davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-08
The Signal Honor of This Decoration Ha'
Been Won by Several Residents OF
This CITY Through Valor on
the Field of Battle.
the Field of Battle.

wonderful TO think that we are victorious in all
parts of the field. May Heaven grant that IL VIII
continue until we get TO Paris!
The people who attacked us with such ueachery
have miscaculated thoroughly Every one OF Us
knows that he is in the field for holy cause ana
for the honor of the Fatherland.
In spite Of this hour of sadness have been
able to experience In the campaign the most
wonderful day Of my life. Through HIS Majesty
the Emperor the Iron Cross was conferred on me
and on five other members of my company. IL
was awarded to us for bravery before the enemy
and was fastened TO our breasts in the presence
of the whole battalion. | have found the oppor-
tunity to distinguish myself "a little at various
times particularly in the last engagement when
my company alone lost forty-eight Killed ana
wounded and when, with about twenty brave Tel
lows ! succeeded in storming the first OF the
French positions, bringing about the decision
upon this wing. | had hole shot through my
coat but otherwise all went well with me. HOW
much pleasure ] felt 10 be among the first Few 10
receive this decoration in the field cannot tell
you Each Of us was also congratulated per
sonally by our division commander.
Lieutenant Hollender is one of the few German
Americans who have so far been mentioned in
the dispatches although the Iron Cross has
also been won by Louis Weber, the brother of
Mrs Albert Muller, Of this city. Among the vet
Grams of 1870. however there are several Germans
now in New York who have achieved the dstinc-
ton of the Iron Cross and who have personally
given accounts Of how they gained this honor.
The stories. though entirely different i'm them
selves, are similar in many ways notably the diff
fcuty with which they were extracted from the
veterans. who seemed TO be averse TO telling Of
the dangers that they had undergone.
Perhaps the most perilous experience was UNI
dergone by Otto Benzenberg, who won the Iron
Cross for his marked personal bravery in the
storming of Spicheren Hill on August 6, 1870. Mr..
Benzenberg now painter in Ridgewood, has little
about him to suggest the soldier. The fact that
his family turned out good fighters, however, is
attested by the fact that his brother, Gustav also
a Brooklynite. succeeded in winning the Cross in
the same furious charge.
MY brothers three years were finished when
the war broke out" said Mr. Benzenberg, "but he
rejoined the army at the beginning Of the war
and became sergeant of the company in which
served as a private. He veteran Of the
Austrian war and good soldier. It was a curl
Gus coincidence that both of US should win the
Iron Cross the same day.
eve belonged to the seth Dusseldorf Infantry.
and had been through the Eifel Mountains. On
August we rose at ! o'clock and marched with
out rest until mood. After passing Saarbrucken
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-08

blood that it inefficient. It was not
unusual in his army to find responsible commands
intrusted to the hands Of youths Of good family
at an age when they should have been learning
the rudiments Of their chosen profession in the
Pancaldi Military School, the Turkish Sandhurst.
General der Goltz sent promising officers,
such as Enver Bey, to Germany for further in
struction, and Mausers and field guns Of more
modern type bought Charles Woods, F. K.
G. s., writing after a visit to Turkey following the
adoption of the constitution, says that the quick
firing guns supplied under various contracts signed
between 1908 and 1905 were only now taken out Of
the stores in which they had been housed since
they were delivered at Constantinople.
Before the advent of the constitution" he
says, "the troops performed military duties only
on two or three days a week, and no training was
regularly carried out in the army Almost imme-
diately after the revolution small manGuvres, in
which one two battalions took part, were insti-
tuted in the 1st, I'd and Sd Army Corps districts.
Subsequently it was discovered that the tax
ing part in these mannuvres had no idea Of the
rudiments Of drill and il therefore decided
that it was necessary to carry out the more ee-
mentary phases Of military instruction. Although
practice in shooting, quite unknown during the
old regime, has now been introduced for the in
fantrv. have been unable TO ascertain that any
Iring mas Deen carried OUT Iy the dIlllltIgs li4
the provinces at least range practices for the
artillery seemed to be quite unknown. An officer
Of high rank belonging 10 that branch of the ser
vice. and quartered in important military
centre even went so far as to inform me about
eighteen months after the advent Of the constitu-
ton that the Turkish artillery had been good
for fifteen years that it not necessary to carry
out any changes! At Constantinople, Salonica
Adrianople and other military centres field days
in which the whole Of the respective garrison'
take part are now of no uncommon occurrence.
The troops often leave their quarters early in the
morning not to return until late in the day"
II was in 1909 that the first manGuvres on
larger scale were carried out. General Won der
Goltz did not forget when planning them in which
direction danger lay. The territory chosen was
the neighborhood of Adrianople. An enemy was
supposed to be coming from the north with the
purpose Of cutting railroad communications and
encircling that city The following year 10000
troops engaged in maupuvres in the same neigh
borhood, both regulars and reserves being en-
gagged An advance from Bulgaria toward Con
stantnoplo supposed TO be in progress. The
results Of the Balkan would suggest that per-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-08

