymous - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A German deserter's war experience - -Author: Anonymous - -Translator: Julius Koettgen - -Release Date: May 16, 2013 [EBook #42721] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GERMAN DESERTER'S WAR EXPERIENCE *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -A GERMAN DESERTER'S WAR EXPERIENCE - -[Illustration: Decoration] - -TRANSLATED BY J. KOETTGEN - -NEW YORK -B. W. HUEBSCH -MCMXVII - - -COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY -B. W. HUEBSCH - -Published, April, 1917 -Second printing, April, 1917 -Third printing, June, 1917 -Fourth printing, July, 1917 -Fifth printing, August, 1917 - -PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - -TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE - - -The following narrative first appeared in German in the columns of the -_New Yorker Volkszeitung_, the principal organ of the German speaking -Socialists in the United States. Its author, who escaped from Germany -and military service after 14 months of fighting in France, is an -intelligent young miner. He does not wish to have his name made public, -fearing that those who will be offended by his frankness might vent -their wrath on his relatives. Since his arrival in this country his -friends and acquaintances have come to know him as an upright and -truthful man whose word can be relied upon. - -The vivid description of the life of a common German soldier in the -present war aroused great interest when the story presented in these -pages to the English speaking reader was published in serial form. For -here was an historian of the war who had been through the horrors of the -carnage as one of the "Huns," one of the "Boches"; a soldier who had not -abdicated his reason; a warrior against his will, who nevertheless had -to conform to the etiquette of war; a hater of militarism for whom there -was no romance in war, but only butchery and brutality, grime and -vermin, inhuman toil and degradation. Moreover, he was found to be no -mean observer of men and things. His technical training at a school of -mining enabled him to obtain a much clearer understanding of the war of -position than the average soldier possesses. - -Most soldiers who have been in the war and have written down their -experiences have done so in the customary way, never questioning for a -moment the moral justification of war. Not so our author. He could not -persuade his conscience to make a distinction between private and public -morality, and the angle from which he views the events he describes is -therefore entirely different from that of other actual observers of and -participators in war. His story also contains the first German -description of the retreat of the Teutonic armies after the battle of -the Marne. The chief value of this soldier's narrative lies, however, in -his destructive, annihilating criticism of the romance and fabled -virtues of war. If some of the incidents related in this book appear to -be treated too curtly it is solely due to this author's limited literary -powers. If, for instance, he does not dwell upon his inner experiences -during his terrible voyage to America in the coal bunker of a Dutch ship -it is because he is not a literary artist, but a simple workman. - -The translator hopes that he has succeeded in reproducing faithfully the -substance and the spirit of the story, and that this little book will -contribute in combating one of the forces that make for war--popular -ignorance of war's realities. Let each individual fully grasp and -understand the misery, degradation, and destruction that await him in -war, and the barbarous ordeal by carnage will quickly become the most -unpopular institution on earth. - -J. KOETTGEN. - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER PAGE - TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE v - - I MARCHING INTO BELGIUM 1 - - II FIGHTING IN BELGIUM 8 - - III SHOOTING CIVILIANS IN BELGIUM 23 - - IV GERMAN SOLDIERS AND BELGIAN CIVILIANS 32 - - V THE HORRORS OF STREET FIGHTING 38 - - VI CROSSING THE MEUSE 45 - - VII IN PURSUIT 49 - - VIII NEARLY BURIED ALIVE ON THE BATTLEFIELD 58 - - IX SOLDIERS SHOOTING THEIR OWN OFFICERS 65 - - X SACKING SUIPPES 73 - - XI MARCHING TO THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE--INTO - THE TRAP 82 - - XII AT THE MARNE--IN THE MAW OF DEATH 89 - - XIII THE ROUT OF THE MARNE 99 - - XIV THE FLIGHT FROM THE MARNE 108 - - XV AT THE END OF THE FLIGHT 120 - - XVI THE BEGINNING OF TRENCH WARFARE 130 - - XVII FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH THE ENEMY 142 - - XVIII FIGHTING IN THE ARGONNES 148 - - XIX CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES 156 - - XX THE "ITCH"--A SAVIOR 164 - - XXI IN THE HELL OF VAUQUOIS 172 - - XXII SENT ON FURLOUGH 178 - - XXIII THE FLIGHT TO HOLLAND 183 - - XXIV AMERICA AND SAFETY 189 - - - - -A GERMAN DESERTER'S WAR EXPERIENCE - - - - -I - -MARCHING INTO BELGIUM - - -At the end of July our garrison at Koblenz was feverishly agitated. Part -of our men were seized by an indescribable enthusiasm, others became -subject to a feeling of great depression. The declaration of war was in -the air. I belonged to those who were depressed. For I was doing my -second year of military service and was to leave the barracks in six -weeks' time. Instead of the long wished-for return home war was facing -me. - -Also during my military service I had remained the anti-militarist I had -been before. I could not imagine what interest I could have in the mass -murder, and I also pointed out to my comrades that under all -circumstances war was the greatest misfortune that could happen to -humanity. - -Our sapper battalion, No. 30, had been in feverish activity five days -before the mobilization; work was being pushed on day and night so that -we were fully prepared for war already on the 23rd of July, and on the -30th of July there was no person in our barracks who doubted that war -would break out. Moreover, there was the suspicious amiability of the -officers and sergeants, which excluded any doubt that any one might -still have had. Officers who had never before replied to the salute of a -private soldier now did so with the utmost attention. Cigars and beer -were distributed in those days by the officers with great, uncommon -liberality, so that it was not surprising that many soldiers were -scarcely ever sober and did not realize the seriousness of the -situation. But there were also others. There were soldiers who also in -those times of good-humor and the grinning comradeship of officer and -soldier could not forget that in military service they had often been -degraded to the level of brutes, and who now thought with bitter -feelings that an opportunity might perhaps be offered in order to settle -accounts. - -The order of mobilization became known on the 1st of August, and the -following day was decided upon as the real day of mobilization. But -without awaiting the arrival of the reserves we left our garrison town -on August 1st. Who was to be our "enemy" we did not know; Russia was for -the present the only country against which war had been declared. - -We marched through the streets of the town to the station between crowds -of people numbering many thousands. Flowers were thrown at us from every -window; everybody wanted to shake hands with the departing soldiers. All -the people, even soldiers, were weeping. Many marched arm in arm with -their wife or sweetheart. The music played songs of leave-taking. People -cried and sang at the same time. Entire strangers, men and women, -embraced and kissed each other; men embraced men and kissed each other. -It was a real witches' sabbath of emotion; like a wild torrent, that -emotion carried away the whole assembled humanity. Nobody, not even the -strongest and most determined spirit, could resist that ebullition of -feeling. - -But all that was surpassed by the taking leave at the station, which we -reached after a short march. Here final adieus had to be said, here the -separation had to take place. I shall never forget that leave-taking, -however old I may grow to be. Desperately many women clung to their men; -some had to be removed by force. Just as if they had suddenly had a -vision of the fate of their beloved ones, as if they were beholding the -silent graves in foreign lands in which those poor nameless ones were to -be buried, they sought to cling fast to their possession, to retain what -already no longer belonged to them. - -Finally that, too, was over. We had entered a train that had been kept -ready, and had made ourselves comfortable in our cattle-trucks. Darkness -had come, and we had no light in our comfortable sixth-class carriages. - -The train moved slowly down the Rhine, it went along without any great -shaking, and some of us were seized by a worn-out feeling after those -days of great excitement. Most of the soldiers lay with their heads on -their knapsacks and slept. Others again tried to pierce the darkness as -if attempting to look into the future; still others drew stealthily a -photo out of their breast-pocket, and only a very small number of us -spent the time by debating our point of destination. Where are we going -to? Well, where? Nobody knew it. At last, after long, infinitely long -hours the train came to a stop. After a night of quiet, slow riding we -were at--Aix-la-Chapelle! At Aix-la-Chapelle! What were we doing at -Aix-la-Chapelle? We did not know, and the officers only shrugged their -shoulders when we asked them. - -After a short interval the journey proceeded, and on the evening of the -2nd of August we reached a farm in the neighborhood of the German and -Belgian frontier, near Herbesthal. Here our company was quartered in a -barn. Nobody knew what our business was at the Belgian frontier. In the -afternoon of the 3rd of August reservists arrived, and our company was -brought to its war strength. We had still no idea concerning the purpose -of our being sent to the Belgian frontier, and that evening we lay down -on our bed of straw with a forced tranquillity of mind. Something was -sure to happen soon, to deliver us from that oppressive uncertainty. How -few of us thought that for many it would be the last night to spend on -German soil! - -A subdued signal of alarm fetched us out of our "beds" at 3 o'clock in -the morning. The company assembled, and the captain explained to us the -war situation. He informed us that we had to keep ready to march, that -he himself was not yet informed about the direction. Scarcely half an -hour later fifty large traction motors arrived and stopped in the road -before our quarters. But the drivers of these wagons, too, knew no -particulars and had to wait for orders. The debate about our nearest -goal was resumed. The orderlies, who had snapped up many remarks of the -officers, ventured the opinion that we would march into Belgium the very -same day; others contradicted them. None of us could know anything for -certain. But the order to march did not arrive, and in the evening all -of us could lie down again on our straw. But it was a short rest. At 1 -o'clock in the morning an alarm aroused us again, and the captain -honored us with an address. He told us we were at war with Belgium, that -we should acquit ourselves as brave soldiers, earn iron crosses, and do -honor to our German name. Then he continued somewhat as follows: "We -are making war only against the armed forces, that is the Belgium army. -The lives and property of civilians are under the protection of -international treaties, international law, but you soldiers must not -forget that it is your duty to defend your lives as long as possible for -the protection of your Fatherland, and to sell them as dearly as -possible. We want to prevent useless shedding of blood as far as the -civilians are concerned, but I want to remind you that a too great -considerateness borders on cowardice, and cowardice in face of the enemy -is punished very severely." - -After that "humane" speech by our captain we were "laden" into the -automobiles, and crossed the Belgian frontier on the morning of August -5th. In order to give special solemnity to that "historical" moment we -had to give three cheers. - -At no other moments the fruits of military education have presented -themselves more clearly before my mind. The soldier is told, "The -Belgian is your enemy," and he has to believe it. The soldier, the -workman in uniform, had not known till then who was his enemy. If they -had told us, "The Hollander is your enemy," we would have believed that, -too; we would have been compelled to believe it, and would have shot him -by order. We, the "German citizens in uniform," must not have an opinion -of our own, must have no thoughts of our own, for they give us our enemy -and our friend according to requirements, according to the requirements -of their own interests. The Frenchman, the Belgian, the Italian, is your -enemy. Never mind, shoot as we order, and do not bother your head about -it. You have duties to perform, perform them, and for the rest--cut it -out! - -Those were the thoughts that tormented my brain when crossing the -Belgian frontier. And to console myself, and so as to justify before my -own conscience the murderous trade that had been thrust upon me, I tried -to persuade myself that though I had no Fatherland to defend, I had to -defend a home and protect it from devastation. But it was a weak -consolation, and did not even outlast the first few days. - -Traveling in the fairly quick motor-cars we reached, towards 8 o'clock -in the morning, our preliminary destination, a small but pretty village. -The inhabitants of the villages which we had passed stared at us in -speechless astonishment, so that we all had the impression that those -peasants for the most part did not know why we had come to Belgium. They -had been roused from their sleep and, half-dressed, they gazed from -their windows after our automobiles. After we had stopped and alighted, -the peasants of that village came up to us without any reluctance, -offered us food, and brought us coffee, bread, meat, etc. As the -field-kitchen had not arrived we were glad to receive those kindly gifts -of the "enemy," the more so because those fine fellows absolutely -refused any payment. They told us the Belgian soldiers had left, for -where they did not know. - -After a short rest we continued our march and the motor-cars went back. -We had scarcely marched for an hour when cavalry, dragoons and huzzars, -overtook us and informed us that the Germans were marching forward in -the whole neighborhood, and that cyclist companies were close on our -heels. That was comforting news, for we no longer felt lonely and -isolated in this strange country. Soon after the troop of cyclists -really came along. It passed us quickly and left us by ourselves again. -Words of anger were to be heard now; all the others were able to ride, -but we had to walk. What we always had considered as a matter of course -was now suddenly felt by us to be a great injustice. And though our -scolding and anger did not help us in the least, it turned our thoughts -from the heaviness of the "monkey" (knapsack) which rested like a leaden -weight on our backs. - -The heat was oppressive, the perspiration issued from every pore; the -new and hard leather straps, the new stiff uniforms rubbed against many -parts of the body and made them sore, especially round the waist. With -great joy we therefore hailed the order that came at 2 o'clock in the -afternoon, to halt before an isolated farm and rest in the grass. - - - - -II - -FIGHTING IN BELGIUM - - -About ten minutes we might have lain in the grass when we suddenly heard -rifle shots in front of us. Electrified, all of us jumped up and -hastened to our rifles. Then the firing of rifles that was going on at a -distance of about a mile or a mile and a half began steadily to increase -in volume. We set in motion immediately. - -The expression and the behavior of the soldiers betrayed that something -was agitating their mind, that an emotion had taken possession of them -which they could not master and had never experienced before. On myself -I could observe a great restlessness. Fear and curiosity threw my -thoughts into a wild jumble; my head was swimming, and everything seemed -to press upon my heart. But I wished to conceal my fears from my -comrades. I know I tried to with a will, but whether I succeeded better -than my comrades, whose uneasiness I could read in their faces, I doubt -very much. - -Though I was aware that we should be in the firing line within half an -hour, I endeavored to convince myself that our participation in the -fight would no longer be necessary. I clung obstinately, nay, almost -convulsively to every idea that could strengthen that hope or give me -consolation. That not every bullet finds its billet; that, as we had -been told, most wounds in modern wars were afflicted by grazing shots -which caused slight flesh-wounds; those were some of the reiterated -self-deceptions indulged in against my better knowledge. And they proved -effective. It was not only that they made me in fact feel more easy; -deeply engaged in those thoughts I had scarcely observed that we were -already quite near the firing line. - -The bicycles at the side of the road revealed to us that the cyclist -corps were engaged by the enemy. We did not know, of course, the -strength of our opponents as we approached the firing line in leaps. In -leaping forward every one bent down instinctively, whilst to our right -and left and behind us the enemy's bullets could be heard striking; yet -we reached the firing line without any casualties and were heartily -welcomed by our hard-pressed friends. The cyclists, too, had not yet -suffered any losses; some, it is true, had already been slightly -wounded, but they could continue to participate in the fight. - -We were lying flat on the ground, and fired in the direction indicated -to us as fast as our rifles would allow. So far we had not seen our -opponents. That, it seemed, was too little interesting to some of our -soldiers; so they rose partly, and fired in a kneeling position. Two men -of my company had to pay their curiosity with their lives. Almost at one -and the same time they were shot through the head. The first victim of -our group fell down forward without uttering a sound; the second threw -up his arms and fell on his back. Both of them were dead instantly. - -Who could describe the feelings that overcome a man in the first real -hail of bullets he is in? When we were leaping forward to reach the -firing line I felt no longer any fear and seemed only to try to reach -the line as quickly as possible. But when looking at the first dead man -I was seized by a terrible horror. For minutes I was perfectly -stupefied, had completely lost command over myself and was absolutely -incapable to think or act. I pressed my face and hands firmly against -the ground, and then suddenly I was seized by an irrepressible -excitement, took hold of my gun, and began to fire away blindly. Little -after little I quieted down again somewhat, nay, I became almost quite -confident as if everything was normal. Suddenly I found myself content -with myself and my surroundings, and when a little later the whole line -was commanded, "Leap forward! March, march!" I ran forward demented like -the others, as if things could not be other than what they were. The -order, "Position!" followed, and we flopped down like wet bags. Firing -had begun again. - -Our firing became more lively from minute to minute, and grew into a -rolling deafening noise. If in such an infernal noise you want to make -yourself understood by your neighbor, you have to shout at him so that -it hurts your throat. The effect of our firing caused our opponent to -grow unsteady; his fire became weaker; the line of the enemy began to -waver. Being separated from the enemy by only about 500 yards, we could -observe exactly what was happening there. We saw how about half of the -men opposing us were drawn back. The movement is executed by taking back -every second man whilst number one stays on until the retiring party has -halted. We took advantage of that movement to inflict the severest -losses possible on our retreating opponent. As far as we could survey -the country to our right and left we observed that the Germans were -pressing forward at several points. Our company, too, received the order -to advance when the enemy took back all his forces. - -Our task was to cling obstinately to the heels of the retreating enemy -so as to leave him no time to collect his forces and occupy new -positions. We therefore followed him in leaps with short breathing -pauses so as to prevent him in the first place from establishing himself -in the village before him. We knew that otherwise we should have to -engage in costly street fighting. But the Belgians did not attempt to -establish themselves, but disengaged themselves from us with astonishing -skill. - -Meanwhile we had been reënforced. Our company had been somewhat -dispersed, and everybody marched with the troop he chanced to find -himself with. My troop had to stay in the village to search every house -systematically for soldiers that had been dispersed or hidden. During -that work we noticed that the Germans were marching forward from all -directions. Field artillery, machine-gun sections, etc., arrived, and -all of us wondered whence all of this came so quickly. - -There was however no time for long reflections. With fixed bayonets we -went from house to house, from door to door, and though the harvest was -very meager, we were not turned away quite empty-handed, as the -inhabitants had to deliver up all privately owned fire-arms, ammunition, -etc. The chief functionary of the village who accompanied us, had to -explain to every citizen that the finding of arms after the search would -lead to punishment by court-martial. And court-martial means--death. - -After another hour had passed we were alarmed again by rifle and gun -firing; a new battle had begun. Whether the artillery was in action on -both sides could not be determined from the village, but the noise was -loud enough, for the air was almost trembling with the rumbling, -rolling, and growling of the guns which steadily increased in strength. -The ambulance columns were bringing in the first wounded; orderly -officers whizzed past us. War had begun with full intensity. - -Darkness was falling before we had finished searching all the houses. We -dragged mattresses, sacks of straw, feather beds, whatever we could get -hold of, to the public school and the church where the wounded were to -be accommodated. They were put to bed as well as it could be done. Those -first victims of the horrible massacre of nations were treated with -touching care. Later on, when we had grown more accustomed to those -horrible sights, less attention was paid to the wounded. - -The first fugitives now arrived from the neighboring villages. They had -probably walked for many an hour, for they looked tired, absolutely -exhausted. There were women, old, white-haired men, and children, all -mixed together, who had not been able to save anything but their poor -lives. In a perambulator or a push-cart those unfortunate beings carried -away all that the brutal force of war had left them. In marked contrast -to the fugitives that we had hitherto met, these people were filled with -the utmost fear, shivering with fright, terror-stricken in face of the -hostile world. As soon as they beheld one of us soldiers they were -seized with such a fear that they seemed to crumple up. How different -they were from the inhabitants of the village in which we were, who -showed themselves kind, friendly, and even obliging towards us. We tried -to find out the cause of that fear, and heard that those fugitives had -witnessed bitter street fighting in their village. They had experienced -war, had seen their houses burnt, their simple belongings perish, and -had not yet been able to forget their streets filled with dead and -wounded soldiers. It became clear to us that it was not fear alone that -made these people look like the hunted quarry; it was hatred, hatred -against us, the invaders who, as they had to suppose, had fallen upon -them unawares, had driven them from their home. But their hatred was not -only directed against us, the German soldiers, nay, their own, the -Belgian soldiers, too, were not spared by it. - -We marched away that very evening and tried to reach our section. When -darkness fell the Belgians had concentrated still farther to the rear; -they were already quite near the fortress of Liège. Many of the villages -we passed were in flames; the inhabitants who had been driven away -passed us in crowds; there were women whose husbands were perhaps also -defending their "Fatherland," children, old men who were pushed hither -and thither and seemed to be always in the way. Without any aim, any -plan, any place in which they could rest, those processions of misery -and unhappiness crept past us--the best illustration of man-murdering, -nation-destroying war! Again we reached a village which to all -appearances had once been inhabited by a well-to-do people, by a -contented little humanity. There were nothing but ruins now, burnt, -destroyed houses and farm buildings, dead soldiers, German and Belgian, -and among them several civilians who had been shot by sentence of the -court-martial. - -Towards midnight we reached the German line which was trying to get -possession of a village which was already within the fortifications of -Liège, and was obstinately defended by the Belgians. Here we had to -employ all our forces to wrench from our opponent house after house, -street after street. It was not yet completely dark so that we had to -go through that terrible struggle which developed with all our senses -awake and receptive. It was a hand to hand fight; every kind of weapon -had to be employed; the opponent was attacked with the butt-end of the -rifle, the knife, the fist, and the teeth. One of my best friends fought -with a gigantic Belgian; both had lost their rifle. They were pummeling -each other with their fists. I had just finished with a Belgian who was -about twenty-two years of age, and was going to assist my friend, as the -Herculean Belgian was so much stronger than he. Suddenly my friend -succeeded with a lightning motion in biting the Belgian in the chin. He -bit so deeply that he tore away a piece of flesh with his teeth. The -pain the Belgian felt must have been immense, for he let go his hold and -ran off screaming with terrible pain. - -All that happened in seconds. The blood of the Belgian ran out of my -friend's mouth; he was seized by a horrible nausea, an indescribable -terror, the taste of the warm blood nearly drove him insane. That young, -gay, lively fellow of twenty-four had been cheated out of his youth in -that night. He used to be the jolliest among us; after that we could -never induce him even to smile. - -Whilst fighting during the night I came for the first time in touch with -the butt-end of a Belgian rifle. I had a hand to hand fight with a -Belgian when another one from behind hit me with his rifle on the head -with such force that it drove my head into the helmet up to my ears. I -experienced a terrific pain all over my head, doubled up, and lost -consciousness. When I revived I found myself with a bandaged head in a -barn among other wounded. - -I had not been severely wounded, but I felt as if my head was double -its normal size, and there was a noise in my ears as of the wheels of an -express engine. - -The other wounded and the soldiers of the ambulance corps said that the -Belgians had been pushed back to the fortress; we heard, however, that -severe fighting was still going on. Wounded soldiers were being brought -in continuously, and they told us that the Germans had already taken in -the first assault several fortifications like outer-forts, but that they -had not been able to maintain themselves because they had not been -sufficiently provided with artillery. The defended places and works -inside the forts were still practically completely intact, and so were -their garrisons. The forts were not yet ripe for assault, so that the -Germans had to retreat with downright enormous losses. The various -reports were contradictory, and it was impossible to get a clear idea of -what was happening. - -Meanwhile the artillery had begun to bombard the fortress, and even the -German soldiers were terror-stricken at that bombardment. The heaviest -artillery was brought into action against the modern forts of concrete. -Up to that time no soldier had been aware of the existence of the -42-centimeter mortars. Even when Liège had fallen into German hands we -soldiers could not explain to ourselves how it was possible that those -enormous fortifications, constructed partly of reinforced concrete of a -thickness of one to six meters, could be turned into a heap of rubbish -after only a few hours' bombardment. Having been wounded, I could of -course not take part in those operations, but my comrades told me later -on how the various forts were taken. Guns of all sizes were turned on -the forts, but it was the 21- and 42-centimeter mortars that really did -the work. From afar one could hear already the approach of the -42-centimeter shell. The shell bored its way through the air with an -uncanny, rushing and hissing sound that was like a long shrill whistling -filling the whole atmosphere for seconds. Where it struck everything was -destroyed within a radius of several hundred yards. Later I have often -gazed in wonderment at those hecatombs which the 42-centimeter mortar -erected for itself on all its journeys. The enormous air pressure caused -by the bursting of its shells made it even difficult for us Germans in -the most advanced positions to breathe for several seconds. To complete -the infernal row the Zeppelins appeared at night in order to take part -in the work of destruction. Suddenly the soldiers would hear above their -heads the whirring of the propellers and the noise of the motors, -well-known to most Germans. The Zeppelins came nearer and nearer, but -not until they were in the immediate neighborhood of the forts were they -discovered by our opponents, who immediately brought all available -searchlights into play in order to search the sky for the dreaded flying -enemies. The whirring of the propellers of the airships which had been -distributed for work on the various forts suddenly ceased. Then, right -up in the air, a blinding light appeared, the searchlight of the -Zeppelin, which lit up the country beneath it for a short time. Just as -suddenly it became dark and quiet until a few minutes later, powerful -detonations brought the news that the Zeppelin had dropped its -"ballast." That continued for quite a while, explosion followed -explosion, interrupted only by small fiery clouds, shrapnel which the -Belgian artillery sent up to the airships, exploding in the air. Then -the whirring of the propellers began again, first loud and coming from -near, from right above our heads, then softer and softer until the -immense ship of the air had entirely disappeared from our view and -hearing. - -Thus the forts were made level with the ground; thousands of Belgians -were lying dead and buried behind and beneath the ramparts and -fortifications. General assault followed. Liège was in the hands of the -Germans. - -I was with the ambulance column until the 9th of August and by that time -had been restored sufficiently to rejoin my section of the army. After -searching for hours I found my company camping in a field. I missed many -a good friend; my section had lost sixty-five men, dead and wounded, -though it had not taken part in the pursuit of the enemy. - -We had been attached to the newly-formed 18th Reserve Army Corps -(Hessians) and belonged to the Fourth Army which was under the command -of Duke Albrecht of Wurttemberg. Where that army, which had not yet been -formed, was to operate was quite unknown to us private soldiers. We had -but to follow to the place where the herd was to be slaughtered; what -did it matter where that would be? On the 11th of August we began to -march and covered 25-45 miles every day. We learned later on that we -always kept close to the Luxemburg frontier so as to cross it -immediately should necessity arise. Had it not been so oppressively hot -we should have been quite content, for we enjoyed several days of rest -which braced us up again. - -On the 21st of August we came in contact with the first German troops -belonging to the Fourth Army, about 15 miles to the east of the Belgian -town of Neufchateau. The battle of Neufchateau, which lasted from the -22nd to the 24th of August, had already begun. A French army here met -with the Fourth German Army, and a murderous slaughter began. As is -always the case it commenced with small skirmishes of advance guards and -patrols; little after little ever-growing masses of soldiers took part -and when, in the evening of the 22nd of August, we were led into the -firing line, the battle had already developed to one of the most -murderous of the world war. When we arrived the French were still in -possession of nearly three-quarters of the town. The artillery had set -fire to the greatest part of Neufchateau, and only the splendid villas -in the western part of the town escaped destruction for the time being. -The street fighting lasted the whole night. It was only towards noon of -the 23rd of August, when the town was in the hands of the Germans, that -one could see the enormous losses that both sides had suffered. The -dwelling-places, the cellars, the roads and side-walks were thickly -covered with dead and horribly wounded soldiers; the houses were ruins, -gutted, empty shells in which scarcely anything of real value had -remained whole. Thousands had been made beggars in a night full of -horrors. Women and children, soldiers and citizens were lying just where -death had struck them down, mixed together just as the merciless -shrapnel and shells had sent them out of life into the darkness beyond. -There had been real impartiality. There lay a German soldier next to a -white-haired French woman, a little Belgian stripling whom fear had -driven out of the house into the street, lay huddled up against the -"enemy," a German soldier, who might have been protection and safety for -him. - -Had we not been shooting and stabbing, murdering and clubbing as much -and as vigorously as we could the whole night? And yet there was -scarcely one amongst us who did not shed tears of grief and emotion at -the spectacles presenting themselves. There was for instance a man whose -age it was difficult to discover; he was lying dead before a burning -house. Both his legs had been burnt up to the knees by the fire falling -down upon him. The wife and daughter of the dead man were clinging to -him, and were sobbing so piteously that one simply could not bear it. -Many, many of the dead had been burnt entirely or partly; the cattle -were burning in their stables, and the wild bellowing of those animals -fighting against death by fire, intermingled with the crying, the -moaning, the groaning and the shrieking of the wounded. But who had the -time now to bother about that? Everybody wanted help, everybody wanted -to help himself, everybody was only thinking of himself and his little -bit of life. "He who falls remains where he lies; only he who stands can -win victories." That one learns from militarism and the average soldier -acts upon that principle. And yet most soldiers are forced by -circumstances to play the rôle of the good Samaritan. People who could -formerly not look upon blood or a dead person, were now bandaging their -comrades' arms and legs which had been amputated by shells. They did not -do it because they were impelled by the command of their heart, but -because they said to themselves that perhaps to-morrow already their -turn might come and that they, too, might want assistance. It is a -healthy egotism which makes men of mercy out of those hardened people. - -The French had formed their lines again outside the town in the open. At -the moment when the enemy evacuated the town an error was made by the -Germans which cost many hundreds of German soldiers their lives. The -Germans had occupied the rest of the town with such celerity that our -artillery which was pounding that quarter had not been informed of the -changed situation, and was raining shell upon shell into our own ranks. -That failure of our intelligence department caused the death of many of -our comrades. Compelled by the firing of the enemy and our own artillery -we had finally to give up part of our gains, which later on we -recovered, again with great sacrifice. Curiously enough, the residential -quarter with the villas I mentioned before had not suffered seriously; -the Red Cross flag was hoisted on the houses in which temporary -hospitals were established. - -It is here that the Belgian citizens are said to have mutilated some -German wounded soldiers. Whether it was true, whether it was only -rumored, as was asserted also many times by German soldiers who had been -in the hospitals, I do not know. But this I know, that on the 24th of -August when the French had executed a general retreat, it was made known -in an army order that German soldiers had been murdered there and that -the German army could not leave the scenes of those shameful deeds -without having first avenged their poor comrades. The order was -therefore given--by the leader of the army--to raze the town without -mercy. When later on (it was in the evening and we were pursuing the -enemy) we were resting for a short time, clouds of smoke in the east -showed that the judgment had been fulfilled. A battery of artillery that -had remained behind had razed house after house. Revenge is sweet, also -for Christian army leaders. - -Outside the town the French had reformed their ranks, and were offering -the utmost resistance. But they were no match for the German troops who -consisted largely of young and active men. Frenchmen taken prisoner -explained that it was simply impossible to withstand an assault of this -war-machine, when the German columns attacked with the bayonet and the -cry of "Hurrah! hurrah!" which penetrated to the very marrow. I can -understand that, for we sometimes appeared to ourselves to be a good -imitation of American Indians who, like us, rushed upon their enemies -with shrill shouts. After a fight lasting three hours many Frenchmen -surrendered, asking for quarter with raised hands. Whole battalions of -the enemy were thus captured by us. Finally, in the night from the 23rd -to the 24th of August, the ranks of the enemy were thrown into confusion -and retreated, first slowly, then flying