A THING OF HORROR.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 30, 22 September 1914, Page 6

A THING OF HORROR.

FIGHT BEFORE LIEGE. MEN FLUNG RUTHLESSLY AT DEFENCES.

The story of the attack upon Liege was cabled to America on August 12, before the last mail left, by Count Rudolph Ehrenburg, who acted at Maastrict (Holland) as war correspondent for a group of papers. He wrote:—

Fugitives from the German army operating against Liege have given details of the advance into Belgium and the attack on Liege from the invader's point of view. They belonged to a detachment which was overpower. ed by Belgian cavalry, and fled, into Holland to escape capture.

They were disarmed by the Dutch soon after they crossed the frontier, and I understand they intend to emigrate to America, They have had enough of campaigning and a country in which militarism is rampant. Here is the story of the attack on Liege as. related by the most .intelligentone:

"I took part in the earlier attacks on the Belgians defending Liege,, and, though I am not a coward, the sights I saw and the wholesale slaughter of our men filled me with dread. Again and again we advanced, always in close formation, lying and shooting at an elevation given us by the officers, running, forward and dropping again on our stomachs, continuing to fire and advance again, always nearer to the lines of our enemy. ~ MOWED DOWN IN HUNDREDS.

"As we pressed forward, our ranks became thinner and thinner. Shells burst among us, killing and wounding, and such wounds were far worse than death itself, while the rifle fire of the Belgians moved down our men in dozens, scores, hundreds.

"Have you ever been under fire, over pushed forward against the invisible enemy, with comrades dropping dead or mutilated all round you ? Ever seen the effect of modern artillery trained on masses of human beings? Ever seen heaps of dead and heaps of wounded all mixed together? Ever heard the cries of fallen soldiers you were obliged to leave to their sufferings in order to continue the battle? If not you cannot imagine what we went through at Liege. Some of our attacks were by day and others by night.

"Our officers, reckless in their bravery, led us, urged us, encouraged us to throw away our lives. I think there was much needless bloodshed. We marched straight/toward the enemies lines and toward hostile artillery as if on a manoeuvre field. It was magnificent, but not as war should _be conducted.

SPIRIT OF ATTACKERS BROKEN.

[ "If there were moments when we broke and ran, it was because a further advance into the jaws of death was a sheer impossibility. After the first assaults, with their disastrous endings, the spirit of the attackers was broken. Deep depression followed the buoyant courage with which we marched into the enemy's country. The lack of enthusiasm spread through all the ranks, and retarded success, yet with relentless discipline Ave were required to hurl ourselves repeatedly at lines; which seemed unbreakable. ' •

! "Then, when only a fraction of our regiment survived, we moved to a different part of the battlefield, while fresh troops were brought up to go through the same course of action. It was comomn talk among our men that hundreds of wounded were left for hours without any kind of adequate attention, for the simple reason that it was impossible to roach them without almost certain death

"Their sufferings were heartrending beyond the powers of description, and there were sights that even within the din of battle shook our nerves and struck terror to our hearts. The bravest of men may well be full of fear on the modern battlefield." *