FIGHTING ARABS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 621, 28 August 1933, Page 3

FIGHTING ARABS

THE FOREIGN LEGION BERBERS PUT PRISONERS TO DEATH WITH TERRIBLE TORTURES. M0R0CC0 CAMPAIGNING. Behind the brief cahle from the French' War Office that the French Foreign Legion is fighting the Berbers, with losses so far of over 40 men, there is perhaps more than meets the eye. It is well known to old legionaires that only news of serious engagements ever leaks out to the Press. Many minor battles ' are fought with more or less serious losses that are reported no further than the archives of the French War Office. Is this battle in the A-tlas Mountains so grave that it cannot be hushed up ? A New Zealander who was recently in Morocco and traversed the Northern Atlas Mountains, believes that owing to the wild and rugged nature of the country it would he impossible to fight without h'eavy losses. In d-is-tricts such as these, modern methods of warfare go by the board. It is imposaible to dig trenches — the best cover th«>t can be obtained is at best behind rocks, and in this the Arabs are masters in making the most of what available natural protection there is. They know the country as no European can hope to, and they take advantage of every little mound, rock and crevasse in waging a deadly guerilla warfare against their enemies. Bullets come from rowhere — the crack of thousands of riiies, with not a single Arah, visible is the uncanny phenomenon so dread by the legionaires. The Last Builet. Next to the Touraregs, the Berbers are the most fierce and cruel of the Arahs. No mercy is shown to prisoners. The captured enemies are handed over to the women of the tribe, who put them to death with fiendish and unmentionable tortures. To guard against these atrocities, every legionaire carries a cartridge, on the bullet of which' he has engraved his name. No matter how short of ammunition he may be, this cartridge is never used, unless and until there is no hope of escape, and capture is imminent, whereupon the legionaire turris his rifle upon himself. "Peaceful penetration" in North Africa by the French, while1 appearing on the surface to be such a success? is far from completed, for the Arabs still consider themselves owners and masters of the country. Efforts to impress the natives with the strength of the French armies never cease. Even in the modern city of Algiers, from the forts on every hill come'S the daily rattle of machinegun fire. The gunners may be practising, but at the same time the Arahs who hear them are given an idea of what to expect if they attempt a rising. Another method of demonstrating the strength of Francfe is hy "police patrols," who make route marches through as many Arab villages as possible. These are undertaken regularly hy all the regiments engaged in North Africa. , Constant Ripings. In spite of these precautions, risings are constantly taking place, with more or less grave consequences. Franee can never be sure which are the loyal natives and which are "partisans," for often an Arab who has faithfully served her will turn .traitor. It is a favour ite trick for an Arab to join a French native regiment, learn the methods of European warfare, and return to his tribe to use this . knowledge against France. An example of this feeling of discontent was seen recently hy a New Zealander in Algiers. He was talking to n Arab of high rank who had just lost heavily in one of the casinos so obligingly maintained hy. the French for the amusement of the Arabs. He had •also, perhaps, drunk a little to much "vin rose." On learning that Ihe New Zealander was not French, he hecame confidenjjial. ' " He ren^arked how he would like to crush' every Frenchman just so — and he ground his fist into the palm of his left hand. He produced a medal — the Croix de ■Guerre. He had won it fighting valiantly for France. To show what he thuught of it, he spat contemptuously upon it and returned it to his pocket. Terrific Heat. August is one of the hottest months in North Africa, and some idea of the terrific heat can be judged from the cabled statement that the temperature is 120 degrees. Shelter is rare in the desert, and the suffering from heat by men on the march and in battle has been sufficiently stressed by all writers on the legion for it to be mentioned again. If the present fighting is being carried on at any appreciable altitude in the Atlas Mountains, the heat would be intolerable. A fine motor route, made by tbe legionaries, l'uns over the mountains, linking Fez and Sidi-bel-Abbes. The welcome drop in temperature when in the mountains is most noticeable to those rapidly ascending by desert car from the hot and arid plains below.