THE ALLIANCE HERALD, JUNE 20, 1018
The Confessions of a
German Deserter
Written by a Private Office
Who Participated in the
Ravaging and Pillaging of
Belgium.
(Continued from Last week)
On the other side the French began
to disarm inch German soldiers as
food there whh raised hands, thou
sands of prisoners, Innumerahle horse
and machine tuns fell Into the hands
t the enemy. Severn! of our company
rare Just ahout to retire with the
Jectrlc apparatus when something de
veloped which certain of our number
had suspected. An error had been
mad. and It was too late to rectify it
The upper bridge, which had not
been used to any great extent by the
Germana, should have been left stand
tog I
It had been the purpose of the staff
Id command to leave this bildga so
that the enemy might continue Its pur
suit of our troops until a certain num
ber of Frenchmen had crossed the
river. The plan was to permit enough
frenchmen to pass so that thsr roiid
be taken prisoner, yet, not too large
force, lest It might prove a menace
b the German anna.
After these hostile troops had
crossed, the plan was to destroy the
bridge to prevent their being re
enforced. That was why the aergeant
wanning this switch had been kept
waiting for the order to blow up the
bridge. But the sergeant In the ex
citement and confusion thought that
Cbe cable to which his phone waa con
nected had been disconnected and blew
e the bridge on hla own Initiative
while It waa crowded by Frenchmen
nd long before the enemy could have
Sad an opportunity to cut that cable,
At the same time the officer at the
switch connected with the explosives
fjader the second bridge received his
erdera. He afterwards said that the
metier he received was hard to make
sjt and that he had lost his presence
f mind and threw in the switch.
thereby killing thousands on the bridge :
ana leaving many other thoussnds to
he mercy of the enemy.
Jfe&T? T 5M t,DJe 'or n,or' tm
presslons bur entire unit waa ordered
to VI 1 1 v to be assembled In front of
the cathedral. hh a algb of relief
to hurried away, tor the French ar-
WJjry begun onje more to send ah el Is
sflth trioeh accnrac'Tver Ke entire
We were obliged to wait so we sn
aown and looked around us. Th
vuurrn was run or wounded; mnm
died under the hands of the
They were carried out to make roorr
for others. The dead were carried tc
one side, where whole rows of corpse
lay. we counted more than sixty
On our way to Vltrv we hpd t.n.nror
aome bread, but we were still hungr
ann our field kitchens were nowhere Ir
sight. The crews of our field kitrhenr
aa well as our forage officers nnd nnn
commissioned officers prefer to defenc
their fatherland many kilometers ho
hind the battle fronts. They did not
care ahout us as long as they wer
not obliged to go within range of th.
artillery fire. Comradeship has lt
limitations with them.
Other field kitchens were near by
They had prepared more fowl than
their companies needed. Many foi
whom they had cooked will never est
again. We were Invited to come ant
get whatever we wanted.
We had scarcely flnlahed eating
when we had to march on. Present!)
we were Joined by more membera o1
nr company. Our captain appeared
One of our officers reported to him th
number missing. He stepped In front
of the company and aald cheerfully
"Oeod msrnlng, msn," although It wsi
seven o'clock In the evening. A growl
was the only response. We were then
ordered to go to the wagons standlni
at the north side of the town, when
each man waa to supply htmaelf wltl
cartrldgsa and three hand grenadea
We gathered at the wagons at 9:8C
o'clock and each man took A00 car
tridgss, his three grensdss snd matchei
to light them. On ths wsy to the wsg
one we saw everywhere formations be
Ing hastily orgsnlaed from stray sol
dlers and ws received the Impressing
f some peat activity In preparation
The rain had heaun to fall In tor
- - tttm.mm rr w mm r
ie streets filled with troot.s werini
special uniforms to protect then:
ngtinst the weather. These uniform
assisted of a suit of weatherproof
clothing a cap. anch baggage as mnst
be taken on a march, a tent cloth, tent
flln Dd- WB thn pioneers
trencn tools. Thus quipped, we stood
pllbed by sttacklng and the orfler was
given to begin the retreat which wa
pnt Into effect the next morning at six
o'clock. We did not realise then that
this was to be our last night In Vltry
We were sheltered In a shed for th
night. As we were very tired, we soor
were fast asleep. We were aroused at
four o'clock In the morning, everyone
was given a loaf of bread and ordered
to fill his canteen with wafer, aftei
which the march began. Although w
were Ignorant of our destination, thf
Inhabitants of Vltrv neenicd to under
stand where we were going and they
stood on the streets throwing us slg
nlficant glances.
