The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1918-07-11

cHanSe In the situation and threw
Shells into the ranks of the infantry.
Finally our soldiers were compelled to
give up some of their gains by the
pressure of our own as well as the
French fire. but regained this ground
afterwards. Strangely enough, the
residence section previously mentioned
mad 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 q rumor similar
to others being constantly started by
German soldiers, l cannot say, but l
20 Know that on August "a, 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 avenging the victims
1t was ordered by the commander
of the army to level the remainder of
the city and to show no. mercy AS we
took a short rest from our pursuit of
the enemy and looked backward clouds
of smoke to the eastward showed that
the order had been executed. A re-
manning battery of artillery had re-
duced the city to ashes.
The French had made a stand out
side the city and resisted to the ut
most. but they were outnumbered. 1t
was simply impossible to resist the
pressure of the German war machine
When the German columns, with fixed
bayonets, attacked to the accompani-
ment of their blOOd-curdling yells
which, like their steel, penetrated to
the bone, they resembled in every re-
spect American Indians going into &C.
ton, finging themselves with blood
curdling yells upon their enemies.
After a three-hour fight many French
men gave themselves up as prisoners.
With uplifted hands they sought
mercy.
At last, on the night of August %
and "a, the enemy's ranks were thrown
into confusion and they retired slowly.
was in the first detachment which
pursued them. To the right and left
of the road, in the field and bitches,
were dead and wounded.
The red pantaloons of the French
showed brightly on the ground. The
field gray of the Germans could hardly
| be discerned.
The distance between us and the re-
/
soldiers became happier over the out
come of the battle and seemed to for
| get their past hardships. The corpses
which filled the roads and bitches were
forgotten amid the jokes and songs
on every side. The men were already
such an extent that they unconcerned.
ly walked over the corpses, not even
| considering it necessary to make q
slight detour.
| At noon we matted and were served
/ with dinner from the field kitchens.
We were surely hungry enough and
our canned soup was eaten with the
| utmost relish. Many soldiers set their
dishes on the bodies Of dead horses
| living about and ate as gayly as if
they were ut home at their own tables.
The few human cOrpSeS near our camp
failed to disturb us. Only water "as
lacking and after the dinner our T. ST
became very acute, even torturous.
We soon marched on, under a burn
Ing mid-d : sun, the dust of the high
l NO ix-in.r III oly
skin. Now. no more cheerfulness was
evident anywhere. Our thirst became
more unbearable and we grew weaker
from minute to minute. Many in our
ranks fell, unable to go further. Moth
ing remained for our commander eX-
cept to halt, as he did not wish to ex-
haust us all. As result of this halt
we were left considerably in the rear
and lost our place among those pursu-
ing the French.
About four O'Clock we finally saw
before us a village. In the certain ex-
pectation of getting water there we
Quickened our pace. Fugitives and
empty munition columns passed us.
Among them there was farm wagon
upon which were several civilian pris-
oners, apparently franc-tireurs. A
Catholic priest was among them. He,
like the others, had his hands tied be-
hind him with rope. To our curious
questions rs to what he had done, we
were told that he had melted the
farmers to poison the water in the
village.
/ Soon we reached the village and at the
first well at which we might have satis-
fed our thirst we found sentinel
posted. He drove us away with a
warming that the water was poisoned
Disappointed and terribly embit-
tered. the soldiers cursed and CRASHED
their teeth. They hurried on to the
next well, but everywhere sentinels
forbade our taking refreshment.
In an open space in the center OF
the village was a big well from which
there came water clear as crystal that
emptied into a big trough. Five sol
,liers stood guard here to see that nc
one drank l was just about to pro
coed with my comrades when large
} part uf my company threw themselves
like men possessed onto the well. TIT
guards were completely overcome and
greedy as animals, all the men drank
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