The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1918-04-29
The
Confessions of a
German DeSerter
4BBP
Written by . Pr,lseian Officer
Who Participated in tho
Ravaeing ard Piliaging
of Belgium

Observation-Disclosures
Copyright BY Detroit Free Prese
confidence in US when they learned
that we really were their friends. II
we wrote on their doors with chalk.
"Here live good, honest people, please
spare 'hem," their gratitude knew no
bounds. II so much bad blood existed
and if so many things which led to the
military execution of innumerable Bel
gians, it was because of the mistrust
systematically nourished on the part
Of the German officers.
That night we marched on after be-
ing Joined by 21-centimeter mortar
battery Of the foot artillery regiment
No. recently arrived. Not only were
we to act as an auxiliary for this bat
terry, but we were also expected to help
bring these immense cannon into &C
ton. These guns were In two sections,
each transported on a wagon pulled
by six horses. These horses. the only
ones used by foot artillery, are sup
posed to be the finest and most power
full in the German army.
Yet these animals were seldom up
to expectations, so that 1t was a COM
mon thing to detail from 70 to so men
to assist in transporting these NOR
tars, and long, heavy ropes were car
ried for this purpose. This happened
most frequently whenever the guns
had to be taken off highway and
brought into firing position.
Soon we arrived at the city Of Ber-
trix. We found many houses at the
right and left of us burning brightly.
They had been set afire, we learned,
because persons in them had fired on
passing soldiers. In front Of one Of
these houses was a half-burned man
and woman with their fifteen or six
teen-year-old son. All were covered
with straw. A little way farther on,
three more civilians were lying dead
In the same street.
As we were marching we suddenly
received an order to surround certain
house at the left Of US. Our captain
=
house had killed a soldier. None Of
US had heard anything. however. The
house from which the shot was alleged
to have been fred was soon surround
ed and hand grenades thrown into it
through the windows. In a minute all
! the rooms were afiame. The air pres
sure from the exploding grenades was
so great that doors in the house few
from their hinges and the walls Of sew
eral rooms were crushed.
Almost at the same time five civil
ians ran into the streets with raised
hands. They were seized at once and
led before the officers, who constituted
themselves Immediately into a court
martial. Ten minutes later sentence
had been executed, and five men lay
on the ground with eyes bandaged.
riddled with bullets.
In each case six Of our men were
always called upon to execute one
mans sentence. ! am sorry to say
that l was one of the thirty called
upon at this occasion. The condemned
man who it was our duty to shoot was
about forty years old, tall and straight.
He never blinked as the bandage was
put on. He was led to the garden OF
the house near by and his back placed
to the house. After our captain said
to us that it was our duty to aim true
and end the tragedy quickly. we took
our positions six PAGES in front Of the
condemned man. The sergeant COM
manding us previously gave us instruc-
lions that we were to shoot the con-
demned men through the breast.
Now we formed into two rows, one
behind the other. The order sounded
to load and aim and we each put five