The Nevada County picayune., 1918-08-08
CHAPTER il-Continued.

The same evening we were trans ported in automobiles and on the eve ming of August 20. 1914, we reached our detachment, which was about B miles from the Belgian city of Neuve Chateau. The regiment to which l be- longed did not take part in any opera tions after the fall of Liege. but was transported to this part of Belgium. Now l learn for the first time how heavy was the loss in my company in the Liege fighting. We lost lS7 men in dead and wounded.
 This night we slept in an open field. At five o'clock the next morning we marched again until four o'clock in the afternoon, when we were given vest.
 It was about ten o'clock in the eve ming when we received orders to ad- vance. We were all ready to proceed when another order came for us to re- main at our bivouac overnight. Dur tng the night we heard laundering of cannon which became more violent. The battle of Neuve Chateau, which had continued from August % to Au- gust 24 1914. had begun.
 At four o'clock on the morning of August 22 we resumed our march. At Neuve Chateau the French army had encountered the Fourth German army. First there was, as always, minor out post and patrol fighting. By and by larger masses of troops participated, and as we took our part in the battle en the evening of August 22, the fight had developed into one of the most eanguinary of the world war.
 When we arrived the French occu- pied almost three-quarters of the town. The artillery had set the main part of Eeuve Chateau on fire and only the beautiful residence section in the west ern part of the city escaped at that time. All night long the house-to- house fighting continued. but when at noon of August 23 the city was in Ger man hands the enormous cost to the Germans could finally be determined.
 Residences. cellars, streets and side walks were heaped with dead and wounded The houses were in ruins empty shells, in which hardly anything semained undamuGed that was Of any real value Thousands became beg gars in one terrible night. Women and children. soldiers and citizens were ly- Ing where the ptileSs shells and bull lets had hurled them from life Into deaths dark void. True imparliaHtg reigned in the killing. There was Belgian woman lying next to Belgian baby which she had borne from house to street, Close by lay Il man of un- certain years before an empty house. Both hIs legs were burned 10 the knees His wife lay on his breast and sobbed so ptifully that her grief could not be endured. Most of the dead were entirely or partly burned. The cries of agony of the animals fighting incineratiOn were mixed with the groans and sobbing of the wounded.
 But no one had time to bother with them. The French were making an ether stand outside the city in an open field. As the enemy vacated the town the Germans made m error which cost them hundreds of lives. They had oc-
  the German artillery which shelled a part of the city did not know of the change in the situation and threw shells into the ranks of the infantry. Finally our soldiers were compelled to give up some of their gains ny the pressure of our own as we'll as the French fire. but regained this ground as4 4..v Alx ryh hn residence section previously mentioned had not suffered seriously. All the houses flew the Red Cross and were used as temporary hospitals
 Here it was reported that Belgians mutilated German soldiers. Whether this were true. or only rumor, similar to others being constantly started by German soldiers, l cannot say, but do know that on August 24, after the French had retired. it was made known through an army order that German soldiers had been murdered there, and that the German army could not leave the scene of these outrages without first averaging the victims.
 It was ordered by the commander Of the army to level the remainder of the city and to show no mercy. As we took short rest from our pursuit of the enemy and looked backward clouds of smoke to the eastward showed that