lery for four years. Then follows enrolment in
the reserve of the active army, the period being
six years in the infantry and five years in the
other arms. These supposed to devote
six weeks annually TO drill, to serve upon call
in suDpressing local rebeons Then follows nine
years in the Redif The Redif is divided into two
classes, and the men nominally are subject TO a
months training every other year. The Mustafz,
territorial army is made up Of those who have
passed through the other services and the name
of each remains the rolls for seven years.
This is a sort OF for the Redif but in the
past has had organization. This completes the
military service
Few know the real strength of the Turkish army
footing. 1t has been estimated at
100000 men, of which perhaps 100000 are with
the colors and form the standing army. The
facilities for mobilization are very poor, owing to
the lack of railroads and good military highways.
The Hamideh cavalry is an irregular mounted
militia made up of sxty-six regiments, each with
a strength of from 400 to 500 horsemen. OF the
ffty-fve divisions Of infantry, twenty-one and
one-half belongs to the Nizam, each division on
paper possessing 5000 men, The whole of the
Nzam infantry is armed with Mauser magazine
rifles The infantry ordinarily is distributed
throughout the army corps districts into when
the empire is divided. The corps are not of equal
size, the number OF divisions assigned TO eacn
district being based on the needs in that locality
With each army corps is supposed to be division
Of cavalry, consisting of three brigades Attached
to each corps also is supposed to be full division
Of artillery. As matter of fact the number of
four and six gun batteries attached to the different
army corps ranges from twenty to forty They are
equipped with Krupp and Creuzot guns. The Turk
ish army also possesses several batteries of 15-
centimetre howitzers and number of Hotchkiss
and Maxim machine guns IL has been weak in the
past in engineers and train men, and its hospital
service leaves much to be desired Under the re-
gme Of the Young Turks the whole army prior to
the Balkan war was equipped with khaki serge
uniforms.
In the past the officers have been considered the
weakest part Of the army They are of two classes
those who have passed into the army through the
military schools and those who have been pro-
NOTED from the ranks. Gradually the latter is
being wiped out Under ordinary circumstances
about 400 youths arc admitted to the Pancad
Military School, at Constantnople each year, the
ages ranging between seventeen and nineteen
years. The course of instruction covers three
years. After two years of service with their regi-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-08

