The Belton Evening News. (Belton, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 251, Ed. 1 Friday, July 26, 1918 Page: 3 of 4
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.
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J
of a Geriíiaí
Deserter , ¿
Written by a Prussian Officer^*?
Who Participated in the Ravag*.
jng and Pillaging of Belgium, ,
Cépyrii/ht h Detroit Frtt Prtui
CHAPTER X—Continued.
——12—
Night now came, yet no sleep nor
fest was lu sight. No one knew liow
much farther we would have to retire
before there would be a respite. The
unfamiliar surroundings Indicated to
us that we were not returning over the
road which we had traversed when, as
victors, we marched to the Marne.
With this and similar thoughts, hour
after hour passed. Some of us ran
along, others actually walked Id their
sleep. Our boots were filled with wa-
ter, yet we had to keep on. Thus the
night passed. ,
The next morning troops of the
main army were placed In the rear
guard. They formed long columns
which they opened to let us pass
through, after which they closed
ranks. We gave a sigh of relief, for
we were at last free of hostile artil-
lery fire. After marching about five
more hours, we Joined a company of
Infantry which fortunately had saved
Its field kitchen. It was not quite
dark when we reached the village.
Here we were billeted In order to
pet as much rest as possible. But we
nil knew that we could rest only as
long as the rear guurd was able to
keep back the enemy. We were placed
In the village school. Because of the
shortage of provisions we were al-
lowed to use our tinned supplies, but
none of us hail any left. This consist-
ed of some meat and hardtack. It hnd
long since been eaten up and so we
were compelled to lie down with our
hunger still unsatisfied.
CHAPTER XI.
We were once more aroused at
eleven o'clock that night, and with the
utmost haste made ready to resume
our march. The night was pitch dark
and the rain continued. At dayhrenk
we passed the city of St. Menehould.
This had not been harmed. From here
we turned to the east, closely pressed
by the French and In the afternoon we
reached Clertnent-en-Argonne. Once
more we managed to get a rest of sev-
eral hours. Toward evening we pro-
ceeded again and maintained a forced
march through the whole night. We
were now more exhausted than ever,
yet could not halt.
The rain had stopped before ten
o'clock In the morning at which hour
we left the road and made camp.
There was a general sigh of relief, for
this long-continued, wearing retreat
bad brought our troops Into a state
now become unendurable. We began
to dig ourselves In. Before our
trenches were even half completed a
literal hailstorm of shrapnel fell
among us. Our losses were so great
that It became Impossible to remain.
We received orders to retire at once.
We inarched over the fields until dark,
when we began once more to dig In.
We were now near the village of Cer-
nay-en-Dormots. It was pitch dark and
a heavy fog lay over everything. Of
the enemy we knew nothing. With the
utmost silence and speed we dug our-
selves in deeply, stopping frequently
to listen as hostile raiding parties ap-
proached, only to disappear quickly.
Here we received our first re-
enforcements. They arrived In long
columns in the darkness. All were
fresh troops—most of thorn reserves.
The majority wore blue uniforms. This
as well as the nature of their equip-
ment, Indicated to us that they had
been hastily fitted out and transported.
None of them had ever heard the
whistle of a bullet and many asked
anxiously whether It was dangerous
here. They brought numerous ma-
chine guns, and In an Instant we had
everything prepared for defense.
At daylight the French began the at-
tack. They made several onslaughts
throughout the day but without suc-
cess, for our re-enforcements were
large.
No one realized at this stage of the
battle that It was the beginning of a
murderous, exhausting struggle for po-
sitions.
We were to fight here from the same
trench, month after month, without
gaining territory. The wounded, who
lay In No Man's Land between the
trenches, were left to perish.
The French tried to rescue theni un-
der the protection of the Geneva flag,
the emblem of the Red Cross, but we
only sneered at them and shot It to
bits. The Impulse to shoot down the
enemy surpassed every human feeling.
The Red Cross flag had lost all Its
value for us when It was raised by the
French. Mistrust wus nurtured among
us. We were told that the enemy mis-
used the flag and that we must shoot
down the men that bore It
We repulsed all attacks until they
gradually ceased. We were now able
to fortify our position, which we did
with the greatest care, making it as
tttrong as possible. Half the men re-
mained on guard while the other half
deepened and widened the trenches. A
lively fir* waa maintained continuous-
ly t* both side* The losses were very
large. Most of the men killed were
shot through the head, the trench pro-
tecting the remainder of their bodies.
Firing Increased In Intensity as
night fell. Although nothing could be
seen we continued firing all the time
because we thought this would prevent
the enemy from making any attucks.
Through the nights munitions and ma-
terial were brought up and new men
arrived. Great quantities of sandbags
were sent us, which were filled and
used as a protection against bullets.
