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<CENTER><FONT SIZE="+3"></FONT><FONT SIZE="+3">IV</FONT><FONT SIZE="+2"></FONT><BR><BR>

<FONT SIZE="+2">GERMAN SOLDIERS AND BELGIAN CIVILIANS</FONT><BR><BR></CENTER>

<br><br>THE march had made us very warm, and the night was cold. We
shivered all over, and one after the other had to rise in order
to warm himself by moving about. There was no straw to be had,
and our thin cloaks offered but little protection. The officers
slept in sleeping bags and woolen blankets.

<br><br>Gradually all had got up, for the dew had wetted our clothing;
things were very uncomfortable. The men stood about in groups
and criticized the incidents of the preceding day. The great majority
were of the opinion that we should tell the officers distinctly
that in future it would not be so easy for them to work their
deeds of oppression. One of the older reservists proposed that
we should simply refuse in future to execute a command to shoot
a condemned man; he thought that if all of us clung together nothing
could happen to us. However, we begged him to be careful, for
if such expressions were reported they would shoot him for sedition
without much ado. Nevertheless all of us were probably agreed
that the reservist had spoken exactly what was in our minds. The
bitter feeling was general, but we would not and could not commit
any imprudent action. We had learned enough in those few days
of the war to know that war brutalizes and that brutal force can
no longer distinguish right from wrong; and with that force we
had to reckon.

<br><br>Meanwhile the time had come to march on. Before that we had
to drink our coffee and arrange our baggage. When we were ready
to march the captain gave us a speech in which he referred to
the insubordination of the night before. &quot;I take it,&quot;
he said, &quot;that it was the result of your stupidity. For if
I were not convinced of that I should send you all before a courtmartial,
and all of you would be made unhappy for the rest of your lives.
But in future,&quot; he continued after a short reflection, &quot;I
will draw the reins so tightly that incidents like these can never
happen again, and the devil must be in it if I can not master
you. An order is an order, even if one imagines himself too tired.&quot;

<br><br>We joined the mortar battery again, and continued our march.
The country we were passing was rather dreary and monotonous so
that that part of our march offered few interesting changes. The
few tiny villages we came through were all abandoned by their
inhabitants, and the poverty-stricken dwellings were mostly devastated.
However, we met long lines of refugees. These people had as a
rule fled with the French army, and were returning now, only to
find their homes destroyed by the brutal hand of war. After a
lengthy march broken by rests and bivouacs we neared the fairly
large village of Sugny on the Belgo-French frontier just inside
Belgian territory.

<br><br>It was about noon, and though the steadily increasing thunder
of guns pointed to the development of another battle, we hoped
to be able to stay at the place during the night. We entered it
towards one o'clock, and were again quartered in a large barn.
Most of the soldiers refused the food from the field-kitchen,
and &quot;requisitioned&quot; eggs, chicken, geese, and even small
pigs, and soon general cooking was in full swing.

<br><br>He was on his way with bread for a hungry poor family, and
had in his arms six of those little army loaves which he had begged
from the soldiers. He was met by that same Lieutenant Spahn who
was in company of some sergeants. When Spahn asked him where he
was taking the bread the sapper replied that he was on his way
to a poor family that was really starving. The lieutenant then
ordered him to take the bread immediately to the company. Thereupon
he overwhelmed the soldier with all the &quot;military&quot; expressions
he could think of, like, &quot;Are you mad?&quot; &quot;Donkey!&quot;
&quot;Silly ass?&quot; &quot;Duffer!&quot; &quot;Idiot! &quot;
etc. When the soldier showed nevertheless no sign of confusion,
but started to proceed on his way, the lieutenant roared out the
order again, whereupon the soldier turned round, threw the bread
before the feet of Lieutenant Spahn, and said quietly: &quot;The
duffers and idiots have to shed their blood to preserve also your
junker family from the misery that has been brought upon this
poor population.&quot;

<br><br>That the sapper got only two weeks of close confinement for
&quot;unmannerly conduct towards a superior&quot; with aggravating
circumstances, was a wonder; he had indeed got off cheaply.

<br><br>According to martial law he had to work off his punishment
in the following manner: When his company went to rest in the
evening, or after a fight or a march, the man had to report himself
every day for two weeks at the local or camp guard. While the
company was resting and the men could move about freely, he had
to be in the guard room which he could only leave to do his needs,
and then only by permission of the sergeant on guard, and in company
of a soldier belonging to the guard. He was not allowed to smoke
or read or converse or speak, received his rations from the guard,
and had to stay in the guard-room until his company marched off.
Besides that he was tied to a tree or some other object for fully
two hours every day. He was fettered with ropes and had to spend
those two hours standing, even if he had marched 30 miles or had
risked his life in a fight for the same &quot; Fatherland &quot;
that bound him in fetters.

<br><br>The resentment continued to grow and, in consequence of the
many severe punishments that were inflicted, had reached such
a height that most soldiers refused to fetter their comrades.
I, too, refused, and when I continued my refusals in spite of
repeated orders I was likewise condemned to two weeks of close
confinement as an &quot;entirely impenitent sinner,&quot; for
&quot;not obeying an order given&quot; and for &quot;persistent
disobedience.&quot;
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