Horrors and Atrocities of the Great War: Including the Tragic Destruction of the LusitaniaMarshall, Logan
History
Horrors and Atrocities of the Great War: Including the Tragic Destruction of the Lusitania
Marshall, Logan
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities
“Frightful scenes occurred at the Château de ---- in the neighborhood of
La Ferté-Gaucher. There lived there an old gentleman, M. X., with his
servant, Mlle. Y., 54 years old. On Sept. 5 several Germans, among whom
was a non-commissioned officer, were in occupation of this property.
After they had been supplied with food, the non-commissioned officer
proposed to a refugee, a Mme. Z., that she should sleep with him; she
refused. M. X., to save her from the designs of which she was the
object, sent her to his farm, which was in the neighborhood. The German
ran there to fetch her, dragged her back to the château and led her to
the attic; then, having completely undressed her, he tried to violate
her. At this moment M. X., wishing to protect her, fired revolver shots
on the staircase and was immediately shot.
[Illustration: THE BOMBARDMENT OF THE EAST COAST OF ENGLAND.
This scene, painted in Hartlepool, shows the effect of a bursting German
shell in the unfortified British town. Several women and many other
civilians were killed by the German raiders.]
[Illustration: PRUSSIAN SOLDIER KIDNAPPING A RED CROSS NURSE.
In spite of her prayer he seized her roughly, tied her hands together
and throwing her across his saddle rode away. Fortunately, a Cossack
appeared, pierced the scoundrel with his lance and rescued the woman.
(_Graphic copr._)]
“The non-commissioned officer then made Mme. X. come out of the attic,
obliged her to step over the corpse of the old man, and led her to a
closet, where he again made two unsuccessful attempts upon her. Leaving
her at last, he threw himself upon Mlle. Y., having first handed Mme. Z.
over to two soldiers, who, after having violated her, one once and the
other twice, in the dead man’s room, made her pass the night in a barn
near them, where one of them twice again had sexual connection with her.
“As for Mlle. Y., she was obliged by threats of being shot, to strip
herself completely naked and lie on a mattress with the non-commissioned
officer, who kept her there until morning.
[Illustration: “AT LEAST THEY ONLY _DROWN_ YOUR WOMEN.”]
“It is generally believed at Coulommiers that criminal attempts have
been made on many women of that town, but only one crime of this nature
has been proved for certain. A charwoman, Mme. X., was the victim. A
soldier came to her house on the 6th of September, toward 9.30 in the
evening, and sent away her husband to go and search for one of his
comrades in the street. Then, in spite of the fact that two small
children were present, he tried to rape the young woman. X., when he
heard his wife’s cries, rushed back, but was driven off with blows of
the butt of the man’s rifle into a neighboring room, of which the door
was left open, and his wife was forced to suffer the consummation of the
outrage. The rape took place almost under the eyes of the husband, who,
being terrorized, did not dare to intervene, and used his efforts only
to calm the terror of his children.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account