America's War for Humanity Part 36

"For a time all seemed well; few saddles were emptied, and the leaders had charged almost within reach of the enemy's guns when suddenly the Germans opened a murderous fire from at least twenty concealed machine guns at a range of 150 yards.

"The result was shattering, and the Lancers caught the full force of the storm, Vicomte Vauvineux, a French cavalry officer who rode with the brigade as interpreter, was killed instantly. Captain Letourey, who was the French master of a school in Devon, was riding by the side of Vauvineux, and had a narrow escape, as his horse was shot from under him. Other officers also fell.

"While the bulk of the brigade swerved to the right the others held on and rode full tilt into wire entanglements buried in the gra.s.s thirty yards in front of the machine guns, and were made prisoners. Three regiments of the best cavalry in the British went into the charge, and suffered severely. The 18th Hussars and the 4th Dragoons also suffered, but not to the same extent as the others.

"A happy feature of the charge was the gallant conduct of Captain Grenfell, who, though twice wounded, called for volunteers and saved the guns. It is said that he has been recommended for the Victoria Cross.

"After this terrible ordeal the British brigade was hara.s.sed for fourteen days of retreat, the enemy giving them rest neither day nor night. At 2 o'clock each morning they were roused by artillery fire, and every day they fought a retiring action, pursued relentlessly by the guns.

"It was a wonderful retreat. Daily the cavalry begged to be allowed to go for the enemy in force to recover lost ground, but only once were they permitted to taste that joy, at the village of La.s.signy, which they pa.s.sed and repa.s.sed three times.

"The Germans made repeated efforts, which were always foiled, to capture the retreating transport. It had, however, many narrow escapes. At one point it escaped by a furious gallop which enabled the wagons to cross a bridge less than an hour ahead of the enemy. The engineers had mined the bridge and were waiting to blow it up. They sent a hurry-up call to the transport, and the latter responded with alacrity. The bridge was blown up just in time to separate the two forces. "At Compiegne the brigade for the first time saw and welcomed their French brothers-in-arms."

BOY SCOUT HERO OF THE WAR

One of the popular heroes of Belgium is Boy Scout Leysen, who has been decorated by King Albert for his valor and devotion to his country.

This young man, who was born at Liege, is described as of almost uncanny sharpness, with senses and perceptions as keen as an Indian. He was able to find his way through the woods and pa.s.s the German sentinels with unerring accuracy.

Leysen made his way through the German lines from Antwerp for the tenth time on Sunday, September 6, carrying dispatches to secret representatives of the Belgian government in Brussels. He discovered and denounced eleven German spies in Belgium, and performed a variety of other services, and all without impairing his boyish simplicity.

KAISER ASKS FOR PRAYERS

After the first three weeks of war, Emperor William requested the supreme council of the Evangelical Church throughout the German empire to include the following prayer in the liturgy at all public services during the war:

"Almighty and most merciful G.o.d, G.o.d of the armies, we beseech Thee in humility for Thy almighty aid for German Fatherland. Bless our forces of war; lead us to victory and give us grace that we may show ourselves to be Christians toward our enemies as well. Let us soon arrive at a peace which will everlastingly safeguard our free and independent Germany."

SPIRIT OF FRENCH WOMEN

When sympathy was expressed in Paris for a poor woman, mother of nine sons, eight of whom were at the front, she replied: "I need no consolation. I have never forgotten that I was flogged by Prussians in 1870. I have urged my sons to avenge me and they will."

As one train of soldiers for the front moved out of a Paris railway station two girls who had bravely kissed farewell to a departing man turned away, and one began to cry, but the other said: "Keep up a little longer, he can still see us." Another carried a baby, and as her husband leaned out of the window and the train started she threw it into his arms, crying: "Leave it with, the station master at the next station, and I will fetch it; you must have it for another few minutes."

A Paris painter, called for military duty, was obliged to leave his wife and four children almost dest.i.tute. When he communicated with his wife on the subject she replied: "Do your duty without worrying about us. The city, state and our a.s.sociations will look after us women and children."

In her letter, the wife enclosed a money order for $1 out of $1.20, the total amount of money which she possessed.

KILLS MANY WITH ARMORED CAR

Lieutenant Henkart, attached to the general staff of the Belgian Army, perfected a monitor armored motor car which was successfully used by the Belgians.

During the war the officer engaged in reconnoitering in one of his armored cars. He had several encounters with Uhlans, of whom he killed a considerable number, virtually single-handed. His only a.s.sistants in his scouting trips were a chauffeur, an engineer and a sharpshooter.

On one occasion the party killed five Uhlans. Two days later it killed seven and on another occasion near Waterloo, the auto ran into a force of 500 Germans and escaped after killing twenty-five with a rapid-fire gun, which was mounted on the motor car.