headlong. Our opponent left -whole batteries, munition columns, ambulance columns, etc. - -I found myself in the first pursuing section. The roads we used were -again literally covered with corpses; knapsacks, rifles, dead horses and -men were lying there in a wild jumble. The dead had been partly crushed -and pounded to a pulp by the horses and vehicles, an indescribably -terrible spectacle even for the most hardened mass-murderer. Dead and -wounded were lying to the right and left of the road, in fields, in -ditches; the red trousers of the French stood out distinctly against the -ground; the field-gray trousers of the Germans were however scarcely to -be noticed and difficult to discover. - -The distance between ourselves and the fleeing Frenchmen became greater -and greater, and the spirit of our soldiers, in spite of the hardships -they had undergone, became better and gayer. They joked and sang, forgot -the corpses which were still filling the roads and paths, and felt quite -at ease. They had already accustomed themselves to the horrible to such -a degree that they stepped over the corpses with unconcern, without even -making the smallest detour. The experience of those first few weeks of -the war had already brutalized us completely. What was to happen to us -if this should continue for months--? - - - - -III - -SHOOTING CIVILIANS IN BELGIUM - - -At 11 o'clock all further philosophizing was put a stop to; we were -ordered to halt, and we were to receive our food from the field kitchen. - -We were quite hungry and ate the tinned soup with the heartiest of -appetites. Many of our soldiers were sitting with their dinner-pails on -the dead horses that were lying about, and were eating with such -pleasure and heartiness as if they were home at mother's. Nor did some -corpses in the neighborhood of our improvised camp disturb us. There was -only a lack of water and after having eaten thirst began to torment us. - -Soon afterwards we continued our march in the scorching midday sun; dust -was covering our uniforms and skin to the depth of almost an inch. We -tried in vain to be jolly, but thirst tormented us more and more, and we -became weaker and weaker from one quarter of an hour to another. Many in -our ranks fell down exhausted, and we were simply unable to move. So the -commander of our section had no other choice but to let us halt again if -he did not want every one of us to drop out. Thus it happened that we -stayed behind a considerable distance, and were not amongst the first -that were pursuing the French. - -Finally, towards four o'clock, we saw a village in front of us; we began -at once to march at a much brisker pace. Among other things we saw a -farm-cart on which were several civilian prisoners, apparently snipers. -There was also a Catholic priest among them who had, like the others, -his hands tied behind his back with a rope. Curiosity prompted us to -enquire what he had been up to, and we heard that he had incited the -farmers of the village to poison the water. - -We soon reached the village and the first well at which we hoped to -quench our thirst thoroughly. But that was no easy matter, for a -military guard had been placed before it who scared us off with the -warning, "Poisoned"! Disappointed and terribly embittered the soldiers, -half dead with thirst, gnashed their teeth; they hurried to the next -well, but everywhere the same devilish thing occurred--the guard -preventing them from drinking. In a square, in the middle of the -village, there was a large village well which sent, through two tubes, -water as clear as crystal into a large trough. Five soldiers were -guarding it and had to watch that nobody drank of the poisoned water. I -was just going to march past it with my pal when suddenly the second, -larger portion of our company rushed like madmen to the well. The guards -were carried away by the rush, and every one now began to drink the -water with the avidity of an animal. All quenched their thirst, and not -one of us became ill or died. We heard later on that the priest had to -pay for it with his death, as the military authorities "knew" that the -water in all the wells of that village was poisoned and that the -soldiers had only been saved by a lucky accident. Faithfully the God of -the Germans had watched over us; the captured Belgians did not seem to -be under his protection. They had to die. - -In most places we passed at that time we were warned against drinking -the water. The natural consequence was that the soldiers began to hate -the population which they now had to consider to be their bitterest -enemies. That again aroused the worst instincts in some soldiers. In -every army one finds men with the disposition of barbarians. The many -millions of inhabitants in Germany or France are not all civilized -people, much as we like to convince ourselves of the contrary. -Compulsory military service in those countries forces all without -distinction into the army, men and monsters. I have often bitterly -resented the wrong one did to our army in calling us all barbarians, -only because among us--as, naturally also among the French and -English--there were to be found elements that really ought to be in the -penitentiary. I will only cite one example of how we soldiers ourselves -punished a wretch whom we caught committing a crime. - -One evening--it was dark already--we reached a small village to the east -of the town of Bertrix, and there, too, found "poisoned" water. We -halted in the middle of the village. I was standing before a house with -a low window, through which one could see the interior. In the miserable -poverty-stricken working man's dwelling we observed a woman who clung to -her children as if afraid they would be torn from her. Though we felt -very bitter on account of the want of water, every one of us would have -liked to help the poor woman. Some of us were just going to sacrifice -our little store of victuals and to say a few comforting words to the -woman, when all at once a stone as big as a fist was thrown through the -window-pane into the room and hurt a little girl in the right hand. -There were sincere cries of indignation, but at the same moment twenty -hands at least laid hold of the wretch, a reservist of our company, and -gave him such a hiding as to make him almost unconscious. If officers -and other men had not interfered the fellow would have been lynched -there and then. He was to be placed before a court-martial later on, but -it never came to that. He was drowned in the river at the battle of the -Meuse. Many soldiers believed he drowned himself, because he was not -only shunned by his fellow soldiers, but was also openly despised by -them. - -We were quartered on that village and had to live in a barn. I went with -some pals into the village to buy something to eat. At a farmer's house -we got ham, bread, and wine, but not for money. The people positively -refused to take our money as they regarded us as their guests, so they -said; only we were not to harm them. Nevertheless we left them an -adequate payment in German money. Later on we found the same situation -in many other places. Everywhere people were terribly frightened of us; -they began to tremble almost when a German soldier entered their house. - -Four of us had formed a close alliance; we had promised each other to -stick together and assist each other in every danger. We often also -visited the citizens in their houses, and tried to the best of our -ability to comfort the sorely tried people and talk them out of their -fear of us. Without exception we found them to be lovable, kindly, and -good people who soon became confidential and free of speech when they -noticed that we were really their friends. But when, at leaving, we -wrote with chalk on the door of their houses "Bitte schonen, hier wohnen -brave, gute, Leute!" (Please spare, here live good and decent people) -their joy and thankfulness knew no bounds. If so much bad blood was -created, if so many incidents happened that led to the shooting by -court-martial of innumerable Belgians, the difference of language and -the mistakes arising therefrom were surely not the least important -causes; of that I and many others of my comrades became convinced during -that time in Belgium. But the at first systematically nourished -suspicion against the "enemy," too, was partly responsible for it. - -In the night we continued our march, after having been attached to the -21-centimeter mortar battery of the 9th Regiment of Foot Artillery which -had just arrived; we were not only to serve as covering troops for that -battery, but were also to help it place those giants in position when -called upon. The gun is transported apart from the carriage on a special -wagon. Gun-carriage and guns are drawn each by six horses. Those horses, -which are only used by the foot artillery, are the best and strongest of -the German army. And yet even those animals are often unable to do the -work required of them, so that all available men, seventy or eighty at -times, have to help transport the gun with ropes specially carried for -that purpose. That help is chiefly resorted to when the guns leave the -road to be placed in firing position. In order to prevent the wheels -from sinking into the soil, other wheels, half a yard wide, are attached -round them. - -These guns are high-angle guns, i. e., their shot rises into the air for -several thousand yards, all according to the distance of the spot to be -hit, and then drops at a great angle. That is the reason why neither -hill nor mountain can protect an enemy battery placed behind those -elevations. At first the French had almost no transportable heavy -artillery so that it was quite impossible for them to fight successfully -against our guns of large caliber. Under those conditions the German -gunners, of course, felt themselves to be top-dog, and decorated their -21-centimeter guns with inscriptions like the following, "Here -declarations of war are still being accepted." - -We felt quite at ease with the artillery, and were still passably fresh -when we halted at six o'clock in the morning, though we had been -marching since two o'clock. Near our halting place we found a broken -German howitzer, and next to it two dead soldiers. When firing, a shell -had burst in the gun destroying it entirely. Two men of the crew had -been killed instantly and some had been seriously wounded by the flying -pieces. We utilized the pause to bury the two dead men, put both of them -in one grave, placed both their helmets on the grave, and wrote on a -board: "Here rest two German Artillerymen." - -We had to proceed, and soon reached the town of Bertrix. Some few houses -to the left and right of the road were burning fiercely; we soon got to -know that they had been set alight because soldiers marching past were -said to have been shot at from those houses. Before one of these houses -a man and his wife and their son, a boy of 15 or 16, lay half burnt to -cinders; all had been covered with straw. Three more civilians lay dead -in the same street. - -We had marched past some more houses when all at once shots rang out; -they had been shooting from some house, and four of our soldiers had -been wounded. For a short while there was confusion. The house from -which the shots must have come was soon surrounded, and hand grenades -were thrown through all the windows into the interior. In an instant all -the rooms were in flames. The exploding hand grenades caused such an -enormous air pressure that all the doors were blown from their hinges -and the inner walls torn to shreds. Almost at the same time, five men in -civilian clothes rushed into the street and asked for quarter with -uplifted hands. They were seized immediately and taken to the officers, -who formed themselves into a tribunal within a few minutes. Ten minutes -later sentence had already been executed; five strong men lay on the -ground, blindfolded and their bodies riddled by bullets. - -Six of us had in each of the five cases to execute the sentence, and -unfortunately I, too, belonged to those thirty men. The condemned man -whom my party of six had to shoot was a tall, lean man, about forty -years of age. He did not wince for a moment when they blindfolded him. -In a garden of a house nearby he was placed with his back against the -house, and after our captain had told us that it was our duty to aim -well so as to end the tragedy quickly, we took up our position six paces -from the condemned one. The sergeant commanding us had told us before to -shoot the condemned man through the chest. We then formed two lines, one -behind the other. The command was given to load and secure, and we -pushed five cartridges into the rifle. Then the command rang out, "Get -ready!" The first line knelt, the second stood up. We held our rifles in -such a position that the barrel pointed in front of us whilst the -butt-end rested somewhere near the hip. At the command, "Aim!" we slowly -brought our rifles into shooting position, grasped them firmly, pressed -the plate of the butt-end against the shoulder and, with our cheek on -the butt-end, we clung convulsively to the neck of the rifle. Our right -forefinger was on the trigger, the sergeant gave us about half a minute -for aiming before commanding, "Fire!" - -Even to-day I cannot say whether our victim fell dead on the spot or -how many of the six bullets hit him. I ran about all day long like a -drunken man, and reproached myself most bitterly with having played the -executioner. For a long time I avoided speaking about it with -fellow-soldiers, for I felt guilty. And yet--what else could we soldiers -do but obey the order? - -Already in the preceding night there had been encounters at Bertrix -between the German military and the population. Houses were burning in -every part of the town. In the market place there was a great heap of -guns and revolvers of all makes. At the clergyman's house they had found -a French machine-gun and ammunition, whereupon the clergyman and his -female cook had been arrested and, I suppose, placed immediately before -a court-martial. - -Under those conditions we were very glad to get out of Bertrix again. We -marched on in the afternoon. After a march of some 3 miles we halted, -and received food from the field kitchen. But this time we felt no -appetite. The recollection of the incidents of the morning made all of -us feel so depressed that the meal turned out a real funeral repast. -Silently we set in motion again, and camped in the open in the evening, -as we were too tired to erect tents. - -It was there that all discipline went to pieces for the first time. The -officers' orders to put up tents were not heeded in the slightest -degree. The men were dog-tired, and suffered the officers to command and -chatter as much as they liked. Every one wrapped himself up in his -cloak, lay down where he was, and as soon as one had laid down one was -asleep. The officers ran about like mad shouting with redoubled energy -their commands at the exhausted soldiers; in vain. The officers, of -course had gone through the whole performance on horseback and, -apparently, did not feel sufficiently tired to go to sleep. When their -calling and shouting had no effect they had to recourse to personal -physical exertion and began to shake us up. But as soon as one of us was -awake the one before had gone to sleep again. Thus for a while we heard -the exhortation, "I say, you! Get up! Fall in line for putting up -tents!" Whereupon one turned contentedly on the other side and snoozed -on. They tried to shake me awake, too, but after having sent some -vigorous curses after the lieutenant--there was no lack of cursing on -either side that evening--I continued to sleep the sleep of the just. - -For the first time blind discipline had failed. The human body was so -exhausted that it was simply unable to play any longer the rôle of the -obedient dog. - - - - -IV - -GERMAN SOLDIERS AND BELGIAN CIVILIANS - - -The march had made us very warm, and the night was cold. We shivered all -over, and one after the other had to rise in order to warm himself by -moving about. There was no straw to be had, and our thin cloaks offered -but little protection. The officers slept in sleeping bags and woolen -blankets. - -Gradually all had got up, for the dew had wetted our clothing; things -were very uncomfortable. The men stood about in groups and criticized -the incidents of the preceding day. The great majority were of the -opinion that we should tell the officers distinctly that in future it -would not be so easy for them to work their deeds of oppression. One of -the older reservists proposed that we should simply refuse in future to -execute a command to shoot a condemned man; he thought that if all of us -clung together nothing could happen to us. However, we begged him to be -careful, for if such expressions were reported they would shoot him for -sedition without much ado. Nevertheless all of us were probably agreed -that the reservist had spoken exactly what was in our minds. The bitter -feeling was general, but we would not and could not commit any imprudent -action. We had learned enough in those few days of the war to know that -war brutalizes and that brutal force can no longer distinguish right -from wrong; and with that force we had to reckon. - -Meanwhile the time had come to march on. Before that we had to drink -our coffee and arrange our baggage. When we were ready to march the -captain gave us a speech in which he referred to the insubordination of -the night before. "I take it," he said, "that it was the result of your -stupidity. For if I were not convinced of that I should send you all -before a court-martial, and all of you would be made unhappy for the -rest of your lives. But in future," he continued after a short -reflection, "I will draw the reins so tightly that incidents like these -can never happen again, and the devil must be in it if I can not master -you. An order is an order, even if one imagines himself too tired." - -We joined the mortar battery again, and continued our march. The country -we were passing was rather dreary and monotonous so that that part of -our march offered few interesting changes. The few tiny villages we came -through were all abandoned by their inhabitants, and the -poverty-stricken dwellings were mostly devastated. However, we met long -lines of refugees. These people had as a rule fled with the French army, -and were returning now, only to find their homes destroyed by the brutal -hand of war. After a lengthy march broken by rests and bivouacs we -neared the fairly large village of Sugny on the Belgo-French frontier -just inside Belgian territory. - -It was about noon, and though the steadily increasing thunder of guns -pointed to the development of another battle, we hoped to be able to -stay at the place during the night. We entered it towards one o'clock, -and were again quartered in a large barn. Most of the soldiers refused -the food from the field-kitchen, and "requisitioned" eggs, chicken, -geese, and even small pigs, and soon general cooking was in full swing. -Everywhere the pots were steaming. Unfortunately most had taken the -animals and foodstuffs from the inhabitants without paying for them. - -Several soldiers arrived with barrels and bottles of wine, which were at -once beheaded and emptied in spite of the warnings and admonitions of -the wiser amongst us. It naturally followed that several sergeants and -men were soon almost helplessly drunk. The proprietor of "our" barn had -three medium-sized pigs left. One of those intoxicated sergeants -attempted to kill one of the pigs with a blunt pocket-knife. He had -tormented the poor beast almost to death when some sober soldiers caught -him in the act. The animal was killed by a shot through the head, and -the sergeant had to go to sleep at once. But that was only one incident -of many, and not at all the worst one. The inhabitants of Sugny had to -suffer much from the drunkenness of our men. The open and secret -plundering of gardens, stables and houses was quite a common thing, and -as the soldiers were practically left to do what they pleased, no matter -what happened or how many complaints were made, matters could naturally -not improve. - -The people of Sugny were to be pitied. First they had been plundered by -the flying French soldiers, the allies of the Belgians, who had taken -along with them everything they could get together in a hurry, and now -the Germans were acting in no better way. - -In a family of seven we were told that the French had taken away all the -bread and meat. They had gone through all the cupboards and shelves, and -had even stolen the gold watches belonging to the daughters of the -house. These and similar tales we heard from several families of the -place, and what at first we did not think possible on our side we now -beheld with our own eyes--even our well-trained soldiers robbed, -pillaged, and stole. War makes no difference between friend and foe. - -The roaring of the guns, which could be heard very distinctly, kept the -inhabitants in constant fear and excitement, so that we were finally -quite able to understand why those people prayed to God to be so kind as -to give victory to the Germans. An old inn-keeper explained to me in -fairly fluent German: "You see it is not that we are for Germany. Heaven -forbid! We are just Belgians and are so accustomed to it that we would -rather remain Belgians to the end of our lives. But if the Germans had -to retreat now, the French would come again and our village would again -become the scene of battle. The little left to us would then be a prey -to the flames. Therefore the Germans must win." And then he began -praying again. - -That part of the country had twice harbored the French, and now we -Germans were there. That the population suffered from want and hunger -was not to be wondered at, and often we divided our rations with the -severely tried people. Myself and two mates had given our "iron ration" -(preserved meat and vegetables and a bag of biscuits) to a woman -"blessed" with eight children. At the call we could not show our "iron -one," so we each of us had to mount guard twice as a punishment for that -feeble proof of our charity. Our half-file leader, Lieutenant Spahn, -expressed the opinion that pity was idiocy, and if the woman had eight -children it was her own concern. Then he concluded literally with great -emphasis, "In war everybody is his own nearest neighbor, even if all -around us die in a ditch." - -Another soldier got fourteen days' close confinement. He was on his way -with bread for a hungry poor family, and had in his arms six of those -little army loaves which he had begged from the soldiers. He was met by -that same Lieutenant Spahn who was in company of some sergeants. When -Spahn asked him where he was taking the bread the sapper replied that he -was on his way to a poor family that was really starving. The lieutenant -then ordered him to take the bread immediately to the company. Thereupon -he overwhelmed the soldier with all the "military" expressions he could -think of, like, "Are you mad?" "Donkey!" "Silly ass?" "Duffer!" "Idiot!" -etc. When the soldier showed nevertheless no sign of confusion, but -started to proceed on his way, the lieutenant roared out the order -again, whereupon the soldier turned round, threw the bread before the -feet of Lieutenant Spahn, and said quietly: "The duffers and idiots have -to shed their blood to preserve also your junker family from the misery -that has been brought upon this poor population." - -That the sapper got only two weeks of close confinement for "unmannerly -conduct towards a superior" with aggravating circumstances, was a -wonder; he had indeed got off cheaply. - -According to martial law he had to work off his punishment in the -following manner: When his company went to rest in the evening, or after -a fight or a march, the man had to report himself every day for two -weeks at the local or camp guard. While the company was resting and the -men could move about freely, he had to be in the guard room which he -could only leave to do his needs, and then only by permission of the -sergeant on guard, and in company of a soldier belonging to the guard. -He was not allowed to smoke or read or converse or speak, received his -rations from the guard, and had to stay in the guard-room until his -company marched off. Besides that he was tied to a tree or some other -object for fully two hours every day. He was fettered with ropes and had -to spend those two hours standing, even if he had marched 30 miles or -had risked his life in a fight for the same "Fatherland" that bound him -in fetters. - -The resentment continued to grow and, in consequence of the many severe -punishments that were inflicted, had reached such a height that most -soldiers refused to fetter their comrades. I, too, refused, and when I -continued my refusals in spite of repeated orders I was likewise -condemned to two weeks of close confinement as an "entirely impenitent -sinner," for "not obeying an order given" and for "persistent -disobedience." - - - - -V - -THE HORRORS OF STREET FIGHTING - - -We left Sugny the next morning, and an hour later we crossed the -Belgo-French frontier. Here, too, we had to give three cheers. The -frontier there runs through a wood, and on the other side of the wood we -placed the 21-cm. mortars in position. - -Our troops were engaged with the rear-guard of the enemy near the French -village of Vivier-au-Court. We were brought in to reinforce them, and -after a five hours' fight the last opponents had retired as far as the -Meuse. Vivier-au-Court had hardly suffered at all when we occupied it -towards noon. Our company halted again here to wait for the mortar -battery. - -Meanwhile we walked through the village to find some eatables. After -visiting several houses we came upon the family of a teacher. Father and -son were both soldiers; two daughters of about twenty and twenty-two -were alone with their mother. The mother was extremely shy, and all the -three women were crying when we entered the home. The eldest daughter -received us with great friendliness and, to our surprise, in faultless -German. We endeavored to pacify the women, begging them not to cry; we -assured them again and again that we would not harm them, and told them -all kinds of merry stories to turn their thoughts to other things. - -One of my mates related that in a fight in the morning, we had lost -seven men and that several on our side had been wounded. That only -increased the women's excitement, a thing we really could not -understand. At last one of the girls, who had been the first one to -compose herself, explained to us why they were so much excited. The girl -had been at a boarding school at Charlottenburg (Germany) for more than -two years, and her brother, who worked in Berlin as a civil engineer, -had taken a holiday for three months after her graduation in order to -accompany his sister home. Both had liked living in Germany, it was only -the sudden outbreak of war that had prevented the young engineer from -returning to Berlin. He had to enter the French army, and belonged to -the same company in which his father was an officer of the reserve. - -After a short interval the girl continued: "My father and brother were -here only this morning. They have fought against you. It may have been -one of their bullets which struck your comrades down. O, how terrible it -is! Now they are away--they who had only feelings of respect and -friendship for the Germans--and as long as the Germans are between them -and us we shall not be able to know whether they are dead or alive. Who -is it that has this terrible war, this barbaric crime on his -conscience?" Tears were choking her speech, and our own eyes did not -remain dry. All desire to eat had gone; after a silent pressing of hands -we slunk away. - -We remained in the village till the evening, meanwhile moving about -freely. In the afternoon nine men of my company were arrested; it was -alleged against them that they had laid hands on a woman. They were -disarmed and kept at the local guard-house; the same thing happened to -some men of the infantry. Seven men of my company returned in the -evening; what became of the other two I have not been able to find out. - -At that time a great tobacco famine reigned amongst us soldiers. I know -that one mark and more was paid for a single cigarette, if any could be -got at all. At Vivier-au-Court there was only one tobacco store run by a -man employed by the state. I have seen that man being forced by -sergeants at the point of the pistol to deliver his whole store of -tobacco for a worthless order of requisition. The "gentlemen" later on -sold that tobacco for half a mark a packet. - -Towards the evening we marched off, and got the mortar battery in a new -position from where the enemy's positions on the Meuse were bombarded. - -After a short march we engaged the French to the northeast of Donchéry. -On this side of the Meuse the enemy had only his rear-guard, whose task -was to cover the crossing of the main French armies, a movement which -was almost exclusively effected at Sédan and Donchéry. We stuck close to -the heels of our opponents, who did not retreat completely till darkness -began to fall. The few bridges left did not allow him to withdraw his -forces altogether as quickly as his interest demanded. Thus it came -about that an uncommonly murderous nocturnal street fight took place in -Donchéry which was burning at every corner. The French fought with -immense energy; an awful slaughter was the result. Man against man! That -"man against man" is the most terrible thing I have experienced in war. -Nobody can tell afterwards how many he has killed. You have gripped your -opponent, who is sometimes weaker, sometimes stronger than yourself. In -the light of the burning houses you observe that the white of his eyes -has turned red; his mouth is covered with a thick froth. With head -uncovered, with disheveled hair, the uniform unbuttoned and mostly -ragged, you stab, hew, scratch, bite and strike about you like a wild -animal. It means life or death. You fight for your life. No quarter is -given. You only hear the gasping, groaning, jerky breathing. You only -think of your own life, of death, of home. In feverish haste, as in a -whirlwind, old memories are rushing through your mind. Yet you get more -excited from minute to minute, for exhaustion tries to master you; but -that must not be--not now! And again the fight is renewed; again there -is hewing, stabbing, biting. Without rifle, without any weapon in a life -and death struggle. You or I. I? I?--Never! you! The exertion becomes -superhuman. Now a thrust, a vicious bite, and you are the victor. Victor -for the moment, for already the next man, who has just finished off one -of your mates, is upon you--. You suddenly remember that you have a -dagger about you. After a hasty fumbling you find it in the prescribed -place. A swift movement and the dagger buries itself deeply in the body -of the other man. - -Onward! onward! new enemies are coming up, real enemies. How clearly the -thought suddenly flashes on you that that man is your enemy, that he is -seeking to take your life, that he bites, strikes, and scratches, tries -to force you down and plant his dagger in your heart. Again you use your -dagger. Thank heavens! He is down. Saved!--Still, you must have that -dagger back! You pull it out of his chest. A jet of warm blood rushes -out of the gaping wound and strikes your face. Human blood, warm human -blood! You shake yourself, horror strikes you for only a few seconds. -The next one approaches; again you have to defend your skin. Again and -again the mad murdering is repeated, all night long-- - -Finally, towards four o'clock in the morning, the rest of the French -surrendered after some companies of infantry had occupied two roads -leading to the bridges. When the French on the other side became aware -of this they blew up the bridges without considering their own troops -who were still on them. Germans and Frenchmen were tossed in the air, -men and human limbs were sent to the sky, friend and foe found a watery -grave in the Meuse. - -One could now survey with some calm the scene of the mighty slaughter. -Dead lay upon dead, it was misery to behold them, and above and around -them all there were flames and a thick, choking smoke. But one was -already too brutalized to feel pity at the spectacle; the feeling of -humanity had been blown to all the winds. The groaning and crying, the -pleading of the wounded did not touch one. Some Catholic nuns were lying -dead before their convent. You saw it and passed on. - -The only building that had escaped destruction was the barracks of the -25th regiment of French dragoons. However, we had not much time to -inspect things, for at seven o'clock the French artillery began already -sending shell after shell into the village. We intrenched behind a thick -garden wall, immediately behind the Meuse. Our side of the Meuse was -flat, the opposite one went up steeply. There the French infantry had -intrenched themselves, having built three positions on the slope, one -tier above the other. As the enemy's artillery overshot the mark we -remained outside their fire. We had however an opportunity to observe -the effects of the shots sent by our own artillery into the enemy's -infantry position on the slope in front of us. The shells (21-cm. -shells) whizzed above our heads and burst with a tremendous noise, each -time causing horrible devastation in the enemy's trenches. - -The French were unable to resist long such a hail of shells. They -retreated and abandoned all the heights of the Meuse. They had evacuated -the town of Sédan without a struggle. In fact, that town remained -completely intact, in contrast to the completely demolished Donchéry. -Not a house in Sédan had suffered. When the rallying-call was sounded at -Donchéry it turned out that my company had lost thirty men in that -fight. We mustered behind the barracks of the dragoons, and our company, -which had shrunk to ninety men, was ordered to try and build a -pontoon-bridge across the Meuse at a place as yet unknown to us. Having -been reinforced by eighty men of the second company we marched away in -small groups so as not to draw the enemy's attention to us. After an -hour's march we halted in a small wood, about 200 yards away from the -Meuse, and were allowed to rest until darkness began to fall. - -When it had become dark the bridge transportation column--it was that -belonging to our division--came up across the fields, to be followed -soon after by that of the army corps. All preparations having been made -and the chief preliminaries, like the placing of the trestle and the -landing boards, gone through, the various pontoon-wagons drove up -noiselessly, in order to be unloaded just as noiselessly and with -lightning speed. We had already finished four pontoons, i. e., twenty -yards of bridge, without being observed by our opponent. Everything went -on all right. Suddenly the transportable search-lights of the enemy went -into action, and swept up and down the river. Though we had thrown -ourselves flat upon the ground wherever we stood, our opponents had -observed us, for the search-lights kept moving a little to and fro and -finally kept our spot under continual illumination. We were discovered. -We scarcely had time to consider, for an artillery volley almost -immediately struck the water to our left and right. We were still lying -flat on the ground when four more shots came along. That time a little -nearer to the bridge, and one shot struck the bank of the river. - -Immediately another volley followed, and two shells struck the bridge. -Some sappers fell into the water and two fell dead on the bridge; those -in the water swam ashore and escaped with a cold ducking. One only was -drowned. It was the man of whom I told before that he was despised by -his fellow-soldiers because he had hurt the child of a poor woman with a -stone he had thrown through the window into her room. - - - - -VI - -CROSSING THE MEUSE - - -In spite of the continual and severe cannonading of the artillery we -succeeded in fetching away the two dead soldiers and bringing them on -land. The bridge had been much damaged so that we could do nothing but -replace the ruined pontoons by new ones. When the firing of the -artillery had died down somewhat we began the difficult task for the -second time. But we had scarcely begun when another salvo found its mark -and damaged the bridge severely; fortunately no losses were inflicted -upon us that time. We were now ordered to retire, only to begin afresh -after half an hour. - -The enemy's searchlights had been extinguished, and we were able to take -some ten pontoons into line without being molested. Then, suddenly, we -were again overwhelmed by the fire of the artillery; the enemy's patrols -had noticed us. Several batteries had opened fire on us at the same -time, and in ten minutes' time all our work was nothing but a heap of -sinking pontoons; twelve men were killed. - -We now were ordered to march away. Only eight of our party were left -behind to look after the dead and wounded. We set out to get out of the -danger zone. After having marched up-stream for a distance of about a -mile and a quarter we halted and observed that the bridge-building -section of the army corps was present again. We were told that we should -complete the individual links of the bridge on land. Those -bridge-links, consisting each of two pontoons, were firmly tied -together, provided with anchors and all accessories, completed on land, -and then let down into the water. The site of the bridge, which had -meanwhile been determined upon, was made known to us, and we rowed with -all our might down the river towards that spot. - -Our opponent, who had gained no knowledge of that ruse, did not molest -us, and in quick succession all the bridge-links reached the determined -place. The various links were rowed into their proper position with -tremendous speed, and joined together. It did not take quite twenty -minutes to get everything just sufficiently in shape. The infantry, who -had kept in readiness, then rushed across the bridge which had been -thickly strewn with straw so as to deaden the noise. - -At the same time we had begun to cross the river by pontoon at various -points, and before the French were properly aware of what was going on, -the other side of the river had been occupied by our troops and was soon -firmly held by them. - -The French artillery and infantry now began to pour a terrific fire on -the pontoons. We, the sappers, who were occupying the pontoons of the -bridge, were now for the greater part relieved and replaced by infantry, -but were distributed among the rowing