The pioneers were relieved toward
morning and gathered In a farmyard
behind the firiug line. The farm had
been spared by the cannon, and even
all the stock remained. This booty
was soon to be consumed. Several
hundred soldiers came and a wild hunt
ensued for ducks, chickens, geese, pig-
eons, etc. About five hundred of these
were caught, after which everybody
began cooking. Not far away 80 cows
and heifers were seized and turned
over to the field kitchens. Hay and
grain were carried away, even the
strawstacks and barns were torn down
and the lumber used for firewood. In
a few hours a beautiful farm had be-
come a ruin and the proprietor a beg-
gar. I had seen the owner in the
morning, but he had suddenly disap-
peared with his wife and children, and
nobody knew where he was.
The next night we were sent Into
the trenches again. There was little
to do, so we talked with the men who
had re-enforced us from the Interior
of Germany. They knew absolutely
nothing of our retreat from the Marne
and were astonished when we pictured
to them the events of the last few
days.
The following morning we left the
,trench before daybreak and went Into
quarters at Cernay-en-Dormols. We
were billeted In the middle of the vil-
lage In an abandoned house. Our field
kitchens fulled to arrive, so we pre-
pealed daily with ever-lncreuslng vlo>
lenca.
" '* CHAPTER XII.
The Inhabitants of Cernay who had
remained, mostly old people, were all
gathered in a barn because of the fear
of spies. Here they were guarded by
soldiers. As. the enemy bombardment
always occurred t\i a .c.^rtujn .hour, our
commander thought that somebody In
the village was In communication with
the enemy by means of a concealed
telephone. It was even discovered,
that the hands of the church clock bad
been turned and at one time stood at
six and shortly after at five o'clock.
The spy who signaled the enemy by
means of this clock was not discov-
ered, neither anyone using a concealed
telephone Instrument. In order to
catch the right one all the civilians
were interned In the barn. These
civilian prisoners were supplied In the
same way the soldiers were, with food
and drink, but were also exposed, like
the soldiers, to the dally bombard-
ments, which In time destroyed the
whole village. Two women and on«
child had been killed in this manner
and yet the people were not removed.
Almost daily houses caught fire In the
village and burned down. The shells
were now falling regularly at eight
o'clock In the evening. They were of
heavy caliber. At eight o'clock prompt-
ly, when the first shell arrived, we left
the town. There followed, In short In-
tervals, fourteen to fifteen shells, the
"Iron ration." We believed that the
French cannon sending these shells
were brought up somewhere at night.
When we returned from our prome-
nade, as we called the nightly excur-
sion, we were sent to our places In the,
trenches. There we were used for ev-
ery kind of duty. One evening we
were called up to fortify a farm taken
from the French the previous day. We
had to build machine guns and place
them.
Our camp at Cernay-en-Dermols was
continually under heavy bombardment.
Finally rest became Impossible. The
heavy-caliber shells struck the roofs
of the houses and penetrated to the
cellars. The civilians were taken away
after several had been killed by shells.
After about ten weeks In this country
we were sent to another part of the
front. Our destination was kept from
us.
At the depot at Ohallerange w% en-
tered a train waiting for us. It con-
sisted of second and third class
coaches. The train rolled slowly
through the beautiful country, and for
the first time since the war began we
saw the light behind the front. All the
depots, crossings and bridges were oc-
cupied by the military. Everywhere
was activity. Long trains louded with
agricultural machinery of every vari-
ety stood at the larger stations. The
crew of our train consisted of officials
of the Prussian state railways. Tb*y
had traversed this country often and
told us that there was no agricultural
machine In ail occupied territory. The
same thing happened with all machin-
ery of industry that could be spared.
Everywhere we saw the finest kind
of machinery en route to Germany.
In the evening we passed Sedan.
Early the next morning we arrived at
Montmedy. Here we had to leave the
train and were permitted to go to the
city for several hours. Montmedy Is
the principal base of the Fifth army,
commanded by the crown prince. Enor-
mous stores of war materials were
gathered here. Added to this there
was the army field post institute and
the executive offices of the railways as
well as a number of hospitals.
It was very lively In Montmedy.
Many wounded men were seen strol-
ling through the city and an especially
large number of officers all at home
were attached to single etnpes. In
faultless uniform, carrying riding
whips, they strolled around. This
point was about thirty-five kilometers
•behind Verdun and one hundred kilo-
meters from our former position. As
we marched away shortly after noon
we suspected that we were being
taken to the neighborhood of Verdun,
AMERICAN WOUNDED AT PARIS RED CROSS HOSPITAL
The Red Cross Flag Had Lost All Its
Value.
pared ourselves a meal of fowl and
whatever else we discovered. When-
ever anyone espied a chicken there
were twenty men racing for It. Toward
evening long provision trains arrived,
as well as fresh troops. They went
to the front In long columns and re-
lieved the exhausted men.
