Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1915-04-17
AFOOT IN GERMANY
Belgian Makes Thrilling Escape
After Killing Guards.
T-averses Whole Rhine Country and
Reaches Switzerland and Italy
Poses as Deaf Mute-Ready
to Fight Again.

London.-Jules Liaudat, a twenty
two-year-old Belgian soldier, has just
arrived at Nice after effecting a dar-
ing escape from Germany. His jour
ney across the enemys country into
Switzerland and Italy is one of the
most striking stories that have come
to hand since the war began.
At the time of the outbreak of hos
tilities Liaudat was doing his military
service in the Fifth Line regiment at
Antwerp. He took part in the fighting
around Aerschot, whence, after "a
splendid resistance the Belgians were
obliged to retire toward Malines. Later
the Germans bore down upon the pros
porous little town, famous for it's lace
making trade, and it was during their
successful attack on that place that
Liaudat and some fifty of his COM
rades became separated from the rest
of the Belgian forces and were obliged
to give themselves up.
Sent the next day to Aix-la Chapelle
the prisoners were placed in COM
pound formed of wooden planks with
a guard of five men of the landsturm.
The prisoners noticed that they
were left unguarded by the sentinels
for a few minutes each day while the
guards went to get the soup. On De-
cember / the Belgians lay in wait for
the return of the sentinels at the en-
trance to the compound.
AS one of the Germans came back
with the customary caldron of soup
he was set upon and strangled. He
was able to utter cry however, and
his comrades came running to see
what was wrong, One after the other
they were shot down by one of the
Belgians, who had picked up the re-
volver of the strangled soldier
Then began a wild dash for liberty
under the bullets of company of
landsturm, brought to the scene by the
sounds Of the shots The Belgians
ran in zigzags to avoid being hit. Al
most all of them made toward the
Dutch frontier Not so Liaudat, who
did not wish to be interned in Holland
until the end of the war. He had con-
ceived the more desperate plan OF
crossing Germany and reaching Italy
To this boldness he probably owes his
life, as the landsturm men, feeling con-
fident that he would be caught later,
fired only a few shots after him,
whereas in the opposite direction al
most all the runaways were brought
down.
Once we'll on his way, Liaudat
gained in confidence and succeeded
In walking to Merestret without being
questioned. He went round the out
skirts of the town and on to Limburg
where he found some old clothes in
an abandoned house. This allowed
him to discard his Belgian uniform
now all tattered and torn. Thus dis
guised he continued his journey as a
tramp, without papers of any sort and
with no money. He was obliged &c
pose as a deaf mute when he met peo
pie and beg for food by signs. he
slept in bitches, behind hedges and II
old tumbledown barns. The weather
was extremely bad and his sufferingS
were great, but the courageous Bel
'gian kept on and with the aid OF sign
posts along the roads found his way
through Bonn, Coblentz, Mayence
Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Strassburg anC
Erstein. finally crossing the Swiss-Ger
man frontier and reaching Basel.
While in German territory he was
often stopped and questioned by po
lice and military patrols, but he al
ways signaled that he could neither
hear nor speak, and when paper ant
pen were offered him he woui(
write: "Ich bin Schweiz" Il an
Swiss). This was his passport.
Not content with reaching SWitzer
land. Liaudat continued his tramp b!
Thun and Briga over the simplon pass
to Domodossola. He succeeded II
reaching Genoa on January o. since
his escape from Aix-la- Chapelle he ha'
been walking for 81 days and had GOV
cred distance of roughly $50 miles.
Liaudat is going back to the IRON
to fight the Germans again.