pontoons to serve as crews. I was -placed at the helm of one of the pontoons. With four sappers at the oars -and eighteen infantrymen as our passengers we began our first trip in an -infernal rain of missiles. We were lucky enough to reach the other side -of the river with only one slightly wounded sapper. I relieved that man, -who then took the steering part. On the return trip our pontoon was hit -by some rifle bullets, but happily only above the water-line. To our -right and left the pontoons were crossing the river, some of them in a -sinking condition. - -The sappers, who are all able to swim, sought to reach the bank of the -river and simply jumped into the water, whilst the infantrymen were -drowned in crowds. Having landed and manned another pontoon we pushed -off once more and, pulling the oars through the water with superhuman -strength, we made the trip a second time. That time we reached the other -side with two dead men and a wounded infantryman. We had not yet reached -the other side when all the infantry jumped into the shallow water and -waded ashore. We turned our boat to row back with the two dead men on -board. Our hands began to hurt much from the continual rowing and were -soon covered with blisters and blood blisters. Still, we had to row, -however much our hands might swell and hurt; there was no resting on -your oars then. - -We were about twenty yards from shore when our pontoon was hit below the -water-line by several rifle-bullets at the same time. A shot entering a -pontoon leaves a hole no bigger that the shot itself, but its exit on -the other side of the pontoon may be as big as a fist or a plate. Our -pontoon then began to sink rapidly so that we sappers had no choice but -to jump into the icy water. Scarcely had we left the boat when it -disappeared; but all of us reached the river-bank safely. We were -saved--for the moment. In spite of our wet clothes we had to man another -boat immediately, and without properly regaining breath we placed our -torn hands again on the oars. - -We had scarcely reached the middle of the river when we collided with -another boat. That other boat, which had lost her helmsman, and two -oarsmen, rammed us with such force that our pontoon turned turtle -immediately and took down with her all the eighteen infantrymen besides -one of the sappers. Four of us saved ourselves in another pontoon and, -thoroughly wet, we steered her to the left bank. We had just landed when -we were commanded to bring over a pontoon laden with ammunition, and the -"joy-ride" was renewed. We crossed the Meuse about another five times -after that. - -Meanwhile day had come. On the left bank a terrible fight had begun -between the German troops that had been landed, and the French. The -Germans enjoyed the advantage that they were no longer exposed to the -French artillery. - -We got a short rest, and lay wet to the skin in an old trench shivering -all over with cold. Our hands were swollen to more than double their -ordinary size; they hurt us so much that we could not even lift our -water-bottle to our mouths. It must have been a harrowing sight to watch -us young, strong fellows lying on the ground helpless and broken. - - - - -VII - -IN PURSUIT - - -After a short rest we were commanded to search the burning houses for -wounded men. We did not find many of them, for most of the severely -wounded soldiers who had not been able to seek safety unaided had been -miserably burnt to death, and one could only judge by the buttons and -weapons of the poor wretches for what "fatherland" they had suffered -their terrible death by fire. With many it was even impossible to find -out the nationality they belonged to; a little heap of ashes, a ruined -house were all that was left of whole families, whole streets of -families. - -It was only the wine cellars, which were mostly of strong construction, -that had generally withstood the flames. The piping hot wine in bottles -and barrels, proved a welcome refreshment for the soldiers who were wet -to their skins and stiff with cold. Even at the risk of their lives (for -many of the cellars threatened to collapse) the soldiers would fetch out -the wine and drink it greedily, however hot the wine might be. - -And strangely enough, former scenes were repeated. After the hot wine -had taken effect, after again feeling refreshed and physically well, -that same brutality which had become our second nature in war showed -itself again in the most shameful manner. Most of us behaved as if we -had not taken part in the unheard-of events of the last hours, as if we -did not see the horrible reminders of the awful slaughter, as if we had -entirely forgotten the danger of extinction which we had so narrowly -escaped. No effort was made to do honor to the dead though every one had -been taught that duty by his mother from the earliest infancy; there was -nothing left of that natural shyness which the average man feels in the -presence of death. The pen refuses even to attempt a reproduction of the -expressions used by officers and soldiers or a description of their -actions, when they set about to establish the nationality or sex of the -dead. Circumstances were stronger than we men, and I convinced myself -again that it was only natural that all feelings of humanity should -disappear after the daily routine of murdering and that only the -instinct of self-preservation should survive in all its strength. The -longer the war lasted the more murderous and bestial the men became. - -Meanwhile the fight between our troops that had crossed the river and -the French on the other side of the Meuse had reached its greatest fury. -Our troops had suffered great losses; now our turn came. While we were -crossing, the German artillery pounded the enemy's position with -unheard-of violence. Scarcely had we landed and taken our places when -our section proceeded to the assault. The artillery became silent, and -running forward we tried to storm the slope leading to the enemy -positions. We got as near as 200 yards when the French machine-guns came -into action; we were driven back with considerable losses. Ten minutes -later we attempted again to storm the positions, but had only to go back -again exactly as before. Again we took up positions in our trenches, but -all desire for fighting had left us; every one stared stupidly in front -of him. Of course we were not allowed to lose courage, though the -victims of our useless assaults were covering the field, and our dead -mates were constantly before our eyes. - -The artillery opened fire again; reinforcements arrived. Half an hour -later we stormed for the third time over the bodies of our dead -comrades. That time we went forward in rushes, and when we halted before -the enemy's trench for the last time, some twenty yards away from it, -our opponent withdrew his whole first line. The riddle of that sudden -retreat we were able to solve some time later. It turned out that the -main portions of the French army had retreated long ago; we had merely -been engaged in rear-guard actions which, however, had proved very -costly to us. - -During the next hour the enemy evacuated all the heights of the Meuse. -When we reached the ridge of those heights we were able to witness a -horrifying sight with our naked eyes. The roads which the retreating -enemy was using could be easily surveyed. In close marching formation -the French were drawing off. The heaviest of our artillery (21-cm.) was -pounding the retreating columns, and shell after shell fell among the -French infantry and other troops. Hundreds of French soldiers were -literally torn to pieces. One could see bodies and limbs being tossed in -the air and being caught in the trees bordering the roads. - -We sappers were ordered to rally and we were soon going after the -fleeing enemy. It was our task to make again passable for our troops the -roads which had been pounded and dug up by the shells; that was all the -more difficult in the mid-day sun, as we had first to remove the dead -and wounded. Two men would take a dead soldier by his head and feet and -fling him in a ditch. Human corpses were here treated and used exactly -as a board in bridge building. Severed arms and legs were flung through -the air into the ditch in the same manner. How often since have I not -thought of these and similar incidents, asking myself whether I thought -those things improper or immoral at the time? Again and again I had to -return a negative answer, and I am therefore fully convinced of how -little the soldiers can be held responsible for the brutalities which -all of them commit, to whatever nation they belong. They are no longer -civilized human beings, they are simply bloodthirsty brutes, for -otherwise they would be bad, very bad soldiers. - -When, during the first months of the war a Social-Democratic member of -parliament announced that he had resolved to take voluntary service in -the army because he believed that in that manner he could further the -cause of humanity on the battle-field, many a one began to laugh, and it -was exactly our Socialist comrades in our company who made pointed -remarks. For all of us were agreed that that representative of the -people must either be very simple-minded or insincere. - -The dead horses and shattered batteries had also to be removed. We were -not strong enough to get the bodies of the horses out of the way so we -procured some horse roaming about without a master, and fastened it to a -dead one to whose leg we had attached a noose, and thus we cleared the -carcass out of the road. The portions of human bodies hanging in the -trees we left, however, undisturbed. For who was there to care about -such "trifles"? - -We searched the bottles and knapsacks of the dead for eatable and -drinkable things, and enjoyed the things found with the heartiest -appetite imaginable. Hunger and thirst are pitiless customers that -cannot be turned away by fits of sentimentality. - -Proceeding on our march we found the line of retreat of the enemy -thickly strewn with discarded rifles, knapsacks, and other -accouterments. French soldiers that had died of sunstroke were covering -the roads in masses. Others had crawled into the fields to the left and -right, where they were expecting help or death. But we could not assist -them for we judged ourselves happy if we could keep our worn-out bodies -from collapsing altogether. But even if we had wanted to help them we -should not have been allowed to do so, for the order was "Forward!" - -At that time I began to notice in many soldiers what I had never -observed before--they felt envious. Many of my mates envied the dead -soldiers and wished to be in their place in order to be at least through -with all their misery. Yet all of us were afraid of dying--afraid of -dying, be it noted, not of death. All of us often longed for death, but -we were horrified at the slow dying lasting hours which is the rule on -the battle-field, that process which makes the wounded, abandoned -soldier die piecemeal. I have witnessed the death of hundreds of young -men in their prime, but I know of none among them who died willingly. A -young sapper of the name of Kellner, whose home was at Cologne, had his -whole abdomen ripped open by a shell splinter so that his entrails were -hanging to the ground. Maddened by pain he begged me to assure him that -he would not have to die. Of course, I assured him that his wounds were -by no means severe and that the doctor would be there immediately to -help him. Though I was a layman who had never had the slightest -acquaintance with the treatment of patients I was perfectly aware that -the poor fellow could only live through a few hours of pain. But my -words comforted him. He died ten minutes later. - -We had to march on and on. The captain told us we had been ordered to -press the fleeing enemy as hard as possible. He was answered by a -disapproving murmur from the whole section. For long days and nights we -had been on our legs, had murdered like savages, had had neither -opportunity nor possibility to eat or rest, and now they asked us -worn-out men to conduct an obstinate pursuit. The captain knew very well -what we were feeling, and tried to pacify us with kind words. - -The cavalry divisions had not been able to cross the Meuse for want of -apparatus and bridges. For the present the pursuit had to be carried out -by infantry and comparatively small bodies of artillery. Thus we had to -press on in any case, at least until the cavalry and machine-gun -sections had crossed the bridges that had remained intact farther down -stream near Sédan. Round Sommepy the French rear-guard faced us again. -When four batteries of our artillery went into action at that place our -company and two companies of infantry with machine guns were told off to -cover the artillery. - -The artillery officers thought that the covering troops were -insufficient, because aeroplanes had established the presence of large -masses of hostile cavalry an attack from whom was feared. But -reinforcements could not be had as there was a lack of troops for the -moment. So we had to take up positions as well as we could. We dug -shallow trenches to the left and right of the battery in a nursery of -fir trees which were about a yard high. The machine-guns were built in -and got ready, and ammunition was made ready for use in large -quantities. We had not yet finished our preparations when the shells of -our artillery began to whizz above our heads and pound the ranks of our -opponent. The fir nursery concealed us from the enemy, but a little -wood, some 500 yards in front of us, effectively shut out our view. - -We were now instructed in what we were to do in case of an attack by -cavalry. An old white-haired major of the infantry had taken command. We -sappers were distributed among the infantry, but those brave -"gentlemen," our officers, had suddenly disappeared. Probably the -defense of the fatherland is in their opinion only the duty of the -common soldier. As those "gentlemen" are only there to command and as we -had been placed under the orders of infantry officers for that -undertaking, they had become superfluous and had taken French leave. - -Our instructions were to keep quiet in case of an attack by cavalry, to -take aim, and not allow ourselves to be seen. We were not to fire until -a machine-gun, commanded by the major in person, went into action, and -then we were to fire as rapidly as the rifle could be worked; we were -not to forget to aim quietly, but quickly. - -Our batteries fired with great violence, their aiming being regulated by -a biplane, soaring high up in the air, by means of signals which were -given by rockets whose signification experts only could understand. - -One quarter of an hour followed the other, and we were almost convinced -that we should be lucky enough that time to be spared going into action. -Suddenly things became lively. One man nudged the other, and all eyes -were turned to the edge of the little wood some five hundred yards in -front of us. A vast mass of horsemen emerged from both sides of the -little wood and, uniting in front of it, rushed towards us. That -immense lump of living beings approached our line in a mad gallop. -Glancing back involuntarily I observed that our artillery had completely -ceased firing and that its crews were getting their carbines ready to -defend their guns. - -But quicker than I can relate it misfortune came thundering up. Without -being quite aware of what I was doing I felt all over my body to find -some place struck by a horse's hoof. The cavalry came nearer and nearer -in their wild career. Already one could see the hoofs of the horses -which scarcely touched the ground and seemed to fly over the few hundred -yards of ground. We recognized the riders in their solid uniforms, we -even thought we could notice the excited faces of the horsemen who were -expecting a sudden hail of bullets to mow them down. Meanwhile they had -approached to a distance of some 350 yards. The snorting of the horses -was every moment becoming more distinct. No machine-gun firing was yet -to be heard. Three hundred yards--250. My neighbor poked me in the ribs -rather indelicately, saying, "Has the old mass murderer (I did not doubt -for a moment that he meant the major) gone mad! It's all up with us, to -be sure!" I paid no attention to his talk. Every nerve in my body was -hammering away; convulsively I clung to my rifle, and awaited the -calamity. Two hundred yards! Nothing as yet. Was the old chap blind -or--? One hundred and eighty yards! I felt a cold sweat running down my -back and trembled as if my last hour had struck. One hundred and fifty! -My neighbor pressed close to me. The situation became unbearable. One -hundred and thirty--an infernal noise had started. Rrrrrrrr--An -overwhelming hail of bullets met the attacking party and scarcely a -bullet missed the lump of humanity and beasts. - -The first ranks were struck down. Men and beasts formed a wall on which -rolled the waves of succeeding horses, only to be smashed by that -terrible hail of bullets. "Continue firing!" rang out the command which -was not needed. "More lively!" The murderous work was carried out more -rapidly and with more crushing effect. Hundreds of volleys were sent -straight into the heap of living beings struggling against death. -Hundreds were laid low every second. Scarcely a hundred yards in front -of us lay more than six hundred men and horses, on top of each other, -beside each other, apart, in every imaginable position. What five -minutes ago had been a picture of strength, proud horsemen, joyful -youth, was now a bloody, shapeless, miserable lump of bleeding flesh. - -And what about ourselves? We laughed about our heroic deed and cracked -jokes. When danger was over we lost that anxious feeling which had taken -possession of us. Was it fear? It is, of course, supposed that a German -soldier knows no fear--at the most he fears God, but nothing else in the -world--and yet it was fear, low vulgar fear that we feel just as much as -the French, the English, or the Turks, and he who dares to contradict -this and talk of bravery and the fearless courage of the warrior, has -either never been in war, or is a vulgar liar and hypocrite. - -Why were we joyful and why did we crack jokes? Because it was the others -and not ourselves who had to lose their lives that time. Because it was -a life and death struggle. It was either we or they. We had a right to -be glad and chase all sentimentality to the devil. Were we not soldiers, -mass murderers, barbarians? - - - - -VIII - -NEARLY BURIED ALIVE ON THE BATTLEFIELD - - -The commander of the artillery smilingly came up to the major of the -infantry and thanked and congratulated him. - -We then went after the rest of our attackers who were in full flight. -The machine guns kept them under fire. Some two hundred might have -escaped; they fled in all directions. The artillery thereupon began -again to fire, whilst we set about to care for our wounded enemies. It -was no easy job, for we had to draw the wounded from beneath the horses -some of which were still alive. The animals kicked wildly about them, -and whenever they succeeded in getting free they rushed off like -demented however severely they had been hurt. Many a wounded man who -otherwise might have recovered was thus killed by the hoofs of the -horses. - -With the little packet of bandaging material which we all had on us we -bandaged the men, who were mostly severely wounded, but a good many died -in our hands while we were trying to put on a temporary dressing. As far -as they were still able to speak they talked to us with extreme -vivacity. Though we did not understand their language we knew what they -wanted to express, for their gestures and facial expressions were very -eloquent. They desired to express their gratitude for the charitable -service we were rendering them, and like ourselves they did not seem to -be able to understand how men could first kill each other, could -inflict pain on each other, and then assist each other to the utmost of -their ability. To them as well as to us this world seemed to stand on -its head; it was a world in which they were mere marionettes, guided and -controlled by a superior power. How often were we not made aware in that -manner of the uselessness of all this human slaughter! - -We common soldiers were here handling the dead and wounded as if we had -never done anything else, and yet in our civilian lives most of us had -an abhorrence and fear of the dead and the horribly mangled. War is a -hard school-master who bends and reshapes his pupils. - -One section was busy with digging a common grave for the dead. We took -away the papers and valuables of the dead, took possession of the -eatable and drinkable stores to be found in the saddle bags attached to -the horses and, when the grave was ready, we began to place the dead -bodies in it. They were laid close together in order to utilize fully -the available space. I, too, had been ordered to "bring in" the dead. -The bottom of the grave was large enough for twenty-three bodies if the -space was well utilized. When two layers of twenty-three had already -been buried a sergeant of the artillery, who was standing near, observed -that one of the "dead" was still alive. He had seen the "corpse" move -the fingers of his right hand. On closer examination it turned out that -we came near burying a living man, for after an attempt lasting two -hours we succeeded in restoring him to consciousness. The officer of the -infantry who supervised the work now turned to the two soldiers charged -with getting the corpses ready and asked them whether they were sure -that all the men buried were really dead. "Yes," the two replied, "we -suppose they are all dead." That seemed to be quite sufficient for that -humane officer, for he ordered the interments to proceed. Nobody doubted -that there were several more among the 138 men whom we alone buried in -one grave (two other, still bigger, graves had been dug by different -burial parties) from whose bodies life had not entirely flown. To be -buried alive is just one of those horrors of the battlefield which your -bar-room patriot at home (or in America) does not even dream of in his -philosophy. - -Nothing was to be seen of the enemy's infantry. It seemed that our -opponent had sent only artillery and cavalry to face us. Meanwhile the -main portions of our army came up in vast columns. Cavalry divisions -with mounted artillery and machine-gun sections left all the other -troops behind them. The enemy had succeeded in disengaging himself -almost completely from us, wherefor our cavalry accelerated their -movements with the intention of getting close to the enemy and as -quickly as possible in order to prevent his demoralized troops from -resting at night. We, too, got ready to march, and were just going to -march off when we received orders to form camp. The camping ground was -exactly mapped out, as was always the case, by the superior command, so -that they would know where we were to be found in case of emergency. We -had scarcely reached our camping grounds when our field kitchen, which -we thought had lost us, appeared before our eyes as if risen from out of -the ground. The men of the field kitchen, who had no idea of the losses -we had suffered during the last days, had cooked for the old number of -heads. They were therefore not a little surprised when they found in the -place of a brave company of sturdy sappers only a crowd of ragged men, -the shadows of their former selves, broken and tired to their very -bones. We were given canned soup, bread, meat, coffee, and a cigarette -each. At last we were able to eat once again to our hearts' content. We -could drink as much coffee as we liked. And then that cigarette, which -appeared to most of us more important than eating and drinking! - -All those fine things and the expectation of a few hours of rest in some -potato field aroused in us an almost childish joy. We were as merry as -boys and as noisy as street urchins. "Oh, what a joy to be a soldier -lad!"--that song rang out, subdued at first, then louder and louder. It -died away quickly enough as one after the other laid down his tired -head. We slept like the dead. - -We could sleep till six o'clock the next morning. Though all of us lay -on the bare ground it was with no little trouble that they succeeded in -waking us up. That morning breakfast was excellent. We received -requisitioned mutton, vegetables, bread, coffee, a cupful of wine, and -some ham. The captain admonished us to stuff in well, for we had a hard -day's march before us. At seven o'clock we struck camp. At the beginning -of that march we were in fairly good humor. Whilst conversing we -discovered that we had completely lost all reckoning of time. Nobody -knew whether it was Monday or Wednesday, whether it was the fifth or the -tenth of the month. Subsequently, the same phenomenon could be observed -only in a still more noticeable way. A soldier in war never knows the -date or day of the week. One day is like another. Whether it is -Saturday, Thursday or Sunday, it means always the same routine of -murdering. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy!" "Six days shalt -thou labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day--thou shalt not do -any work." These, to our Christian rulers, are empty phrases. "Six days -shalt thou murder and on the seventh day, too." - -When we halted towards noon near a large farm we had again to wait in -vain for our field kitchen. So we helped ourselves. We shot one of the -cows grazing in the meadows, slit its skin without first letting off the -blood, and each one cut himself a piece of meat. The meat, which was -still warm, was roasted a little in our cooking pots. By many it was -also eaten raw with pepper and salt. That killing of cattle on our own -hook was repeated almost daily. The consequence was that all suffered -with their stomachs, for the meat was mostly still warm, and eating it -without bread or other food did not agree with us. Still, the practice -was continued. If a soldier was hungry and if he found a pig, cow, or -lamb during his period of rest, he would simply shoot the beast and cut -off a piece for his own use, leaving the rest to perish. - -On our march we passed a little town, between Attigny and Sommepy, -crowded with refugees. Many of the refugees were ill, and among their -children an epidemic was raging which was infecting the little ones of -the town. A German medical column had arrived a short time before us. -They asked for ten sappers--the maids of all work in war time--to assist -them in their labors. I was one of the ten drafted off for that duty. - -We were first taken by the doctors to a wonderfully arranged park in the -center of which stood a castle-like house, a French manor-house. The -owner, a very rich Frenchman, lived there with his wife and an excessive -number of servants. Though there was room enough in the palace for more -than a hundred patients and refugees, that humane patriot refused to -admit any one, and had locked and bolted the house and all entrances to -the park. It did not take us long to force all the doors and make all -the locks useless. The lady of the house had to take up quarters in two -large rooms, but that beauty of a male aristocrat had to live in the -garage and had to put up with a bed of straw. In that way the high and -mighty gentleman got a taste of the refugee life which so many of his -countrymen had to go through. He was given his food by one of the -soldiers of the medical corps; it was nourishing food, most certainly -too nourishing for our gentleman. One of my mates, a Socialist comrade, -observed drily, - -"It's at least a consolation that our own gang of junkers isn't any -worse than that mob of French aristocrats; they are all of a kidney. If -only the people were to get rid of the whole pack they wouldn't then -have to tear each other to pieces any longer like wild beasts." - -In the meantime our mates had roamed through the country and captured a -large barrel full of honey. Each one had filled his cooking pot with -honey to the very brim and buckled it to his knapsack. The ten of us did -likewise, and then we went off to find our section with which we caught -up in a short time. But we had scarcely marched a few hundred yards when -we were pursued by bees whose numbers increased by hundreds every -minute. However much we tried to shake off the little pests their -attentions grew worse and worse. Every one of us was stung; many had -their faces swollen to such an extent that they were no longer able to -see. The officers who were riding some twenty yards in front of us began -to notice our slow movements. The "old man" came along, saw the bees -and the swollen faces but could, of course, not grasp the meaning of it -all until a sergeant proffered the necessary information. "Who's got -honey in his cooking pot?" the old chap cried angrily. "All of us," the -sergeant replied. "You, too?" "Yes, captain." The old man was very wild, -for he was not even able to deal out punishments. We had to halt and -throw away the "accursed things," as our severe master called them. We -helped each other to unbuckle the cooking pots, and our sweet provisions -were flung far away into the fields on both sides of the road. With the -honey we lost our cooking utensils, which was certainly not a very -disagreeable relief. - -We continued our march in the burning noon-day sun. The ammunition -columns and other army sections which occupied the road gave the -whirled-up dust no time to settle. All around us in the field refugees -were camping, living there like poor, homeless gypsies. Many came up to -us and begged for a piece of dry bread. - -Without halting we marched till late at night. Towards nine o'clock in -the evening we found ourselves quite close to the town hall of Sommepy. -Here, in and about Sommepy, fighting had started again, and we had -received orders to take part in it to the northwest of Sommepy. - - - - -IX - -SOLDIERS SHOOTING THEIR OWN OFFICERS - - -It was dark already, and we halted once more. The ground around us was -strewn with dead. In the middle of the road were some French batteries -and munition wagons, with the horses still attached; but horses and men -were dead. After a ten minutes' rest we started again. Marching more -quickly, we now approached a small wood in which dismounted cavalry and -infantry were waging a desperate hand-to-hand struggle with the enemy. -So as to astonish the latter we had to rush in with a mighty yell. Under -cover of darkness we had succeeded in getting to the enemy's rear. Taken -by surprise by the unexpected attack and our war whoop, most of the -Frenchmen lifted their hands and begged for quarter, which was, however, -not granted by the infuriated cavalrymen and infantry. When, on our -side, now and then the murdering of defenseless men seemed to slacken it -was encouraged again by the loud commands of the officers. "No quarter!" -"Cut them all down!" Such were the orders of those estimable gentlemen, -the officers. - -We sappers, too, had to participate in the cold-blooded slaughtering of -defenseless men. The French were defenseless because they threw away -their arms and asked for quarter the moment that they recognized the -futility of further resistance. But the officers then saw to it, as on -many earlier and later occasions, that "too many prisoners were not -made." The sapper carries a bayonet which must not be fixed to the -rifle according to international agreement, because the back of that -bayonet is an extremely sharp steel saw, three millimeters in thickness. -In times of peace the sapper never does bayonet practice, the bayonet -being exclusively reserved for mechanical purposes. But what does -militarism care for international law! We here had to fix the saw, as -had always been done since the beginning of the war. Humanity was a jest -when one saw an opponent with the toothed saw in his chest and the -victim, who had long given up all resistance, endeavoring to remove the -deadly steel from the wound. Often that terrible tool of murder had -fastened itself so firmly in the victim's chest that the attacker, in -order to get his bayonet back, had to place his foot on the chest of the -miserable man and try with all his might to remove the weapon. - -The dead and wounded lay everywhere covered with terrible injuries, and -the crying of the wounded, which might soften a stone, but not a -soldier's heart, told of the awful pain which those "defenders of their -country" had to suffer. - -However, not all the soldiers approved of that senseless, that criminal -murdering. Some of the "gentlemen" who had ordered us to massacre our -French comrades were killed "by mistake" in the darkness of the night, -by their own people, of course. Such "mistakes" repeat themselves almost -daily, and if I keep silence with regard to many such mistakes which I -could relate, giving the exact name and place, the reader will know why. - -During that night it was a captain and first lieutenant who met his -fate. An infantryman who was serving his second year stabbed the captain -through the stomach with his bayonet, and almost at the same time the -first lieutenant got a stab in the back. Both men were dead in a few -minutes. Those that did the deeds showed not the slightest signs of -repentance, and not one of us felt inclined to reproach them; on the -contrary, every one knew that despicable, brutal murderers had met their -doom. - -In this connection I must mention a certain incident which necessitates -my jumping a little ahead of events. When on the following day I -conversed with a mate from my company and asked him for the loan of his -pocket knife he drew from his pocket three cartridges besides his knife. -I was surprised to find him carrying cartridges in his trousers' pockets -and asked him whether he had no room for them in his cartridge case. -"There's room enough," he replied, "but those three are meant for a -particular purpose; there's a name inscribed on each of them." Some time -after--we had meanwhile become fast friends--I inquired again after the -three bullets. He had one of them left. I reflected and remembered two -sergeants who had treated us like brutes in times of peace, whom we had -hated as one could only hate slave-drivers. They had found their grave -in French soil. - -The murder did not cease as long as an opponent was alive. We were then -ordered to see whether all the enemies lying on the ground were really -dead or unable to fight. "Should you find one who pretends to be dead, -he must be killed without mercy." That was the order we received for -that tour of inspection. However, the soldiers who had meanwhile quieted -down a little and who had thus regained their senses took no trouble to -execute the shameful command. What the soldiers thought of it is shown -by the remark of a man belonging to my company who said, "Let's rather -look if the two officers are quite dead; if not, we shall have to kill -them, too, without mercy." An order was an order, he added. - -We now advanced quickly, but our participation was no longer necessary, -for the whole line of the enemy retired and then faced us again, a mile -and a quarter southwest of Sommepy. Sommepy itself was burning for the -greater part, and its streets were practically covered with the dead. -The enemy's artillery was still bombarding the place, and shells were -falling all around us. Several hundred prisoners were gathered in the -market-place. A few shells fell at the same time among the prisoners, -but they had to stay where they were. An officer of my company, -lieutenant of the reserve Neesen, observed humanely that that could not -do any harm, for thus the French got a taste of their own shells. He was -rewarded with some cries of shame. A Socialist comrade, a reservist, had -the pluck to cry aloud, "Do you hear that, comrades? That's the noble -sentiment of an exploiter; that fellow is the son of an Elberfeld -capitalist and his father is a sweating-den keeper of the worst sort. -When you get home again do not forget what this capitalist massacre has -taught you. Those prisoners are proletarians, are our brethren, and what -we are doing here in the interest of that gang of capitalist crooks is a -crime against our own body; it is murdering our own brothers!" He was -going to continue talking, but the sleuths were soon upon him, and he -was arrested. He threw down his gun with great force; then he quietly -suffered himself to be led away. - -All of us were electrified. Not one spoke a word. One suddenly beheld -quite a different world. We had a vision which kept our imagination -prisoner. Was it true what we had heard--that those prisoners were not -our enemies at all, that they were our brothers? That which formerly--O -how long ago might that have been!--in times of peace, had appeared to -us as a matter of course had been forgotten; in war we had regarded our -enemies as our friends and our friends as our enemies. Those words of -the Elberfeld comrade had lifted the fog from our brains and from before -our eyes. We had again a clear view; we could recognize things again. - -One looked at the other and nodded without speaking; each one felt that -the brave words of our friend had been a boon to us, and none could -refrain from inwardly thanking and appreciating the bold man. The man in -front of me, who had been a patriot all along as far as I knew, but who -was aware of my views, pressed my hand, saying, "Those few words have -opened my eyes; I was blind; we are friends. Those words came at the -proper time." Others again I heard remark: "You can't surpass Schotes; -such a thing requires more courage than all of us together possess. For -he knew exactly the consequences that follow when one tells the truth. -Did you see the last look he gave us? That meant as much as, 'Don't be -concerned about me; I shall fight my way through to the end. Be faithful -workers; remain faithful to your class!'" - -The place, overcrowded with wounded soldiers, was almost entirely -occupied by the Germans. The medical corps could not attend to all the -work, for the wounded kept streaming in in enormous numbers. So we had -to lend a helping hand, and bandaged friend and enemy to the best of our -ability. But contrary to earlier times when the wounded were treated -considerately, things were now done more roughly. - -The fighting to the south of the place had reached its greatest violence -towards one o'clock in the afternoon, and when the Germans began to -storm at all points, the French retired from their positions in the -direction of Suippes. - -Whether our ragged company was no longer considered able to fight or -whether we were no longer required, I do not know; but we got orders to -seek quarters. We could find neither barn nor stable, so we had to camp -in the open; the houses were all crowded with wounded men. - -On that day I was commanded to mount guard and was stationed with the -camp guard. At that place arrested soldiers had to call to submit to the -punishment inflicted on them. Among them were seven soldiers who had -been sentenced to severe confinement which consisted in being tied up -for two hours. - -The officer on guard ordered us to tie the "criminals" to trees in the -neighborhood. Every arrested soldier had to furnish for that purpose the -rope with which he cleaned his rifle. The victim I had to attend to was -sapper Lohmer, a good Socialist. I was to tie his hands behind his back, -wind the loose end of the rope round his chest, and tie him with his -back towards the tree. In that position my comrade was to stand for two -hours, exposed to the mockery of officers and sergeants. But comrade -Lohmer had been marching with the rest of us in a broiling sun for a -whole day, had all night fought and murdered for the dear Fatherland -which was now giving him thanks by tying him up with a rope. - -I went up to him and told him that I would not tie him to the tree. "Do -it, man," he tried to persuade me; "if you don't do it another one will. -I shan't be cross with you, you know."