"Aug. 8th. First fight and set fire to several villages.
"Aug. 9th. Returned to old quarters; there we searched all the houses
and shot the mayor and shot one man down from the chimney pot, and
then we again set fire to the village.
"On the 18th August Letalle (?) captured 10 men with three priests
because they have shot down from the church tower. They were brought
to the village of Ste. Marie.
[Sidenote: Hostages at Willekamm.]
"Oct. 5th. We were in quarters in the evening at Willekamm. Lieut.
Radfels was quartered in the mayor's house and there had two prisoners
(tied together) on a short whip, and in case anything happened they
were to be killed.
"Oct. 11th. We had no fight, but we caught about 20 men and shot
them." (From the diary of Bombardier Wetzel, Second Mounted Battery,
First Kurhessian Field Artillery, Regiment No. 11.)
The Germans also found it convenient on many occasions to secure
civilians, both men and women, who could be forced to march or stand in
front of the troops, so that the countrymen of the civilians would be
compelled first to kill their own people if they resisted the Germans.
This usage is illustrated in the following: