Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-05-07
BLUNDERS OF BATTLE
Cases Where Men Of Same Side Have
Moved Each Other by Mistake.

1t was at Beacon Hill, during the
Boer war, that there happened one Of
the saddest incidents in the history
Of the British army. The east Surrey
were in a hollow between two hills,
creeping up the valley. The west Sur
rey regiment, half mile away, caught
sight Of the crouching figures, and
took them for Beers.
In moment heavy volley rang
out, and 1t was not until an officer,
realizing the mistake. rushed out in
front Of the west Surveys that the fir
ing ceased.
A nurse, writing afterwards from
the Estcourt hospital, said it was pitt
full to see the west Surveys coming in
one after another, bringing cigarettes,
dainties, any present they could find
for the wounded men, then, hearing
their groans turn away, saying, God
forgive us! This is our work."
In such a gigantic conflict as this
present war, with battle lines stretch
ing a hundred miles and more, similar
mistakes are almost bound to occur.
We know Of two.
In the second week in August,
when the French were fighting near
Mulhausen, one regiment got far in
advance Of the others. and was ordered
to go back. AS the men returned,
some Of their comrades fired at them
under the impression that they were
Germans. Twenty men were killed and
large number wounded
It was this blunder which caused
General Joffre to have cards printed in
colors showing the uniforms and head
dresses Of the various branches Of the
French service. These have been dis
tributed all through the army.
The other case was more recent. 1t
happened in Belgium early in Septem-
| ber. A Saxon regiment fired upon
some Bavarians. taking them for Bel
mistake is hardly to be wondered at.
Then there was the seven crippled
German warships in Kiel harbor. The
| story is that two German squadrons
in the Baltic opened fire on one another
early on a misty morning, each TAX
ing the other for Russian ships.
One Of the strangest cases Of
| troops firing upon their own people
occurred in Rumania in the year 1885.
At that time Rumania was in a very
| disturbed condition, and bands Of rob-
| bers-regular bandits-prowled over
the country, raiding the villages and
farms. The largest Of these bands
made it's headquarters in the forest of
Rhodope, and gradually increased un-
til it became 300 strong. 1t spread ter
ror through the whole country side,
and at last the government sent a
body Of troops to hunt it down.
The robber band was located on top
Of a mountain. and the colonel in COM
mand Of the troops split his forces
and sent half up each side. so as to
attack from two points Simultaneous
ly.
A thick fog fell, and the robbers
took advantage Of it to sneak away
quietly by path known only to them
! selves. The troops unaware Of this
maneuvre, continued their ascent, and
the two bodies, each crawling along
under cover Of rocks and brushwood,
met at the top. They at once opened
fire, and fought desperately for a
whole hour before the mistake was
discovered. Eighty were killed and
500 wounded.
| There is at least one case on record
of a leader purposely firing upon his
own troops. This was Osman Pasha,
the greatest general whom Turkey has
produced for a century.
In the Russo-Turkish war of 1877,
| Osman entrenched himself in the viii
lage Of Plevna, and held it for months,
| fighting several tremendous battles,
and being only beaten in the end by
sheer starvation.-Philadelph Public
Ledger.