--"Let others do it; I won't -fetter you." - -The officer, our old friend Lieutenant Spahn, who was getting impatient, -came up to us. "Can't you see that all the others have been seen to? How -long do you expect me to wait?" I gave him a sharp look, but did not -answer. Again he bellowed out the command to tie my comrade to the tree. -I looked at him for a long time and did not deign him worthy of an -answer. He then turned to the "criminal" who told him that I could not -get myself to do the job as we were old comrades and friends. Besides, I -did not want to fetter a man who was exhausted and dead tired. "So you -won't do it?" he thundered at me, and when again he received no -reply--for I was resolved not to speak another word to the fellow--he -hissed, "That b---- is a Red to the marrow!" I shall never in my life -forget the look of thankfulness that Lohmer gave me; it rewarded me for -the unpleasantness I had in consequence of my refusal. Of course others -did what I refused to do; I got two weeks' confinement. Naturally I was -proud at having been a man for once at least. As a comrade I had -remained faithful to my mate. Yet I had gained a point. They never -ordered me again to perform such duty, and I was excluded from the guard -that day. I could move about freely and be again a free man for a few -hours. - -The evening I had got off I employed to undertake a reconnoitering -expedition through the surrounding country in the company of several -soldiers. We spoke about the various incidents of the day and the night, -and, to the surprise, I daresay, of every one of us, we discovered that -very little was left of the overflowing enthusiasm and patriotism that -had seized so many during the first days of the war. Most of the -soldiers made no attempt to conceal the feeling that we poor devils had -absolutely nothing to gain in this war, that we had only to lose our -lives or, which was still worse, that we should sit at some street -corner as crippled "war veterans" trying to arouse the pity of -passers-by by means of some squeaking organ. - -At that moment it was already clear to us in view of the enormous losses -that no state, no public benevolent societies would be able after the -war to help the many hundreds of thousands who had sacrificed their -health for their "beloved country." The number of the unfortunate wrecks -is too great to be helped even with the best of intentions. - -Those thoughts which occupied our minds to an ever increasing extent did -not acquire a more cheerful aspect on our walk. The wounded were lying -everywhere, in stables, in barns, wherever there was room for them. If -the wounds were not too severe the wounded men were quite cheerful. They -felt glad at having got off so cheaply, and thought the war would long -be over when they should be well again. They lived by hopes just as the -rest of us. - - - - -X - -SACKING SUIPPES - - -The inhabitants of the place who had not fled were all quartered in a -large wooden shed. Their dwelling places had almost all been destroyed, -so that they had no other choice but live in the shed that was offered -them. Only one little, old woman sat, bitterly crying, on the ruins of -her destroyed home, and nobody could induce her to leave that place. - -In the wooden shed one could see women and men, youths, children and old -people, all in a great jumble. Many had been wounded by bits of shell or -bullets; others had been burned by the fire. Everywhere one could -observe the same terrible misery--sick mothers with half-starved babies -for whom there was no milk on hand and who had to perish there; old -people who were dying from the excitement and terrors of the last few -days; men and women in the prime of their life who were slowly -succumbing to their wounds because there was nobody present to care for -them. - -A soldier of the landwehr, an infantryman, was standing close to me and -looked horror-struck at some young mothers who were trying to satisfy -the hunger of their babes. "I, too," he said reflectively, "have a good -wife and two dear children at home. I can therefore feel how terrible it -must be for the fathers of these poor families to know their dear ones -are in the grip of a hostile army. The French soldiers think us to be -still worse barbarians than we really are, and spread that impression -through their letters among those left at home. I can imagine the fear -in which they are of us everywhere. During the Boxer rebellion I was in -China as a soldier, but the slaughter in Asia was child's play in -comparison to the barbarism of civilized European nations that I have -had occasion to witness in this war in friend and foe." After a short -while he continued: "I belong to the second muster of the landwehr, and -thought that at my age of 37 it would take a long time before my turn -came. But we old ones were no better off than you of the active army -divisions--sometimes even worse. Just like you we were sent into action -right from the beginning, and the heavy equipment, the long marches in -the scorching sun meant much hardship to our worn-out proletarian bodies -so that many amongst us thought they would not be able to live through -it all. - -"How often have I not wished that at least one of my children were a -boy? But to-day I am glad and happy that they are girls; for, if they -were boys, they would have to shed their blood one day or spill that of -others, only because our rulers demand it." We now became well -acquainted with each other. Conversing with him I got to know that -dissatisfaction was still more general in his company than in mine and -that it was only the ruthless infliction of punishment, the iron -discipline, that kept the men of the landwehr, who had to think of wife -and children, from committing acts of insubordination. Just as we were -treated they treated those older men for the slightest breach of -discipline; they were tied with ropes to trees and telegraph poles. - - - "Dear Fatherland, may peace be thine; - Fast stands and firm the Watch on the Rhine." - - -A company of the Hessian landwehr, all of them old soldiers, were -marching past with sore feet and drooping heads. They had probably -marched for a long while. Officers were attempting to liven them up. -They were to sing a song, but the Hessians, fond of singing and -good-natured as they certainly are known to be, were by no means in a -mood to sing. "I tell you to sing, you swine!" the officer cried, and -the pitifully helpless-looking "swine" endeavored to obey the command. -Here and there a thin voice from the ranks of the overtired men could be -heard to sing, "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, über alles in der -Welt." With sore feet and broken energy, full of disgust with their -"glorious" trade of warriors, they sang that symphony of supergermanism -that sounded then like blasphemy, nay, like a travesty--"Deutschland, -Deutschland über alles, über alles in der Welt." - -Some of my mates who had watched the procession like myself came up to -me saying, "Come, let's go to the bivouac. Let's sleep, forget, and -think no more." - -We were hungry and, going "home," we caught some chicken, "candidates -for the cooking pot," as we used to call them. They were eaten half -cooked. Then we lay down in the open and slept till four o'clock in the -morning when we had to be ready to march off. Our goal for that day was -Suippes. Before starting on the march an army order was read out to us. -"Soldiers," it said, "His Majesty, the Emperor, our Supreme War Lord, -thanks the soldiers of the Fourth Army, and expresses to all his -imperial thankfulness and appreciation. You have protected our dear -Germany from the invasion of hostile hordes. We shall not rest until the -last opponent lies beaten on the ground, and before the leaves fall from -the trees we shall be at home again as victors. The enemy is in full -retreat, and the Almighty will continue to bless our arms." - -Having duly acknowledged receipt of the message by giving those three -cheers for the "Supreme War Lord" which had become almost a matter of -daily routine, we started on our march and had now plenty of time and -opportunity to talk over the imperial "thankfulness." We were not quite -clear as to the "fatherland" we had to "defend" here in France. One of -the soldiers thought the chief thing was that God had blessed our arms, -whereupon another one, who had been president of a freethinking -religious community in his native city for many a long year, replied -that a religious man who babbled such stuff was committing blasphemy if -he had ever taken religion seriously. - -All over the fields and in the ditches lay the dead bodies of soldiers -whose often sickening wounds were terrible to behold. Thousands of big -flies, of which that part of the country harbors great swarms, were -covering the human corpses which had partly begun to decompose and were -spreading a stench that took away one's breath. In between these -corpses, in the burning sun, the poor, helpless refugees were camping, -because they were not allowed to use the road as long as the troops were -occupying it. But when were the roads not occupied by troops! - -Once, when resting, we chanced to observe a fight between three French -and four German aeroplanes. We heard above us the well-known hum of a -motor and saw three French and two German machines approach one another. -All of them were at a great altitude when all at once we heard the -firing of machine-guns high up in the air. The two Germans were screwing -themselves higher up, unceasingly peppered by their opponents, and were -trying to get above the Frenchmen. But the French, too, rose in great -spirals in order to frustrate the intentions of the Germans. Suddenly -one of the German flying-men threw a bomb and set alight a French -machine which at the same time was enveloped in flames and, toppling -over, fell headlong to the ground a few seconds after. Burning rags came -slowly fluttering to the ground after it. Unexpectedly two more strong -German machines appeared on the scene, and then the Frenchmen took to -flight immediately, but not before they had succeeded in disabling a -German Rumpler-Taube by machine-gun fire to such an extent that the -damaged aeroplane had to land in a steep glide. The other undamaged -machines disappeared on the horizon. - -That terrible and beautiful spectacle had taken a few minutes. It was a -small, unimportant episode, which had orphaned a few children, widowed a -woman--somewhere in France. - -In the evening we reached the little town of Suippes after a long march. -The captain said to us, "Here in Suippes there are swarms of -franctireurs. We shall therefore not take quarters but camp in the open. -Anybody going to the place has to take his rifle and ammunition with -him." After recuperating a little we went to the place in order to find -something to eat. Fifteen dead civilians were lying in the middle of the -road. They were inhabitants of the place. Why they had been shot we -could not learn. A shrugging of the shoulders was the only answer one -could get from anybody. The place itself, the houses, showed no external -damage. - -I have never in war witnessed a greater general pillaging than here in -Suippes. It was plain that we had to live and had to have food. The -inhabitants and storekeepers having fled, it was often impossible to pay -for the things one needed. Men simply went into some store, put on socks -and underwear, and left their old things; they then went to some other -store, took the food they fancied, and hied themselves to a wine-cellar -to provide themselves to their hearts' content. The men of the -ammunition trains who had their quarters in the town, as also the men of -the transport and ambulance corps and troopers went by the hundred to -search the homes and took whatsoever pleased them most. The finest and -largest stores--Suippes supplied a large tract of country and had -comparatively extensive stores of all descriptions--were empty shells in -a few hours. Whilst men were looking for one thing others were ruined -and broken. The drivers of the munition and transport trains dragged -away whole sacks full of the finest silk, ladies' garments, linen, -boots, and shoved them in their shot-case. Children's shoes, ladies' -shoes, everything was taken along, even if it had to be thrown away -again soon after. Later on, when the field-post was running regularly, -many things acquired in that manner were sent home. But all parcels did -not reach their destination on account of the unreliable service of the -field-post, and the maximum weight that could be sent proved another -obstacle. Thus a pair of boots had to be divided and each sent in a -separate parcel if they were to be dispatched by field-post. One of our -sappers had for weeks carried about with him a pair of handsome boots -for his fiancée and then had them sent to her in two parcels. However, -the field-post did not guarantee delivery; and thus the war bride got -the left boot, and not the right one. - -An important chocolate factory was completely sacked, chocolates and -candy lay about in heaps trodden under foot. Private dwellings that had -been left by their inhabitants were broken into, the wine-cellars were -cleared of their contents, and the windows were smashed--a speciality of -the cavalry. - -As we had to spend the night in the open we tried to procure some -blankets, and entered a grocer's store in the market-place. The store -had been already partly demolished. The living-rooms above it had -remained, however, untouched, and all the rooms had been left unlocked. -It could be seen that a woman had had charge of that house; everything -was arranged in such a neat and comfortable way that one was immediately -seized by the desire to become also possessed of such a lovely little -nest. But all was surpassed by a room of medium size where a young lady -had apparently lived. Only with great reluctance we entered that -sanctum. To our surprise we found hanging on the wall facing the door a -caustic drawing on wood bearing the legend in German: "Ehret die Frauen, -sie flechten und weben himmlische Rosen ins irdische Leben." (Honor the -women, they work and they weave heavenly roses in life's short -reprieve.) The occupant was evidently a young bride, for the various -pieces of the trousseau, trimmed with dainty blue ribbons, could be seen -in the wardrobes in a painfully spick and span condition. All the -wardrobes were unlocked. We did not touch a thing. We were again -reminded of the cruelty of war. Millions it turned into beggars in one -night; the fondest hopes and desires were destroyed. When, the next -morning, we entered the house again, driven by a presentiment of -misfortune, we found everything completely destroyed. Real barbarians -had been raging here, who had lost that thin varnish with which -civilization covers the brute in man. The whole trousseau of the young -bride had been dragged from the shelves and was still partly covering -the floor. Portraits, photographs, looking-glasses, all lay broken on -the floor. Three of us had entered the room, and all three of us -clenched our fists in helpless rage. - -Having received the command to remain in Suippes till further orders we -could observe the return of many refugees the next day. They came back -in crowds from the direction of Châlons-sur-Marne, and found a wretched, -dreary waste in the place of their peaceful homes. The owner of a -dry-goods store was just returning as we stood before his house. He -collapsed before the door of his house, for nothing remained of his -business. We went up to the man. He was a Hebrew and spoke German. After -having somewhat recovered his self-possession he told us that his -business had contained goods to the value of more than 8000 francs, and -said: "If the soldiers had only taken what they needed I should have -been content, for I expected nothing less; but I should have never -believed of the Germans that they would destroy all of my possessions." -In his living-rooms there was not even a cup to be found. The man had a -wife and five children, but did not know where they were at that time. -And his fate was shared by uncounted others, here and elsewhere. - -I should tell an untruth if I were to pretend that his misery touched me -very deeply. It is true that the best among us--and those were almost -always the men who had been active in the labor movement at home, who -hated war and the warrior's trade from the depth of their soul--were -shaken out of their lethargy and indifference by some especially -harrowing incident, but the mass was no longer touched even by great -tragedies. When a man is accustomed to step over corpses with a cold -smile on his lips, when he has to face death every minute day and night, -he gradually loses that finer feeling for human things and humanity. -Thus it must not surprise one that soldiers could laugh and joke in the -midst of awful devastation, that they brought wine to a concert room in -which there was a piano and an electric organ, and had a joyful time -with music and wine. They drank till they were unconscious; they drank -with sergeants and corporals, pledging "brotherhood"; and they rolled -arm in arm through the streets with their new "comrades." - -The officers would see nothing of this, for they did not behave much -better themselves, even if they knew how to arrange things in such a -manner that their "honor" did not entirely go to the devil. The -"gentleman" of an officer sends his orderly out to buy him twenty -bottles of wine, but as he does not give his servant any money wherewith -to "buy," the orderly obeys the command the best he can. He knows that -at any rate he must not come back without the wine. In that manner the -officers provide themselves with all possible comforts without losing -their "honor." We had five officers in our company who for themselves -alone needed a wagon with four horses for transporting their baggage. As -for ourselves, the soldiers, our knapsack was still too large for the -objects we needed for our daily life. - - - - -XI - -MARCHING TO THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE--INTO THE TRAP - - -A large proportion of the "gentlemen," our officers, regarded war as a -pleasant change to their enchanting social life in the garrison towns, -and knew exactly (at least as far as the officers of my company were -concerned) how to preserve their lives as long as possible "in the -interest of the Fatherland." When I buried the hatchet, fourteen months -after, our company had lost three times its original strength, but no -fresh supply of officers had as yet become necessary; we had not lost a -single officer. In Holland I got to know, some months later, that after -having taken my "leave" they were still very well preserved. One day at -Rotterdam, I saw a photo in the magazine, _Die Woche_, showing "Six -members of the 1st. Company of the Sapper Regiment No. 30 with the Iron -Cross of the 1st. Class." The picture had been taken at the front, and -showed the five officers and Corporal Bock with the Iron Cross of the -1st. Class. Unfortunately Scherl[1] did not betray whether those -gentlemen had got the distinction for having preserved their lives for -further service. - -We spent the following night at the place, and then had to camp again in -the open, "because the place swarmed with franctireurs." In reality no -franctireurs could be observed, so that it was quite clear to us that -it was merely an attempt to arouse again our resentment against the -enemy which was dying down. They knew very well that a soldier is far -more tractable and pliant when animated by hatred against the "enemy." - -The next day Châlons-sur-Marne was indicated as the next goal of our -march. That day was one of the most fatiguing we experienced. Early in -the morning already, when we started, the sun was sending down its fiery -shafts. Suippes is about 21 miles distant from Châlons-sur-Marne. The -distance would not have been the worst thing, in spite of the heat. We -had marched longer distances before. But that splendid road from Suippes -to Châlons does not deviate an inch to the right or left, so that the -straight, almost endless seeming road lies before one like an immense -white snake. However far we marched that white ribbon showed no ending, -and when one looked round, the view was exactly the same. During the -whole march we only passed one little village; otherwise all was bare -and uncultivated. - -Many of us fainted or got a heat-stroke and had to be taken along by the -following transport column. We could see by the many dead soldiers, -French and German, whose corpses were lying about all along the road, -that the troops who had passed here before us had met with a still worse -fate. - -We had finished half of our march without being allowed to take a rest. -I suppose the "old man" was afraid the machine could not be set going -again if once our section had got a chance to rest their tired limbs on -the ground, and thus we crawled along dispirited like a lot of snails, -carrying the leaden weight of the "monkey" in the place of a house. The -monotony of the march was only somewhat relieved when we reached the -immense camp of Châlons. It is one of the greatest military camps in -France. Towards three o'clock in the afternoon we beheld Châlons in the -distance, and when we halted towards four o'clock in an orchard outside -the town, all of us, without an exception, fell down exhausted. - -The field kitchen, too, arrived, but nobody stirred for a time to fetch -food. We ate later on, and then desired to go to the town to buy several -things, chiefly, I daresay, tobacco which we missed terribly. Nobody was -allowed however, to leave camp. We were told that it was strictly -forbidden to enter the town. "Châlons," so the tale went, had paid a war -contribution, and nobody could enter the town. With money you can do -everything, even in war. Mammon had saved Châlons from pillage. - -Far away could be heard the muffled roar of the guns. We had the -presentiment that our rest would not be of long duration. The rolling of -the gun firing became louder and louder, but we did not know yet that a -battle had started here that should turn out a very unfortunate one for -the Germans--the five days' battle of the Marne. - -At midnight we were aroused by an alarm, and half an hour later we were -on the move already. The cool air of the night refreshed us, and we got -along fairly rapidly in spite of our exhaustion. At about four o'clock -in the morning we reached the village of Chepy. At that place friend -Mammon had evidently not been so merciful as at Châlons, for Chepy had -been thoroughly sacked. We rested for a short time, and noticed with a -rapid glance that preparations were just being made to shoot two -franctireurs. They were little peasants who were alleged to have hidden -from the Germans a French machine-gun and its crew. The sentence was -carried out. One was never at a loss in finding reasons for a verdict. -And the population had been shown who their "master" was. - -The little village of Pogny half-way between Châlons-sur-Marne and -Vitry-le-François, had fared no better than Chepy, as we observed when -we entered it at nine o'clock in the morning. We had now got -considerably nearer to the roaring guns. The slightly wounded who were -coming back and the men of the ammunition columns told us that a -terrible battle was raging to the west of Vitry-le-François. At four -o'clock in the afternoon we reached Vitry-le-François, after a veritable -forced march. The whole town was crowded with wounded; every building, -church, and school was full of wounded soldiers. The town itself was not -damaged. - -Here things must have looked very bad for the Germans for, without -allowing us a respite, we were ordered to enter the battle to the west -of Vitry-le-François. We had approached the firing line a little more -than two miles when we got within reach of the enemy's curtain of fire. -A terrific hail of shells was ploughing up every foot of ground. -Thousands of corpses of German soldiers were witnesses of the immense -losses the Germans had suffered in bringing up all available reserves. -The French tried their utmost to prevent the Germans from bringing in -their reserves, and increased their artillery fire to an unheard-of -violence. - -It seemed impossible for us to break through that barricade of fire. -Hundreds of shells were bursting every minute. We were ordered to pass -that hell singly and at a running pace. We were lying on the ground and -observed how the first of our men tried to get through. Some ran forward -like mad, not heeding the shells that were bursting around them, and -got through. Others were entirely buried by the dirt dug up by the -shells or were torn to pieces by shell splinters. Two men had scarcely -reached the line when they were struck by a bull's-eye, i. e., the heavy -shell exploded at their feet leaving nothing of them. - -Who can imagine what we were feeling during those harrowing minutes as -we lay crouching on the ground not quite a hundred feet away, seeing -everything, and only waiting for our turn to come? One had entangled -oneself in a maze of thoughts. Suddenly one of the officers would cry, -"The next one!" That was I! Just as if roused out of a bad dream, I jump -up and race away like mad, holding the rifle in my right hand and the -bayonet in my left. I jumped aside a few steps in front of two bursting -shells and run into two others which are bursting at the same time. I -leap back several times, run forward again, race about wildly to find a -gap through which to escape. But--fire and iron everywhere. Like a -hunted beast one seeks some opening to save oneself. Hell is in front of -me and behind me the officer's revolver, kept ready to shoot.--The lumps -of steel fall down like a heavy shower from high above. Hell and -damnation! I blindly run and run and run, until somebody gets me by my -coat. "We're there!" somebody roars into my ear. "Stop! Are you wounded? -Have a look; perhaps you are and don't know it?" Here I am trembling all -over. "Sit down; you will feel better; we trembled too." Slowly I became -more quiet. One after the other arrived; many were wounded. We were -about forty when the sergeants took over the command. Nothing was again -to be seen of the officers. - -We proceeded and passed several German batteries. Many had suffered -great losses. The crews were lying dead or wounded around their -demolished guns. Others again could not fire as they had no more -ammunition. We rested. Some men of the artillery who had "nothing to do" -for lack of ammunition came up to us. A sergeant asked why they did not -fire. "Because we have used up all our ammunition," a gunner replied. "O -yes, it would be quite impossible to bring up ammunition through that -curtain of fire." "It's not that," announced the gunner; "it's because -there isn't any more that they can't bring it up!" And then he went on: -"We started at Neufchâteau to drive the French before us like hunted -beasts; we rushed headlong after them like savages. Men and beasts were -used up in the heat; all the destroyed railroads and means of -transportation could not be repaired in those few days; everything was -left in the condition we found it; and in a wild intoxication of victory -we ventured to penetrate into the heart of France. We rushed on without -thinking or caring, all the lines of communication in our rear were -interrupted--we confidently marched into the traps the French set for -us. Before the first ammunition and the other accessories, which had all -to be transported by wagon, have reached us we shall be all done for." - -Up to that time we had had blind confidence in the invincible strategy -of our "Great General Staff," and now they told us this. We simply did -not believe it. And yet it struck us that the French (as was made clear -by everything around us) were in their own country, in the closest -proximity of their largest depot, Paris, and were in possession of -excellent railroad communications. The French were, besides, maintaining -a terrible artillery fire with guns of such a large size as had never -yet been used by them. All that led to the conclusion that they had -taken up positions prepared long before, and that the French guns had -been placed in such a manner that we could not reach them. - -In spite of all we continued to believe that the gunner had seen things -in too dark a light. We were soon to be taught better. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] A proprietor of many German sensational newspapers. - - - - -XII - -AT THE MARNE--IN THE MAW OF DEATH - - -We got in the neighborhood of the line of defense, and were received by -a rolling fire from the machine-guns. We went up to the improvised -trenches that were to protect us, at the double-quick. It was raining -hard. The fields around were covered with dead and wounded men who -impeded the work of the defenders. Many of the wounded contracted -tetanus in consequence of contact with the clayey soil, for most of them -had not been bandaged. They all begged for water and bread, but we had -none ourselves. In fact, they implored us to give them a bit of bread. -They had been in that hell for two days without having eaten a mouthful. - -We had scarcely been shown our places when the French began to attack in -mass formation. The occupants of those trenches, who had already beaten -back several of those attacks, spurred us on to shoot and then began to -fire themselves into the on-rushing crowd as if demented. Amidst the -shouting and the noise one could hear the cries of the officers of the -infantry: "Fire! Fire! More lively!" We fired until the barrels of our -rifles became quite hot. The enemy turned to flee. The heap of victims -lying between us and our opponents had again been augmented by hundreds. -The attack had been beaten back. - -It was dark, and it rained and rained. From all directions one heard in -the darkness the wounded calling, crying, and moaning. The wounded we -had with us were likewise moaning and crying. All wanted to have their -wounds dressed, but we had no more bandages. We tore off pieces of our -dirty shirts and placed the rags on those sickening wounds. Men were -dying one after the other. There were no doctors, no bandages; we had -nothing whatever. You had to help the wounded and keep the French off at -the same time. It was an unbearable, impossible state of things. It -rained harder and harder. We were wet to our skins. We fired blindly -into the darkness. The rolling fire of rifles increased, then died away, -then increased again. We sappers were placed among the infantry. My -neighbor gave me a dig in the ribs. "I say," he called out. - -"What do you want?" I asked. - -"Who are you?" - -"A sapper." - -"Come here," he hissed. "It gives you an uncanny feeling to be alone in -this hell of a night. Why are you here too?--They'll soon come again, -those over there; then there'll be fine fun again. Do you hear the -others cry?" - -He laughed. Suddenly he began again: "I always shoot at those until they -leave off crying--that's great fun." - -Again he laughed, that time more shrilly than before. - -I knew what was the matter. He had become insane. A man passed with -ammunition. I begged him to go at once and fetch the section leader. The -leader, a lieutenant of the infantry, came up. I went to meet him and -told him that my neighbor was continually firing at the wounded, was -talking nonsense, and was probably insane. The lieutenant placed -himself between us. "Can you see anything?" he asked the other man. -"What? See? No; but I hear them moaning and crying, and as soon as I hit -one--well, he is quiet, he goes to sleep--" The lieutenant nodded at me. -He took the gun away from the man. But the latter snatched it quickly -away again and jumped out of the trench. From there he fired into the -crowd of wounded men until, a few seconds after, he dropped down riddled -by several bullets. - -The drama had only a few spectators. It was scarcely over when it was -forgotten again. That was no place to become sentimental. We continued -shooting without any aim. The crying of the wounded became louder and -louder. Why was that so? Those wounded men, lying between the two -fighting lines, were exposed to the aimless fire of both sides. Nobody -could help them, for it would have been madness to venture between the -lines. Louder and more imploring became the voices that were calling -out, "Stretcher-bearer! Help! Help! Water!" For an answer they got at -most a curse or a malediction. - -Our trench was filled with water for about a foot--water and mud. The -dead and wounded lay in that mire where they had dropped. We had to make -room. So we threw the dead out of the trench. At one o'clock in the -night people came with stretchers and took away part of the wounded. But -there was no help at all for the poor fellows between the lines. - -To fill the cup of misery we received orders, in the course of the -night, to attack the enemy's lines at 4:15 o'clock in the morning. At -the time fixed, in a pouring rain, we got ready for storming. Received -by a terrible fire from the machine-guns we had to turn back half-way. -Again we had sacrificed uselessly a great number of men. Scarcely had we -arranged ourselves again in our trench when the French began a new -attack. They got as far as three yards from our trenches when their -attack broke down under our fire. They, too, had to go back with -enormous losses. Three times more the French attacked within two hours, -each time suffering great losses and achieving not the slightest -success. - -We did not know what to do. If help did not arrive soon it would be -impossible for us to maintain our position. We were tormented by hunger -and thirst, were wet to the skin, and tired enough to drop down. At ten -o'clock the French attacked a fourth time. They came up in immense -masses. Our leaders recognized at last the danger in which we were and -withdrew us. We retreated in waves abandoning the wounded and our -material. By exerting our whole strength we succeeded in saving the -machine-guns and ammunition. We went back a thousand yards and -established ourselves again in old trenches. The officers called to us -that we should have to stay there whatever happened; reinforcements -would soon come up. The machine-guns were in their emplacements in a -jiffy. Our opponents, who were following us, were immediately treated to -a hail of bullets. Their advance stopped at once. Encouraged by that -success we continued firing more wildly than ever so that the French -were obliged to seek cover. The reinforcements we had been promised did -not arrive. Some 800 yards behind us were six German batteries which, -however, maintained but a feeble fire. - -An officer of the artillery appeared in our midst and asked the -commander of our section whether it would not be wise to withdraw the -batteries. He said he had been informed by telephone that the whole -German line was wavering. Before the commander had time to answer -another attack in mass formation took place, the enemy being five or -seven times as numerous as we were. As if by command, we quitted our -position without having been told to do so, completely demoralized; we -retired in full flight, leaving the six batteries (36 guns) to the -enemy. Our opponent had ceased his curtain of fire fearing to endanger -his own advancing troops. The Germans used that moment to bring into -battle reinforcements composed of a medley of all arms. Portions of -scattered infantry, dismounted cavalry, sappers without a lord and -master, all had been drummed together to fill the ranks. Apparently -there were no longer any proper complete reserve formations on that day -of battle. - -Again we got the order, "Turn! Attention!" The unequal fight started -again. We observed how the enemy made preparations to carry off the -captured guns. We saw him advance to the assault. He received us with -the bayonet. We fought like wild animals. For minutes there was bayonet -fighting of a ferocity that defies description. We stabbed and hit like -madmen--through the chest, the abdomen, no matter where. There was no -semblance of regular bayonet fighting: that, by the way, can only be -practised in the barracks yard. The butt-ends of our rifles swished -through the air. Every skull that came in our way was smashed in. We had -lost helmets and knapsacks. In spite of his great numerical superiority -the enemy could not make headway against our little barrier of raving -humanity. We forgot all around us and fought bloodthirstily without any -calculation. A portion of our fellows had broken through the ranks of -the enemy, and fought for the possession of the guns. - -Our opponent recognized the danger that was threatening him and retired, -seeking with all his might to retain the captured guns. We did not allow -ourselves to be shaken off, and bayoneted the retiring foes one after -the other. But the whole mass of the enemy gathered again round the -guns. Every gun was surrounded by corpses, every minute registered -numerous victims. The artillery who took part in the fight attempted to -remove the breech-blocks of the guns. To my right, around the third gun, -three Germans were still struggling with four Frenchmen; all the others -were lying on the ground dead or wounded. Near that one gun were about -seventy dead or wounded men. A sapper could be seen before the mouth of -the gun. With astonishing coolness he was stuffing into