TX centuries ago the Turks, supported by
the olives, figs and wheat of the rich
-. coasts Of Anatolia, the old home Of Cr9sus,
swept across the Bosporus into Europe.
Fighting with the fury Of fatalistc faith, prom
Using eternal youth in the land of the black-eyed
hours to those who died facing infdels, they
rolled up to the walls of Vienna. In the seven
teenth century they were turned backward by So
bieski, the Polish hero A year hence, and Ana
tolia may claim them again. The Slav is still at
their heels The Turk has broken in where angels
would fear to tread He practically invites the
Slav to put him back in his old nest
When one looks upon Turkeys army and navy
to-day one wonders how it possible for the
government 10 permit itself TO be drawn into a
conflict which is so much in line with the terri
torial desires Of Russia. The army and navy are,
fguratively speaking, on their way across stream.
Following the overthrow Of Abdul Hamid, the
Young Turks have been trying to modernize these
services but the work is incomplete. SiXteen-inch
howitzers eight miles away laugh at medieval
hand-to-hand fighting and fatalism. To the how
tiers it is simply beating of the air.
The army has been the backbone Of Turkey, for
the Turk is by nature fighter It's welfare has
occupied a prominent place in the internal and ex-
ternal policies Of the old and the new regime The
organization which existed when the Young Turks
came into power, in 1908, had been developed by
Field Marshal Won der Goltz, the present German
Governor General Of Belgium. Eleven years had
elapsed, however, since the fighting machine Of his
creation had shown its capacity in the war with
the Greeks. II had deteriorated The standard Of
education among the officers very modest.
Many of the non-commissoned officers were unable
TO read, and comparatively few could write. 1t is
recorded that the occasion Of the investiture Of
the new Sultan several foreigners succeeded in
entering the Enclosure by merely showing the
passes which had been furnished TO them by the
police to permit them TO 90 about CONSTANT
nople after nightfall while the city was in state
o; siege The officers in charge of the guard were
unable to read the documents which were exhb-
tied. but of course, recognized them as Official.
General Won der Goltz called in again He
reorcanizee the General Staff, prescribed regi-
mental service and training for the younger OH
Gers and revision Of the lax regulations affect
ing seniority and retirement. So slow had pro-
motion been and so reluctant had Abdul Hamid
been 70 part with his octogenarian officers that
wbite-haired captains were conspicuous at eacH
selamlik On the other hand he had no OBJ
lection TO the injection Of new blood-that 49,
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-08

ments officers may take course az the stan W
lege in Constantinople. certain number osi'h
the present war were then sent TO Germany 70 81
to their military knowledge.
The recruiting ground for the army, owing
its Moslem composition, is chiefly in Asia Mn"
The loss of European Turkey in the Balkan vs.
therefore, was not such a blow TO the Turks
army as some might imagine, while It left -
territory Of hostile tendencies TO protect
The Turkish navy has been the Laughing si'a
Of the world for long time. The Young T1'n
have been trying 10 replace the useless yess'a
by some up-to-date craft. The two modern cs'
tleships which were under construction in bn'
ish shipyards when the war broke out were 'sA1
over by Great Britain, which promised TO rs'a"
them or provide as good at the close Of the va
That Turkey will ever see these ships loon '~
likely than il did. One of them was the BRAIN"
vessel Rio de Janeiro, which was renamed sun.
Osman |. The other was the Reshadieh, -"
tons, resembling in many respects the yesse'
the King George V class in the British navy y
April 30, 1913, contract was signed By eer~-
British shipbuildng firms for the reorganli''~
of the Turkish dockyards This work, OF e0I''
is likely 70 remain incomplete.
The reorganization of the navy was pat u
hands of British naval officers following the a'S'
of the Balkan war; Rear Admiral 4. h. LiMg,1
with staff of officers, being lent 20 Turkey io' :
purpose Prior to the war other British otleef'' -
been engaged in the task Of putting Turkey
the sea in d mobile form. Until chen MOST Of
vessels had been occupied chiefly at tugg's
their anchors in the Golden Horn from one y''',
end 10 the other. In addition TO the Goeoen -
the Breslau, nominally in the Turkish navy y
fleet consists of the Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarosss y
the Torgut Refs, two battleships Of the bfan'~
burg class, of 5000 tons displacement eacn -
chased from Germany a few years ago and eAp,.-
at one time of a speed of 2lSi knots; the ~
soudeh, launched in 1874 and rebuilt ~ ~
which is credited with d speed Of 251. knots
seven cruisers ranging in size from 1iO 20 %
tons displacement. OF the cruisers, the Ns~
dieh was built in Philadelphia as gentle nm
the United States to be kindly disposed 'o"'.
Turkey The Hamideh is perhaps the best Sh0'.
She is the largest of the cruisers and perioi|,s
the only naval feat of any special interest ~
Balkan war Escaping from the control o. !,
superiors, her commander made extended cruz.
through the Eastern Mediterranean and me y
Sea, thus establishing the presence Of degree
enterprise in the navy Turkey also has nu~''
of torpedo boats
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-08