Everywhere the feverish movement
was on. We stopped In front of tlu
town hall. Here the captain told m
that because of difficulty In the terralr
our troops had to vacate their pes!
tlons and retire to nearby helghtn and
occupy new defenses. With that hf
turned around and pointed to a rldg
on the horizon.
"There we shall make a stand anr?
wait for the enemy," he said. "No
re-enforcements will arrive today and
In a few days we may send picture
postal cards to your homes from
Paris."
Z
ssentrysld. Wounded men from other 15 U S2i w1,. lnorsnt oil
CHAPTER IX.
I must confess that most of us b&
lleved In this at the time, that we
would soon he In Paris. Other bodies
of troops arrived from all sides. We
had marched several hours when new
enme to us that Vltry had been re
taken by the French and that they had
seized a tremendous amount of mill
tary stores, captured the hospitals, to
gether with their medical units and pa
Merits, and that the sanltarv eomnn.
nles also had been made prisoner a
about two o'clock In the afternoon we
arrived at the heights which had been
pointed out to us early in the march
oy our captain.
We now began to understand that
something had gone wrong. Streets
were filled with troops from all
branches of service, trying to use the
road along which we were marrhina-
Being outnumbered, we were
backward. Empty munition columns
raced by us In no order whatever.
They were followed by canteen and
other supply wagons. The greatest
confusion reigned everywhere. Kvmrx
minute added to the congestion until
finally there was a dead halt th.
a rivers or aome wagons left the road
arid tried to pass around the congested
portions by traversing the fields, which
had been soaked by heavy rains. Sev
eral wagons turned over and others
became imbedded In the mud. The
horses were unhltchsd from these and
the wagons left behind. The wagoners
mounted these horses and drove on,
forgetting everything in one wild
panic-stricken race for safety.
An officer rode up and handed an or
der to our captain. We were halted
t a field close to ths road. There we
were permitted to stack our guns gad
rest. As ws lay at this point 'we
watched the passing columns, field
Pnonjtjorj trains, sanitary eel
We started forward at about three
o'clock In the morning and soon we
were with the rear gunrd. Infantry
regiments, now merely fragments of
their former strength, arrived In a
fearful condition. The soldiers had
thrown away their knapsacks and ev
ery unnecessary article which might
be an Impediment to speed.
Before long the first enemy shrap
nel hurst over our heads, which re
sulted In an even faster marching.
The road used during the first march
contained deep shell holes, which were
filled with water. In the heavy dark
ness men fell Into these water holes.
Thoroughly drenched, we continued
our march. No attention was paid to
obstacles In the way over which we
were constantly stumbling. Speed was
the only aim. Head men and horses
lay In the middle of the rond, but nc
one took pains to remove them.
At dawn we arrived at a little vil
lage, where we halted. We took pos
session and established as stroiio n
temporary defense as possible In the
time permitted. Our position was es
tablished behind a cemetery wall. New
troops continued to arrive, but all were
badly disorganized. Cavalry, mounted
artillery and machine-gun detachments
followed. These had some sort of
formation and while there was some
disorder the panic, which character
Ized the other units, was missing here.
They also showed evidences of having
suffered losses, but nothing In com
parison to ours.
CHAPTER X.
The enemy's shelling to reduce our
position gradually grew stronger, hut
without effect. Some houses caught
fire. Enemy cavalry patrols In strong
force appeared and disappeared again.
Everything became quiet. Within ten
minutes matters again became lively,
Qf 1
nciMuenis wnom we passed on the
d told us that the French had al
ready crossed the Marne In several
different places. Everyone among ns
vcjtfd the same opinion. We had al
ready sustained great loases on Bel
flan soil nnd each day brought nsw
jsncrlflces. Our lines became thinner
" uiiuiirr. nimny companies were :
entirely destroyed and all units auf- I
fared heavily. These companies whose i
forces bad been reduced to a minimum j
snd with the survivors half sturved i
were opposed by an army well
quipped with supplies and arms. The
enemy constantly brought up fresh
troops while our forces became fewer i
from bum- to hour. We realized thut
It was Impossible to make a stand
here. We were constantly learning
from SOldlSfl of other contingents that
their losses In men and materials were
enormous.
I thought of the God of the Oer
nans. Had he forsaken them?
I thought It so loud that the other,
could hear.
"Yes." shIiI another, "whom the
Lord wishes to punish is first stricken
with blindness. Probably he thought
of Belgium, Doncheryl Bom raspy and
Mimes, and still mans other nlm-es
and let us run Into this perdition like
nying nends."
