El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-03-22
VON HINDENBERG
As 4 FIGHTER
Something of the Life Of
Germany's Great Gen
eral When Young.

Berlin Ger March 2e-SOme inter
esting sidelights on the career of field
marshal Won HindenburC are contained
in a biography of the leader Of Ger
many's eastern forces, just issued by
his brother, who takes the pen name
Bernhard Won BurgdorfC"
The future hero Of all Germany
fought through the war OF 1866 ana
later the Franco russian war In
cluded in the book are letters sent by
Won Hindenburg TO his parents from the
front shortly before the beginning OF
the war of 1866. Hindenburg wrote
1T is high time for the Hindenburgs
to smell powder. our family has been
singularly neglected IN that respect
Less than a week later he wrote.
Happy I'm War.
Sorry as / am for not having had an
opportunity to see you once more be
For a soldier. war is the normal thing,
and I know that God watches over me
IF 7 die, IL viii be cne most beautiful
and most honorable death. II I am
wounded ] will have done my best and
II return unharmed, so much the bet
ter"
In another letter. written q cew
DAYS later. Hindenburg said
Ny highest aim has been reached:
7 have smelled powder 7 have heard
the bullets whistle. all kinds Of them,
grenades. shrapnel. rifle bullets have
been slightly wounded and therefore
am an interesting personality i cap
tured five cannout Hurrah-
Above all, however, my beloved pa
rents. I have experienced Gods love and
mercy 10 Him be glory into eternity
AmenlP
soon after this was written. linden
burg came within an inch OF being
killed. He describes his experience as
follows:
a bullet pierced the eagle on my
helmet. struck my head without wound
the eagle. I feLl unconscious my men
gathered around me. thinking me dead
Half an inch deeper. and the bullet
would have penetracc- into the brain
ana / would be lying on the battle
A vivid description Of the feelings OF
a soldier during his first battle is given
in another letter as follows
IF 7 had TO describe the feelings that
permeated my soul just before the bat
tile, I would say they were these First.
certain JOY that at last one is to
smell powder. then a hesitatinE tim
soldier. one will do his duty sufficiently
and come up TO expectations.
Plenty Enthuslasm-
Then II YOU hear the first bullets
by laundering Hurrah") YOU are car
ried away by enthusiasm. snort
prayer thought or CIe loved ones at
home and Of the old name-then- For
ward
with the increasing number OF
wounded around You the enthusiasm
LEllS 10 q certain cola NlOOueuueSS OF
even indifference The real excitement
does not come until after the battle.
when one has 10 see tne horrors of war
in their most CHASTITY form 10 describe
this is impossible Ny pen rev0Its
Later there viii be chance to tell
about this or that striking feature"
The Paris Siege.
On September %, 1870, HindenburE
wrote.
We are still before Paris fin our old
position, from which We can hardly
move forward on account OF the forts
The decisive attack. TO my mind. must
come from the west. from Versailles
toward the Bots de Bouioguc. Today
the good defenders Of Paris are shoot
ing salvos OF bombs-of course with
out hitting anyone or anything. The
good people at least want TO have done
everything to defend themselves. IT
- had not so much TO do, life would be
"a Ste comfortable in tho trenches The
onI. thing VIC are in need of is can
dies.