the mouth of -that gun one hand grenade after another. He then lit the fuse and ran -away. Friends and enemies were torn into a thousand shreds by the -terrible explosion that followed. The gun was entirely demolished. -Seventy or eighty men had slaughtered each other for nothing--absolutely -nothing. - -After a struggle lasting nearly one hour all the guns were again in our -possession. Who can imagine the enormous loss of human lives with which -those lost guns had been recaptured! The dead and wounded, infantry, -cavalry, sappers and artillery, together with the Frenchmen, hundreds -and hundreds of them, were covering the narrow space, that comparatively -small spot which had been the scene of the tragedy. - -We were again reinforced, that time by four regular companies of -infantry, which had been taken from another section of the -battle-field. Though one takes part in everything, one's view as an -individual is very limited, and one has no means of informing oneself -about the situation in general. Here, too, we found ourselves in a -similar situation. But those reinforcements composed of all arms, and -the later arrivals, who had been taken from a section just as severely -threatened as our own, gave us the presentiment that we could only -resist further attacks if fresh troops arrived soon. If only we could -get something to quiet the pangs of hunger and that atrocious thirst! - -The horses of the guns now arrived at a mad gallop to take away the -guns. At the same moment the enemy's artillery opened a murderous fire, -with all sizes of guns, on that column of more than thirty teams that -were racing along. Confusion arose. The six horses of the various teams -reared and fled in all directions, drawing the overturned limbers behind -them with wheels uppermost. Some of the maddest animals ran straight -into the hottest fire to be torn to pieces together with their drivers. -Then our opponent directed his fire on the battery positions which were -also our positions. We had no other choice--we had either to advance or -retire. Retire? No! The order was different. We were to recapture our -lost first positions, now occupied by the French, who were now probably -getting ready for another attack. Had we not received fresh food for -cannon so that the mad dance could begin again? We advanced across a -field covered with thousands upon thousands of torn and bleeding human -bodies. - -No shot was fired. Only the enemy's artillery was still bombarding the -battery positions. We were still receiving no fire from the artillery; -neither did the enemy's infantry fire upon us. That looked suspicious; -we knew what was coming. We advanced farther and farther without being -molested. Suddenly we found ourselves attacked by an army of -machine-guns. An indescribable hail of bullets was poured into us. We -threw ourselves to the ground and sought cover as well as we could. -"Jump forward! March, march!" Again we ran to meet our fate. We had lost -already more than a third of our men. We halted again, exhausted. -Scarcely had we had time to take up a position when we were attacked -both in front and the flank. We had no longer strength enough to -withstand successfully a simultaneous frontal and flank attack. Besides, -we were being almost crushed by superior numbers. Our left wing had been -completely cut off, and we observed our people on that wing raising -their hands to indicate that they considered themselves prisoners of -war. However, the French gave no quarter--exactly as we had acted on a -former occasion. Not a man of our left wing was spared; every one was -cut down. - -We in the center could give them no help. We were getting less from -minute to minute. "Revenge for Sommepy!" I heard it ringing in my ears. -The right wing turned, drew us along, and a wild stampede began. Our -direct retreat being cut off, we ran backwards across the open field, -every one for himself, with beating hearts that seemed ready to burst, -all the time under the enemy's fire. - -After a long run we reached a small village to the northeast of -Vitry-le-François. There we arrived without rifles, helmets or -knapsacks; one after the other. But only a small portion could save -themselves. The French took plenty of booty. All the guns we fought for -were lost, besides several others. Of the hundreds of soldiers there -remained scarcely one hundred. All the others were dead, wounded or -missing. Who knew? - -Was that the terrible German war machine? Were those the cowardly, -degenerated Frenchmen whom we had driven before us for days? No; it was -war, terrible, horrid war, in which fortune is fickle. To-day it smiles -upon you; to-morrow the other fellow's turn comes. - -We sought to form up again in companies. There were just twelve men left -of our company. Little by little more came up from all directions until -at last we counted twenty. Then every one began to ask questions -eagerly; every one wanted to know about his friend, mate, or -acquaintance. Nobody could give an answer, for every one of us had been -thinking merely of himself and of nobody else. Driven by hunger we -roamed about the place. But our first action was drinking water, and -that in such quantities as if we wanted to drink enough for a lifetime. -We found nothing to eat. Only here and there in a garden we discovered a -few turnips which we swallowed with a ravenous appetite without washing -or even cleaning them superficially. - -But where was our company? Nobody knew. We were the company, the twenty -of us. And the officers? "Somewhere," a soldier observed, "somewhere in -a bomb-proof shelter." What were we to do? We did not know. Soon after a -sergeant-major of the field gendarmes came up sitting proudly on his -steed. Those "defenders of the Fatherland" have to see to it that too -many "shirkers" do not "loiter" behind the front. "You are sappers, -aren't you?" he roared out. "What are you doing here? 30th. Regiment?" -He put a great many questions which we answered as well as we were able -to. "Where are the others?" "Over there," said a young Berliner, and -pointed to the battle-field, "dead or prisoners; maybe some have saved -themselves and are elsewhere!" "It doesn't matter," roared out our -fierce sergeant-major for whom the conversation began to become -unpleasant. "Wait till I come back." "Where are the officers?" Again -nobody could answer him. "What are their names? I daresay I shall find -them. Maybe they are at Vitry?" We gave him their names--Captain Menke, -First Lieutenant Maier, Lieutenants of the Reserves Spahn, Neesen and -Heimbach. He gave us a certificate with which to prove the purpose of -our "loitering" to other overseers and disappeared. "Let's hope the -horse stumbles and the fellow breaks his neck." That was our pious wish -which one of our chaps sent after him. - -We went into one of the houses that had been pillaged like all the rest, -lay down on mattresses that were lying about the rooms and slept--slept -like dormice. - - - - -XIII - -THE ROUT OF THE MARNE - - -None of us knew how long we had slept; we only knew that it was night. -Some men of our company had waked us up. They had been looking for us -for a long time. "Come along," they said; "the old man is outside and -making a hell of a row. He has got seventeen men together and is -swearing like a trooper because he can't find you." Drowsily and -completely bereft of any will-power of our own we trudged after them. We -knew we were again being sent forward. But we did not care; we had lost -all balance. Never before had I noticed such indifference on our part as -on that night. - -There the old man was standing. He saw us coming up, without headgear, -the uniforms all torn to tatters, and minus our knapsacks. He received -us with the greeting, "Where have you been, you boobies?" Nobody -answered. What did we care? Things could not get any worse than they -were. Though all of us resented the wrong done to us we all remained -silent. - -"Where is your equipment?--Lost?--Lost? That's a fine story. You rag-tag -miserable vagabonds. If they were all like you--" For a while he went on -in that style. That pretty fellow had suffered the "miserable vagabonds" -to go forward while he himself had been defending his "Fatherland" at -Vitry, three or four miles behind the front. We picked out the best -from among the rifles that were lying about, and soon we were again -"ready for battle." - -We were standing half-asleep, leaning on the barrel of our rifles and -waiting to be led forth again to slaughter, when a shot was fired right -in our midst. The bullet had shattered the entire right hand of a -"spoiled ensign," as the officers express themselves. His hand was -bandaged. "How did that happen?" asked the officers. An eyewitness -related the incident saying: "Like all of us he put his hand on the -mouth of the barrel when it happened; I did not see any more." "Had he -secured the gun? Don't you know that it is forbidden to lean with your -hand on the mouth of your rifle and that you have been ordered to secure -your rifle when it is loaded?" Then turning to the "spoiled ensign," who -was writhing with pain, he bawled at him: "I shall report you for -punishment on account of gross negligence and self-mutilation on the -battle-field!" - -We all knew what was the matter. The ensign was a sergeant, but a poor -devil. He was fully aware that he had no career before him. We soldiers -liked him because we knew that military life disgusted him. Though he -was a sergeant he chose his companions solely among the common soldiers. -We would have divided with him our last crust of bread, because to us -especially, he behaved like a fellow-man. We also knew how harshly he -was treated by his superiors, and wondered that the "accident" had not -happened before. I do not know whether he was placed before a -court-martial later on. Punishments for self-mutilation are the order of -the day, and innumerable men are being severely punished. Now and then -the verdicts are made known to the soldiers at the front to serve as a -deterrent. The people at home, however, will get to hear very little of -them. - -The captain passed on the command to an officer's representative, and -then the old man disappeared again in the direction of Vitry. He spurred -on his steed, and away he flew. One of the soldiers thought that the -captain's horse was a thousand times better off than we were. We knew -it. We knew that we were far below the beast and were being treated -accordingly. - -We marched off and halted at the northwestern exit of the village. There -we met sappers gathered from other companies and battalions, and our -company was brought up to 85 men. The officer's representative then -explained to us that we should not be led into the firing line that day; -our only task was to watch that German troops fighting on the other side -of the Marne should find the existing temporary bridges in order in case -they had to retreat. We marched to the place where the Saulx enters the -Marne. - -So we marched off and reached our destination towards six o'clock in the -morning. The dead were lying in heaps around us in every field; death -had gathered in a terrible harvest. We were lying on a wooded height on -our side of the Marne, and were able to overlook the country for many -miles in front of us. One could see the explosions of the shells that -were raining down by the thousand. Little, almost nothing was to be seen -of the men, and yet there were thousands in front of us who were -fighting a desperate battle. Little by little we could make out the -faint outline of the struggle. The Germans were about a mile and a half -behind the Marne in front of us. Near the banks of the Marne large -bodies of German cavalry were stationed. There were only two tumble-down -bridges constructed of make-shift materials. They stood ready to be -blown up, and had plenty of explosive matter (dynamite) attached to -them. The electrical priming wires led to our position; we were in -charge of the firing apparatus. Connected by telephone we were able to -blow up the bridges in an instant. - -On the other side things began to get lively. We saw the French at -various places pressing forward and flowing back again. The rifle fire -increased continually in violence, and the attacks became more frequent. -Two hours passed in that way. We saw the French bringing up -reinforcement after reinforcement, in spite of the German artillery -which was maintaining but a feeble fire. After a long pause the enemy -began to attack again. The French came up in several lines. They -attacked several times, and each time they had to go back again; each -time they suffered great losses. At about three o'clock in the afternoon -our troops attacked by the enemy with all his strength, began to give -ground, slowly at first, then in a sort of flight. Our exhausted men -could no longer withstand the blow dealt with enormous force. In a wild -stampede all of them tried at the same time to reach safety across the -bridges. The cavalry, too, who were in cover near the banks of the -river, rushed madly to the bridges. An enormous crowd of men and beasts -got wedged before the bridges. In a trice the bridge before us was -thickly covered with human beings all of whom were trying to reach the -opposite side in a mad rush. We thought we could notice the temporary -bridge sway under its enormous burden. Like ourselves the officer's -representative could overlook the whole country. He pressed the receiver -of the telephone convulsively to his left ear, his right hand being on -the firing apparatus after which another man was looking. With bated -breath he gazed fixedly into the fleeing crowds. "Let's hope the -telephone is in order," he said to himself at intervals. He knew as well -as we did that he had to act as soon as the sharp order was transmitted -by telephone. It was not much he had to do. Directed by a movement of -the hand the man in charge of the apparatus would turn a key that looked -like a winged screw--and all would be over. - -The crowds were still rushing across the bridge, but nearly half of our -men, almost the whole of the cavalry, were still on the other side. The -bridge farther up was not being used so much and nearly all had reached -safety in that portion of the battlefield. We observed the foremost -French cross that bridge, but the bridge remained intact. The -sergeant-major who was in charge of the other apparatus was perplexed as -he received no order; so he blew up that bridge on his own -responsibility sending hundreds of Frenchmen to their watery grave in -the river Marne. - -At the same moment the officer's representative next to me received the -command to blow up the second and last bridge. He was confused and -hesitated to pass on the order. He saw that a great crowd of Germans -were still on the other side, he saw the struggles of that mass of men -in which every one was trying to be the first one to reach the bridge -and safety beyond. A terrible panic ensued. Many soldiers threw -themselves into the river and tried to swim across. The mass of soldiers -on the other side, still numbering several thousands, were pressed -harder and harder; the telephone messages were becoming ever more -urgent. All at once the officer's representative jumped up, pushed aside -the sapper in charge of the apparatus, and in the next second a mighty -explosion was heard. Bridge and men were blown into the air for -hundreds of yards. Like a river at times of inundations the Marne was -carrying away wood and men, tattered uniforms and horses. Swimming -across it was of no earthly use, and yet soldiers kept throwing -themselves into the river. - -On the other side the French began to disarm completely the German -soldiers who could be seen standing there with hands uplifted. Thousands -of prisoners, innumerable horses and machine guns had fallen into the -hands of the enemy. Some of us were just going to return with the firing -apparatus which was now superfluous when we heard the tale of the -significance of the incident, confirming the suspicions of many a one -amongst us. An error had been committed, that could not be undone! When -the bridge higher up, that was being used to a smaller degree by the -soldiers, had been crossed by the German troops and the enemy had -immediately begun his pursuit, the staff of officers in command at that -passage intended to let a certain number of enemies cross the bridge, -i.e., a number that could not be dangerous to the German troops who were -in temporary safety. Those hasty troops of the enemy could not have -received any assistance after the bridge had been blown up, and would -have been annihilated or taken prisoners. For that reason it was -intended to postpone the blowing up of the bridge. - -However, the sergeant-major in charge of the firing apparatus imagined, -as his thoughts kept whirling through his head, that the telephone wires -must have been destroyed, and blew up on his own initiative the bridge -that was densely crowded with Frenchmen, before our opponent succeeded -in interrupting the wires. But at the same time the officer's -representative in charge of the firing apparatus of the second bridge -received an order, the words of which (as he later himself confessed) -were not at all clear to him, threw aside the receiver, lost the -absolutely necessary assurance, killed all the people on the bridge, and -delivered hundreds upon hundreds into the hands of the enemy. - -We had no time to gather any more detailed impressions, for we received -the order that all the men of our company were to gather at Vitry before -the cathedral. We began to sling our hook with a sigh of relief, that -time a little more quickly than ordinarily, for the enemy's artillery -was already beginning to sweep the country systematically. We heard from -wounded men of other sections, whom we met on the way, that the French -had crossed the Marne already at various places. We discussed the -situation among us, and found that we were all of the same opinion. Even -on Belgian territory we had suffered heavy losses; every day had -demanded its victims; our ranks had become thinner and thinner; many -companies had been used up entirely and, generally speaking, all -companies had suffered severely. These companies, furnished and reduced -to a minimum strength, now found themselves opposed to an enemy -excellently provided with all necessaries. Our opponent was continually -bringing up fresh troops, and we were becoming fewer every hour. We -began to see that it was impossible for us to make a stand at that -place. Soldiers of the various arms confirmed again and again that -things were looking just as bad with them as with us, that the losses in -men and material were truly enormous. I found myself thinking of the -"God of the Germans." Had He cast them aside? I "thought" it so loudly -that the others could hear me. "Well," one of them remarked, "whom God -wants to punish He first strikes with blindness. Perhaps He thought of -Belgium, of Drucharz, of Sommepy, of Suippes, and of so many other -things, and suffered us to rush into this ruin in our blind rage." - -We reached Vitry. There the general misery seemed to us to be greater -than outside. There was not a single house in the whole town that was -not overcrowded with wounded men. Amidst all that misery pillaging had -not been forgotten. To make room for the wounded all the warehouses had -been cleared and their contents thrown into the streets. The soldiers of -the ambulance corps walked about, and everything that was of value and -that pleased them they annexed. But the worst "hyenas" of the -battle-field are to be found in the ammunition and transport trains. The -men of these two branches of the army have sufficient room in their -wagons to store things away. The assertion is, moreover, proved by the -innumerable confiscations, by the German Imperial Post Office, of -soldiers' parcels, all of them containing gold rings, chains, watches, -precious stones, etc. The cases discovered in that or any other way are -closely gone into and the criminals are severely punished, but it is -well known that only a small percentage of the crimes see the light of -day. What are a thousand convictions or so for a hundred thousand -crimes! - -In Vitry the marauders' business was again flourishing. The soldiers of -the transport trains, above all, are in no direct danger in war. -Compared with the soldiers fighting at the front it is easy for them to -find food; besides, it is they who transport the provisions of the -troops. They know that their lives are not endangered directly and that -they have every reason to suppose that they will return unscathed. To -them war is a business, because they largely take possession of all -that is of any value. We could therefore comprehend that they were -enthusiastic patriots and said quite frankly that they hoped the war -would continue for years. Later on we knew what had happened when the -Emperor had made one of his "rousing" speeches somewhere in the west and -had found the "troops" in an "excellent" mood and "full of fight." Among -that sort of troops there were besides the transport soldiers numerous -cavalry distributed among the various divisions, army corps staffs, and -general staffs. - - - - -XIV - -THE FLIGHT FROM THE MARNE - - -We soon reached the cathedral and reported to Lieutenant Spahn whom we -found there. He, too, had defended his "Fatherland" in that town. Clean -shaven and faultlessly dressed, he showed up to great advantage -contrasted with us. There we stood in ragged, dirty, blood-stained -uniforms, our hair disheveled, with a growing beard covered with clay -and mud. We were to wait. That was all. We sat down and gazed at the -misery around us. The church was filled with wounded men. Many died in -the hands of the medical men. The dead were carried out to make room for -others. The bodies were taken to one side where whole rows of them were -lying already. We took the trouble to count the dead, who had been -mostly placed in straight rows, and counted more than sixty. Some of -them were in uniforms that were still quite good, whilst our uniforms -were nothing but rags hanging from our backs. There were some sappers -among them, but their coats were not any better than our own. - -"Let us take some infantry coats," somebody ventured; "what's the -difference? A coat is a coat." So we went and took the coats from -several bodies and tried them on. Taking off their clothes was no easy -job, for the corpses were already rigid like a piece of wood. But what -was to be done? We could not run about in our shirt-sleeves! All did not -find something to fit them, and the disappointed ones had to wait for -another chance to turn up. We also needed boots, of course; but the -corpses lying before our eyes had boots on that were not much better -than our own. They had worn theirs as long as we had worn ours, but we -thought we might just inspect them all the same. We looked and found a -pair of fairly good ones. They were very small, but we guessed they -might fit one or the other amongst us. Two of us tried to remove them. -"But they are a tight fit," one of the two remarked. Two more came up to -help. Two were holding the leg of the dead man while the two others -tugged at the boot. It was of no use; the leg and the foot were so rigid -that it was found impossible to get the boot off. "Let it go," one of -those holding the leg remarked, "you will sooner pull off his leg than -remove that boot." We let go just as the doctor passed. "What are you -doing there?" he asked us. "We want to get some boots." "Then you will -have to cut them open; don't waste your time, the rigid leg will not -release the boot." He passed on. The situation was not complete without -a brutal joke. An infantryman standing near said, pointing to the dead, -"Now you know it; let them keep their old boots, they don't want to walk -on their bare feet." The joke was laughed at. And why not? Here we were -out of danger. What were the others to us? We were still alive and those -lying there could hear no longer. We saw no other things in war, and -better things we had not been taught. - -It is true that on the way we had got some bread by begging for it, but -we were still quite hungry. Nothing was to be seen of our field kitchen. -The crew of our field kitchen and the foraging officer and sergeant -always preferred to defend their Fatherland several tens of miles -behind the front. What were others to them? What were we to them? As -long as they did not need to go within firing range of the artillery -they were content. Comradeship ceases where the field kitchen begins. - -There were, however, some field kitchens belonging to other parts of the -army. They had prepared meals, but could not get rid of the food; even -if their company, i.e., the rest of their company, should have arrived -they would have had far too much food. Many a one for whom they had -prepared a meal was no longer in need of one. Thus we were most -willingly given as much to eat as we wanted. We had scarcely finished -eating when we had to form up again. Gradually several men of our -company had come together. We lined up in a manner one is used to in -war. The "old man" arrived. One of the officers reported the company to -him, but evidently did not report the number of the missing. Perhaps the -old man did not care, for he did not even ask whether we knew anything -about the one or the other. He stepped in front of the company and said -(a sign of his good temper), "Good morning, men!" (It was seven o'clock -in the evening!) As an answer he got a grunting noise such as is -sometimes made by a certain animal, and a sneering grin. Without much -ado we were ordered to go to the tool wagons which were standing near -the northern exit of the town, and provide ourselves with rifle -ammunition and three hand grenades each. "At half past nine to-night you -have to line up here; each man must have 500 cartridges, three hand -grenades, and fuses for igniting them; step aside!" - -On our way to the implement wagons we noticed that everywhere soldiers -that had lost their companies were being drawn together and that new -formations were being gotten together with the greatest speed. We felt -that something was in the air, but could not tell what it might be. The -rain had started again and was coming down in torrents. When we were at -the appointed place at half past nine in the evening we saw all the -principal streets filled with troops, all of them in storming outfit -like ourselves. A storming outfit consists of a suit made of cloth, a -cap, light marching baggage, tent canvas, cooking utensils, tent-pegs, -the iron ration, and, in the case of sappers, trench tools also. During -the day we got our "Klamotten," i.e., our equipment together again. We -were standing in the rain and waited. We did not yet know what was going -to happen. Then we were ordered to take off the lock of our rifles and -put them in our bread bags. The rifles could not now be used for -shooting. We began to feel what was coming, viz., a night attack with -bayonets and hand grenades. So as not to shoot each other in the dark we -had to remove the lock from the rifle. We stood there till about 11 -o'clock when we were suddenly ordered to camp. We did not know what the -whole thing meant, and were especially puzzled by the last order which -was, however, welcomed by all of us. We judged from the rolling thunder -that the battle had not yet decreased in violence, and the sky was -everywhere red from the burning villages and farm houses. - -Returning "home" we gathered from the conversation the officers had -among themselves that a last attempt was to be made to repel the French; -that explained the night assault the order for which had now been -canceled. They had evidently made, or been obliged to make another -resolution at the general staff; perhaps they had recognized that no -more could be done and had rescinded the order for the attack and -decided upon a retreat, which began the next morning at 6 o'clock. We, -however, had no idea that it should be our last night at Vitry. - -We lodged in a shanty for the night. Being sufficiently tired we were -soon in a deep slumber. We had to rise at four o'clock in the morning. -Each of us received a loaf of bread; we filled our water bottles, and -marched off. Whither we were marching we were not told, but we guessed -it. The remaining population of Vitry, too, seemed to be informed; some -were lining the streets, and their glances were eloquent. Everywhere a -feverish activity was to be observed. We halted outside the town. The -captain called us to gather round him and addressed us as follows: "Our -troops will evacuate their positions on account of the difficult -terrain, and retire to those heights where they will take up new -positions." In saying that he turned round and pointed to a ridge near -the horizon. He continued: "There we shall settle down and expect the -enemy. New reinforcements will arrive there to-day, and some days hence -you will be able to send a picture postcard home from Paris." I must -avow that the majority of us believed that humbug at the time. Other -portions of the army were already arriving from all directions. We had -been marching for some hours when we heard that Vitry had already been -occupied again by the French and that all the material stored at Vitry, -together with all the hospitals, doctors and men, and whole companies of -the medical service had been taken there. - -Towards two o'clock in the afternoon we reached the heights the captain -had shown us, but he had evidently forgotten everything, for we marched -on and on. Even the most stupid amongst us now began to fear that we had -been humbugged. The streets became ever more densely crowded with -retreating troops and trains; from all sides they came and wanted to use -the main road that was also being used by us, and the consequence was -that the road became too congested and that we were continually pushed -more to the rear. Munition wagons raced past us, singly, without any -organization. Order was no longer observed. Canteen and baggage wagons -went past, and here already a wild confusion arose. Every moment there -was a stop and all got wedged. Many would not wait, and some wagons were -driven by the side of the road, through fields turned sodden by the -rain, in an attempt to get along. One wagon would be overturned, another -one would stick in the mud. No great trouble was taken to recover the -vehicles, the horses were taken out and the wagon was left. The drivers -took the horses and tried to get along; every one was intent upon -finding safety. Thus one incident followed upon another. - -An officer came riding up and delivered an order to our captain. We did -not know what it was. But we halted and stepped into the field. Having -stacked our rifles we were allowed to lie down. We lay down by the side -of the road and gazed at the columns, field kitchens, transports, -medical trains, field post wagons, all filing past us in picturesque -confusion. Wounded men were lying or sitting on all the vehicles. Their -faces showed that riding on those heavy wagons caused them pain. But -they, too, wanted to get along at any price for they knew from personal -experience what it meant to fall into the hands of an uncompromising -enemy. They would perhaps be considered as little as they and we -ourselves had formerly considered the wounded Frenchmen left in our -hands. Because they knew this, as all of us did, they did not want to be -left behind for anything in the world. - -We had as yet not the slightest idea what we were to do. Night came upon -us, and it poured again in torrents. We lay on the ground and felt very -cold. Our tired bodies no longer gave out any heat. Yet we stayed on the -ground too tired to move. Sections of artillery now began to arrive, but -most of the batteries had no longer their full number (6) of guns. One -had lost three, another two; many guns even arriving singly. Quite a -number of limbers, some 50 or so, passed without guns. Those batteries -had only been able to save the horses and had been obliged to leave the -guns in the hands of the French. Others had only two or four horses -instead of six. - -Presently some fifteen motorcars, fine solid cars, came along. We gazed -in astonishment at the strong, elegant vehicles. "Ah!" my neighbors -exclaimed, "the General Staff!" Duke Albrecht of Wurttemberg and his -faithful retainers! We were getting rebellious again. Every one felt -wild, and it rained curses. One man said, "After having sent thousands -to their doom they are now making off in motorcars." We were lying in -the swamp, and nobody noticed us. The automobiles raced past and soon -left all behind them. We were still quite in the dark as to our purpose -in that place. We lay there for hours, till ten o'clock at night. The -troops were surging back largely in dissolved formations. Machine-gun -sections arrived with empty wagons; they had lost all their guns. In the -west we heard the thunder of guns coming nearer and nearer. We did not -know whether we were going to be sent into battle again or not. - -The confusion in the road became worse and worse and degenerated in the -darkness into a panic. Refugees, who were wandering about with women and -children in that dark night and in the pouring rain, got under the -wheels of wagons; wounded men in flight were likewise crushed by the -wheels; and cries for help came from everywhere out of the darkness. The -streets were badly worn. Abandoned vehicles were lining the sides of the -road. We began to move at three o'clock in the morning, and before we -were fully aware of what was happening we found ourselves with the -rear-guard. Regiments of infantry, shot to pieces, arrived in a pitiful -condition. They had cast away their knapsacks and all unnecessary -impediments, and were trying to get along as fast as possible. Soon -after, the first shrapnel of the enemy began to burst above our heads, -which caused us to accelerate our march continually. The road, which had -also been used during the advance, was still marked by deep shell holes -that were filled with water to the very edge, for it rained without -interruption. It was pitch-dark, and every now and then somebody would -fall into one of those shell holes. We were all wet through, but -continued to press on. Some would stumble over something in the dark, -but nobody paid any attention. The great thing was to get along. Dead -horses and men lay in the middle of the road, but nobody took the -trouble to remove the "obstacle." - -It was almost light when we reached a small village and halted. The -whole place was at once occupied and put in a state of defense as well -as was possible. We took up positions behind the walls of the cemetery. -Other troops arrived incessantly, but all in disorder, in a wild -confused jumble. Cavalry and artillery also arrived together with a -machine-gun section. These, however, had kept their formations intact; -there was some disorder, but no sign of panic. One could see that they -had suffered considerable losses though their casualties had not been as -heavy as ours. The enemy was bombarding us with his guns in an -increasing degree, but his fire had no effect. Some houses had been hit -and set alight by shells. Far away from us hostile cavalry patrols -showed themselves, but disappeared again. Everything was quiet. Ten -minutes afterwards things in front of us began to get lively; we saw -whole columns of the enemy approach. Without firing a shot we turned and -retired farther back. Mounted artillery were stationed behind the -village and were firing already into the advancing enemy. A cavalry -patrol came galloping across the open field, their horses being covered -with foam. We heard the leader of the patrol, an officer, call out in -passing to a cavalry officer that strong forces of the enemy were coming -on by all the roads. We left the village behind us and sought to get -along as quickly as possible. We had no idea where we were. The cavalry -and artillery sections that had been left behind were keeping the enemy -under fire. Towards noon shrapnel was again exploding above our heads, -but the projectiles were bursting too high up in the air to do any -damage to us. Yet it was a serious warning to us, for it gave us to -understand that the enemy was keeping close on our heels--a sufficient -reason to convert our retreat into a flight. We therefore tried to get -away as fast as our tired out bones would let us. We knew there was no -chance of a rest to-day. So we hurried on in the drenching rain. - -The number of those who dropped by the way from exhaustion became -larger and larger. They belonged to various portions of the army. We -could not help them, and there were no more wagons; these were more in -front. Those unfortunate men, some of whom were unconscious, were left -behind just as the exhausted horses. Those that had sufficient strength -left crawled to the side of the road; but the unconscious ones remained -where they fell, exposed to the hoofs of the horses and the wheels of -the following last detachments. If they were lucky enough not to be -crushed to atoms they fell into the hands of the enemy. Perhaps those -who found our men were men and acted accordingly, but if they were -soldiers brutalized by war, patriots filled with hatred, as could also -be found in our own ranks, then the "boche" (as the French say) had to -die a miserable death by the road, die for his "Fatherland." To our -shame, be it said, we knew it from our own experience, and summoned all -our energy so as not to be left behind. I was thinking of the soldier of -the Foreign Legion lying in the desert sand, left behind by his troop -and awaiting the hungry hyenas. - -The road was covered with the equipment the soldiers had thrown away. -We, too, had long ago cast aside all unnecessary ballast. Thus we were -marching, when we passed a wood densely packed with refugees. Those -hunted people had stretched blankets between the trees so as to protect -themselves from the rain. There they were lying in the greatest -conceivable misery, all in a jumble, women and men, children and -graybeards. Their camp reached as far as the road, and one could observe -that the terrible hours they had lived through had left deep furrows in -their faces. They looked at us with weary, tired eyes. The children -begged us to give them some bread, but we had nothing whatsoever left -and were ourselves tormented by hunger. The enemy's shrapnel was still -accompanying us, and we had scarcely left the wood when shrapnel began -to explode there, which caused the refugees, now exposed to the fire, to -crowd into the fields in an attempt to reach safety. Many of them joined -us, but before long they were forbidden to use the road because they -impeded the retreat of the troops. Thus all of them were driven without -pity into the fields soaked by the rain. - -When we came to a pillaged village towards the evening we were at last -granted a short rest, for in consequence of our quick marching we had -disengaged ourselves almost completely from the enemy. We heard the -noise of the rear-guard actions at a considerable distance behind us, -and we wished that they would last a long time, for then we could rest -for a longer period. From that village the head man and two citizens -were carried off by the Germans, the three being escorted by cavalry. We -were not told why those people were being taken along, but each place -had to furnish such "hostages," whole troops of whom were being marched -off. The remaining cattle had also been taken along; troopers were -driving along the cattle in large droves. We were part of the -rear-guard. It is therefore easy to understand why we found no more -eatables. Hunger began to plague us more and more. Not a mouthful was to -be had in the village we had reached, and without having had any food we -moved on again after half an hour's rest. - -We had marched two miles or so when we came upon a former camping place. -Advancing German troops had camped there about a week ago. The bread -that had evidently been plentiful at that time now lay scattered in the -field. Though the bread had been lying in the open for about a week and -had been exposed to a rain lasting for days, we picked it up and -swallowed it ravenously. As long as those pangs of hunger could be -silenced, it mattered little what it was that one crammed into one's -stomach. - - - - -XV - -AT THE END OF THE FLIGHT - - -Night fell again, and there was still no prospect of sleep and -recuperation. We had no idea of how far we had to retire. Altogether we -knew very little of how things were going. We saw by the strange -surroundings that we were not using the same road on which we had -marched before to the Marne as "victors." "Before!" It seemed to us as -if there was an eternity between that "before" and the present time, for -many a one who was with us then was now no longer among us. - -One kept thinking and thinking, one hour chased the other. Involuntarily -one was drawn along. We slept whilst walking. Our boots were literally -filled with water. Complaining was of no use. We had to keep on -marching. Another night passed. Next morning troops belonging to the -main army were distributed among the rear-guard. In long columns they -were lying by the side of the road to let us pass in order to join up -behind. We breathed a sigh of relief, for now we were no longer exposed -to the enemy's artillery fire. After a march of some five hours we -halted and were lucky enough to find ourselves close to a company of -infantry that had happily saved its field kitchen. - -After the infantrymen had eaten we were given the rest, about a pint of -bean soup each. Some sappers of our company were still among that -section of the infantry. They had not been able to find us and had -joined the infantry. We thought they were dead or had been taken -prisoners, but they had only been scattered and had lost their way. We -had hopes to recover still many a one of our missing comrades in a -similar manner, but we found only a few more afterwards. In the evening -of the same day we saw another fellow of our company sitting on the -limber of the artillery. When he saw us he joined us immediately and -told us what had happened to him. The section he belonged to had its -retreat across the Marne cut off; nearly all had been made prisoners -already and the French were about to disarm them when he fled and was -lucky enough to reach the other side of the Marne by swimming across the -river. He, too, could not or did not want to find our company, and -joined the artillery so as not to be forced to walk, so he explained. -Our opinion was that he would have done better by remaining a prisoner, -for in that case the murdering business would have ended as far as he -was concerned. We told him so, and he agreed with us. "However," he -observed, "is it sure that the French would have spared us? I know how -we ourselves acted; and if they had cut us down remorselessly we should -now be dead. Who could have known it?" I knew him too well not to be -aware that he for one had every reason to expect from the enemy what he -had often done in his moments of bloodthirst; when he was the "victor" -he knew neither humanity nor pity. - -It was not yet quite dark when we reached a large village. We were to -find quarters there and rest as long as was possible. But we knew well -enough that we should be able to rest only for as long as the rear-guard -could keep the enemy back. Our quarters were in the public school, and -on account of the lack of food we were allowed to consume our iron -rations. Of course, we had long ago lost or eaten that can of meat and -the little bag of biscuits. We therefore lay down with rumbling -stomachs. - -Already at 11 o'clock in the night alarm was sounded. In the greatest -hurry we had to get ready to march off, and started at once. The night -was pitch-dark, and it was still raining steadily. The officers kept on -urging us to hurry up, and the firing of rifles told us that the enemy -was again close at our heels. At day-break we passed the town of St. -Menehould which was completely intact. Here we turned to the east, still -stubbornly pursued by the French, and reached Clermont-en-Argonne at -noon. Again we got some hours of rest, but in the evening we had to move -on again all night long in a veritable forced march. We felt more tired -from hour to hour, but there was no stopping. - -The rain had stopped when we left the road at ten o'clock in the morning -and we were ordered to occupy positions. We breathed again freely, for -that exhausting retreat lasting for days had reduced us to a condition -that was no longer bearable. So we began to dig ourselves in. We had not -half finished digging our trenches when a hail of artillery projectiles -was poured on us. Fortunately we lost but few men, but it was impossible -to remain any longer, and we were immediately ordered to retreat. We -marched on over country roads, and it was dark when we began to dig in -again. We were in the neighborhood of Challerange quite near the village -of Cerney-en-Dormois. It was very dark and a thick mist surrounded us. -We soldiers had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the enemy. As -quickly as possible we tried to deepen our trench, avoiding every -unnecessary noise. Now and then we heard secret patrols of the enemy -approach, only to disappear again immediately. - -It was there we got our first reinforcements. They came up in the dark -in long rows, all of them fresh troops and mostly men of the landwehr, -large numbers of whom were still in blue uniforms. By their uniforms and -equipment one could see that the men had been equipped and sent off in -great haste. They had not yet heard the whistle of a bullet, and were -anxiously inquiring whether the place was dangerous. They brought up -numerous machine-guns and in a jiffy we had prepared everything for the -defense. - -We could not get to know where the French were supposed to be. The -officers only told us to keep in our places. Our trench was thickly -crowded with men, and provided with numerous machine-guns. We instructed -the new arrivals in the way they would have to behave if an attack -should be made, and told them to keep quite still and cool during the -attack and aim accurately. - -They were mostly married men that had been dragged from their -occupations and had been landed right in our midst without understanding -clearly what was happening to them. They had no idea where, in what part -of the country they were, and they overwhelmed us with all sorts of -questions. They were not acquainted with the handling of the new -98-rifle. They were provided with a remodeled rifle of the 88 pattern -for which our ammunition could be used. Though no shots were fired the -"new ones" anxiously avoided putting their heads above the edge of the -trench. They provided us liberally with eatables and cigars. - -It was getting light, and as yet we had not seen much of the enemy. -Slowly the mist began to disappear, and now we observed the French -occupying positions some hundred yards in front of us. They had made -themselves new positions during the night exactly as we had done. -Immediately firing became lively on both sides. Our opponent left his -trench and attempted an attack, but our great mass of machine-guns -literally mowed down his ranks. An infernal firing had set in, and the -attack was beaten off after only a few steps had been made by the -opposing troops. The French renewed their attack again and again, and -when at noon we had beaten back eight assaults of that kind hundreds -upon hundreds of dead Frenchmen were covering the ground between our -trenches and theirs. The enemy had come to the conclusion that it was -impossible to break down our iron wall and stopped his attacks. - -At that time we had no idea that this was to be the beginning of a -murderous exhausting war of position, the beginning of a slow, -systematic, and useless slaughter. For months and months we were to -fight on in the same trench, without gaining or losing ground, sent -forward again and again to murder like raving beasts and driven back -again. Perhaps it was well that we did not know at that time that -hundreds of thousands of men were to lose their lives in that senseless -slaughter. - -The wounded men between the trenches had to perish miserably. Nobody -dared help them as the opposing side kept up their fire. They perished -slowly, quite slowly. Their cries died away after long hours, one after -the other. One man after the other had lain down to sleep, never to -awake again. Some we could hear for days; night and day they begged and -implored one to assist them, but nobody could help. Their cries became -softer and softer until at last they died away--all suffering had -ceased. There was no possibility of burying the dead. They remained -where they fell for weeks. The bodies began to decompose and spread -pestilential stenches, but nobody dared to come and bury the dead. If a -Frenchman showed himself to look for a friend or a brother among the -dead he was fired at from all directions. His life was dearer to him and -he never tried again. We had exactly the same experience. The French -tried the red cross flag. We laughed and shot it to pieces. The impulse -to shoot down the "enemy" suppressed every feeling of humanity, and the -"red cross" had lost its significance when raised by a Frenchman. -Suspicion was nourished artificially, so that we thought the "enemy" was -only abusing the flag; and that was why we wanted to shoot him and the -flag to bits. - -But we ourselves took the French for barbarians because they paid us -back in kind and prevented us from removing our own wounded men to -safety. The dead remained where they were, and when ten weeks later we -were sent to another part of the front they were still there. - -We had been fortunate in beating back all attacks and had inflicted -enormous losses upon the enemy without having ourselves lost many dead -or wounded men. Under those circumstances no further attack was to be -expected for the time being. So we employed all our strength to fortify -our position as strongly as possible. Half of the men remained in their -places, and the other half made the trenches wider and deeper. But both -sides maintained a continuous lively fire. The losses we suffered that -day were not especially large, but most of the men who were hit were -struck in the head, for the rest of the body was protected by the -trench. - -When darkness began to descend the firing increased in violence. Though -we could not see anything we fired away blindly because we thought the -enemy would not attempt an attack in that case. We had no target and -fired always in the direction of the enemy's trench. Throughout the -night ammunition and materials were brought up, and new troops kept -arriving. Sand bags were brought in great quantities, filled and -utilized as cover, as a protection from the bullets. The sappers were -relieved towards morning. We had to assemble at a farm behind the firing -line. The farmhouse had been completely preserved, and all the animals -were still there; but that splendor was destined to disappear soon. -Gradually several hundreds of soldiers collected there, and then began a -wild chase after ducks, geese, pigeons, etc. The feathered tribe, -numbering more than 500 head, had been captured in a few hours, and -everywhere cooking operations were in full swing. - -There were more than eighty cows and bullocks in a neighboring field. -All of them were shot by the soldiers and worked into food by the field -kitchens. In that place everything was taken. Stores of hay and grain -had been dragged away in a few hours. Even the straw sheds and -outbuildings were broken up, the wood being used as fuel. In a few hours -that splendid farm had become a wreck, and its proprietor had been -reduced to beggary. I had seen the owner that morning; but he had -suddenly disappeared with his wife and children, and nobody knew -whither. The farm was within reach of the artillery fire, and the farmer -sought safety somewhere else. Not a soul cared where he had gone. - -Rifle bullets, aimed too high, were continually flying about us, but -nobody cared in the least though several soldiers had been hit. A man of -our company, named Mertens, was sitting on the ground cleaning his rifle -when he was shot through the neck; he died a few minutes after. We -buried him in the garden of the farm, placed his helmet on his grave, -and forgot all about him. - -Near the farm a German howitzer battery was in position. The battery was -heavily shelled by the enemy. Just then a munition train consisting of -three wagons came up to carry ammunition to the battery. We had amongst -us a sergeant called Luwie, from Frankfort-on-the-Main. One of his -brothers, also a sergeant, was in the column that was passing by. That -had aroused our interest, and we watched the column to see whether it -should succeed in reaching the battery through the fire the enemy was -keeping up. Everything seemed to go along all right when suddenly the -sergeant, the brother of the sapper sergeant, was hit by a shell and -torn to pieces, together with his horse. All that his own brother was -watching. It was hard to tell what was passing through his mind. He was -seen to quiver. That was all; then he stood motionless. Presently he -went straight to the place of the catastrophe without heeding the shells -that were striking everywhere, fetched the body of his brother and laid -it down. Part of the left foot of the dead man was missing and nearly -the whole right leg; a piece of shell as big as a fist stuck in his -chest. He laid down his brother and hurried back to recover the missing -limbs. He brought back the leg, but could not find the foot that had -been torn off. When we had buried the mangled corpse the sergeant -borrowed a map of the general staff from an officer and marked the -exact spot of the grave so as to find it again after the war. - -The farmhouse had meanwhile been turned into a bandaging station. Our -losses increased very greatly judging from the wounded men who arrived -in large numbers. The farmhouse offered a good target to the enemy's -artillery. Though it was hidden by a hillock some very high poplars -towered above that elevation. We felled those trees. Towards evening we -had to go back to the trench, for the French were renewing their -attacks, but without any effect. The fresh troops were all very excited, -and it was hard for them to get accustomed to the continued rolling -rifle fire. Many of them had scarcely taken up their place when they -were killed. Their blue uniforms offered a good target when they -approached our positions from behind. - -At night it was fairly quiet, and we conversed with the new arrivals. -Some of them had had the chance of remaining in garrison service, but -had volunteered for the front. Though they had had only one day in the -firing line they declared quite frankly that they repented of their -decision. They had had quite a different idea of what war was like, and -believed it an adventure, had believed in the fine French wine, had -dreamt of some splendid castle where one was quartered for weeks; they -had thought that one would get as much to eat and drink as one wished. -It was war, and in war one simply took what one wanted. - -Such nonsense and similar stuff they had heard of veterans of the war of -1870-71, and they had believed that they went forward to a life of -adventure and ease. Bitterly disappointed they were now sitting in the -rain in a dirty trench, with a vast army of corpses before them. And -every minute they were in danger of losing their life! That was a war -quite different from the one they had pictured to themselves. They knew -nothing of our retreat and were therefore not a little surprised when we -related to them the events of the last few days. - - - - -XVI - -THE BEGINNING OF TRENCH WARFARE - - -On the next morning, at daybreak, we quitted the trench again in order -to rest for two days. We went across the fields and took up quarters at -Cerney-en-Dormois. We lodged in one of the abandoned houses in the -center of the village. Our field kitchen had not yet arrived, so we were -obliged to find our own food. Members of the feathered tribe were no -longer to be discovered, but if by any chance a chicken showed its head -it was immediately chased by a score of men. No meat being found we -resolved to be vegetarians for the time being, and roamed through the -gardens in search of potatoes and vegetables. On that expedition we -discovered an officer's horse tied to a fence. We knew by experience -that the saddle bags of officers' horses always concealed something that -could be eaten. We were hungry enough, and quickly resolved to lead the -horse away. We searched him thoroughly under "cover," and found in the -saddle bags quite a larder of fine foodstuffs, butter and lard among -them. Then we turned the horse loose and used the captured treasure to -prepare a meal, the like of which we had not tasted for a long time. - -It tasted fine in spite of our guilty conscience. One man made the fire, -another peeled the potatoes, etc. Pots and a stove we found in one of -the kitchens of the houses in the neighborhood. - -Towards evening long trains with provisions and endless rows of fresh -troops arrived. In long columns they marched to the front and relieved -the exhausted men. Soon the whole place was crowded with soldiers. After -a two days' rest we had to take up again the regular night duties of the -sapper. Every night we had to visit the position to construct wire -entanglements. The noise caused by the ramming in of the posts mostly -drew the attention of the French upon us, and thus we suffered losses -almost every night. But our rest during the daytime was soon to be put -an end to, for the enemy's artillery began to shell the place regularly. -Curiously enough, the shelling took place always at definite hours. -Thus, at the beginning, every noon from 12 to 2 o'clock from fifty to -eighty shells used to fall in the place. At times the missiles were -shrapnel from the field artillery. One got accustomed to it, though -soldiers of other arms were killed or wounded daily. Once we were lying -at noon in our lodgings when a shrapnel shell exploded in our room, -happily without doing any damage. The whole room was filled with dust -and smoke, but not one troubled to leave his place. That sort of -shooting was repeated almost daily with increasing violence. The -remaining inhabitants of the village, mostly old people, were all lodged -in a barn for fear of espionage. There they were guarded by soldiers. As -the village was being bombarded always at certain hours the officer in -command of the place believed that somebody in the village communicated -with the enemy with a hidden telephone. They even went so far as to -remove the hands of the church clock, because somebody had seen quite -distinctly "that the hands of the clock (which was not going) had moved -and were pointing to 6 and immediately afterwards to 5." Of course, the -spy that had signaled to the enemy by means of the church clock could be -discovered as little as the man with the concealed telephone. But in -order to be quite sure to catch the "real" culprit all the civilians -were interned in the barn. Those civilian prisoners were provided with -food and drink like the soldiers, but like the soldiers they were also -exposed to the daily bombardment, which gradually devastated the whole -village. Two women and a child had already been killed in consequence -and yet the people were not removed. Almost daily a house burned down at -some spot or other in the village, and the shells now began falling at 8 -o'clock in the evening. The shells were of a large size. We knew exactly -that the first shell arrived punctually at 8 o'clock, and we left the -place every night. The whole village became empty, and exactly at 8 -o'clock the first shell came buzzing heavily over to our side. At short -intervals, fourteen or sixteen at the most, but never more, followed it. -Those sixteen we nicknamed the "iron portion." Our opinion was that the -gun was sent forward by the French when it became dark, that it fired a -few shots, and was then taken to the rear again. When we returned from -our "walk," as we called that nightly excursion, we had to go to our -positions. There we had to perform all imaginable kinds of work. One -evening we had to fortify a small farm we had taken from the French the -day before. We were to construct machine-gun emplacements. The moon was -shining fairly brightly. In an adjoining garden there were some fruit -trees, an apple tree among them, with some apples still attached to it. -A Frenchman had hanged himself on that tree. Though the body must have -hung for some days--for it smelled considerably--some of our sappers -were eager to get the apples. The soldiers took the apples without -troubling in the least about the dead man. - -Near that farm we used mine throwers for the first time. The instruments -we used there were of a very primitive kind. They consisted of a pipe -made of strong steel plate and resting on an iron stand. An unexploded -shell or shrapnel was filled with dynamite, provided with a fuse and -cap, and placed in the tube of the mine thrower. Behind it was placed a -driving charge of black powder of a size corresponding with the distance -of the target and the weight of the projectile. The driving charge, too, -was provided with a fuse that was of such a length that the explosion -was only produced after the man lighting the fuse had had time to return -to a place of safety. The fuse of the mine was lit at the same time as -the former, but was of a length commensurate with the time of flight of -the mine, so as to explode the latter when the mine struck the target, -or after a calculated period should the mark be missed. The driving -charge must be of such strength that it throws the projectile no farther -than is intended. The mine thrower is not fired horizontally but at a -steep angle. The tube from which the mine is fired is, for instance, -placed at an angle of 45 degrees, and receives a charge of fifteen -grammes of black powder when the distance is 400 yards. - -It happens that the driving charge does not explode, and the projectile -remains in the tube. The fuse of the mine continues burning, and the -mine explodes in the tube and demolishes the stand and everything in its -neighborhood. When we used those mine throwers here for the first time -an accident of the kind described happened. Two volunteers and a sapper -who were in charge of the mine thrower in question thought the -explosion took too long a time. They believed it was a miss. When they -had approached to the distance of some five paces the mine exploded and -all three of them were wounded very severely. We had too little -experience in the management of mine throwers. They had been forgotten, -had long ago been thrown on the junk heap, giving way to more modern -technical appliances of war. Thus, when they suddenly cropped up again -during the war of position, we had to learn their management from the -beginning. The officers, who understood those implements still less than -we ourselves did, could not give us any hints, so it was no wonder that -accidents like the foregoing happened frequently. - -Those mine throwers cannot be employed for long distances; at 600 yards -they reach the utmost limit of their effectiveness. - -Besides handling the mine throwers we had to furnish secret patrols -every night. The chief purpose of those excursions was the destruction -of the enemy's defenses or to harry the enemy's sentries so as to -deprive them of sleep. - -We carried hand grenades for attack and defense. When starting on such -an excursion we were always instructed to find out especially the number -of the army section that an opponent we might kill belonged to. The -French generally have their regimental number on the collars of their -coat or on their cap. So whenever we "spiflicated" one and succeeded in -getting near him we would cut that number out of his coat with a knife -or take away his coat or cap. In that way the German army command -identified the opposing army corps. They thus got to know exactly the -force our opponent was employing and whether his best troops were in -front of us. All of us greatly feared those night patrols, for the -hundreds of men killed months ago were still lying between the lines. -Those corpses were decomposed to a pulp. So when a man went on nocturnal -patrol duty and when he had to crawl in the utter darkness on hands and -knees over all those bodies he would now and then land in the decomposed -faces of the dead. If then a man happened to have a tiny wound in his -hands his life was greatly endangered by the septic virus. As a matter -of fact three sappers and two infantrymen of the landwehr regiment No. -17 died in consequence of poisoning by septic virus. Later on that kind -of patroling was given up or only resorted to in urgent cases, and only -such men were employed who were free of wounds. That led to nearly all -of us inflicting skin wounds to ourselves to escape patrol duty. - -Our camping place, Cerney-en-Dormois, was still being bombarded -violently by the enemy every day. The firing became so heavy at last -that we could no longer sleep during the day. The large shells -penetrated the houses and reached the cellars. The civilian prisoners -were sent away after some had been killed by shells. We ourselves, -however, remained in the place very much against our inclination in -spite of the continuous bombardment. Part of our company lived in a -large farmhouse, where recently arrived reserves were also lodged. One -day, at noon, the village was suddenly overwhelmed by a hail of shells -of a large size. Five of them struck the farmhouse mentioned, almost at -the same time. All the men were resting in the spacious rooms. The whole -building was demolished, and our loss consisted of 17 dead and 28 -wounded men. The field kitchen in the yard was also completely -destroyed. Without waiting for orders we all cleared out of the village -and collected again outside. But the captain ordered us to return to -the place because, so he said, he had not yet received orders from the -divisional commander to evacuate the village. Thereupon we went back to -our old quarters and embarked again on a miserable existence. After -living in the trenches during the night, in continual danger of life, we -arrived in the morning, after those hours of trial, with shattered -nerves, at our lodgings. We could not hope to get any rest and sleep, -for the shells kept falling everywhere in the village. In time, however, -one becomes accustomed to everything. When a shell came shrieking along -we knew exactly whereabout it would strike. By the sound it made we knew -whether it was of large or small size and whether the shell, having come -down, would burst or not. Similarly the soldiers formed a reliable -judgment in regard to the nationality of an aeroplane. When an aeroplane -was seen at a great distance near the horizon the soldiers could mostly -say exactly whether it was a German or a French flying machine. It is -hard to say by what we recognized the machines. One seems to feel -whether it is a friend or a foe that is coming. Of course, a soldier -also remembers the characteristic noise of the motor and the -construction of the aeroplane. - -When a French flier passed over our camp the streets would quickly empty -themselves. The reason was not that we were afraid of the flying man; we -disappeared because we knew that a bombardment would follow after he had -landed and reported. We left the streets so as to convey the impression -that the place was denuded of troops. But the trick was not of much use. -Every day houses were set alight, and the church, which had been -furnished as a hospital, was also struck several times. - -Up to that time it had been comparatively quiet at the front. We had -protected our position with wide wire entanglements. Quite a maze of -trenches, a thing that defies description, had been constructed. One -must have seen it in order to comprehend what immense masses of soil had -been dug up. - -Our principal position consisted of from 6 to 8 trenches, one behind the -other and each provided with strong parapets and barbed wire -entanglements; each trench had been separately fortified. The distance -between the various trenches was sometimes 20 yards, sometimes a hundred -and more, all according to the requirements of the terrain. All those -positions were joined by lines of approach. Those connecting roads are -not wide, are only used by the relieving troops and for transporting -purposes, and are constructed in a way that prevents the enemy from -enfilading them; they run in a zigzag course. To the rear of the -communication trenches are the shelters of the resting troops -(reserves). Two companies of infantry, for instance, will have to defend -in the first trench a section of the front measuring some two hundred -yards. One company is always on duty, whilst the other is resting in the -rear. However, the company at rest must ever be ready for the firing -line and is likely to be alarmed at any minute for service at a moment's -notice should the enemy attack. The company is in telephonic -communication with the one doing trench duty. Wherever the country (as -on swampy ground) does not permit the construction of several trenches -and the housing of the reserves the latter are stationed far in the -rear, often in the nearest village. In such places, relieving -operations, though carried out only at night are very difficult and -almost always accompanied by casualties. Relief is not brought up at -fixed hours, for the enemy must be deceived. But the enemy will be -informed of local conditions by his fliers, patrols or the statements of -prisoners, and will keep the country under a continual heavy curtain -fire, so that the relieving troops coming up across the open field -almost always suffer losses. Food and ammunition are also forwarded at -night. The following incident will illustrate the difficulty even one -man by himself experiences in approaching such positions. - -Myself, a sergeant, and three others had been ordered on secret patrol -duty one night. Towards ten o'clock we came upon the line of the curtain -fire. We were lying flat on the ground, waiting for a favorable -opportunity to cross. However, one shell after the other exploded in -front of us, and it would have been madness to attempt to pass at that -point. Next to me lay a sapper of my own annual military class; nothing -could be seen of the sergeant and the two other privates. On a slight -elevation in front of us we saw in the moonlight the shadowy forms of -some persons who were lying flat on the ground like ourselves. We -thought it impossible to pass here. My mate, pointing to the shapes -before us said, "There's Sergeant Mertens and the others; I think I'll -go up to them and tell him that we had better wait a while until it gets -more quiet." "Yes; do so," I replied. He crawled to the place on his -hands and knees, and I observed him lying near the others. He returned -immediately. The shapes turned out to be four dead Frenchmen of the -colonial army, who had been there for weeks. He had only seen who they -were when he received no answer to his report. The dead thus lay -scattered over the whole country. Nothing could be seen of the sergeant -and the other men. So we seized a favorable opportunity to slip -through, surrounded by exploding shells. We could find out nothing about -our companions. Our search in the trench was likewise unsuccessful; -nobody could give us the slightest information though sappers were well -known among the infantry, because we had to work at all the points of -the front. An hour later the relieving infantry arrived. They had lost -five men in breaking through the barrier fire. Our sergeant was among -the wounded they brought in. Not a trace was ever found of the two other -soldiers. Nobody knew what had become of them. - -Under such and similar conditions we spent every night outside. We also -suffered losses in our camp almost every day. Though reserves from our -garrison town had arrived twice already our company had a fighting -strength of only 75 men. But at last we cleared out of the village, and -were stationed at the village of Boucoville, about a mile and a half to -the northeast of Cerney-en-Dormois. Cerney-en-Dormois was gradually -shelled to pieces, and when at night we had to go to the trench we -described a wide circle around that formerly flourishing village. - -At Boucoville we received the first letters from home by the field post. -They had been on their journey for a long, long time, and arrived -irregularly and in sheaves. But many were returned, marked, "Addressee -killed," "Addressee missing," "Wounded." However, many had to be marked, -"Addressee no longer with the army detachment." They could not quite -make out the disappearance of many "addressees," but many of us had just -suspicions about them, and we wished good luck to those "missing men" in -crossing some neutral frontier. - -The letters we received were dated the first days of August, had -wandered everywhere, bore the stamps of various field post-offices and, -in contrast with the ones we received later on, were still full of -enthusiasm. Mothers were not yet begging their sons not to risk their -lives in order to gain the iron cross; that imploring prayer should -arrive later on again and again. It was also at that place that we -received the first of those small field post-parcels containing cigars -and chocolate. - -After staying some ten weeks in that part of the country we were -directed to another part of the front. Nobody knew, however, whither we -were going to be sent. It was all the same to us. The chance of getting -out of the firing line for a few days had such a charm for us that our -destination did not concern us in the least. It gave us a wonderful -feeling of relief, when we left the firing zone on our march to the -railroad station at Challerange. For the first time in a long period we -found ourselves in a state of existence where our lives were not -immediately endangered; even the most far-reaching guns could no longer -harm us. A man must have lived through such moments in order to -appreciate justly the importance of such a feeling. However much one has -got accustomed to being in constant danger of one's life, that danger -never ceases to oppress one, to weigh one down. - -At the station we got into a train made up of second and third-class -coaches. The train moved slowly through the beautiful autumnal -landscape, and for the first time we got an insight into the life behind -the front. All the depots, the railroad crossings and bridges were held -by the military. There all the men of the landsturm were apparently -leading quite an easy life, and had made themselves comfortable in the -depots and shanties of the road-men. They all looked well nourished and -were well clad. Whenever the train stopped those older men treated us -liberally to coffee, bread, and fruit. They could see by our looks that -we had not had the same good time that they were having. They asked us -whence we came. Behind the front things were very lively everywhere. At -all the larger places we could see long railway trains laden with -agricultural machinery of every description. The crew of our train were -men of the Prusso-Hessian state railroads. They had come through those -parts many times before, and told us that the agricultural machines were -being removed from the whole of the occupied territory and sent to East -Prussia in order to replace what the Russians had destroyed there. The -same was being done with all industrial machinery that could be spared. -Again and again one could observe the finest machines on their way to -Germany. - -Towards midnight we passed Sédan. There we were fed by the Red Cross. -The Red Cross had erected feeding stations for passing troops in long -wooden sheds. Early next morning we found ourselves at Montmédy. There -we had to leave the train, and were allowed to visit the town for a few -hours. - - - - -XVII - -FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH THE ENEMY - - -There was no lack of food at Montmédy. The canteens were provided with -everything; prices were high, however. Montmédy is a third-class French -fortress and is situated like Ehrenbreitstein on a height which is very -steep on one side; the town is situated at the foot of the hill. The -fortress was taken by the Germans without a struggle. The garrison who -had prepared for defense before the fortress, had their retreat cut off. -A railroad tunnel passes through the hill under the fortress, but that -had been blown up by the French. The Germans laid the rails round the -hill through the town so as to establish railroad communications with -their front. It looked almost comical to watch the transport trains come -rolling on through the main street and across the market place. -Everywhere along the Meuse the destroyed bridges had been replaced by -wooden ones. Montmédy was the chief base of the Fifth Army (that of the -Crown Prince), and contained immense stores of war material. Besides -that it harbored the field post-office, the headquarters for army -provisions, a railroad management, and a great number of hospitals. The -largest of them used to be called the "theater hospital," on account of -its being installed