The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-01-14
GERMAN WOMEN
LONG FOR END
OF WORLD WAR
Herman Loeffel Gets Letter
From Mother, 20, Who
Tells News.
LIVES WITHIN HEARING
OF CANNON AT FRONT
One Son Aims 42.Centimeter
Gun-Other Won Iron Cross
For Bravery.

The women of Germany, as we'll as
their soldier sons are tired of the war
and are longing for peace. is the mes
sage that was borne to Herman Loef-
fel in a letter from his mother, Frau
Theresa Loeffel, who lives in the viii
lage of Munchwaer in Eettenheim,
Baden, Germany.
The letter tells of The adventures
that have befallen Mr.. Loeffel's two
brothers, both of whom are in the
army and both of whom voice the fixed
determination of the German army to
see a victorious Germany in the end
of the war.
The older of Mr.. Loeffel's brothers
has Won the Iron Cross for bravry in
action and the younger, who is but Is
years old, has had the distinction of
having had one of the famous krupp
42-centimcter guns named after him.
Mr.. LoefTel's mother is 20 years
old and she lives alone now in the
village where her children were born.
She looks after 49-acre farm on the
outskirts of the town, however, and
sees that it is properly cultivated.
Mr.. Loeffel came away from his
home when he was a young man to
seek his fortune in the United States.
He has been here ever since and plans
to see his mother at the end of the
war, if he can make the trip back to
Germany.
The town of Munchwaer in Baden is
close to the theater of the war in the
West and the women as they sit at
home, she wrote to Loeffel, can hear
the roar of the cannon as the artillery
conducts its bOmbardment that almost
invariably precedes charge from the
trenches. :.
The fighting front in reality is a
good many miles away, but the roar
of the cannon travels far inland.
The mother wrote that she will be
anxious to see her sons return from
their trade of fighting and resume
their former occupations. She delin-
Gated many things of personal interest
to Mr.. LOeffel and told about his
brothers. The letter was written be-
fore Christmas, and at the time that
it was written, the older Of the broth
ers at the front was expected to be
home to spend the Christmas holt
days.
Emil, the younger of the two broth
ers, spent several years in military
school in Germany, so that when the
war began, he was appointed to work
with the heavy artillery. He soon be-
came the gun-pointcr on one of the
crews operating one Of the kaiser's
"Busy Berthas." The rest of the men
in the crew dubbed the huge rifle
emil" after the man VINO handled
the direction Of its muzZie.
Emil went through the campaign of
the Germans about Warsaw and it was
while he was in that district that he
was wounded. He was a member of a
skirmishing party at night, and was
struck by piece of shell in one of the
knees. 1t made flesh wound and did
not put Loeffcl out of service.
After the fall Of Warsaw, Emil's
rifle was sent back to the western
theater Of the war and the last heard
from him, he was working with Null
hansen as the base of supplies.
At the outbreak of the war, August
Loeffel, who is 35, was placed in the
bicycle squad as a scout. In an en-
gagement in the western theater of
war, he won the Iron Cross.
Along with several otEer members
Of his squad, he aided in capturing
three small guns belonging to the en-
envy. LOeffel was thrown to the
ground in the engagement and was
almost completely covered with dirt.
He escaped practically uninjured how
ever.
Mr. Loeffels mother declared in her |
etter that of the ia men who have |
gone to the front from their town,
tut three of them have been killed out |
light in action and three Of them have !
been wounded so as to incapacitate
hem for further action.
Only two men have been called out
# the class of men Al years old, the
lass to which Mr.. Loe!fel would be-
ong, were he in Germany.
Both of Mr.. Loeffel's brothers have
lad furloughs of four or five days at
It time, when they have returned to
heir home from the fighting line, and
heir vacations occur reguraly at in
ervals of about month.
Mr.. LoeffeI also has TWO nepheyS