Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-01-12
REFUGEE DEPICTS
siege OF GERMAN
PORTSNOR|ENT
Force of 1000 In Tsingtau Held
Out for Weeks Against an
y Army of 1000
HOSPITALS BOMBARDED.
SAYS RED CROSS DOCTOR
Lived in Cellars Eight Days Un-
der Fire That Tore Roofs
From Houses

How the combined japanese, East
Indian and English army trenched and
retrenched, bombarded, be sieged and
otherwise assisted in the total destruc
tion OF Tsingtau and Kiaochau in the
belief that they were battling against
much larger garrison, was related
last night to the Star-Bulletin by o.
member of the German refugee party
on board the Pacific Mail liner Korea
The party, numbering 20 men and
women, boarded the vessel at Hong
kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Kobe and
Yokohama, and will cross the United
States to New York and thence go by
steamer to Germany. Many of them
are members of the German Red Cross.
Others were merchants of Tsingtau
and Kiaochau and still others are Ger
man soldiers released by Japan. AL
though all members of the party had
been cautioned against giving out any
Information concerning the fall OF
Tsingtau and Kiaochau, one of the Red
Cross doctors finally consented to give
out tfe story to the Star-Bulletin.
At his request his name is withheld
inasmuch as 1t is violation of the
Red Cross rules and against orders
received previous to sailing. Follow
ing is his narrative:
when Japan issued her ultimatum
to Germany concerning Kiaochau and
Tsingtau, myself and others in this
party were stationed as members of
the German Red Cross at the Tsingtau
garrison. We did not expect imme
diate action. however, although the
fall of the city was expected many
weeks before it actually occurred.
Shells Begin to Fail.
The bad weather made quick move
ment of the Allies impossible and it
was not until IL days before the sur.
render that shells began to fall about |
the cities. For several days before,
however, the Allies had been entrench.
ing about the cities. Their army mum.
bered about $4,000 Japanese, 1000 Eng |
lish and 1000 Indian infantry and ar
tillerymen. "@ .@
After they started bombarding they |
moved cautiously and the fire was not |
steady for the following four days. In |
the meantime they kept undermining |
the ground and tunneling toward our
days I shall never forget The shells |
just darkened the cities day and night
and everyone took to cellars. / was
nearly killed myself once when l re-
NAMED on the first floor of house
and shell took off the roof.
'Kiaochau is built on the side OF
hill facing the sea and the houses
near the bottom of the hill we're to-
tally destroyed, while many of those
farther up the slope were destroyed
and others partly knocked away by
the shells. The Japanese did not ap
pear to care whether Their shells
struck the garrison or whether they |
struck the residences in the town.
Move the HospitaIs!" .:'
"For time our hospitals were being
shelled and / sent word to. the Japa-S
nese that they we're firing on our hos
pitfalls. The answer we got was: IF
Dur shells are striking your hospitals,
move the HOSPITALS" We did as ad-
vised, it being the only thing to do
and from then on we kept the wound
ed in cellars. ~.%.
"On November 6 the fight got to
close quarters. I saw Il of our men,
lieutenant who was a close
friend, killed by Japanese armed with
sharp, curved knives. The following
November Z, at s o'clock, we
The Germans were
standing in the river with the water
lp to their arm-pits, the perspiration
lust pouring from their faces. They
we're fatigued Imagine the surprise
IF the Japanese when they discovered
hat our total garrison had been only
$500 soldiers. -.
Lootins Is Charged.
That day was day of robbery. The
japanese soldiers plundered the town.
They forced rings from the fingers of
the women and stole other valuable
The next day, however, the
Japanese officers appeared to get con-
:rol over the soldiers and the robbing |
stopped. We removed the wounded to
he Hotel Prince Henry and converted
he latter place into a hospital. The
and members of the Red
Cross were allowed to go at will but
he soldiers were taken to Japan.
Some of the prisoners who were
so wounded that they cannot rejoin
he German army and others who were
or for other reasons set
'ree by the Japanese. will return by
the next Pacific Mail liner and will
pass through Honolulu" /
The Korea sailed at 10 O'Clock this
morning, taking with her the refugee
party to San Francisco. ]