Liége on the line of march : $b an American girl's experiences when the Germans came through BelgiumBigelow, Glenna Lindsley
History
Liége on the line of march : $b an American girl's experiences when the Germans came through Belgium
Bigelow, Glenna Lindsley
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
These were dug by the soldiers and men from the factories of Liége. In
front of the trenches were constructed those marvellous, barbed wire
fences, about one and one half metres apart and perhaps five rows deep,
with the wire twisted and wound in every conceivable fashion. Thirty
feet in front of this barrier was buried a string of mines, connected
with the trenches by an electric wire, to be exploded at a given
moment. Dark as the night was, the enemy found and severed some of
these communications so that most of the mines were rendered
ineffective. We saw the cut wire in several places. What hope can those
poor soldiers have, enemy or no, the advance guard of the besiegers, who
are pushed forward often at the point of the bayonet, armed only with
huge scissors to cut through such an almost impenetrable defense?
A most touching sight was the graves of thirty Belgians in one end of
these trenches. Does that not seem a terrible irony to be buried in
one's own trenches? A few common, wayside flowers were strewn on the
graves, in front of which was an old prayer-stool and a wooden cross
surmounted with a Belgian _képi_ (military cap). This cap seemed a
living thing almost and reminded me of the red fez so often seen on the
Moslem tombs in the cemeteries of Constantinople, which seemingly
strives to evoke a vital spirit from the frigid marble. Nailed to the
cross was a fragment of those well-known lines of the Immortal Cæsar,
"Of all the peoples of Gaul, the Belgians are the bravest." You see, the
old warrior knew that long ago.
Near by was a small, shrapnel gun carriage, by which stood a toothless,
old man who told, in that excruciating _Wallon_ tongue, a pathetic story
of one of the dogs which had probably drawn it. His mate doubtless was
killed in battle, but he returned three days later, lay down beside the
broken wheels and defied anyone to approach.
_Monday, August 10th._
Monsieur S. came home to-day laden down with bags of gold like Ali Baba.
How he is going to do away with it so that the ferret eyes of the enemy
will not spy it out, is a problem to me. And I do not want it explained
for I am sure I should look right into the forbidden corner at the wrong
moment and give the secret away.
Although there are thousands of German soldiers who have come into the
city and who control it, they are like rats in a trap. On account of the
twelve surrounding forts they cannot leave it and for the same reason no
one can come to their aid. So they have mounted machine guns in corner
houses of many streets and it is horrible to see those deadly mouths
gaping out of the windows. In case of an uprising among the civilians
the soldiers' revenge will be to kill the women and children. But no!
that is not possible in these days, from men who are neither savages nor
Turks.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account