DIARY OF DEVASTATION.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 17 August 1917, Page 1

DIARY OF DEVASTATION.

THE HUX SOLDIERS' DUTY. Mr Henry Wood, the United Press correspondent with the French armies, writes: The destruction of trees, farms, villages, and all personal property, as well as railways, roads, bridges, and institutions belonging to the State, now comprises nearly half the "duty" of a German soldier. While it has been definitely established that the Germans in the occupied territory of France and Belgium -have regularly organised crews of soldiers whose sole duty is that of destruction and devastation, it also appeal's that this has now become so much the mission of the German army that every soldier has to perform his part. Some idea of the proportion of this duty as compared with the regular military duty of a soldier can be formed from the following diary of a German just taken prisoner in France: February 19.—Arrived at Laon at 7 in the morning. Marched till 5.20 to the farm of N . February 20-21.—Reposed at the farm. February 22.—Exercised and pay day. February 23.—Loaded iron on narrowgauge railway. February 24.—Destroyed houses and chopped down trees. February 25 (Sunday).—Morning reposed. Afternoon loaded materials and iron. February 26.—Marched from Moutecoure to Sorny. February 27.—Chopped down trees. February 28.—Destruction of forests. March I.—Destruction .of forests in heavy rain. March 2.—We began the hew position. March 3 to 9.—Entrenching near Vauxaillon. March 10 to 12.—Entrenching in Vauxaillon. March 13.—Morning reposed.. Afternoon demolished houses. The entries of February 23 and 25 relative to the loading of iron on the narrow gauge railway is presumed to have reference to the carrying away of all railway' rails and iron of every description. Previous to beginning their retreat the Germans made a systematic haul of metal of all kinds in the villages to be abandoned AX OFFICER'S NOTEBOOK. Fully as interesting as the official orders are various private documents and papers found on prisoners, which give often the impressions of the soldiers and men themselves relative to this wholesale systematic devastation of private property." In the notebook of an officer was found a series of entries which the owner had apparently made in order not to forget the various things he must attend to during the retreat and the preceding destruction. The entries are as follow :—" Prohibitedto destroy for amusement the insulators on the_ telephone poles. Strictly prohibited to talk with the French population. Poisoning of water. Incendiary bombs. Deserters will be punished after the war. Destroy military addresses of the dead. Fruit trees, don't write home about them." The last restriction was presumably made because it might be difficult to convince the rural and agricultural population of Germany that the French fruit trees are - cut down purely as ',' a, military necessity." ,