Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-10-12

drum, 'Why is a tenor ?"
Since prohibition seems assured,
and since the American man is not
be blamed if they took the sternest
measures to suppress it. 1t is true
that innocent persons may have had
to suffer- but the story of Belgian
atrocities" are nothing but clever
elaborate and widely advertised leg
ends, and the Belgian government can
alone be held responsible.
For my part. l had taken the field
with chivalrous and humane concep-
tons of warfare. This franc-tireur
warfare was bound to disgust any sol
der; 1t caused me personally bitter
disillusionment.
German Troops Were Nervous.
The advance brigades had, indeed
a different task to accomplish before
Liege. 1t was certainly an extraor-
dinarily bold plan to penetrate the
girdle of forts right into the heart of
a modern fortress. The troops felt
nervous; from conversations with the
officers, gathered that their faith in
the success of this undertaking was
only slight.
In the night of the 5th-6th OF Au-
gust the advance on Liege through its
fortifications began. The action in all
its details has already been described
by the general staff in a pamphlet
published by Sailing of Oldenburg. 1t
is not my intention to go over this
ground again. for I wish to set down
my personal experiences only.
Towards midnight of the 5th-6th
General Won Emmich left Herve We
rode to MicherouX, about two or three
kilometers (about miles) from Fort
F1eron, where the 14th infantry brig
AIDE, under MajorGeneral Won Wus-
sow, were assembling
Under cover of the darkness the
troops, taking with them the unfa-
miliar but invaluable field kitchens,
were collecting in very unsoldierly
manner on a road. which could easily
have been swept by the guns of the
fort. AS it was, they were shot at
from house to the south of the road.
regular battle ensued, but the fort
itself did not open fire, which was a
miracle. 1926 pe~
Forced to Lead the Attack.
About ! o'clock the advance began.
1t was to take us north of Fort Fleron
via Retinne through the line of forts;
and then on to the heights of La
Chartreuse, on the outskirts of the
town. We were due there early in
the morning. The other brigades,
which were to break through the
girdle of forts at other points, were
to reach the town at the same hour
General Won Emmichs staff was al
most at the end of the column. Sud
denly it came to standstill. push
ed my way to the front There was
no apparent reason for the halt, which
proved to have been due to a most
regrettable misunderstanding of the
situation. 7 myself was really only a
spectator and had no authority to give
orders. ! was only there to report on
the operations at Liege to my army
command, which was to arrive later,
and also to coordinate General Won
Emmich's plans with General Won Blu
lows anticipated scheme. ~
| put the column in motion again
and remained at it's head In the
meantime we had lost touch with the
troops in front. We had considerable |
trouble in finding our way in the
pitch darkness. but at length reached |
Retinne. We were still out of touch |
with the others.
head of the column, and took the |
wrong road. We were Immediately |
fired at and men felrright and left. III
shall never forget hearing the thud of |
bullets striking human bodies. We |
made few attacks on the invisible |
enemy, but the firing became more in
tense. 1t was not easy to take our |
bearings in the dark, but there was no |
doubt that we had taken the wrong
turning,
The essential thing was to get out |
Of range. and this was unfortunate
because the men could only think that |
was afraid. But there was nothing
else to be done-higher things were
at stake. l crept back and gave my
men the order to follow me to the
outskirts of the village. ~
Runs Into Machine Gun Nest.
Once back at Retinne, | found the |
right road. Here l saw General Won
Wusson's orderly with his horses. He
thought that the general had fallen.
With handful of men / took the
right road, a mealled road leading to |
Queue du Bots. Suddenly there was
firing ahead. Machine-gun bullets
swept the road, but did not harm us.
A little further on we came across |
l heap of dead and wounded German
soldiers, who proved to be some of
he advance party with General Won
Wussow. They must have run into
fire earlier on. I col /
ected some men of the 4th jaeger bat
alton and the 9th infantry regiment.
who We're gradually arriving. and de-
,ided to take over the command of
the brigade. &c ="
The first thing to be done was to
clear the road Oft the enemy's machine +
guns. Captains Won Harbou and
Brinckmann, of the general staff,
pushed their way, with few brave
men, through the hedges and farms /
on both sides of the road and fell upon
the guns. The strong gun-team sur
rendered and the road was clear.
We continued on our way and soon
were engaged in heavy house to house
Fighting in Queue du Bots. Gradually |
t became light. went on ahead with
2 few men. the two staff captains.
Major Won Marcard. commanding the
ath Rifles, Major Won Greiff eom4
the End detachment of the
ith field regiment, and his excellent
adjutant. Lieut.. Neide. /
A field howitzer was brought up;-l
hen a second. They fired right and
eft into the houses and so cleared
The streets. Little by little we ad.
vanced. The men were reluctant to
proceed, and l was often compelled to
sxhort them not to eleaveE me togo on
alone. Atlast the Village lay behind L
u.s. The inhabitants had fled. and it Il
Vas nova question of fighting the
regular Belgian army.
/