“=Just for a word--‘neutrality’--just for a scrap of paper Great
Britain was going to make war.=”--_The German Chancellor._
_The “scrap of paper” was the Powers’ treaty guaranteeing Belgium
neutrality._
French Protest to the Powers.
So numerous and so terrible were the outrages committed by Germans on
French territory that the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, on
September 2nd--a month after the outbreak of hostilities--was compelled
to address a communication to the Powers which set forth a large number
of authenticated cases of barbarity. In the course of this official
statement it was explained that the indisputable facts set out were
selected merely as examples, and that it was impossible to bring to the
notice of the Powers every act contrary to the laws of war of which
accounts were being received day by day. The series of memoranda were
sufficient to establish the two following classes of facts:--
“First. The Armies and Government of Germany profess the deepest
scorn for International Law, and for treaties solemnly recognised
for Germany.
“Secondly. The devastations of the invaded countries (incendiarism,
murder, pillage, and atrocities) appear to be systematically
pursued by order of the leaders, and are not due to acts of
indiscipline.
“It is necessary to emphasise this two-fold characteristic of the
German proceedings. They constitute a negation of every human and
International law, and bring back modern warfare, after centuries
of civilisation, to the methods of barbaric invasions. We are
confident that such facts will arouse the indignation of neutral
States, and will help to make clear the meaning of the struggle
which we are carrying on in the respect of law and independence of
nations.”
To this _communiqué_ were attached ten separate memoranda, setting forth
various specific charges against the Germans, and showing, among other
things, how the Kaiser’s troops were killing the French wounded, and had
even shot Red Cross nurses.
A Dead Man’s Diary.
“In the fifth of these memoranda,” says Reuter’s correspondent, “the
German allegation that the civilian population had taken part in the war
was strongly denied, and was declared to be nothing but a pretext put
forward by the German troops to give them the appearance of reprisals.
From the beginning of the war the Germans had made a practice of burning
undefended villages and of assassinating the inhabitants, and evidence
of this was to be found in letters and notebooks which had been taken
from Germans, dead or prisoners.”
A notebook found on a corpse of a German lieutenant contained the
following remark:--“We have fired the church of Villerupt and shot the
inhabitants. We pretended that scouts had taken refuge in the tower of
the church and had fired on us from there. The fact was, it was not the
inhabitants of Villerupt, but Customs officers and forest guards who
fired on us.”
The sixth memorandum gave detailed evidence in support of the charge
that a systematic devastation of the country had been ordered by the
German leaders. Letters found on German soldiers made it clear that the
burning of villages and the shooting of the inhabitants were general
measures, and that the orders were given by superior officers.
Attention was called to this violation of The Hague Convention, and it
was pointed out that it was on the proposal of the German delegates at
the second Hague Conference that an article was inserted declaring that
the belligerent guilty of such violation should be liable to pay an
indemnity.
In the remaining memoranda information was given as to the destruction
of villages in the region of Paris, and the burning of Affleville, under
circumstances of particular brutality.
The statement concluded: “The Government of the Republic, respecting
International conventions which it has ratified, protests against those
violations of International law, and holds up to reprobation before the
opinion of the world the behaviour of an enemy who respects no rule and
goes back on his signature affixed to International agreements.”
The Red Hand of Destruction.
Upon the Franco-German frontier the red hand of destruction was indeed
laid heavily, and it seemed incredible that a civilised nation should
resort to the methods of savages. Yet it was, alas, true, as was proved
in hundreds of cases. Atrocities were committed everywhere; civilians,
women, and children were shot down in blind rage. A German officer
captured by the French near Blamont admitted that the Germans wanted no
prisoners, and that the wholesale massacre of peaceful villagers was
according to orders.
German infantrymen belonging to the Bavarian regiments systematically
set fire to the villages through which they passed in the region of
Barras, Harbone, and Montreux, for during the engagement no artillery
fire could have caused such conflagrations. In the same district they
forced the inhabitants to precede their scouts. According to the same
report the German troops were daily massacring peaceful villagers, and
actually made children march before them when debouching from the
villages upon the field of battle.
An official report was made by M. Mirman, Prefect of the Meurthe and
Moselle, to the French Minister of the Interior, after a visit paid to
the districts of Bardonviller, Cirey, and Blamont, in the Luneville
area. He stated that it was impossible to cite all the acts of savagery
and brutality on the part of the German troops which had come under his
notice. He could make out a long list of women, young girls, and old men
and women who had been executed without the least reason and upon the
slightest pretext. Houses had been systematically burned by order of the
German officers as they advanced, and then again as they retreated.
Petrol on Burning Houses.
At Bardonviller, where one of the Kaiser’s sons was with the troops,
eleven of the inhabitants had been murdered, among whom was the wife of
the mayor, and a woman with her infant child, while seventy-eight houses
were burned with petrol and specially-prepared faggots. After pillaging
the town and looting everything they could, they fired on and demolished
the church, and took fifteen of the inhabitants, including a magistrate,
away as hostages.
At Bremeuil the Prefect found a pitiful and shameful state of affairs.
There, five inhabitants, one a little lad, were butchered, as well as an
old man of seventy-four, who was “trussed and shot like a rabbit.” The
Communal building was destroyed, and nearly the whole town swept away,
not during battle, but by the soldiers on their arrival.