we proceeded TO Spicheren, and on Spcheren Hill
we discovered the French who had strongly in
trencbed themselves and had mounted their ar
tillcry. We had to scale the HILL and 1t was
difficult Job, / can assure you. do not believe
that San Juan was nearly as. hard a feat. The
French had cut down trees that blocked our way
and rur a barrier of wires in front OF their lines
We could not even them as we climbed, but
tbov could see us as was proved by the rattle of
their mitrailleuses and the dropping Of our men.
/ lost sight of my brother at the opening of the
charge and did not him again until the night
was ended Three times my regiment charged the
hill and twice they were driven back with heavy
losses.
"At the end .of the first charge found myself
we'll in advance of the bulk of my company, and
as they fell back toward the foot Of the hill it
occurred to me to protect myself behind the tree
trunks and to keep the ground that had gained.
I had plenty of cartridges and kept shooting,
being too excited TO obey my commander, who
shouted 10 me 20 return At the next charge |
dropped behind hummock and kept right on
shooting Some bullets went close to my ears. but
/ felt that | had to stay there When my COM
rades reached me in the third charge | joined
them. and we settled the French with our oayonets
and won the hill For remaining upon the slope
while the others reuedteu TeCelNeu NHt liVH
Cross.
after the fight made inquiries for my brother,
but he was not to be seen and news Of him
was TO be had. Then, with some other soldiers,
made a careful search of the dead and wounded,
fearing that every face looked at might be his.
Finally some one told me that he had been shot
and taken TO Saarbrucken / met him there soon
after with his arm in sling. He had received
his wound in the second charge and in spite Of
the fact that he could have gone to the rear for
treatment he had made tourniquet Of his cart
ridge belt, bandaged his wound with his coat and
gone into the third charge in his shirt sleeves.
How glad was to see his face you can well i'm
agine Also to know that he as well as had been
selected for so great honor"
Equally exciting is the story of Valentin Thiel,
who won the Iron Cross in the battle of Marsha
Tour while serving in the army of Prince Karl
of Prussia The company in which Thiel served
was intrenched in sunken road that was COM
manded by a French battery of mtrailleuses
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-08

idoo of taking a meal at the enemys expense.
Tbev seemed to think it was an excellent plan
and we charged the French position, killing some
Of them and taking the rest prisoners AS eS-
nected we found quantity Of provisions and we
had good, square meal
"But when ! returned to my company there was
trouble in store for me. Lieutenant Won Franken-
berg was bitterly angry at my having disooeyeu
his orders to reconnoitre. lie threatened 70
break me of my rank, and he mentioned my name
in his report giving the circumstances OF my dls-
obedience | expected some heavy punishment
but instead of this I received the Iron Cross. Few
men were more astonished than when the honor
was conferred upon me.
81 had another unusual experience in the war.
Ny squadron was engaged in hand-to-hand
fighting with the Chasseurs d'Afrique and a
French officer charged me with levelled revolver.
/ struck up his hand with my sabre and with the
downward stroke cut his head, knocking HIM from
his horse and wounding him badly. As ne fell ne
said Pardon, m'sieu,' asking for mercy, and see
ing that he was badly hurt picked him up lald
him across my saddle and took him TO our hos
pital behind the lines. also took his horse with
my commanders permission, for the animal was
a beautiful Arabian and far superior to my own
mount
$50 tar there was nothing uhuSudi ih tHc W
currence but later on men were quartered IN
Dion and | happened to stay in the very house
where the officers sister lived. did not know
this at the time although she told me that her
brother was with the Chasseurs, but in short
time the identical officer walked in He had re-
covered from his wound and was on parole. When
he saw me he was greatly astonished and eX-
pressed his gratitude. lie couldn't do enough for
me. We became friends and have had several
letters from him since I came to America"
Christopher Krauss, Brooklynite, won the
Iron Cross while serving a drummer boy in
the 18th Bavarian Infantry, after seeing action
in five major engagements.
"Our regiment had received orders to destroy
the railroad dam, which was exposed to the French
fire." said Mr.. Krauss, land, be.ng drummer boy,
| had to give the signals. Major Gumperbach
gave the orders. | beat out Forward, march,
and started ahead toward the dam, thinking that
the regiment was close behind ME. To my sur
prise, when / reached it and turned around was
all alone, and while | was thinking what should
do | saw a French soldier coming forward on the
run to take me prisoner. OF course, ran back,
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-08
Some of Them Have Received the Award
in the Present War, While Their
Elders Gained 1t by Feats OF
Courage in War of 1870.