We reuched Vltry. Here the misery
Seemed to be Still irrnter tlmn mmma
before, for In the entire town there i
was not a single house that was not I
overcrowded with wounded. In th I
midst of all this misery robbery flour
tshed. All residences had been emp
tied of their furnishings and every
thing was thrown Into the street tc
make room for the wounded.
The aariitary sqoads went over th
town snd took everything of any value
The munition and railroad columni
followed the asme practice. They had
plenty of room for plunder. Thla wai
amply proven by numerous setiuret
fterwsrd of parcels put In the mall
which contained gold rings, watches
precious stones, etc. The buslnsss ol
the msrsnders flourished hers In Vltry
The soldiers In the supply columns en
countered very little actual danger;
they had an easy time as compared
with soldiers fighting at the front.
We soon reached the cathedral anc
reported to Lieutenant Elm. He alsr
had defended his fatherland at a safi
distance and here In the city, freshlj
staved and in Immaculate attire h
looked very presentable.
The contrsst wss vivid ss he stoor
''ore us who were torn, dirty and cov
with blood, with unkempt hair
arda grown snd caked wltl
-. ssjg
We were ordered to take the hreeea
locks out of the guns snd pnt thoat
In our bread bsgs. The guns now
were no good for shooting. We now
began to understand Vhat lay before
o. A night sttack was plsansd with
baronets nnd hand grensdes, ant ths
aasaasrea which had been taken won
taken so thnf we would not shoot st
one another In the darkness.
We stood and waited until eleven
o'clock, when the order suddenly came
to go Into quarters. We did not kno
what to make of this after all the
preparations. We could tell from the
drum fire au4 the red glare In the sky
that the battle had not lessened In
violence. The sky glowed. Illumined
by the burning villages and farme.
On the way to our quarters we heard
the officera aaylng among themselves
that a final trial had been lutended to
defeat the French. This had been the
field Kitchens Were Near By.
reason behind rhe preparations fer the
night attack which had now been
called off.
Headquarters apparently had de
cided otherwise. Perhaps it waa knowD
there that nothing could be accom
amns aid field acstsl wasTofs rictn
ay in ens grsnd csrnlvsl of confusion.
Every wagon carried wounded men.
Their facea Indicated clearly what tor
tures tbsy were enduring ss they were
bumped along over the unspeakable
roada upon heavy trucks. Still they
were snxious to go shesd at whstever
cost. Thsy feared the fate which
would befall them should they fall Into
the hands of their merciless enemy,
which would show them the same con
sideration which they themselves had
orTered In previous encounters, In
which they took no French wounded
men prisoners.
Evening came on snd with it tor
rential rain. We lay In the fields,
weary and chilled through, yet no one
of our unit moved, for we were ut
terly overcome by exhaustion. Artil
lery detachments now began to arrive,
but few of them had their required
numner or six guns. Many had only
three, others two, and a few proceeded
with only one fleldpiece. At one time
a whole row of about flffv irnn r.
rlages passed without any guns mount
ed upon them whatever. These bat
teries had managed to save their
horses, but were compelled to abandon
their gnus to the French. Some car
riages were drawn by only two to four
horses Instead of the required six.
There now passed before ns some
fifteen magnificent automobiles, the ap
i pearance of which won the admiration
of everybody.
"Ah," exclaimed many of the sol
diers, "the general staff Duke Al
brechtof Wurtemberg and his friends."
lnscontent and rntrrruurs of rebel
lion went thiough our ranks. Every
body was mad and the accursed tor
rentlal rain hud no tendency to lighten
our spirits. "They have directed the
slaughter of thousands and now they
motor sway," said one man. while we
lay here In a morass In the rain. "We
are not considered."
What we were to be assigned to do
had not yet been told us. We were left
, lying In our swamp until ten o'clock
, that night. The tropa continued to
' flow b In great disorganised con-
tingents. Machine gun companies
passed with empty wagons, having lost
j their guns. The thundering of the
I cannon gradually came nearer from the
weat. The uolse along the highways
became greater and a panic spread,
adding to the horrors of the night. Fu
gitives wandered around in the dark
ness through the streaming rMln, trying
to lead their wives and children to
safety, only to find death under the
wheels of the wagons. The wounded
to ! iUig'ed by s.-nies; piteous
cries for help were heard everywhere.
Under the strain of the traffic the
roads became badly broken up nnd all
along their sides abandoned vehicles of
je.: .'"
Insmy Csvnlry Patrols.
Urge hostile columns spproschsd.
