Grand Forks daily herald., 1914-09-17
LEADEN HURRICANE
DESCRIBED BY BY VET
German Captain Tells of Be-
ing Wounded Three times
in Making Charge.

NeW Ork, Sept ia VIVID Qe-
scription of the fighting before Liege.
was seriously wounded in the battle is
published by the Weser Zeitung Of
Bremen, copies of which reached here
today. Under the caption from the
border to Liege," the officer describes
his experience and feelings in let
ter which reads in, part as follows:
Our trip to the Belgian border was
a triumphal procession. 1t was pour
ing rain as we marched through the
Ardennes. The towns seemed de-
serted. We had no rest and during
'At S a. m. 1Augx s we marched
through the ourthe' Valley, meeting
obstacles everywhere. 1t was an aw-
ful march; the roads were blocked
by felled trees and boulders of bridges
that were only remnants In the aft
ernoon we took up quarters in VIII
lage south of Liege.
Seven o'clock-An alarm ie
sounded; The captain shouts.
cannot go further, the forts are s5
kilometers away, but we press on.
Thirty. minutes pass and we are fired
upon from the heights. Now shots
are fired directly at us from nearer
points. We draw our revolvers and
rush forward.
Cannon and Thunder Roar.
THE field is alive with troopers of
all arms 1t is raining in torrents; a
thunderstorm is roaring and the night
is pitch dark. Now they fall in mass
es and do not rise. The sky clears,
the moon shines, we hear cannonad-
ing:
Suddenly we hear that our bag
gage has been attacked. Our COM
pany turns back. The village has
been burned down; all the people
shot. Such are the atrocities Of the
franc-tireurs. Meanwhile we keep
on, close to Liege and turn off behind
the wood. Four regiments lay down
their knapsacks and iron rations'
are taken out. The last eXhortation
is given, we form in ranks for the
charge.
Shells whiz past but without aim.
We gallop by our artillery, stuck
helplessly in the mud up to the stom-
ach. A wild hail Of bullets bursts on
us from point directly opposite. Our
own men are firing upon us. but just
in time we are recognized. Now we
are directly in front of the firing line
of the forts. There is wild clamor-
Friend and enemy look alike.
Hit by Shell Fragment.
Il am lying before a barricade of
trees and barbed wire, with my COM
rade, Lieutenant G. on my left and
the captain on my right. Shells ex-
plode all around; everywhere is the
Internal noise Of musketry fire. The
air is hot. A few yards ahead we NAV
get better cover. nudge Lieutenant
G. and ask shall we 20 forward?' No
answer. He is dead. The captain
IN 17c fo ~ {n %nY1 l.
shot in the breast. raise nv arm,
the company responds to my word Of
command.
II rush forward A terrible blow
throws me back three feet. have
received a shell in the left thigh. The
pain is terrible. Before me an off,
Ger calls out his name, holds out his
hand to me and then falls back
dead. In front of me there is a flag
and 7 try to crawl up to 1t. The bear
er is dead.
"a second shot strikes me in the
left arm: a third in the RIGHT arm.
bite the earth with main A few steps
in front are the Beleian rifle pits our
men advance. lie In one place near
" 70 hours. vet ,despite the hail Of
bullets. nothing haDpNns to me. A
doctor comes with banderes. At noon
am csrried away. shiverinv wifi
feVer., = rneet our regiment. It's losses
are terr'b'e-three cantatrs. six ,ieu-
.e- 2 ''ts dead. nearly all from my bat
talon.
~ am taken to a. feId hosnits1.
During the frat few dav. snffer ter
~'hlv but now I am nucb better.
'rhe~A ere others who have to snftar
e-ea+e~ nain than !. that makes one
',eap u,,iet have loat everything
r''rn c'cthes 7 wors were 30 soaked
with hlond that +t,sv we're burned
Russian hrorehtasn,e some UNDER
wea~ and a fvrr nethet'c little worna y
= washing and fnendinE q uniform
for me-" ~ NJ ~ ~,