and the bullets were flying 70 the left and rss,
of me as | retreated. On the way I heard faint
voice crying for help, and when I reached n.
place / saw that the wounded vas "a
other than my major, who shot In the rim,
shoulder and rapidly bleeding 70 death ban
daged the wound as well able TO- b.
while doing this a second bullet penetrated Ri,
leg and my helmet was shot from ny head A
Frenchman ran forward with fixed bayonst b.,
by great good luck had a French officers revoL
YER with me and I shot him between the eyes Il
the meantime my regiment charged once msr
and rescued US. They had retreeted because Their
ammunition had given out.
"I was also lucky enough to win the gold melL
for bravery by saving the 4th Brigade from BEN,
surrounded and captured. | knew how TO fs.ts
off the French Retreat which had learned .rou
a captive drummer boy, and played it tor n
I was worth The French thought 10 vas the red
signal and retreated. When they discovered thsr
mistake the Germans were all ready for thsn'
Otto Gericke. receiving clerk in the Nora
German Lloyd in Hoboken, won the Iron Crpn
for services in the siege Of Peronne, which bsss,
December 81. 1870, and lasted for nearly Two VEGA
As a corporal of the Hessian heavy artillery 10
took part in numerous engagements, and in t,s
actual siege helped 70 officer his company FOR n!A,
full days. The captain and lieutenant were bon
wounded, the actual command passing into tie
hands of the sergeant, while Mr. Gericke took re
place of the Lieutenant The skill with which Il
guns were served in spite Of the dearth 0; ma,
which compelled the gunners 20 stay actively
their stations for the greater part OF each tvs
ty-four hours, won the appreciation Of the e.
peror and the Iron Cross was awarded TO a nunSs
of the artilerymen in consequence.
Valentine Odenwalder, a butcher Of this ez
who was formerly a member Of the llth Field A.
tillery, won the Cross for supplying his guns vi
ammunition during a stiff engagement. The ar's
lery, which had run out Of powder, had partial
been Aanked by the French infantry and drTs
into position where hill lay between them az
their base. Mr.. Odenwalder volunteered to .
around the hill TO ask for reinforcements.
doing this he was target for the bullets Of IL
whole French line for the better part Of the ~
lance and escaped with his life by miracle.
Unusual bravery was also shown by M
Yorker named Joseph Perscheid, Of the u
Rhenish Infantry, now member Of the Vervss
tungsrath of the Deutscher yeteranbunt Of tn
city.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-08
UNDER FREELY Richard Harding Davis

biles and mitrailleuses.
At one table Hugo Fraser, of the American
Embassy, would be telling an English officer
that captain OF his regiment who was sup
posed to have been killed at Courtrai had, like
a homing pigeon, found his way to the hospital
at Newly and wanted to be reported safe"
at Lloyds. At one table a French Lieutenant
would describe a raid made by the of an
American banker in Paris, who is in COM
mand OF an armed automobile. He swept his
gun only once--so," the Frenchman explained,
waving his arm across the champagne and the
broiled lobster, "and he caught a general and
two staff officers. He cut them in half" Or
at another table you would listen to a group
of English officers talking in wonder of the
Germans wasteful advance in solid formation.
They piled so high" one of them re-
lates. that l stopped firing. They looked like
gray worms squirming about in bait box. l
can shoot men coming at me on their feet, but
not mess of arms and legs"
Il know" assents another; when we charged
the other day we had to advance over the Ger
mans that fell the night before and my men
were slipping and stumbling all over the place.
The bodies didn't give them any foothold."
My sergeant yesterday" another relates,
turned to me and said: 1t isn't cricket.
There's no game in shooting into target as
big as that. It's just murder l had to order
him to continue firing"
They tell OF it without pose or emotion. 1t
is all in the days work. Most of them are
young men OF wealth. OF ancient family cleanly
bred gentlemen of England and as thew nod
and leave the restaurant we know that in three
hours. wrapped in greatcoat each will be
sleeping in the earth trenches, and that the
next morning the shells will wake him
Copyright 1914. by the Wheeler Syndicate. Incl