Ws retired some distance without fir
ing a shot. The srtlllsry took a posi
tion behind s villsge snd began shell
ng the spproschlng enemy. A csvslry
octroi galloped acroaa an open field,
the horses covered with foam. We
ceard the commander of the patrol toll
s cavalry officer that the enemy were
approaching from all sides. We quick
ly left the villsge. The srtlllery re
uainen and the cavalry detachments
occupied a position while the cannon
were trained on the enemy. Toward
noon shrapnel ahella again began
bursting over our heads, but they ex
ploded too high in the air to do us any
damage. Yet this served sa a aerious
reminder to us that the enemy kept
right on our heels, a realization of
which caused our retreat to become a
rout. The numbers who dropped ex
hausted Constantly increased T
Impossible to render them any assist
ance, ror there were no more wagons.
Many soldiers used their last atom
or strength to drag themselves to the
side of the road. Others fell where
they were marching to be crushed soon
afterward under the horses' hoofs or
the wheels of any vehicle that might
pass. The road was strewn with
equipment thrown away by the sol
1lers. Our detachments had long since
cast aside all unnecessary Impedi
menta. In this way we proceeded until we
reaened a forest which was filled with
fugitives. Many of these had stretched
some sort of cloth from tree to tree
as a protection from the rain. There
they lay. men, women and children
and old men. aome In unspeakable mis
ery. This fugitives' camp waa apread
over the forests to the edge of the
road and as we passed we could see
the furrows woven Into their faces by
the terrible sufferings they had been
through. They looked st us with wesry
snd ssddened eyes. The children
begged for bread but we hsd none
for ourselves, even though we were
tortured by hunger. The enemy's
shrapnel continued to sccompsny us.
Scarcely had we passed through the
forest when shrapnel burst in It. Aa a
consequence a camp of fugitives, now
exposed to trench Are, was abandoned
and its numbers sought safety In the
open fields. Many tried to accompany
us until the order came forbidding
them the road, as their advance hin
dered troop movements. The fugitives,
therefore, were forced Into the rain
soaked fields.
Toward evening we reached a vil
lage Which had previously been sacked
and here we found some rest. The
mayor and two citizens of this village
had been seized by the Germans and
taken away under cavalry escort. Just
why this had been done we were un-
sbls to find out. We did know, how
ver, thst almost every town was
obliged to give hostages. Most of the
cattle were taken along and large
herds were transported to the rear by
cavalry.
We belonged to the rear guards,
which explained why we were unnble
to find anything to eat. There wns ab
solutely nothing to the village where
we were now quartered. After half
an hour with our hunger still unnp
peased we resumed our march. After
we had marched about three kilome
ters we arrived at a spot which had
formerly been a bivouac. Advancing
armies had camped here perhaps eight
days before. Bread, which had been
plentiful then, lay strewn around on the
ground. In spite of Its water-snaked
condition It had been gathered up and
eaten with ravenous appetites. Noth
ing mattered how our stomachs were
filled If only our hunger might be ap
peased. Night now came, yet no sleep nor
rest waa In sight. No one knew how
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 In their
sleep. Our hoots 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 ua pass
through, after which they closed
raeka. We gave a sigh of relief, for
we were at last free of hostile artil
lery fire. After marching about Ave
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
get as much rest aa possible. Bnt wo
all knew that we could rest only sa
long as the rear guard 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 had any left. Tills consist
ed of some ment and hardtack. It had
long since been eaten up and so we
were compelled to lie down with our
hunger still unsnfled.
(To be continued)
Stamp Perforation.
The perforation of stntnpR wns first
commenced In England In 1853, for re
ceipt nnd draft stamps, and for post-
' n nn sfeAsB I r nr i -i
ufitr Bwiuim in 100. i-rior to that pe
riod stamps were separated by means
of scissors or a knife or similar means
and In some coses those who required
many resorted to the use of a roulette,
a kind of cogwheel furnished with
small cutters, making a series of cuts
between the stamps.
Why
Swift & Company
Has Grown
The fact that a business organ
ization has grown steadily for
forty years proves that it has
kept continually meeting a vital
business demand.
It must have kept "fit" or It could
not have stood the strain - of ever
shifting conditions.
Swift & Company has been .trained
in the school of experience.
Every day of its forty years of
service has solved some new problem
of value to its customers.
Every year has proved its ability to
learn by experience, and to use this
knowledge for the benefit of those
with whom it deal.
Swift & Company, U. S. A.
liil
A Real Drink
for Real Americans
EXELSO will knock a Sahara Desert
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insist on getting
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KING A CO.
DutraWar.
IssWaSSsaaSSMlITT T'SSJ'' fclSM 1 nTTTM1lfMPlfH