The Sentinel=record., 1915-02-07
SOLDIERS WEEP
 AFTER A BATTLE
NOT CAUSED BY MAUDLlN SEN. MENTALITY BUT BY REAC-
 TON FOLLOWING STRAIN.
German Officer Recites His Feelings Following One of the Heartbreakina Fights in Poland

Cologne, Feb. 6.-"Yes. wept. as so many others have doIe-wept with. out being ashamed of my tears. or re. srettin2 ROW that ] did weep" says an officer with the German army in Poland in discussing the psyohologi cal side of men il action He points out that this as a rule is not an out. break ot "maudll sentmentality." " but just sort ol physical and psy- cLo.ogical reaction following the tre. mendous strain upon body and mind in a battle
 The heavy Russian batteries had oeel using poor ammunition and many of their pieces had been si- fenced by our fire We had been able. moreover, to send strong forces against their entrenched positions and as these advanced we took tie Russian trenches under terrific fire with our heavy batteries There Is no Infantry that will withstand this shock. Here and there the Russians left their trenches, merely to be cut down by our machine guns, or to be decmated by cur shrapnel.
 And as this day ended and the fir ing began to weaken. | wept Why cont know | lay iI the straw and Y ept. Not because we had gained victory those were not tears of joy. There was no occasion for tears of sorrow lt was over quickly,
 ''It is said sometimes that this Is the beginning of the end But that thank God, was no, the case had not slept in two nights
 After l had made all necessary ar raagemeuts l left the battlefield and rode pas. smoldering houses and vii. laees toward my quarters. whcra without taking off my belt greatccat or even the helmet, threw myself upon the straw 1 slept from ish. in the evening until midnight like one dead. When they finally manasel to bring me to my senses, was abso mtely unable to believe that severaI heavy shells mas dropped around the place shelteriug Us.
 "A cup of cnampaene given me by a comrade helped me to bring my wits tog ther. After that l sat down be- side the others al the large farm la. hle covered with maps and an ever active telephone instrument. and felt quite fresh
 I began to think of my weeping spell. Was it case of nervous break dovl, or one of msoldierly seutimen tah-m2 believed in the one as it te as in the other had been Wit- ness to tears before Those who wep; them seemed 10 be as far removed from unsrug nerves as they wcr' from silly sentiments.
 "The experiences Of war bring the| entire nervous system and it's phy- Siological and mental subsidiary fuuc tone into sympathetic relations When one suffers the other suffers The tension of the mind caused by coatinuous readiness 10 act and tJe| sense of responsibility, and the hard ships undergone by the body the lack ot sleep and rest and last but not least the passions Of the battle the noise and din, the cruelty of war; ard vEo would dare gainsay this, the con stant recurrence of the fear Of death end tAe worry over the loved ones a hcme all these are forces so terrible that in the end they will shake evea the will of the man of steel 10 its very foundations
 "The causes of tears on the battle Held are not connected with traits We iossess in times of peace. Nor has the personal quality of the man mach to do with them believe that the tears shed by men on the battlefield are the typical expressions of mute tragedy Of the soul
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