A GERMAN RUSE THAT FAILED

A Belgian diplomat in Paris related an incident he observed at Charleroi. He said:

"Twenty Death's Head Hussars entered the town at 7 o'clock in the morning and rode quickly down the street, saluting and calling out 'Good-day' to those they met, saying, 'We are friends of the people.'

"Mistaking them for English cavalrymen, the people cried 'Long live England!' The Belgian soldiers themselves were deceived until an officer at a window, realizing their mistake, ran to the street and gave the alarm. The Belgian soldiers rushed quickly to arms and opened fire on the fleeing Germans, of whom several were killed." DIED WRITING TO HIS WIFE

Here is a story of a heroic death on the battlefield, told simply in a letter found in the cold hands of a French soldier who had just finished writing it when the end came. "I am awaiting help which does not come,"

the letter ran. "I pray G.o.d to take me, for I suffer atrociously. Adieu, my wife and dear children. Adieu, all my family, whom I so loved. I request that whoever finds me will send this letter to Paris to my wife, with the pocketbook which is in my coat pocket. Gathering my last strength I write this, lying prostrate under the sh.e.l.l fire. Both my legs are broken. My last thoughts are for my children and for thee, my cherished wife and companion of my life, my beloved wife. Vive la France!"

IN THE PARIS MILITARY HOSPITAL

A visitor to the military hospital within the intrenched camp of Paris, just outside the city walls, said on September 18:

"Men of all ranks are there, from the simple private to a general of division. There is no sign of discouragement or sadness on the pale faces, which light up with the thought of returning to battle.

"I saw hundreds of men lying on the beds in the wards with varieties of wounds, no two being identical. This Turco--or African soldier--suffered from a torn tongue, cut by a bullet, which traversed his cheek. Another had lost three fingers of his left hand. A bullet entered the temple of this infantryman and fell into his mouth, where by some curious reaction he swallowed it.

"Many of the patients are suffering from mere flesh wounds. One poor fellow whose eye was put out by a bullet said: "That's nothing. It is only my left eye and I aim with my right. I need the lives of just three Germans to pay for it."

SMOKE AS WOUNDS ARE TREATED

"The Turcos, though terrible hand-to-hand fighters, are hard to care for. They have great fear of pain and it is difficult to bandage their wounds. The doctors give them cigarettes, which they smoke with dignity as if performing a ritual.

"All the African soldiers were wrathful at a German officer lying in a neighboring room. They muttered in a sinister fas.h.i.+on, 'To-morrow!' and put two hands to the neck. I understood this to mean that they would strangle him to-morrow. Much vigilance is required to keep the officer out of their reach.

"One Turco killed two Prussians with his bayonet and two with the stock of the gun in a single fight. His body is covered with the scars of years of fighting in the service of France. When asked if he liked France he replied: 'France good country, good leaders, good doctors.' He seemed to mind his wound less than the lack of cigarettes."

SPIRIT OF BELGIAN SOLDIERS

Writing from Antwerp on September 1, William G. Shepherd, United Press staff correspondent, ill.u.s.trated the spirit of the soldiery of Belgium by the following story:

"The little Belgian soldier who climbed into the compartment with me was dead tired; he trailed his rifle behind him, threw himself into the seat and fell sound asleep. He was ready to talk when he awoke an hour later.

"'Yes, I was up all night with German prisoners,' he said. 'It was a bad job, there were only sixteen of us to handle 200 Germans. We had four box cars and we put twenty-five prisoners in one end of the car and twenty-five in the other, and the four of us with rifles sat guard by the car door.

"'We rode five hours that way and I expected every minute that the whole fifty Germans in the car would jump on us four and kill us. Four to fifty; that's heavy odds. But we had to do it. You see there aren't enough soldiers in Belgium to do all the work, so we have to make out the best we can.'

"That's the plucky little Belgian soldier, all over.

"In the first place, he's different from most soldiers, because he is willing to fight when he knows he's going to lose.

"'We have to make out the best we can,' is his motto.

"In the second place, he's a common-sense little fellow. Even while he's fighting, he's doing it coolly, and there is no blind hatred in his heart that causes him to waste any effort. He gets down to the why and wherefore of things.

"'I really felt sorry for those German prisoners,' said a comrade of the first soldier. 'They were all decent fellows. They told me their officers had fooled them. They said the officers gave them French money on the German frontier and then yelled to them, "On into France!" They went on three days and got to Liege before they knew they were in Belgium instead of France.

"'We didn't want to hurt Belgium,' they told us, because we're from Alsace-Lorraine ourselves.'

"'You see,' continued the logical little Belgian, 'it wasn't their fault, so we couldn't be mad at them.'

"That is the Belgian idea--cool logic.