The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1917-06-08
CAPTIVE WOMEN'S SCREAMS
QUICK EN- ALLIES STORMING
OF GREAT GERMAN REDOUBT
Dead Girls, Naked and Horribly Mu-
tilated. Left Behind by Invaders
in Retreat; Babies Jabbed by
BayOnetS, Wounded Sol
diers Clubbed.
(BY Milton Bronner.l

the truth of the stories of German
trocitieS in Belgium and France, | |
don't know whether to laugh or swear |
AS one of the first hundred thousand
English sent to battle | not only saw
atrocities committed by German sol |
diers, but am myself victim of
them"
SO said A. ii. O'Connor, a Brooklyr
boy, who, with his father and five
other members of his family, crossed
the Atlantic and joined the English
army.
O'Connor joined the First Life
Guards of the Household cavalry and
saw service in Belgium and France,
Chappellc, Loos, Hill 60, Hohenzollcrn
taking part in the defense of the road
to Calais, the battles of Ypres, Neuvc
redoubt, Armentcre, Arras and the
great Somme offensive. In the latter
he was permanently disabled, and re-
tired from service. He was deco
rated by the king for bravery. Back
in America, he expects to deliver
talks on his experiences.
"Over in Brooklyn" said he, "I had
many German acquaintances and
when | read of German atrocities in
Belgium | could not believe them
Now it makes me shudder when
think Of what | have seen.
"My regiment was helping in the
great fight to keep the Germans from
going Calaisward. 1t was during the
battle of 9pres. We took little Bel
gian village from the Germans.
GAS, with my comrades, charged
through the streets, | saw the naked
bodies of women, girls and babies
They were terribly disfgured by bay
onet jabs, even those of helpless ba-
bies.
"1ou know, in those village fights
we had to chase the Germans out
from one house to another like ter
riers after rats.
I'm one house we saw two Germans
ransacking the drawers of bureau.
On the floor were the dead bodies of
two naked girls horribly mutilatcd
and cut open.
mo Germans got out of that house
alive!
"The next time I myself saw Ger
man atrocities was later in the cam
paign whcn we finally took their ia
nous Hohenzollern rcdoubt. These
works were wonderfully strong. The
Germans Lad dug down 80 feet below
the surface and had comforts down
there apporXimating those of hotel
real room with beds, carpets on
the floor, mirrors on the wall, lights,
etc.
j eve subjected this redoubt to a ter
TriblS artillery fire for a long time.
Probably an hour elapsed between
the ending of the artillery fire and
our going over, as we say, and taking
the place.
"In that hour we Life Guardsmen
could hear a constant screaming in
the redoubt. In the sector of the
redoubt which our regiment captured,
l saw bodies of at least 80 women,
many Of them stark naked. The saw
ages, who had taken these women
away from their French villages, and
held them captives here, had COM
mitted awful crimes. | saw dead wo-
men their breasts hacked off. In this
same sector they had buried 20 of
their poor victims.
'In the first Somme offensive
personally experienced the chvalrous
acts of our German enemy. was
put out of business by bayonet
wounds through my left arm and side
1t was in field over which the
rival forces fought back and forth.
During one of those scrimmages,
German came along and, seeing me
lying there helpless, hacked through
my boot, cutting off three Of my toes.
BY will power alone I remained con-
scious.
"When I saw the Germans retreat
> ing, | closed my eyes and played dead.
= knowing the Huns have habit of
E clubbing wounded men to death az they
retire. Perhaps I did not look dead
enough. At any rate one of the Ger
' mans dubbed me across the Jaw with
y his rifle butt.
"When l wolfe up ten weeks later I
y was in war hospital in London be-
ing nursed by ex-Queen Amelia of
Portugal. The war office records
r show I and others had been buried
partly by debris thrown by a huge
German shell. They found life in me
but it took all those weeks to bring
me around. And even then I coulc
/ not talk.
THE tap that German soldier gave
wounded and PROSTATE foe kept mt
= dumb for six months. Even now any
sudden nervous shock keeps my voca
cords paralyzed for from five to 81,