Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-07-31
WOMEN SOLDIERS
OF RUSSIA PREFER
DEATH TO CAPTURE
Each Member of the Famous
Legion of Death Carries Ra-
ton of Cyanide of Potassium
Into Battle
BIZ WILLIAM @. SHEPHERD.

IRONThAD. july oU.-EAuSSAd
women soldiers have pledged themselves
10 take their own lives rather than be-
come German war prisoners.
Each soldier carries a ration of cyan
ide of potassium 20 De swallowed in
event of capture. The members of the
women regiments, now constantly in
creasing. agreed that death was to be
preferred TO the fate they would prob
ably meet at the hands of the Germans.
The Legion OF Death lighters are good
killers" 1 learned that today when 1
talked to five of them, now in hospital
near here, suffering from shell shock.
From a womans lips 1 heard how she
had run a German through with her bay
onet. firing the rife at the same time
From others l heard how these women
and girls. fresh from comfortable homes
and universities, went leaping over man
gled. bloody bodies in the charge with
enemy SHELLS bursting all about them.
But these narrowing experiences of
the women fighters have steeled them
and HUNDREDS OF other girls, TO a new de
termination to see il through. Girl sol
diers drilling in the streets are now
common sight IN Petrograd Huge
crowds gather daily about the engineers
school where 1000 girls are drilling.
preparing TO go to the front. In Moscow
1000 more are training, while kiev and
Odessa have smaller bands.
WOMEN FOR THE NAVY.
Premier Kerensky has also authorized
the formation of women marine detach-
ments and has promised TO assign them
20 ships. The new women commands at
tempt no sort of decoration. Their
heads are shaved and they wear the reg
uIation uniform, including the heavy,
ugly army boots.
The five women fighters / visited at
the hospital were partially paralyzed by
shell shock. one of them, A peasant
girl. smiled joyously as she pointed 20
a German helmet on the bed beside her
IL was the tirsJ war prize of a Russian
woman
Il saw a German in front of me as
l ran forward with the others in the
charge" she told me. 1T was his life
or mine l raised my rifle. l plugged
with all my strength. l stabbed him
The bayonet went deep into his body.
AT the same moment l pulled the trig-
ger. He dropped-dead. Then L took
his hat as a souvenir"
The girl soldier smiled with delight
What was the battle like?"I asked
another of the legionnaires.
II was very nervous just before the
charge" she replied. we knew me
order was coming and naturally we were
Just a little scared. But as soon as
the OEuCIS u 80 AOI VIC AOA
got everything else in the advance.
II could hear our girls yelling and
shouting throughout the march forward.
None Of us were afraid once we got
started. We were in the midst of q
great fusiliade of shots. Then terrific
big shells began breaking all around
US.
We were again frightened little
when We first saw dead men about
ware iurnniOR
ov.- bloody corpses and quickly forgot
all about them"
We couldn't tell what was going on
anywhere said a third girl in describ-
ing the final stages of the battle.
Commander Bochkoreva was every
where in our midst, urging us to fight
and die like real Russian soldiers"
Then the girl told him the legion
took its first prisoners.
las we ran forward we suddenly cams
upon a bunch of Germans Immediately
ahead of us. 1t only a second
until they were right in our midst
or rather until we were all around them.
They saw they were caught and threw
down their rifles, holding up then
hands. They were terribly frightened.
Good God, Women" they exclaim-
ed
I'VE saw wounded soldiers raising
themselves on their elbows and Shoot
ing" interjected another wounded girl
We just forgot ourselves entirely. We
were simply Russia, fighting for her
life"
The loss of Lena the most popular
member of our company was keenly
felt by all Of us" she added soberly.
During the battle Lena heard that
Commander Boshkoreva had been killed.
She hurried forward into the shell fire.
saying she was going TO find her. We
saw her go through one space literally
st-ewn with exploding shells. Then,
through the smoke and flames, we saw
her blown to fragments.
We also lost Sonia She used to
be a musician with the Romanorr con-
cert organization. She was killed by
machine gun fire"
Petrograd has not yet seen the full
casualty list of the legion of death.
None has been published. From what
the girls say, however. IL appears that
at least a dozen big shells struck
squarely in their midst. killing perhaps
Twelve girls and wounding twice as
many more.
Five Of the German prisoners the
girls captured were women. wearing
the German soldiers uniform
The number OF women in all armies
on the eastern front is believed to be
growing steadily.
Mrs. Pankhurst, the British sutTra-
eist leader. thinks IL only natural thar
Ibis should occur
The Russian women" she said to-
day. are stepping into the breach as
women always do when men need
them"
"Russia's women are fighting the
menace TO what remains of civiliza-
|tiOn," declared Prof Ross. of the Uni
versitv of Wisconsin.
AS I returned from the hospital.
where l saw the pa-alyzed girls, I met
new company Of women marching
briskly through the-street They were
ready for the firing line, ready to give
their lives in battle. and with their
little ration of cyanide. ready TO take
their own lives TO avoid worse than
death at the hands Of the enemy.
frontier OF Lorraine which would in
volve a little strip on the German side
0F 80