in the municipal theater and the adjoining houses, -and always contained from 500 to 600 wounded. - -Things were very lively at Montmédy. One chiefly observed convalescent -soldiers walking through the streets and a remarkable number of -officers, all of whom had been attached to the various departments. They -loitered about in their faultless uniforms, or rode along whip in hand. -Moreover, they had not yet the slightest idea of what war was like, and -when we met them they expected us to salute them in the prescribed -manner. Many of them accosted us and asked us rudely why we did not -salute. After a few hours we got sick of life twenty miles behind the -Verdun front. - -At Montmédy we were about twenty miles behind Verdun and some sixty -miles away from our former position. When towards one o'clock P. M. we -began to move on we guessed that we were to be dragged to the country -round Verdun. After a march of nine miles we reached the village of -Fametz. There we were lodged in various barns. Nearly all of the -inhabitants had stayed on; they seemed to be on quite friendly terms -with the soldiers. Time had brought them closer to each other, and we, -too, got an entirely different idea of our "hereditary enemy" on closer -acquaintance. When walking through the place we were offered all kinds -of things by the inhabitants, were treated to coffee, meat, and milk, -exactly as is done by German patriots during maneuvers and we were even -treated better than at home. To reward them for these marks of attention -we murdered the sons of those people who desired nothing better than -living in peace. - -Early next morning we moved on, and when we arrived at Damvillers in the -evening we heard that we were some three miles behind the firing line. -That very night we marched to the small village of Warville. That was -our destination, and there we took up our quarters in a house that had -been abandoned by its inhabitants. We were attached to the ninth -reserve division, and the following day already we had to take up our -positions. Fifteen of us were attached to a company of infantry. No -rifle firing was to be heard along the line, only the artillery of the -two sides maintained a weak fire. We were not accustomed to such -quietness in the trenches, but the men who had been here for a long time -told us that sometimes not a shot was fired for days and that there was -not the slightest activity on either side. It seemed to us that we were -going to have a nice quiet time. - -The trench in that section crossed the main road leading from Damvillers -to Verdun (a distance of some fifteen miles). The enemy's position was -about 800 yards in front of us. German and French troops were always -patroling the road from six o'clock at night till the morning. At night -time those troops were always standing together. Germans and Frenchmen -met, and the German soldiers had a liking for that duty. Neither side -thought for a moment to shoot at the other one; everybody had just to be -at his post. In time both sides had cast away suspicions; every night -the "hereditary enemies" shook hands with each other; and on the -following morning the relieved sentries related to us with pleasure how -liberally the Frenchmen had shared everything with them. They always -exchanged newspapers with them, and so it came about that we got French -papers every day, the contents of which were translated to us by a -soldier who spoke the French language. - -By day we were able to leave the trench, and we would be relieved across -the open field without running any danger. The French had no ideas of -shooting at us; neither did we think of shooting at the French. When we -were relieved we saluted our enemies by waving our helmets, and -immediately the others replied by waving their caps. When we wanted -water we had to go to a farm situated between the lines. The French too, -fetched their water from there. It would have been easy for each side to -prevent the other from using that well, but we used to go up to it quite -unconcerned, watched by the French. The latter used to wait till we -trotted off again with our cooking pots filled, and then they would come -up and provide themselves with water. At night it often happened that we -and the Frenchmen arrived at the well at the same time. In such a case -one of the parties would wait politely until the other had done. Thus it -happened that three of us were at the well without any arms when a score -of Frenchmen arrived with cooking pots. Though the Frenchmen were seven -times as numerous as ourselves the thought never struck them that they -might fall upon us. The twenty men just waited quietly till we had done; -we then saluted them and went off. - -One night a French sergeant came to our trench. He spoke German very -well, said he was a deserter, and begged us to regard him as our -prisoner. But the infantrymen became angry and told him to get back to -the French as quickly as possible. Meanwhile a second Frenchman had come -up and asked excitedly whether a man of theirs had not deserted to us a -short while ago. Then our section leader, a young lieutenant, arrived -upon the scene, and the Frenchman who had come last begged him to send -the deserter back. "For," so he remarked, "if our officers get to know -that one of our men has voluntarily given himself up we shall have to -say good-by to the good time we are having, and the shooting will begin -again." - -We, too, appreciated the argument that such incidents would only make -our position worse. The lieutenant vanished; he did not want to have a -finger in that pie; very likely he also desired that things remain as -they were. We quickly surrendered the deserter; each one of the two -Frenchmen was presented with a cigarette, and then they scurried away -full steam ahead. - -We felt quite happy under those circumstances and did not wish for -anything better. On our daily return journeys we observed that an -immense force of artillery was being gathered and were placed in -position further back. New guns arrived every day, but were not fired. -The same lively activity could be observed in regard to the -transportation of ammunition and material. At that time we did not yet -suspect that these were the first preparations for a strong offensive. - -After staying in that part of the country some four weeks we were again -ordered to some other part of the front. As usual we had no idea of our -new destination. Various rumors were in circulation. Some thought it -would be Flanders, others thought it would be Russia; but none guessed -right. - -We marched off and reached Dun-sur-Meuse in the afternoon. We had -scarcely got to the town when the German Crown Prince, accompanied by -some officers and a great number of hounds, rode past us. "Good day, -sappers!" he called to us, looking at us closely. He spoke to our -captain, and an officer of his staff took us to an establishment of the -Red Cross where we received good food and wine. The headquarters of the -Hohenzollern scion was here at Dun-sur-Meuse. The ladies of the Red -Cross treated us very well. We asked them whether all the troops passing -through the place were cared for as well as that. "O yes," a young lady -replied; "only few pass through here, but the Crown Prince has a special -liking for sappers." - -We lodged there for the night, and the soldiers told us that -Dun-sur-Meuse was the headquarters of the Fifth Army, that life was -often very jolly there, and every day there was an open air concert. We -heard that the officers often received ladies from Germany, but, of -course, the ladies only came to distribute gifts among the soldiers. - -Richly provided with food we continued our march the next morning, and -kept along the side of the Meuse. In the evening we were lodged at -Stenay. - - - - -XVIII - -FIGHTING IN THE ARGONNES - - -Finally, after two days, we landed at Apremont-en-Argonne. For the time -being we were quartered in a large farm to the northeast of Apremont. We -found ourselves quite close to the Argonnes. All the soldiers whom we -met and who had been there for some time told us of uninterrupted daily -fighting in those woods. - -Our first task was to construct underground shelters that should serve -as living rooms. We commenced work at about a mile and three quarters -behind the front, but had to move on after some shells had destroyed our -work again. We then constructed, about a mile and a quarter behind the -front, a camp consisting of thirty-five underground shelters. - -A hole is dug, some five yards square and two yards deep. Short tree -trunks are laid across it, and about two yards of earth piled upon them. -We had no straw, so we had to sleep on the bare ground for a while. -Rifle bullets coming from the direction of the front kept flying above -our heads and struck the trees. We were attached to the various -companies of infantry; I myself was with the tenth company of the -infantry regiment No. 67. - -The soil had been completely ploughed up by continued use, and the paths -and roads had been covered with sticks and tree trunks so that they -could be used by men and wagons. After an arduous march we reached the -foremost position. It was no easy task to find one's way in that maze of -trenches. The water was more than a foot deep in those trenches. At last -we arrived at the most advanced position and reported to the captain of -the tenth company of the 67th regiment of infantry. Of course, the -conditions obtaining there were quite unknown to us, but the men of the -infantry soon explained things to us as far as they could. After two or -three days we were already quite familiar with our surroundings, and our -many-sided duty began. - -The French lay only some ten yards away from us. The second day we were -engaged in a fight with hand grenades. In that fight Sapper Beschtel -from Saarbrucken was killed. He was our first casualty in the Argonnes, -but many were to follow him in the time that followed. In the rear -trenches we had established an engineering depot. There 25 men made -nothing but hand grenades. Thus we soon had made ourselves at home, and -were ready for all emergencies. - -At the camp we were divided in various sections. That division in -various sections gave us an idea of the endless ways and means employed -in our new position. There were mining, sapping, hand grenade sections, -sections for mine throwing and illuminating pistols. Others again -constructed wire entanglements, chevaux-de-frise, or projectiles for the -primitive mine throwers. At one time one worked in one section then -again in another. The forest country was very difficult. The thick, -tangled underwood formed by itself an almost insuperable obstacle. All -the trees were shot down up to the firing level. Cut off clean by the -machine-guns they lay in all directions on the ground, forming a natural -barricade. - -The infantrymen had told us about the difficulties under which fighting -was carried on uninterruptedly. Not a day passed without casualties. -Firing went on without a pause. The men had never experienced an -interval in the firing. We soon were to get an idea of that mass murder, -that systematic slaughter. The largest part of our company was turned -into a mine laying section, and we began to mine our most advanced -trench. For a distance of some 500 yards, a yard apart, we dug in boxes -of dynamite, each weighing 50 pounds. Each of those mines was provided -with a fuse and all were connected so that all the mines could be -exploded at the same instant. The mines were then covered with soil -again and the connecting wires taken some hundred yards to the rear. - -At that time the French were making attacks every few days. We were told -to abandon the foremost trench should an attack be made. The mines had -been laid two days when the expected attack occurred, and without -offering any great resistance we retreated to the second trench. The -French occupied the captured trench without knowing that several -thousands of pounds of explosives lay buried under their feet. So as to -cause our opponents to bring as many troops as possible into the -occupied trench we pretended to make counter attacks. As a matter of -fact the French trench was soon closely manned by French soldiers who -tried to retain it. - -But that very moment our mines were exploded. There was a mighty bang, -and several hundreds of Frenchmen were literally torn to pieces and -blown up into the air. It all happened in a moment. Parts of human -bodies spread over a large stretch of ground, and the arms, legs, and -rags of uniforms hanging in the trees, were the only signs of a well -planned mass murder. In view of that catastrophe all we had experienced -before seemed to us to be child's play. That "heroic deed" was -celebrated by a lusty hurrah. - -For some days one had gained a little advantage, only to lose it again -soon. In order to make advances the most diverse methods were used, as -was said before. The mining section would cut a subterranean passage up -to the enemy's position. The passage would branch out to the right and -left a yard or so before the position of our opponent, and run parallel -with it. The work takes of course weeks to accomplish, for the whole of -the loosened soil must be taken to the rear on small mining wagons. -Naturally, the soil taken out must not be heaped in one place, for if -that were done the enemy would get wind of our intentions and would -spoil everything by countermining. As soon as work is advanced far -enough the whole passage running parallel with the enemy's trench is -provided with explosives and dammed up. When the mine is exploded the -whole of the enemy's trench is covered by the soil that is thrown up, -burying many soldiers alive. Usually such an explosion is followed by an -assault. The sapping section, on the other hand, have to dig open -trenches running towards the enemy's position. These are connected by -transversal trenches, the purpose being to get one's own position always -closer to the enemy's. As soon as one's position has approached near -enough to make it possible to throw hand grenades into the enemy's -position the hand grenade sections have to take up their places and -bombard the enemy's trenches continually with hand grenades, day and -night. - -Some few hundred yards to the rear are the heavy modern mine throwers -firing a projectile weighing 140 pounds. Those projectiles, which look -like sugar loaves, fly cumbrously over to the enemy where they do great -damage. The trade of war must not stop at night; so the darkness is made -bright by means of illuminating rockets. The illuminating cartridge is -fired from a pistol, and for a second all is bright as day. As all that -kind of work was done by sappers the French hated the sappers -especially, and French prisoners often told us that German prisoners -with white buttons and black ribbons on their caps (sappers) would be -treated without any mercy. Warned by the statements of those prisoners -nearly all provided themselves with infantry uniforms. We knew that we -had gradually become some specialty in the trenches. - -If the infantry were molested somewhere by the enemy's hand grenades -they used to come running up to us and begged us to go and meet the -attack. Each of us received a cigar to light the hand grenades, and then -we were off. Ten or twenty of us rained hand grenades on the enemy's -trench for hours until one's arm got too stiff with throwing. - -Thus the slaughter continued, day after day, night after night. We had -48 hours in the trenches and 12 hours' sleep. It was found impossible to -divide the time differently, for we were too few. The whole of the -forest had been shot and torn to tatters. The artillery was everywhere -and kept the villages behind the enemy's position under fire. Once one -of the many batteries which we always passed on our way from camp to the -front was just firing when we came by. I interrogated one of the -sighting gunners what their target might be. "Some village or other," -the gunner replied. The representative of the leader of the battery, a -lieutenant-colonel, was present. One of my mates inquired whether women -and children might not be in the villages. "That's neither here nor -there," said the lieutenant-colonel, "the women and children are French, -too, so what's the harm done? Even their litter must be annihilated so -as to knock out of that nation for a hundred years any idea of war." - -If that "gentleman" thought to win applause he was mistaken. We went our -way, leaving him to his "enjoyment." - -On that day an assault on the enemy's position had been ordered, and we -had to be in our places at seven o'clock in the morning. The 67th -regiment was to attack punctually at half past eight, the sappers taking -the lead. The latter had been provided with hand grenades for that -purpose. We were only some twenty yards away from the enemy. Those -attacks, which were repeated every week, were prepared by artillery fire -half an hour before the assault began. The artillery had to calculate -their fire very carefully, because the distance between the trench and -that of the enemy was very small. That distance varied from three to a -hundred yards, it was nowhere more than that. At our place it was twenty -yards. Punctually at eight o'clock the artillery began to thunder forth. -The first three shots struck our own trench, but those following -squarely hit the mark, i.e., the French trench. The artillery had got -the exact range and then the volleys of whole batteries began to scream -above our heads. Every time the enemy's trench or the roads leading to -it were hit with wonderful accuracy. One could hear the wounded cry, a -sign that many a one had already been crippled. An artillery officer -made observations in the first trench and directed the fire by -telephone. - -The artillery became silent exactly at half past eight, and we passed -to the assault. But the 11th company of regiment No. 67, of which I -spoke before, found itself in a such a violent machine-gun fire that -eighteen men had been killed a few paces from our trench. The dead and -wounded had got entangled in the wild jumble of the trees and branches -encumbering the ground. Whoever could run tried to reach the enemy's -trench as quickly as possible. Some of the enemy defended themselves -desperately in their trench, which was filled with mud and water, and -violent hand to hand fighting ensued. We stood in the water up to our -knees, killing the rest of our opponents. Seriously wounded men were -lying flat in the mud with only their mouths and noses showing above the -water. But what did we care! They were stamped deeper in the mud, for we -could not see where we were stepping; and so we rolled up the whole -trench. Thereupon the conquered position was fortified as well as it -could be done in all haste. Again we had won a few yards of the Argonnes -at the price of many lives. That trench had changed its owners -innumerable times before, a matter of course in the Argonnes, and we -awaited the usual counter attack. - -Presently the "mules" began to get active. "Mules" are the guns of the -French mountain artillery. As those guns are drawn by mules, the soldier -in the Argonnes calls them "mules" for short. They are very light guns -with a flat trajectory, and are fired from a distance of only 50-100 -yards behind the French front. The shells of those guns whistled above -our heads. Cutting their way through the branches they fly along with -lightning rapidity to explode in or above some trench. In consequence of -the rapid flight and the short distance the noise of the firing and the -explosion almost unite in a single bang. Those "mules" are much feared -by the German soldiers, because those guns are active day and night. -Thus day by day we lived through the same misery. - - - - -XIX - -CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES - - -Winter had arrived and it was icy cold. The trenches, all of which had -underground water, had been turned into mere mud holes. The cold at -night was intense, and we had to do 48 hours' work with 12 hours' sleep. -Every week we had to make an attack the result of which was in no -proportion to the immense losses. During the entire four months that I -was in the Argonnes we had a gain of terrain some 400 yards deep. The -following fact will show the high price that was paid in human life for -that little piece of France. All the regiments (some of these were the -infantry regiments Nos. 145, 67, 173, and the Hirschberg sharpshooting -battalion No. 5) had their own cemetery. When we were relieved in the -Argonnes there were more dead in our cemetery than our regiment counted -men. The 67th regiment had buried more than 2000 men in its cemetery, -all of whom, with the exception of a few sappers, had belonged to -regiment No. 67. Not a day passed without the loss of human lives, and -on a "storming day" death had an extraordinarily rich harvest. Each day -had its victims, sometimes more, sometimes fewer. It must appear quite -natural that under such conditions the soldiers were not in the best of -moods. The men were all completely stupefied. Just as they formerly went -to work regularly to feed the wife and children they now went to the -trenches in just the same regular way. That business of slaughtering and -working had become an every day affair. When they conversed it was -always the army leaders, the Crown Prince and Lieutenant-General von -Mudra, the general in command of the 16th Army Corps, that were most -criticized. - -The troops in the Argonnes belonged to the 16th Army Corps, to the 33rd -and 34th division of infantry. Neither of the two leaders, neither the -Crown Prince nor von Mudra, have I ever seen in the trenches. The staff -of the Crown Prince had among its members the old General-Fieldmarshal -Count von Haeseler, the former commander of the 16th Army Corps, a man -who in times of peace was already known as a relentless slave driver. -The "triplets," as we called the trio, the Crown Prince, von Mudra, and -Count von Haeseler, were more hated by most of the soldiers than the -Frenchman who was out with his gun to take our miserable life. - -Many miles behind the front the scion of the Hohenzollerns found no -difficulty to spout his "knock them hard!" and, at the price of -thousands of human lives, to make himself popular with the patriots at -home who were sitting there behind the snug stove or at the beer table -complaining that we did not advance fast enough. Von Mudra got the order -"Pour le merite"; they did not think of his soldiers who had not seen a -bed, nor taken off their trousers or boots for months; these were -provided with food--and shells, and were almost being eaten up by -vermin. - -That we were covered with body lice was not to be wondered at, for we -had scarcely enough water for drinking purposes, and could not think of -having a wash. We had worn our clothes for months without changing -them; the hair on our heads and our beards had grown to great length. -When we had some hours in which to rest, the lice would not let us -sleep. - -The air in the shelters was downright pestiferous, and to that foul -stench of perspiration and putrefaction was added the plague of lice. At -times one was sitting up for hours and could not sleep, though one was -dead tired. One could catch lice, and the more one caught the worse they -got. We were urgently in want of sleep, but it was impossible to close -the eyes on account of the vermin. We led a loathsome, pitiful life, and -at times we said to one another that nobody at home even suspected the -condition we were in. We often told one another that if later on we -should relate to our families the facts as they really were they would -not believe them. Many soldiers tried to put our daily experience in -verse. - -There were many of such jingles illustrating our barbarous handicraft. - -It was in the month of December and the weather was extremely cold. At -times we often stood in the trenches with the mud running into our -trousers' pockets. In those icy cold nights we used to sit in the -trenches almost frozen to a lump of ice, and when utter exhaustion -sometimes vanquished us and put us to sleep we found our boots frozen to -the ground on waking up. Quite a number of soldiers suffered from -frost-bitten limbs; it was mostly their toes that were frost-bitten. -They had to be taken to the hospital. The soldiers on duty fired -incessantly so as to keep their fingers warm. - -Not all the soldiers are as a rule kept ready to give battle. If no -attack is expected or intended, only sentries occupy the trench. About -three yards apart a man is posted behind his protective shield of -steel. Nevertheless all the men are in the trench. The sentries keep -their section under a continual fire, especially when it is cold and -dark. The fingers get warm when one pulls the trigger. Of course, one -cannot aim in the darkness, and the shots are fired at random. The -sentry sweeps his section so that no hostile patrol can approach, for he -is never safe in that thicket. Thus it happens that the firing is -generally more violent at night than at day; but there is never an -interval. The rifles are fired continually; the bullets keep whistling -above our trench and patter against the branches. The mines, too, come -flying over at night, dropping at a high angle. Everybody knows the -scarcely audible thud, and knows at once that it is a mine without -seeing anything. He warns the others by calling out, "Mine coming!" and -everybody looks in the darkness for the "glow-worm," i.e., the burning -fuse of the mine. The glowing fuse betrays the direction of the mine, -and there are always a few short seconds left to get round some corner. -The same is the case with the hand grenades. They, too, betray the line -of their flight at night by their burning fuse. If they do not happen to -arrive in too great numbers one mostly succeeds in getting out of their -way. In daylight that is not so hard because one can overlook -everything. It often happens that one cannot save oneself in time from -the approaching hand grenade. In that case there is only one -alternative--either to remain alive or be torn to atoms. Should a hand -grenade suddenly fall before one's feet one picks it up without -hesitation as swiftly as possible and throws it away, if possible back -into the enemy's trench. Often, however, the fuse is of such a length -that the grenade does not even explode after reaching the enemy's -trench again, and the Frenchman throws it back again with fabulous -celerity. In order to avoid the danger of having a grenade returned the -fuse is made as short as possible, and yet a grenade will come back now -and again in spite of all. To return a grenade is of course dangerous -work, but a man has no great choice; if he leaves the grenade where it -drops he is lost, as he cannot run away; and he knows he will be crushed -to atoms, and thus his only chance is to pick up the grenade and throw -it away even at the risk of having the bomb explode in his hand. I know -of hand grenades thrown by the French that flew hither and thither -several times. One was thrown by the French and immediately returned; it -came back again in an instant, and again we threw it over to them; it -did not reach the enemy's trench that time, but exploded in the air. - -Though in general the infantry bullets cannot do much damage while one -is in the trench it happens daily that men are killed by ricochet -bullets. The thousands of bullets that cut through the air every minute -all pass above our heads. But some strike a tree or branch and glance -off. If in that case they hit a man in the trench they cause terrible -injuries, because they do not strike with their heads but lengthwise. -Whenever we heard of dum-dum bullets we thought of those ricochet -bullets, though we did not doubt that there were dum-dum bullets in -existence. I doubt, however, if dum-dum bullets are manufactured in -factories, for the following reasons:--first, because a dum-dum bullet -can easily damage the barrel of a rifle and make it useless; secondly, -because the average soldier would refuse to carry such ammunition, for -if a man is captured and such bullets are found on him, the enemy in -whose power he is would punish him by the laws of war as pitilessly as -such an inhuman practice deserves to be punished. Generally, of course, -a soldier only executes his orders. - -However, there exist dum-dum bullets, as I mentioned before. They are -manufactured by the soldiers themselves. If the point is filed or cut -off a German infantry bullet, so that the nickel case is cut through and -the lead core is laid bare, the bullet explodes when striking or -penetrating an object. Should a man be hit in the upper arm by such a -projectile the latter, by its explosive force, can mangle the arm to -such an extent that it only hangs by a piece of skin. - -Christmas came along, and we still found ourselves at the same place -without any hope of a change. We received all kinds of gifts from our -relations at home and other people. We were at last able to change our -underwear which we had worn for months. - -Christmas in the trenches! It was bitterly cold. We had procured a pine -tree, for there were no fir trees to be had. We had decorated the tree -with candles and cookies, and had imitated the snow with wadding. - -Christmas trees were burning everywhere in the trenches, and at midnight -all the trees were lifted on to the parapet with their burning candles, -and along the whole line German soldiers began to sing Christmas songs -in chorus. "O, thou blissful, O, thou joyous, mercy bringing Christmas -time!" Hundreds of men were singing the song in that fearful wood. Not a -shot was fired; the French had ceased firing along the whole line. That -night I was with a company that was only five paces away from the enemy. -The Christmas candles were burning brightly, and were renewed again and -again. For the first time we heard no shots. From everywhere, -throughout the forest, one could hear powerful carols come floating -over--"Peace on earth--" - -The French left their trenches and stood on the parapet without any -fear. There they stood, quite overpowered by emotion, and all of them -with cap in hand. We, too, had issued from our trenches. We exchanged -gifts with the French--chocolate, cigarettes, etc. They were all -laughing, and so were we; why, we did not know. Then everybody went back -to his trench, and incessantly the carol resounded, ever more solemnly, -ever more longingly--"O, thou blissful--" - -All around silence reigned; even the murdered trees seemed to listen; -the charm continued, and one scarcely dared to speak. Why could it not -always be as peaceful? We thought and thought, we were as dreamers, and -had forgotten everything about us.--Suddenly a shot rang out; then -another one was fired somewhere. The spell was broken. All rushed to -their rifles. A rolling fire. Our Christmas was over. - -We took up again our old existence. A young infantryman stood next to -me. He tried to get out of the trench. I told him: "Stay here; the -French will shoot you to pieces." "I left a box of cigars up there, and -must have it back." Another one told him to wait till things quieted -down somewhat. "They won't hit me; I have been here three months, and -they never caught me yet." "As you wish; go ahead!" - -Scarcely had he put his head above the parapet when he tumbled back. -Part of his brains was sticking to my belt. His cap flew high up into -the air. His skull was shattered. He was dead on the spot. His trials -were over. The cigars were later on fetched by another man. - -On the following Christmas day an army order was read out. We were -forbidden to wear or have in our possession things of French origin; -for, every soldier who was found in possession of such things would be -put before a court-martial as a marauder by the French if they captured -him. We were forbidden to use objects captured from the French, and we -were especially forbidden to make use of woolen blankets, because the -French were infected with scabies. Scabies is an itching skin disease, -which it takes at least a week to cure. But the order had a contrary -effect. If one was the owner of such an "itch-blanket" one had a chance -of getting into the hospital for some days. The illness was not of a -serious nature, and one was at least safe from bullets for a few days. -Every day soldiers were sent to the hospital, and we, too, were watching -for a chance to grab such a French blanket. What did a man care, if he -could only get out of that hell! - - - - -XX - -THE "ITCH"--A SAVIOR - - -On January 5th the Germans attacked along the whole forest front, and -took more than 1800 prisoners. We alone had captured 700 men of the -French infantry regiment No. 120. The hand to hand fighting lasted till -six o'clock at night. On that day I, together with another sapper, got -into a trench section that was still being defended by eight Frenchmen. -We could not back out, so we had to take up the unequal struggle. -Fortunately we were well provided with hand grenades. We cut the fuses -so short that they exploded at the earliest moment. I threw one in the -midst of the eight Frenchmen. They had scarcely escaped the first one, -when the second arrived into which they ran. We utilized their momentary -confusion by throwing five more in quick succession. We had reduced our -opponents to four. Then we opened a rifle fire, creeping closer and -closer up to them. Their bullets kept whistling above our heads. One of -the Frenchmen was shot in the mouth; three more were left. These turned -to flee. In such moments one is seized with an indescribable rage and -forgets all about the danger that surrounds one. We had come quite near -to them, when the last one stumbled and fell forward on his face. In a -trice I was on him; he fought desperately with his fists; my mate was -following the other two. I kept on wrestling with my opponent. He was -bleeding from his mouth; I had knocked out some of his teeth. Then he -surrendered and raised his hands. I let go and then had a good look at -him. He was some 35 years old, about ten years older than myself. I now -felt sorry for him. He pointed to his wedding ring, talking to me all -the while. I understood what he wanted--he wanted to be kept alive. He -handed me his bottle, inviting me to drink wine. He cried; maybe he -thought of his wife and children. I pressed his hand, and he showed me -his bleeding teeth. "You are a silly fellow," I told him; "you have been -lucky. The few missing teeth don't matter. For you the slaughtering is -finished; come along!" I was glad I had not killed him, and took him -along myself so as to protect him from being ill-treated. When I handed -him over he pressed my hand thankfully and laughed; he was happy to be -safe. However bad the time he might have as prisoner he would be better -off at any rate than in the trenches. At least he had a chance of -getting home again. - -In the evening we took some of the forbidden blankets, hundreds of which -we had captured that day. Ten of us were lying in a shelter, all -provided with blankets. Everybody wanted to get the "itch," however -strange that may sound. We undressed and rolled ourselves in those -blankets. Twenty-four hours later little red pimples showed themselves -all over the body, and twelve men reported sick. The blankets were used -in the whole company, but all of them had not the desired effect. The -doctor sent nine of us to the hospital at Montmédy, and that very -evening we left the camp in high glee. The railroad depot at Apremont -had been badly shelled; the next station was Chatel. Both places are a -little more than three miles behind the front. At Apremont the prisoners -were divided into sections. Some of the prisoners had their homes at -Apremont. Their families were still occupying their houses, and the -prisoners asked to be allowed to pay them a visit. I chanced to observe -one of those meetings at Apremont. Two men of the landstrum led one of -the prisoners to the house which he pointed out to them as his own. The -young wife of the prisoner was sitting in the kitchen with her three -children. We followed the men into the house. The woman became as white -as a sheet when she beheld her husband suddenly. They rushed to meet -each other and fell into each other's arms. We went out, for we felt -that we were not wanted. The wife had not been able to get the slightest -signs from her husband for the last five months, for the German forces -had been between her and him. He, on the other hand, had been in the -trench for months knowing that his wife and children must be there, on -the other side, very near, yet not to be reached. He did not know -whether they were alive or dead. He heard the French shells scream above -his head. Would they hit Apremont? He wondered whether it was his own -house that had been set alight by a shell and was reddening the sky at -night. He did not know. The uncertainty tortured him, and life became -hell. Now he was at home, though only for a few hours. He had to leave -again a prisoner; but now he could send a letter to his wife by the -field post. He had to take leave. She had nothing she could give him--no -underwear, no food, absolutely nothing. She had lost all and had to rely -on the charity of the soldiers. She handed him her last money, but he -returned it. We could not understand what they told each other. She took -the money back; it was German money, five and ten pfennig pieces and -some coppers--her whole belongings. We could no longer contain -ourselves and made a collection among ourselves. We got more than ten -marks together which we gave to the young woman. At first she refused to -take it and looked at her husband. Then she took it and wanted to kiss -our hands. We warded her off, and she ran to the nearest canteen and -bought things. Returning with cigars, tobacco, matches, and sausage, she -handed all over to her husband with a radiant face. She laughed, once -again perhaps in a long time, and sent us grateful looks. The children -clung round their father and kissed him again and again. She accompanied -her husband, who carried two of the kiddies, one on each arm, while his -wife carried the third child. Beaming with happiness the family marched -along between the two landsturm men who had their bayonets fixed. When -they had to take leave, all of them, parents and children began to weep. -She knew that her husband was no longer in constant danger, and she was -happy, for though she had lost much, she still had her most precious -possessions. - -Thousands of poor men and women have met such a fate near their homes. - -Regular trains left Chatel. We quitted the place at 11 o'clock at night, -heartily glad to leave the Argonnes behind us. We had to change