The French troops in Lorraine had seized an entire mail, letters written
by German soldiers to their families. In these it was shown that the
chief occupation of the troops was eating and drinking, and in more than
twenty of the letters it was stated that all French civilians were shot
if they only looked suspicious or evil-disposed. All the men, and even
boys under age, were shot.
Another official statement issued by the French Ministry of War stated
that two Uhlans who were reconnoitring on the frontier entered the
little village of Affleville. They were ejected by a patrol of three
mounted riflemen. On the following day a detachment of Uhlans returned,
set fire to a farmhouse, and killed the farmer, who attempted to save
his property. The inhabitants protested that their village had not
interfered with the enemy, but later that evening a further squadron of
Uhlans arrived while all the villagers were attending service in the
church, and after sprinkling the houses with petroleum set the whole
place on fire. The terrified inhabitants fled without money or other
property to Verdun, the parish priest being shot.
“We Kill Everyone.”
Many other sensational indictments of the blood-lust of the Kaiser’s
savage hordes reached the French Ministry of Justice. The Curé of
Pillon, in the Metz district, states that on August 10th fifteen Germans
entered his house and pointed their rifles at him. He was dragged into
the road and brought before the General. On the way there he was
hurried along with the butts of his captors’ rifles. When he stopped
they hit him. He took out his handkerchief, and they confiscated it. He
shouted: “You are a set of brutes. Take me before one of your officers
who speaks French.” An officer replied in French, “It’s all up with
you.” A French shell burst not far from the German troops. The Germans
threw themselves down, but compelled the priest to remain standing.
Seven lads from French Lorraine at Baroncourt saw a body of Uhlans
driving before them old men, women, and children. They struck those that
would not or could not walk. Three Uhlans moved aside to a field where a
boy of fifteen was tending a herd of cows. The youth attempted to
prevent the seizure of the cattle. The troopers shot him point-blank,
and he fell without a cry.
In Lorraine a large number of letters written by German soldiers were
captured, and these letters are full of descriptions of acts of wanton
cruelty. Most of the writers make reference to food and drink. One says,
“We have no need for money. We simply take.” In another it is written,
“Before burning the village we took away everything that was eatable or
drinkable,” and again, “The first village across the frontier was
completely destroyed. It was a sight which was both sad and agreeable.”
In another letter it is stated, “We have shot the inhabitants of from
fourteen to sixty years old. There were thirty of them.” In twenty other
letters the phrases recur, “All were shot. We kill everyone.”
“=The efforts directed towards the abolition of war must not only be
termed foolish, but absolutely immoral, and must be described as
unworthy of the human race.=”--_Gen. Von Bernhardi._
Village Ruthlessly Bombarded.
Refugees from Lorraine had a pathetic story to tell. The village of
Pontsurseille was burned on August 21st by the Germans. Like several
others in the neighbourhood, it was close to the border-line, and
courteous relations continued between its inhabitants and the enemy,
even after the first days of the war. But on August 14th a body of
Uhlans suddenly appeared and commandeered a number of things. They were
supplied at once with 200 chickens, a quantity of oats, and some other
provisions. The Guard Champêtre himself delivered the objects
commandeered, and took them across the border into the German camp. He
was not allowed to return immediately, and was detained for two days. On
Monday, August 17th, when the Guard Champêtre had returned, a shell
suddenly burst over the village. It exploded a few yards from a place
where a couple of women were engaged in milking the cows. Other shells
followed. They came from a battery erected on the other side of the
border.
No French soldier had been seen at the village for three days. They had
made their appearance only for a short time, and had fallen back. The
firing stopped after a while, but was resumed during the night and
continued for several nights following. All the able-bodied men had left
for the garrisons, and only the women, the children, and some aged men
remained. The Guard Champêtre was the only person with any authority
that remained, and he took over the administration of the commune.
Meanwhile he was compelled every day to go back and forwards between the
village and the German camp and supply the provisions that were
commandeered.
A young seminarist acted as secretary at the Mairie, and the wife of the
Guard Champêtre took charge of the fire-engine and tried to put out the
fire caused by the shells with the help of some other women.
On the night of August 20th it became evident that the Germans intended
to lay the village in ruins. The bombardment was continued all night and
the following day. The inhabitants took refuge in the cellars, which
protected them against the shells. About forty of them found shelter in
a big cellar belonging to a rich farmer, M. François Michel.
Helpless Children.
There were small children of three, six, and nine years, and infants
only a few months old. The Guard Champêtre, assisted by his wife,
directed everything. He had the openings protected by mattresses, which
prevented the Germans from discharging their rifles into the cellar.
By making a hole in one of the walls he secured a retreat into an
adjoining cellar. Suddenly an officer came, had the door opened, and
ordered everybody to come out at once. M. François Michel was the first
to step out, and he was instantly shot down by a group of soldiers
standing by. Next a boy of six, a nice little lad, stepped out. He was
also shot down. Everybody in the cellar then rushed back, amid cries of
horror raised by the wife of M. Michel and his children.
The Germans shouted, “Come out, or we shall burn you alive,” and fired a
volley down the steps of the cellar. The soldiers poured petroleum down
the cellar and on the mattresses, and set fire to it. The people inside
took refuge in the adjoining cellar, and the Guard Champêtre and his
wife were the last to leave. From this cellar they finally escaped and
fled across the field. The soldiers meanwhile had seized the young
seminarist, and another young man, aged twenty, and shot them, declaring
that they were of age for military service.
[Illustration: THE CHURCH AT TERMONDE IN RUINS.
_Photo, Sport and General._
_Face p. 101_]