Soon the whole village wns crowded
with soldiers. After a rest of two days
the regular nightly pioneer service was
resumed. Every night we were sent
to the front-line trenches to build wire
obstacles. The French found us out
by the noise required to set up the
posts, so that we had fresh losses
almost every night. We completed the
task of setting up barbed wire entan-
glements In the sector assigned to us
in about fourteen days. During this
period we reRted by day, hut at night
we went out regularly. But our rest
had many interruptions, for the enemy
artillery bombarded the village regu-
larly. This always happened at cer-
tain hours, for instance, In the begin-
ning, every noon from twelve to two
o'clock, fifty to eighty shells fell in the
village. Sometimes they were shrap-
nel, sent over by the field artillery. We
soon grew accustomed to this, despite
the fact that soldiers of other detach-
ment were killed or wounded dally.
Once or twice during this noon bom-
bardment a shrapnel shell fell Into our
room and burst without doing much
damage. The room would be filled
j with dust and smoke, yet no one would
j think of leaving. This firing waa re-
CHAPTER XIII.
After a march of 15 kilometers wo
reached the town of .Tamet7.. Here
everything wns offered us by the In-
habitants. We were treated with cof-
fce, milk and meat. We went on early
the next morning and In the evening
arrived at Damvillers, where we heard
that we were about five kilometers be-
hind the firing line. The same evening
we advanced to the little village of
Wavrllle, which was our destination.
We took up our quarters in a housa
i which had been abandoned by its In-
habitants. We were attached to the
Ninth reserve division and the next
morning went to our position. Fifteen
of us were assigned to duty with an
infnntry company. On the entire line,
as far as we could see, there was no
musketry fire. Only the artillery on
both sides kept up a weak action. We
were not accustomed to this quietude
In the trenches, but the men who had
been there for some time told us that
frequently not a single shot was fired
for days and that no activity was
shown.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
What Ws Earn.
Few things are Impossible to those
who are ready to pay the price of
labor. No person has a right to an
ability which has not been secured by
training, and it is certain that such
ability Will be Imperfect and conducive
to disappointment in Its failure if It
has not been acquired by hard work
and preparation. There Is no royal
road to anything. The things we co-
vet In others can be ours if we do what
Is necessary to get them—what those
we enry have done, through their la*
bor waa not advertised.
*
PHOTO
. American soldiers wno nave ueen woijiiocii mm nave oeen careu for m tne American iced < ros* Hospital in t'uri*.
which was formerly known as Doctor IMake's hospital.
BRITISH CAMEL TRANSPORT IN PALESTINE
.•-•X :
A camel transport attached to the British army crossing a pontoon bridge, built by British engineers across
the River Jordan. The transport Is In the rear of the British army which has routed the Turks out of Palestine.
BARRICADED STREET IN FRENCH VILLAGE
r
JAPANESE MINISTER OF WAR
i
am.
1'lmto l y
«Mem K*wwp«|
I nlon
have Imrrli'iidcd a
Tills Interesting inquire shows Itrllisb troops who
street somewhere on tin? western front In order to stem the onrush of the
enemy.
.M ii.l. lien. Kenlebl Okshlina, J apún-
ese minister of army affairs.
CONVALESCING AT SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND
Hputhport, England, has Inaugurated a scheme to provide holldnys and
recreutlon for the convalescent American soldiers. The first contingent of
AmerU-ans who had lieen wounded and were sent to Moiithport to convalesce
.ire having good times and at no expense, for everything is free to them. M.
pair yt them is shown riding burros ou the suuds.
Towed Big Ship on Land.
A 75-horsepower caterpillar, slowly
measuring Its length over the desert
with a 40-foot ship lu tow, was one of
the sights of Imperial valley, Cali-
fornia, the other day.
The boat, a vessel of five-foot draft,
was mounted on skids, en route from
Saltón sea to the railroad at Nlland,
where It will be loaded onto cars for
shipment to a seaport, whence It will
sail to Alaska to be used by prospec-
tors.
The historic vessel was brought to
Saltón sea when that Inland body of
water was of larger proportions than
It is today and was designed for use
lu connection with the fishing Indus-
try. But the evaporating waters left
the cruft high and dry on the silt.
Victory for Auto Owners.
After fighting for IS years a/ralnst
the admission of automobiles to the
Island, Nantucket voted recently In
favor of motor vehicles. The contest
was one of the liveliest the town had
had In many years. The final vote wus
886 In favor and ii'W against. The mat-
ter came up on the question of accept-
ing nn ui-t of the legislature, repealing
an act of 1014 forbidding the opera-
tion of motor vehicles. The election
was of more than local Interest, for a
considerable part of the opposition to
automobiles had come from the largs
summer colony that goes there from
many parts of the country. «
I
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Savage, H. B. The Belton Evening News. (Belton, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 251, Ed. 1 Friday, July 26, 1918, newspaper, July 26, 1918; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth177214/m1/3/?q=%22Places+-+United+States+-+Texas+-+Bell+County%22: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.