trains -at Vouzières, and took the train to Diedenhofen. There we saw twelve -soldiers with fixed bayonets take along three Frenchmen. They were -elderly men in civilian dress. We had no idea what it signified, so we -entered into a conversation with one of our fellow travelers. He was a -merchant, a Frenchman living at Vouzières, and spoke German fluently. -The merchant was on a business trip to Sédan, and told us that the three -civilian prisoners were citizens of his town. He said: "We obtain our -means of life from the German military authorities, but mostly we do not -receive enough to live, and the people have nothing left of their own; -all the cattle and food have been commandeered. Those three men refused -to keep on working for the military authorities, because they could not -live on the things they were given. They were arrested and are now being -transported to Germany. Of course, we don't know what will happen to -them." - -The man also told us that all the young men had been taken away by the -Germans; all of them had been interned in Germany. - -At Sédan we had to wait for five hours; for hospital trains were -constantly arriving. It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon of the following -day when we reached Montmédy, where we went to the hospital. There all -our clothes were disinfected in the "unlousing establishment," and we -could take a proper bath. We were lodged in the large barracks. There -one met people from all parts of the front, and all of them had only -known the same misery; there was not one among them who did not curse -this war. All of them were glad to be in safety, and all of them tried -their best to be "sick" as long as possible. Each day we were twice -treated with ointment; otherwise we were at liberty to walk about the -place. - -One day we paid a visit to the fortress of Montmédy high up on a hill. -Several hundreds of prisoners were just being fed there. They were -standing about in the yard of the fortress and were eating their soup. -One of the prisoners came straight up to me. I had not noticed him -particularly, and recognized him only when he stood before me. He was -the man I had struggled with on January 5th, and we greeted each other -cordially. He had brought along a prisoner who spoke German well and who -interpreted for us all we had to say to each other. He had seen me -standing about and had recognized me at once. Again and again he told me -how glad he was to be a prisoner. Like myself he was a soldier because -he had to be, and not from choice. At that time we had fought with each -other in blind rage; for a moment we had been deadly enemies. I felt -happy at having stayed my fury at that time, and again I became aware of -the utter idiocy of that barbarous slaughter. We separated with a firm -handshake. - -A fortnight I remained at the hospital; then I had to return to the -front. We had been treated well at the hospital, so we started on our -return journey with mixed feelings. As soon as we arrived at Chatel, the -terminus, we heard the incessant gun fire. It was no use kicking, we had -to go into the forest again. When we reached our old camp, we found that -different troops were occupying it. Our company had left, nobody knew -for what destination. Wherever we asked, nobody could give us any -information. So we had to go back to the command of our corps, the -headquarters of which were at Corney at that time. We left Chatel again -by a hospital train, and reached Corney after half an hour's journey. -Corney harbored the General Staff of the 16th Army Corps, and we thought -they surely ought to know where our company was. General von Mudra and -his officers had taken up their quarters in a large villa. The house was -guarded by three double sentries. We showed our pay books and hospital -certificates, and an orderly led us to a spacious room. It was the -telephone room. There the wires from all the divisional fronts ran -together, and the apparatus were in constant use. A sergeant-major -looked into the lists and upon the maps. In two minutes he had found our -company. He showed us on the map where it was fighting and where its -camp was. "The camp is at the northern end of Verennes," he said, "and -the company belongs to the 34th division; formerly it was part of the -33rd. The position it is in is in the villages of Vauquois and -Boureuilles." Then he explained to us on the map the direction we were -to take, and we could trot off. We returned by rail to Chatel, and went -on foot from there to Apremont. We spent the night in the half destroyed -depot of Apremont. In order to get to Varennes we had to march to the -south. On our way we saw French prisoners mending the roads. Most of -them were black colonial troops in picturesque uniforms. On that road -Austrian motor batteries were posted. Three of those 30.5-cm. howitzers -were standing behind a rocky slope, but did not fire. When at noon we -reached the height of Varennes we saw the whole wide plan in front of -us. Varennes itself was immediately in front of us in the valley. A -little farther up on the heights was Vauquois. No houses were to be -seen; one could only notice a heap of rubbish through the field glasses. -Shells kept exploding in that rubbish heap continually, and we felt a -cold sweat run down our backs at the thought that the place up there was -our destination. We had scarcely passed the ridge when some shells -exploded behind us. At that place the French were shooting with -artillery at individuals. As long as Vauquois had been in their power -they had been able to survey the whole country, and we comprehended why -that heap of rubbish was so bitterly fought for. We ran down the slope -and found ourselves in Varennes. The southern portion of the village had -been shelled to pieces and gutted. Only most of the chimneys which were -built apart from the bottom upward, had remained standing, thin -blackened forms rising out of the ruins into the air. Everywhere we saw -groups of soldiers collecting the remaining more expensive metals which -were sent to Germany. Among other things church-bells melted into -shapeless lumps were also loaded on wagons and taken away. All the -copper, brass, tin, and lead that could be got was collected. - - - - -XXI - -IN THE HELL OF VAUQUOIS - - -We soon found our company, and our comrades told us what hell they had -gotten into. The next morning our turn came, too. We had to reach the -position before day-break, for as soon as it got light the French kept -all approaches under constant fire. There was no trace of trenches at -Vauquois. All that could be seen were pieces of stones. Not a stone had -literally remained on the other at Vauquois. That heap of ruins, once a -village, had changed hands no less than fifteen times. When we arrived -half of the place was in the possession of the Germans. But the French -dominated the highest point, whence they could survey the whole country -for many miles around. In the absence of a trench we sought cover behind -stones, for it was absolutely impossible to construct trenches; the -artillery was shooting everything to pieces. - -Thus the soldiers squatted behind piles of stones and fired as fast as -their rifles would allow. Guns of all sizes were bombarding the village -incessantly. There was an army of corpses, Frenchmen and Germans, all -lying about pell-mell. At first we thought that that terrible state of -things was only temporary, but after a few days we recognized that a -slaughter worse than madness was a continuous state of things at that -place. Day and night, ever the same. With Verdun as a base of operations -the French continually brought up fresh masses of troops. They had -carried along a field railroad the heavy pieces of the neighboring forts -of Verdun, and in the spring of 1915 an offensive of a local, but -murderous kind was begun. The artillery of both sides bombarded the -place to such an extent that not a foot of ground could be found that -was not torn up by shells. Thousands upon thousands of shells of all -sizes were employed. The bombardment from both sides lasted three days -and three nights, until at last not a soldier, neither French nor -German, was left in the village. Both sides had been obliged to retreat -before the infernal fire of the opponent, for not a man would have -escaped alive out of that inferno. The whole slope and height were -veiled in an impenetrable smoke. In the evening of the third day the -enemy's bombardment died down a little, and we were ordered to go -forward again into the shell torn ruins. It was not yet quite dark when -the French advanced in close order. - -We were in possession of almost the whole of the village, and had placed -one machine-gun next to the other. We could see the projectiles of the -artillery burst in great numbers among the reserves of the attackers. -Our machine-guns literally mowed down the first ranks. Five times the -French renewed their attack during that night, their artillery meanwhile -making great gaps in our ranks. We soldiers calculated that the two -sides had together some three or four thousand men killed in that one -night. Next morning the French eased their attacks, and their guns -treated us again to the accustomed drum fire. We stood it until 10 -o'clock in the morning; then we retreated again without awaiting orders, -leaving innumerable dead men behind. Again the French advanced in the -face of a violent German artillery fire, and effected a lodgment at the -northern edge of the village of Vauquois that used to be. A few piles of -stones was all that still belonged to us. We managed to put a few stones -before us as a protection. The guns of neither side could hurt us or -them, for they, the enemy, were but ten paces away. But the country -behind us was plowed by projectiles. In face of the machine gun fire it -was found impossible to bring up ammunition. - -The sappers undid the coils of rope worn round their bodies, and three -men or more crept back with them. One of them was killed; the others -arrived safely and attached the packets of cartridges to the rope. Thus -we brought up the ammunition by means of a rope running in a circle, -until we had enough or till the rope was shot through. At three o'clock -in the afternoon we attacked again, but found it impossible to rise from -the ground on account of the hail of bullets. Everybody was shouting, -"Sappers to the front with hand grenades!" Not a sapper stirred. We are -only human, after all. - -A sergeant-major of the infantry came creeping up. He looked as if -demented, his eyes were bloodshot. "You're a sapper?" "Yes," "Advance!" -"Alone?" "We're coming along!" We had to roar at each other in order to -make ourselves understood in the deafening, confounded row. Another -sapper lay beside me. When the sergeant-major saw that he could do -nothing with me he turned to the other fellow. That man motioned to him -to desist, but the sergeant-major got ever more insistent, until the -sapper showed him his dagger, and then our superior slung his hook. Some -twenty hand grenades were lying in front of us. Ten of them I had -attached to my belt for all emergencies. I said to myself that if all -of them exploded there would not be much left of me. I had a lighted -cigar in my mouth. I lit one bomb after the other and threw them over to -some Frenchmen who were working a machine-gun in front of me, behind a -heap of stones. All around me the bullets of the machine-guns were -splitting the stones. I had already thrown four grenades, but all of -them had overshot the mark. I took some stones and threw them to find -out how far I would have to throw in order to hit the fire spitting -machine in front. My aim got more accurate each time until I hit the -barrel of the gun. "If it had only been a hand grenade," I thought. An -infantryman close to me was shot through the shell of one ear, half of -which was cut in pieces; the blood was streaming down his neck. I had no -more material for bandaging except some wadding, which I attached to his -wound. In my pocket I had a roll of insulating ribbon, rubber used to -insulate wires; with that I bandaged him. He pointed to the machine-gun. -Thereupon I gave him my cigar, telling him to keep it well alight so as -to make the fuse which I desired to light by it burn well. In quick -succession I threw six hand grenades. I don't know how many of them took -effect, but the rags of uniforms flying about and a demolished -machine-gun said enough. When we advanced later on I observed three dead -men lying round the machine-gun. - -That was only one example of the usual, daily occurrences that happen -day and night, again and again and everywhere, and the immense number of -such actions of individual soldiers makes the enormous loss of human -life comprehensible. - -We were still lying there without proceeding to the attack. Again -ammunition was brought up by ropes from the rear. A hand grenade duel -ensued; hundreds of hand grenades were thrown by both sides. Things -could not go on long like that; we felt that something was bound to -happen. Without receiving an order and yet as if by command we all -jumped up and advanced with the dagger in our hands right through the -murderous fire, and engaged in the maddest hand to hand fighting. The -daggers, sharp as razors, were plunged into head after head, chest after -chest. One stood on corpses in order to make other men corpses. New -enemies came running up. One had scarcely finished with one when three -more appeared on the scene. - -We, too, got reinforcements. One continued to murder and expected to be -struck down oneself the next moment. One did not care a cent for one's -life, but fought like an animal. I stumbled and fell on the stones. At -that very moment I caught sight of a gigantic Frenchman before me who -was on the point of bringing his sapper's spade down on me. I moved -aside with lightning speed, and the blow fell upon the stone. In a -moment my dagger was in his stomach more than up to the hilt. He went -down with a horrible cry, rolling in his blood in maddening pain. I put -the bloody dagger back in my boot and took hold of the spade. All around -me I beheld new enemies. The spade I found to be a handy weapon. I hit -one opponent between head and shoulder. The sharp spade half went -through the body; I heard the cracking of the bones that were struck. -Another enemy was close to me. I dropped the spade and took hold of my -dagger again. All happened as in a flash. My opponent struck me in the -face, and the blood came pouring out of my mouth and nose. We began to -wrestle with each other. I had the dagger in my right hand. We had -taken hold of each other round the chest. He was no stronger than -myself, but he held me as firmly as I held him. We tried to fight each -other with our teeth. I had the dagger in my hand, but could not strike. -Who was it to be? He or I? One of us two was sure to go down. I got the -dagger in such a position that its point rested on his back. Then I -pressed his trembling body still more firmly to myself. He fastened his -teeth in my shaggy beard, and I felt a terrible pain. I pressed him -still more firmly so that his ribs almost began to crack and, summoning -all my strength, I pushed the dagger into the right side of his back, -just below the shoulderblade. In frightful pain he turned himself round -several times, fell on his face, and lay groaning on the ground. I -withdrew my dagger; he bled to death like many thousands. - -We had pushed back the French for some yards when we received strong -assistance. After a short fight the enemy turned and fled, and we -followed him as far as the southern edge of the village. There the -French made a counterattack with fresh bodies of men and threw us back -again for some 50 yards. Then the attack was halted, and we found -ourselves again where we had been at the beginning of that four days' -slaughter. Thousands of corpses were covering the ruins of Vauquois, all -sacrificed in vain. - - - - -XXII - -SENT ON FURLOUGH - - -For four days and nights, without food and sleep, we had been raging -like barbarians, and had spent all our strength. We were soon relieved. -To our astonishment we were relieved by cavalry. They were Saxon -chasseurs on horseback who were to do duty as infantrymen. It had been -found impossible to make good the enormous losses of the preceding days -by sending up men of the depot. So they had called upon the cavalry who, -by the way, were frequently employed during that time. The soldiers who -had been in a life and death struggle for four days were demoralized to -such an extent that they had no longer any fighting value. We were -relieved very quietly, and could then return to our camp. We did not -hear before the next day that during the period described our company -had suffered a total loss of 49 men. The fate of most of them was -unknown; one did not know whether they were dead or prisoners or whether -they lay wounded in some ambulance station. - -The village of Varennes was continually bombarded by French guns of -large size. Several French families were still living in a part of the -village that had not been so badly damaged. Every day several of the -enemy's 28-cm. shells came down in that quarter. Though many inhabitants -had been wounded by the shells the people could not be induced to leave -their houses. - -Our quarters were situated near a very steep slope and were thus -protected against artillery fire. They consisted of wooden shanties -built by ourselves. We had brought up furniture from everywhere and had -made ourselves at home; for Varennes was, after all, nearly two miles -behind the front. But all the shanties were not occupied, for the number -of our men diminished from day to day. At last the longed-for men from -the depot arrived. Many new sapper formations had to be got together for -all parts of the front, and it was therefore impossible to supply the -existing sapper detachments with their regular reserves. Joyfully we -greeted the new arrivals. They were, as was always the case, men of very -different ages; a young boyish volunteer of 17 years would march next to -an old man of the landsturm who had likewise volunteered. All of them, -without any exception, have bitterly repented of their "free choice" and -made no secret of it. "It's a shame," a comrade told me, "that those -seventeen-year-old children should be led to the slaughter, and that -their young life is being poisoned, as it needs must be in these -surroundings; scarcely out of boyhood, they are being shot down like mad -dogs." - -It took but a few days for the volunteers--all of them without an -exception--to repent bitterly of their resolve, and every soldier who -had been in the war for any length of time would reproach them when they -gave expression to their great disappointment. "But you have come -voluntarily," they were told; "we had to go, else we should have been -off long ago." Yet we knew that all those young people had been under -some influence and had been given a wrong picture of the war. - -Those soldiers who had been in the war from the start who had not been -wounded, but had gone through all the fighting, were gradually all sent -home on furlough for ten days. Though our company contained but 14 -unwounded soldiers it was very hard to obtain the furlough. We had lost -several times the number of men on our muster-roll, but all our officers -were still in good physical condition. - -It was not until September that I managed to obtain furlough at the -request of my relations, and I left for home with a resolve that at -times seemed to me impossible to execute. All went well until I got to -Diedenhofen. - -As far as that station the railroads are operated by the army -authorities. At Diedenhofen they are taken over by the Imperial -Railroads of Alsace-Lorraine and the Prusso-Hessian State Railroads. So -I had to change, and got on a train that went to Saarbruecken. I had -scarcely taken a seat in a compartment in my dirty and ragged uniform -when a conductor came along to inspect the tickets. Of course, I had no -ticket; I had only a furlough certificate and a pass which had been -handed to me at the field railroad depot of Chatel. The conductor looked -at the papers and asked me again for my ticket. I drew his attention to -my pass. "That is only good for the territory of the war operations," he -said; "you are now traveling on a state railroad and have to buy a -ticket." - -I told him that I should not buy a ticket, and asked him to inform the -station manager. "You," I told him, "only act according to instructions. -I am not angry with you for asking of me what I shall do under no -circumstances." He went off and came back with the manager. The latter -also inspected my papers and told me I had to pay for the journey. "I -have no means for that purpose," I told him. "For these last three -years I have been in these clothes" (I pointed to my uniform), "and for -three years I have therefore been without any income. Whence am I to get -the money to pay for this journey?" "If you have no money for traveling -you can't take furlough." I thought to myself that if they took me deep -into France they were in conscience bound to take me back to where they -had fetched me. Was I to be a soldier for three years and fight for the -Fatherland for more than a year only to find that now they refused the -free use of their railroads to a ragged soldier? I explained that I was -not going to pay, that I could not save the fare from the few pfennigs' -pay. I refused explicitly to pay a soldier's journey with my private -money, even if--as was the case here--that soldier was myself. Finally I -told him, "I must request you to inform the military railroad commander; -the depot command attends to soldiers, not you." He sent me a furious -look through his horn spectacles and disappeared. Two civilians were -sitting in the same compartment with me; they thought it an unheard-of -thing that a soldier coming from the front should be asked for his fare. -Presently the depot commander came up with a sergeant. He demanded to -see my furlough certificate, pay books, and all my other papers. - -"Have you any money?" - -"No." - -"Where do you come from?" - -"From Chatel in the Argonnes." - -"How long were you at the front?" - -"In the fourteenth month." - -"Been wounded?" - -"No." - -"Have you no money at all?" - -"No; you don't want money at the front." - -"The fare must be paid. If you can't, the company must pay. Please sign -this paper." - -I signed it without looking at it. It was all one to me what I signed, -as long as they left me alone. Then the sergeant came back. - -"You can not travel in that compartment; you must also not converse with -travelers. You have to take the first carriage marked 'Only for the -military.' Get into that." - -"I see," I observed; "in the dogs' compartment." - -He turned round again and said, "Cut out those remarks." - -The train started, and I arrived safely home. After the first hours of -meeting all at home again had passed I found myself provided with -faultless underwear and had taken the urgently needed bath. Once more I -could put on the civilian dress I had missed for so long a time. All of -it appeared strange to me. I began to think. Under no conditions was I -going to return to the front. But I did not know how I should succeed in -getting across the frontier. I could choose between two countries -only--Switzerland and Holland. It was no use going to Switzerland, for -that country was surrounded by belligerent states, and it needed only a -little spark to bring Switzerland into the war, and then there would be -no loophole for me. There was only the nearest country left for me to -choose--Holland. But how was I to get there? There was the rub. I -concocted a thousand plans and discarded them again. Nobody, not even my -relatives, must know about it. - - - - -XXIII - -THE FLIGHT TO HOLLAND - - -My furlough soon neared its end; there were only four days left. I -remembered a good old friend in a Rhenish town. My plan was made. -Without my family noticing it I packed a suit, boots, and all -necessities, and told them at home that I was going to visit my friend. -To him I revealed my intentions, and he was ready to help me in every -possible manner. - -My furlough was over. I put on my uniform, and my relations were left in -the belief that I was returning to the front. I went, however, to my -friend and changed into civilian clothes. I destroyed my uniform and -arms, throwing the lot into the river near by. Thus having destroyed all -traces, I left and arrived at Cologne after some criss-cross traveling. -Thence I journeyed to Duesseldorf and stayed at night at an hotel. I had -already overstayed my leave several days. Thousands of thoughts went -through my brain. I was fully aware that I would lose my life if -everything did not come to pass according to the program. I intended to -cross the frontier near Venlo (Holland). I knew, however, that the -frontier was closely guarded. - -The country round Venlo, the course of the frontier in those parts were -unknown to me; in fact, I was a complete stranger. I made another plan. -I returned to my friend and told him that it was absolutely necessary -for me to get to know the frontier district and to procure a map showing -the terrain. I also informed him that I had to get hold of a false -identification paper. He gave me a landsturm certificate which was to -identify me in case of need. In my note-book I drew the exact course of -the frontier from a railway map, and then I departed again. - -Dead tired, I reached Crefeld that night by the last train. I could not -go on. So I went into the first hotel and hired a room. I wrote the name -that was on the false paper into the register and went to sleep. At six -o'clock in the morning there was a knock at my door. - -"Who is there?" - -"The police." - -"The police?" - -"Yes; the political police." - -I opened the door. - -"Here lives ...? (he mentioned the name in which I had registered). - -"Yes." - -"Have you any identification papers?" - -"If you please," I said, handing him the landsturm certificate. - -"Everything in order; pardon me for having disturbed you." - -"You're welcome; you're welcome," I hastened to reply, and thought how -polite the police was. - -That well-known leaden weight fell from my chest, but I had no mind to -go to sleep again. Whilst I was dressing I heard him visit all the -guests of the hotel. I had not thought of the customary inspection of -strangers in frontier towns. It was a good thing I had been armed for -that event. - -Without taking breakfast (my appetite had vanished) I went to the depot -and risked traveling to Kempten in spite of the great number of -policemen that were about. I calculated by the map that the frontier was -still some fifteen miles away. I had not much baggage with me, only a -small bag, a raincoat and an umbrella. I marched along the country road -and in five hours I reached the village of Herongen. To the left of that -place was the village of Niederhofen. Everywhere I saw farmers working -in the fields. They would have to inform me of how the line of the -frontier ran and how it was being watched. In order to procure that -information I selected only those people who, to judge by their -appearance, were no "great lights of the church." - -Without arousing suspicion I got to know that the names of the two -places were "Herongen" and "Niederhofen," and that a troop of -cuirassiers were quartered at Herongen. The man told me that the -soldiers were lodged in the dancing hall of the Schwarz Inn. Presently I -met a man who was cutting a hedge. He was a Hollander who went home -across the frontier every night; he had a passport. "You are the man for -me," I thought to myself, and said aloud that I had met several -Hollanders in that part of the country (he was the first one), and gave -him a cigar. I mentioned to him that I had visited an acquaintance in -the Schwarz Inn at Herongen. - -"Yes," he said; "they are there." - -"But my friend had to go on duty, so I am having a look round." - -"They have got plenty to do near the frontier." - -"Indeed?" - -"Every thirty minutes and oftener a cavalry patrol, and every quarter of -an hour an infantry patrol go scouting along the frontier." - -"And how does the frontier run?" I queried, offering him a light for -his cigar. - -He showed me with his hand. - -"Here in front of you, then right through the woods, then up there; -those high steeples towering over the woods belong to the factories of -Venlo." - -I knew enough. After a few remarks I left him. All goes according to my -program, I thought. But there was a new undertaking before me. I had to -venture close enough to the frontier to be able to watch the patrols -without being seen by them. That I succeeded in doing during the -following night. - -I hid in the thick underwood; open country was in front of me. I -remained at that spot for three days and nights. It rained and at night -it was very chilly. On the evening of the third day I resolved to -execute my plan that night. - -Regularly every fifteen minutes a patrol of from three to six soldiers -arrived. When it had got dark I changed my place for one more to the -right, some five hundred yards from the frontier. I said to myself that -I would have to venture out as soon as it got a little lighter. In the -darkness I could not see anything. It would have to be done in twilight. -I had rolled my overcoat into a bundle to avoid making a noise against -the trees. I advanced just after a patrol had passed. I went forward -slowly and stepped out cautiously without making a noise. Then I walked -with ever increasing rapidity. Suddenly a patrol appeared on my right. -The frontier was about three hundred yards away from me. The patrol had -about two hundred yards to the point of the frontier nearest to me. -Victory would fall to the best and swiftest runner. The patrol consisted -of five men; they fired several times. That did not bother me. I threw -everything away and, summoning all my strength, I made in huge leaps for -the frontier which I passed like a whirlwind. I ran past the pointed -frontier stone and stopped fifty yards away from it. I was quite out of -breath, and an indescribable happy feeling took hold of me. I felt like -crying into the world that at last I was free. - -I seated myself on the stump of a tree and lit a cigar, quite steadily -and slowly; for now I had time. Scarcely fifty yards away, near the -frontier stone, was the disappointed patrol. I read on the side of the -frontier stone facing me, "Koningrjk der Nederlanden" (Kingdom of the -Netherlands). I had to laugh with joy. "Who are you?" one of the German -patrol called to me. "The Hollanders have now the right to ask that -question; you've got that right no longer, old fellow," I replied. They -called me all manner of names, but that did not excite me. I asked them: -"Why don't you throw me over my bag which I threw away in the hurry? It -contains some washing I took along with me so as to get into a decent -country like a decent man." - -Attracted by that conversation, a Dutch patrol, a sergeant and three -men, came up. The sergeant questioned me, and I told him all. He put his -hand on my shoulder and said, "Be glad that you are here--wij Hollanders -weuschen de vrede (we Hollanders wish for peace), and you are welcome -here in hospitable Holland." - -I had to go with the soldiers to their guard-room and take breakfast -with them. Thereupon they showed me the nearest road to Venlo, where I -arrived at seven o'clock in the morning. From Venlo I traveled to -Rotterdam. I soon obtained a well-paid position and became a man again, -a man who could live and not merely exist. Thousands upon thousands of -Belgian refugees are living in Holland and are treated as the guests of -the people. There are also great numbers of German deserters in Holland, -where their number is estimated to be between fifteen and twenty -thousand. Those deserters enjoy the full protection of the Dutch -authorities. - -I would have never thought of leaving that hospitable country with its -fairly liberal constitution if the political sky had not been so -overclouded in the month of March, 1916. - - - - -XXIV - -AMERICA AND SAFETY - - -What I have still to relate does not concern actual war experiences. But -the reader might want to know how I came to America. That must be done -in a few short sentences. - -In Holland war was believed to be unavoidable. Again I had to choose -another domicile. After much reflection and making of plans I decided to -go to America. - -After having left my place I executed that plan. Some days after I was -informed that the steamer _Zyldyk_ of the Holland-American line was -leaving for New York in the night from the 17th to the 18th of March. -According to my plan I packed my things in a sailor's bundle and began -the risky game. - -I had never been on a sea-going steamer before. The boat was a small -trader. I had found out that the crew had to be on board by midnight. I -had an idea that the men would not turn up earlier than was necessary. -With my sailor's bundle I stood ready on the pier as early as ten -o'clock. All I had packed together in the excitement consisted of about -seven pounds of bread and a tin containing some ten quarts of water. At -midnight the sailors and stokers of the boat arrived. Most of them were -drunk and came tumbling along with their bundles on their backs. I mixed -with the crowd and tumbled along with them. I reached the deck without -being discovered. I observed next to me a deep black hole with an iron -ladder leading downwards. I threw my bundle down that hole and climbed -after it. All was dark. I groped my way to the coal bunker. I would have -struck a match, but I dared not make a light. So I crawled onto the coal -which filled the space right up to the ceiling. Pushing my bundle in -front of me I made my way through the coal, filling again the opening -behind me with coal. Having in that manner traversed some thirty yards I -came upon a wall. There I pushed the coal aside so as to have room to -lie down. I turned my back against the outer wall of the boat. - -Nobody suspected in the slightest degree that I was on board. Now the -journey can start, I thought to myself. At last the engines began to -work; we were off. After many long hours the engines stopped. Now we are -in England I guessed. Perhaps we were off Dover or somewhere else; I did -not know. Everything was darkness down there. While the boat was -stopping I heard the thunder of guns close to us. I had no idea what -that might mean. I said to myself, "If the English find me my voyage is -ended." But they did not turn up. - -At last we proceeded; I did not know how long we had stopped. All went -well; I scarcely felt the boat move. However, it was bitterly cold, and -I noticed that the cold increased steadily. Then the weather became -rougher and rougher. Days must have passed. I never knew whether it was -day or night. Down in my place it was always night. I ate bread and -drank water. But I had scarcely eaten when all came up again. Thus my -stomach was always empty. - -Through the rolling of the boat I was nearly buried by the coal. It got -worse and worse, and I had to use all my strength to keep the coal away -from me. The big lumps wounded me all about the head; I felt the blood -run over my face. My store of bread was nearly finished, and the water -tasted stale. I lit a match and saw that the bread was quite black. - -I wondered whether we were nearly there. No more bread. I felt my -strength leave me more and more. The boat went up and down, and I was -thrown hither and thither for hours, for days. I felt I could not stand -it much longer. I wondered how long we had been on the water. I had no -idea. I was awfully hungry. Days passed again. I noticed that I had -become quite thin. - -At last the engines stopped again. But soon we were off once more. After -long, long hours the boat stopped. I listened. All was quiet. Then I -heard them unloading with cranes. - -New York!--After a while I crept forth. I found that half of the coal -had been taken away. Not a soul was there. Then I climbed down a ladder -into the stokehole; nobody was there either. I noticed a pail and filled -it with warm water. With it I hastened into a dark corner and washed -myself. I was terribly tired and had to hold on to something so as not -to collapse. When I had washed I took my pocket mirror and gazed at my -face. My own face frightened me; for I looked pale as a sheet and like a -bundle of skin and bones. I wondered how long the voyage had lasted. I -had to laugh in spite of my misery--I had crossed the ocean and had -never seen it! - -The problem was now to get on land. What should I say if they caught me? -I thought that if I were caught now I should simply say I wanted to get -to Holland as a stowaway in order to reach Germany. In that case, I -thought, they would quickly enough put me back on land. With firm -resolve I climbed on deck which was full of workmen. - -I noticed a stair-way leading to the warehouse. Gathering all my -strength I loitered up to it in a careless way and--two minutes later I -had landed. I found myself in the street outside the warehouse. - -Up to that time I had kept on my legs. But now my strength left me, and -I dropped on the nearest steps. - -It was only then that I became aware of the fact that I was not in New -York, but in Philadelphia. It was 5 o'clock in the afternoon of April -5th, 1916. I had reckoned on twelve days and the voyage had taken -eighteen. - -Physically a wreck, I became acquainted with native Americans in the -evening. They afforded me every assistance that one human being can give -to another. One of those most noble-minded humanitarians took me to New -York. I could not leave my room for a week on account of the hardships I -had undergone; I recovered only slowly. - -But to-day I have recovered sufficiently to take up again in the ranks -of the American Socialists the fight against capitalism the extirpation -of which must be the aim of every class-conscious worker. A relentless -struggle to the bitter end is necessary to show the ruling war provoking -capitalist caste who is the stronger, so that it no longer may be in the -power of that class to provoke such a murderous war as that in which the -working-class of Europe is now bleeding to death. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A German deserter's war experience, by Anonymous - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GERMAN DESERTER'S WAR EXPERIENCE *** - -***** This file should be named 42721-8.txt or 42721-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/2/42721/ - -Produced by sp1nd, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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