"August 17th. In the afternoon I had a look at the little château belonging to one of the King's secretaries (not at home). Our men had behaved like regular vandals. They had looted the cellar first, and then they had turned their attention to the bedrooms and thrown things about all over the place. They had even made fruitless efforts to smash the safe open. Everything was topsy-turvy--magnificent furniture, silk, and even china. That's what happens when the men are allowed to requisition for themselves. I am sure they must have taken away a heap of useless stuff simply for the pleasure of looting." "Aug. 23rd. * * * Our men came back and said that at the point where the valley joined the Meuse we could not get on any further as the villagers were shooting at us from every house. We shot the whole lot--16 of them. They were drawn up in three ranks; the same shot did for three at a time. "* * * The men had already shown their brutal instincts; * * * "The sight of the bodies of all the inhabitants who had been shot was indescribable. Every house in the whole village was destroyed. We dragged the villagers one after another out of the most unlikely corners. The men were shot as well as the women and children who were in the convent, since shots had been fired from the convent windows; and we burnt it afterwards. "The inhabitants might have escaped the penalty by handing over the guilty and paying 15,000 francs. "The inhabitants fired on our men again. The division took drastic steps to stop the villages being burnt and the inhabitants being shot. The pretty little village of Gue d'Ossus, however, was apparently set on fire without cause. A cyclist fell off his machine and his rifle went off. He immediately said he had been shot at. All the inhabitants were burnt in the houses. I hope there will be no more such horrors. "At Leppe apparently 200 men were shot. There must have been some innocent men among them. In future we shall have to hold an inquiry as to their guilt instead of shooting them. "In the evening we marched to Maubert-Fontaine. Just as we were having our meal the alarm was sounded--everyone is very jumpy. "September 3rd. Still at Rethel, on guard over prisoners. * * * The houses are charming inside. The middle class in France has magnificent furniture. We found stylish pieces everywhere and beautiful silk, but in what a state * * * Good God! * * * Every bit of furniture broken, mirrors smashed. The Vandals themselves could not have done more damage. This place is a disgrace to our army. The inhabitants who fled could not have expected, of course, that all their goods would have been left intact after so many troops had passed. But the column commanders are responsible for the greater part of the damage, as they could have prevented the looting and destruction. The damage amounts to millions of marks; even the safes have been attacked.