The devils came into the village and said the poor people were hiding
English soldiers. They then set the houses on fire, and I could see the
flames coming my way. I managed to get out before the stack took fire,
only to run into the arms of three of the Germans. They were as drunk
as they could be, and I soon got out of their grips. If two of them are
alive their mothers will not know them. But I was caught a little later
by two more of them. I thought it was all over with me, when one of
them was shot dead by one of our chaps who was hiding. I didn’t know he
was there, and you may imagine my feelings when he came running to me.
We got away, but we should have been riddled if they had been sober: _A
Trooper of the 11th Hussars_.