New Britain herald., 1919-10-25

to kill the prisoners rather than let them fall into the hands of the res cuerS Towards the end of March, when everything appeared to be cha OtiC on the British front, and the Germans were specially dcsrous that nothing should leak out, strongly in creased guards were provided for the escort of prisoners, and on the slight est prctcNt shots were fired into the ranks of prisoners.
 We had received intimation that the British headquarters were eager to obtain tirSt-hand information of what had happened on the ArraS- Rupaunc road, and also with regard to the state of German communica- tionS beyond that point. It was sug- gCSt ed that if we could effect the re- lease of some of the men and a trained officer this information might be forthcoming. SOmC men of the 51st Division were paraded through the streets of Brussels on the 2Sth of March, the Gcrans giving out that thcsa were tn sole survivors of the famous division, a story that may have been intended to lift the spirits of the new troops by letting them believe that this terrible bIack-listeo
 
 or perhaps was designed to impress the Belgian civilian population.
 Shot in Cold Blood.
 We were early on the move on the chance of effecting a rescue, but in Brussels itself there was absolutely no chance of communicating with tho prisoners so strictly were they guarded
 1,n Intn In Sn1C girl held out a bunch of flowers to these men, most of them were wound ed. One of the soldiers stepped for ward to receive the flowers. A Ger man struck him with the butt end of his rifle, and the poor fellow was knocked down. Two of his comrades made an angry protest. The German raised his rifle and fired in quick sue ccSSiOn, killing one of the Scots and Wounding the other. Soldiers and civilian alike were hOrrOr-struck by this COld-blOOded attack on unarmcd men, and they made protests, but the only answer they got was to be at tackled by the soldiers with their bay. onets. The German official eXplana- ton of this affair was that the pris- onerS were conspiring to escape with the aid of the Bclgians.
 It was not until the party had got clear of the city that it was thought wise to attempt a rescue. We had spent the previous year preparing for, an uprising of the Belgian people against their tyrants, and some eX- cellent companies of sharp shooters or francstireurS had been formed to carry on guerilla warfare against the Germans once they began their home ward trek. By way of keeping our selves in training we made frequent attacks on the German line of com- municatiOns cutting up weak detach- ments, destroying StOreS and rescu- ing prisoners. such an enterprise as we had now embarked on was just to our liking, and none liked it better than the women who belonged to our banu.
 We kept close 10 the Germans and their prisoners from the moment of their departure from tho city until they selected their billcts for the night. The German guards were put in houses at a hamlet on the main road, and the prisoners were supplied with waterproof sheets and ordered to look out for themselves. Our plan was to attack suddenly in the night, kill as many of the Germans as we could, release as many prisoners as were willing to take the risk of flight and then disband as quickly as we could before the Inevitable German achievements arrived on the scene. Successful Attack.
 1 It was about three in the morning