Omaha daily bee., 1914-09-12
WITNESS TELLS OF
BELGIUM INVASION
German Advance Resembled Flood
tide Spreading Like a Fan
Toward France.
GERMAN SPEED IS MARVELLOUS
Correspondent Criticizes Lack OF
Preparation on the Part OF the
French TO Care for Those
Wounded I'm Rattle.

LONDON, Sept. ia correspondent Of !
the Associated Press who has been
through Belgium sends a long message
from Rotterdam, winch was heavily CEN
sored throughout out which appears to /
be an account of the invasion OF Belgium
obtained from a German point OF view
Something was deleted at the beginning.
Tho story follows:
From Brussels the German army
poured over southern Belgium into |
France like a flood tide spreading like a |
fan in the direction of Beaumont, Maui /
beuge. Mons and adjoining in the south /
OF Belgium with other army corps pro-
ceeding from GemblouX, Dinant and |
Givet.
They went over the French border !
without serious resistance, the French |
scattering before them in great disorder
leaving behind much war material and all
sorts of personal equipments, their re-
treat extending as far as the forest of
Normal, in northern France.
Germany Loses FIFTY Thousand Men.
Several rear guard actions occurred,
resulting in considerable losses to both
sides, and bringing UP the losses of the
Germans in Belgium to about 10000
From the Binche country southwark
in the direction of Maubeuge, innumer-
able skirmshes occurred from August %
TO August 2S. At Bray, just west of
Blnche, the French and English were re
pulsed by the Germans. The French re-
treated to BonnS and Perens where after
another skirmish they fell back through
Morbes Saint Marie and Merbes Lecha-
teau. 10000 English retiring to Jeumont at
the same time.
Engagements in the valley OF Buissere
and Thuin constituted the most determ-
ined resistance offered by the allies After
two days continuous artillery fire which
swept the surrounding country and de-
molished almost every structure, the en-
tire right wing of the allies withdrew far
to the southwark They gave the Ger
mans an opportunity to sweep through
Beaumont and approach Maubeuge from
the south.
Fight for Three Days.
Meanwhile the other corps mad APP
preached Maubeuge from the north, en-
tirely investing the fortress The English
and French were, on August %, driven
across the Sombre river, where, on the
south bank of the river, in a thirty-mie
front fighting continued for three days
The correspondent first saw actual fir
ing in the direction of Maubeuge on Au-
gust rs, when white puffs of the Ger
man shrapnel clouded the horizon, but
the forward movement of the German
columns was so fast that when the cor
respondent reached the scene of the re-
cent engagement, the firing line had ad-
vanced fully ten miles southwark An
extensive trench system laid out by the
French infantry marked the French re-
treat. .t 't.f q 1
Germans Bury Their Dead.
THE German wounded IN all cases
were Immediately cared for. the dead
buried as fast as the army continued on
the march, while the French were left
unburied and the wounded in some few
cases remained on the battle field for
three days before receiving attention.
Large numbers of the French wounded
were brought into Sofas Sur Sambre from
the surrounding woods, whittier many
had dragged themselves to escape. Every
conceivable kind of building. such as the
chateau, school house and inn was used
as a hospital and here the French
wounded were accorded the same care az
the German wounded.
"a large proportion of the French
wounded died from lack of prompt at
tention and long exposure in the oper
without food or drink. No cases were
observed where French medical men were
left behind to take care of their wounded
The German medical corps was fully oc
cupied with the treatment OF its owl
wounded and was FASTENED onward by
the forced marches of extraordinary
speed and duration made by the Germans
1.-THE French dead, in all sorts of con
veyances were a common sight, anC
squares and cemeteries, with unfinished
graves. gave mute evidence of hurried
French retreat.
''Dove-shaped German aeroplanes whir
red constantly over the country and oc
casionally one saw French aviators ia
enough aloft to be out of range of tn
special German guns designed for the de
struction of air craft.
Aerial Duel Fatal to Two
81 saw a duel between French and Ger
man machines, both of which we're dis
abled in hard battle. After comm
downward in giant circles the two ma
chimes plunged to the earth almost sid
by side and were completely shattere
and the aviators were instantly killed
While aloft both pilots and their assis
tants kept up a lively exchange of re
volver shots, which at first were met
fectual and then simultaneously, the
reached their marks. After vain effort
by the aviators to regain control, bot
machines fell TO the earth like meteors.