Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-01-27
SOLDIERS WEEP
IN BATTLE AND
ARE NOT ASHAMED
German Officer Discusses
Psychological Side of Men
in Action Tells Of Terrible
Strain.
ASSOCIATED Pres. Correspondence

Cologne, Jan. i5,-"Yes, | wept, as
so many others have done--wept
without being ashamed of my tears,
or regretting now that l did weep
says an officer with the Germany
army In Poland, in discussing the
psychological side Of men in action,
lie points out that this as a rule Is
not an outbreak of "maudlin senti-
mentality" but just sort of physi-
cal and psychological reaction fol-
lowing the tremendous strain upon
body and mind in a battle.
1.-THE heavy Russian batteries had
been using poor ammunition and
many of their pieces had been ST.
fenced by our fire. We had been
able, moreover, to send strong forces
against their entrcnched positions
and as these advanced. we took the
Russian trenches under a terrlfic 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
decimated by our shrapnel.
Two Days Without Sleep.
And as this day ended and the
firing began to weaken, | wept. Why,
] don't know. | lay in the straw and
wept. Not because we had gained
a victory--those were not tears Of
joy. There was no occasion for
tears Of sorrow. II was over quickly!
1T is said sometimes that this is
the beginning of the end. But that,
thank God, was not the case. / had
not slept two nights.
After | had made all necessary
arrangements / left the battlefield
and rode past smoldering houses and
villages toward my quarters. where.
without taking off my belt, great
coat, or even the helmet, l threw my
self upon the straw. l slept from
s in the evening until midnight like
one dead. When they finally man
aged to bring me to my senses | was
absolutely unable to believe that sew
eral heavy shells had dropped around
the place sheltering us.
"A cup of champagne given me by
a comrade helped me to bring my
wits together. After that | sat down
beside The others at the large farm
table covered with maps and an over
active telephone instrument, and felt
quite fresh
Intense Nervous Strain.
IL began to gthink of my weeping
spell. Was it a case of nervous
breakdown, or one of unsoldierly
sentimentalism? | believed in the as
little as i'm the other. l had been
witness to tears before. Those who
wept them seemed to be as far re-
moved form unstrung nerves as they
were from silly sentiments.
The experiences of war bring the
entire -nervous- system and its--physi-.
illogical and mental subsidiary func-
tons into sympathetic relations.
When one suffers the other suffers.
The tension of the mind-caused by
continuous readiness to act and the
sense of responsibility. the hardships
undergone by the body-the lack of
sleep and rest, and last but not least
the passions of the battle, the noise
and din, the cruelty of war, and who
would dare gainsay this, the constant
recurrence of the fear of death and
the worry over the loved ones at
home-all these are forces so terri
BILE that in the end they will shake
even the will of the man of steel to
its very foundations.
1.-THE causes of tears on the battle
field are not connected with traits
we possess in times of peace. Nor
has the personal quality of the man
much to do with them. | believe that
the tears shed by men on the battle
field are the typical expression of
mute tragedy of the soul"