The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1915-04-08
AF00T IN GERMANY
Belgian Makes Thrilling Escape
After Killing Guards.
Traverses Whole Rhine Country and
Reaches Switzerland and Italy
Poses as Deaf Mute-Ready
to Fight Again.

Iondon.-JuleS Laudat, 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 enemy's 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 its 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 a COM
pound formed of wooden planks with
guard of five men of the landsturm.
The prisoners noticed that they
were left unguarded by the sentinels
for few minutes each day while the
guards went to get the soup. On De-
| cember L 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
l h. %
he was set upon and strangled. He
was able to utter a 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 a 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
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 we're brought
down.
Once well on his way, Liauda
gained in confidence and succeeded
in walking to Merestret without being
questioned. He went round the out
skirts of the town and on to Lmburg
where he found some old clothes il
an abandoned house. This allowet
: him to discard his Belgian uniform
now all tattered and torn. Thus dis
guised he continued his journey as
tramp, without papers of any sort an
: with no money. He was obliged t
pose as a deaf mute when he met pee
pie and beg for food by signs. II
slept in bitches, behind hedges and i
old tumbledown barns. The weathe
!, was extremely bad and his suffering
were great, but the courageous Be
gian kept on and with the aid of sigl
posts along the roads found his wa
> through Bonn, Coblentz, Mayenc,
Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Strassburg an
: Erstein. finally crossing the Swiss-Ge
II man frontier and reaching Basel.
= While in German territory he wa
often stopped and questioned by p
@ lice and military patrols, but he a
ways signaled that he could neithc
hear nor speak. and when paper al
7 a pen were offered him he wou
write: "Ich bin Schweiz' q a
lie SWISS This was his passport.
Not content with reaching Switze
land. Liaudat continued his tramp
Thun and Briga over the Simplon pa
,e to Domodossola. He succeeded
,r reaching Genoa on January 81 Sin
V. his escape from AiX-la Chapelle he hi
a been walking for 81 days and had &C
cred a distance Of roughly $50 miles.
40 Liaudat is going back to the fro
a. to fight the Germans again.