Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-11-11
GERMAN NEWSPAPER
DESCRIBES BATTLE
Fall of Liege and Namur At
tended By Soul Rending
Scenes of Suffering.

Berlin, Especial by maiD.-The fol-
lowing descriptions of the devastation
at Liege and Namur are translated
from accounts in the Tageblatt:
we reached Liege on the evening of.
a stormy day. We Travelled through
streets where the smoke of burned
houses was still curling upward, streets
that showed no signs of life. Patrols
marched through the city. The beauti-
full shops across from the university
were a field of ruins. I was told that
came from these shops as if by prear-
rangement. The inhabitants of the
houses We're dragged out. the women
We're torn from The men, and whoever
had a weapon i'm his hands was shot.
In q few minutes the streets were sown
with corpSeS. The houses We're set on
fire.
"Eye-witnesSes described for me the
details of the conquest of Liege. Loucin,
the strongest fort, was bombarde by
the newest krupp guns which were
stationed in the market place. in the
middle of the city. Every window pane
IN the vicinity was broke by the con-
cussion. and pieces of roof fell from
some of the houses. The fort soon sur
rendered. A division of Jaeger were the
first men to enter the fort. The de-
%struction was terrible. About 400
corpses lay piled inside the stone walls.
The stencil was unbearable. About
200 ounde We're counted. The only
man uninjured was the comnlandant. A
wounded man, who evidently was about.
to be operated on. lay in the lazarett.
He had been killed by a shell. Liege
had altogether Is forts. Nine were aiken
by infantry storm, the others were re-
duced by artillery. The forts are be-
ing repaired for German use by the in
habitants of the city. who get six
francs a day for their work.
City Burns.
"a German. who had lain in a Belgian
fort as prisoner and witnessed tho
whole bombardment, described the
course of the battle. The bombardment,,
he said, began at midnight on August
6. One shell after another exploded.
and Leige was so on afire in many
places. From every roof and window
In the house came a rain of bullets.
Under this fire the Germans stormed
through he village of Roncourt and
deployed in a wheat. field. Two hundred
Germans opened a rapid fire on 1000
Belg1ans. of whom 500 fell. Nineteen
German prisoners were confined in a
cellar when the Germans heavy artil-
lery began firing. They could hear the
shells coming through the air, and ev-.
cry time they exploded, gas. powder.
cellar until the men were nearly suf-
located. Finally an explosion blew in
the iron cellar. and shortly thereafter
the Belgians surrendered, freeing the
prisoners.
No Bread or Beer.
ION the following morning 1 went to
Namur. In Liege certain streets had
been burned out. but in Namur whole
blocks were destroyed. The grand.
palace with its beautiful Rathaus. had
been blotted out of existence. In it's
place were heaps of ruins, from which.
smoke was still coming. The destructive
effects of grenades could be noted on
many houses. The city was without
bread. German patrols were guarding
the bakeries. which were being stormei
by the people. BY 4 o'clock in the az
ternoon even the largest hotels a no
provisions of n kind left. Our troops
were fed from the vast quantities Of
food stored in the forts. In the city
there was a shortage of everything.
especially potatoes and salt.
In the afternoon we went on to Gem
!, lou The famine was still worse there
been unable to get bread or beer from
the people for IA days"