We shall not waste time over the looting of cellars, of larders, of poultry yards, of linen-chests, or of whatever can be consumed promptly, or immediately made use of by the troops—all these are the merest trifles. Let us also dismiss pillage, organised on a large scale by the authorities, of all sorts of raw material and industrial machinery: the bill on this score will come to several thousand million francs. Let us likewise put aside official robberies, committed by governors of towns, or provinces, from municipal treasuries (even the treasury of the Red Cross at Brussels was robbed), usually under the form of fines, or of taxes imposed under transparent pretences. There again there will be millions to recover.

We shall deal here with personal robberies only, as distinct from the pilfering carried on by hungry soldiers, distinct too from the regular contributions levied on a conquered country by an unscrupulous administration. These robberies are innumerable, committed sometimes by private soldiers, but often by officers, doctors, and high officials. Here are some examples.

(1) Soldier thieves: They are rougher in their dealings, and kill those who offer resistance. It is a case of "Your money or your life." Madame Maupoix, aged 75, living at Triaucourt, was kicked to death while soldiers ransacked her cupboards. Monsieur Dalissier, aged 73, belonging to Congis, was summoned to give up his purse: he declared that he had no money; they tied him up with a rope and fired fifteen shots into his body. Let us pass quickly over the "soldier thief"—merely small fry!

(2) Officer thieves: At Baron, an officer compelled the notary to open his safe, and stole money and jewellery from it. Another, after going through several houses, was seen wearing on his wrists and fingers six bracelets and nine rings belonging to women. Soldiers who brought their officer a stolen jewel received a reward of four shillings. The robberies at Baccarat and Creil were "directed" by officers. At Creil, a captain tried to induce Guillot and Demonts to point out the houses of the richest inhabitants, and their refusal cost them harsh treatment. At FossÉ, a French military doctor in charge of an ambulance, conveying two hundred patients, and himself wounded, was arrested and taken before a captain. The captain told the doctor that he would have him shot, and meanwhile opened the doctor's tunic with his own hand, took out his pocket-book and appropriated the 400 francs he found in it.

Officers and privates sometimes share the stolen money. From a diary belonging to a titled Lieutenant of the Guards, let us quote this note:—

"FossÉ. Village entirely burnt. The 7th Company made 2000 francs in booty."

From another officer's note-book:—

"More than 3000 francs booty for the battalion."

Another diary, after the sacking of a place, gives a detailed account of the distribution thus:—

"460 francs for the first lieutenant, 390 francs for the second lieutenant, etc…."

(3) Doctor thieves: At Choisy-au-Bac, two army doctors, wearing their brassards, personally sacked the house of a family named Binder. At ChÂteau-Thierry some doctors were made prisoners: their mess-tins were opened and found to be full of stolen articles. After Morhange, a French doctor of the 20th Corps remained in the German lines to be near his wounded. He was accosted by one of his German 'confrÈres.'[3] who with his own hands stole his watch and pocket-book.

At Raon-sur-Plaine, after the retreat of our troops, Dr. Schneider remained behind with thirty wounded. Next day up came a German ambulance with Professor Vulpius, a well-known German scientist of Heidelberg University, who must have presided over many international medical congresses. As soon as he was installed, "Herr Professor" intimated to his French fellow-doctors that he was "going to begin with a small customary formality." The formality was a simple one: his colleagues were to hand over to him "all the money they had on them." "I strongly protested" (declared the French doctor, on oath), "but we were compelled to hand over our purses and all their contents. Having relieved us in this way, he turned to our poor wounded, who were all searched and stripped of their money. There was nothing to be done: we were in the hands, not of a doctor, but of a regular brute…."

(4) Royal thieves: After living about a week in a chÂteau near LiÉge, H.R.H. Prince Eitel Fritz, the Duke of Brunswick, and another nobleman of less importance, had all the dresses that could be found in the wardrobes belonging to the lady of the house and her daughters packed up before their own eyes, and sent to Germany.

* * * * *

These thieves are often facetious: they give as compensation a so-called receipt or bond (in German, of course), which in French means, "Good for a hundred lashes," or "Good for two rabbits," or "To be shot," or "Payable in Paris"…. They are also disgusting. In houses robbed by them they leave, by way of visiting cards, excrement in beds, on tables, and in cupboards. They are sometimes unnaturally vicious. In a village of Limbourg they burnt in a stable a stallion valued at 50,000 francs, and "forced the farmer, his wife and children to witness the crime on their knees with their arms raised." Amongst the crowd of unfortunate people brought from Louvain to Brussels were thirteen priests. The soldiers at a German guard-house stopped the column, and ordered the priests to come out. To shoot them? No. They forced them into a pigsty, from which they had driven out the only pig. Forthwith they compelled most of them to strip off all their clothes, and robbed them of everything of value they possessed.

These thieves are practical too. At Dinant, safes were opened with oxy-hydrogen blow-pipes, brought expressly for that purpose. They have a partiality for safes, and in this connection the story of LunÉville deserves recording. A house near the station, belonging to M. Leclerc, was set on fire; the walls alone remained standing, and in one of them (on the second floor) a safe was left intact. A non-commissioned officer, named Weill, with a party blew up the wall with dynamite, and the safe was extricated from the rubbish, carried to the station, put on a truck, and sent to Boche-land. This man Weill, before the war, often came to Luneville on business with hops, was always well received there, made himself agreeable and knew everybody. When the Germans settled in the unfortunate town he played a very important part, in spite of his low rank, in acting as agent, confidential clerk and guide to the Commanding Officer.

The robbers are also business-like in their transport arrangements as to carriages, military waggons, lorries, and motor cars. At CompiÈgne, where the home of the Orsetti family was sacked, silver plate, jewellery and articles of value were collected in the courtyard of the chÂteau, then classified, registered, packed and "put into two carts, upon which they took care to place the Red Cross flag." We read in the note-book of a wounded German soldier, under medical treatment at Brussels, "A car has arrived at the hospital, bringing war booty, a piano, two sewing machines and all sorts of other things."

In 1870, our clocks were in most demand; now, pianos form the attraction, and an immense number have been sent to Germany. They are the article particularly favoured by the Boche ladies. In a chÂteau retaken by our troops, an officer left behind a letter from his wife, in which is written, "A thousand thanks for the beautiful things you sent me. The furs are magnificent, the rosewood furniture is exquisite; but don't forget that Elsa is always waiting for her piano."

These women, however, are not all as patient in waiting as Elsa. They frequently come and choose for themselves, and preside over the packing. They have been seen arriving in motor cars from Strasbourg or Metz, at many towns in Lorraine, at LunÉville, Baccarat, and elsewhere.

All note-books, more or less, contain such items as these: "Wholesale pillage and abundant loot," "Everything destroyed or sacked," "Looting going strong," "Played the piano; looting going strong." This very German formula frequently occurs, "Methodically plundered." And again, "We have been allowed to plunder; we didn't require to be told twice: whole bales of loot."

"Rethel. The Vandals could not have done better." (The officer who makes this indiscreet admission and seems to protest against the thefts committed, writes on the following page: "I have found a silk rainproof coat and a camera for Felix.")

"Courcy. The village, and the workmen's cottages looted and sacked. Atrocious. There is something, after all, in what they say of German barbarians."

"Ottignies. The village was pillaged. The blond beast has made plain what he is. The Huns and the free-lances of the Middle Ages could not have done better."

"Cirey. During the night incredible things were done: shops sacked, money stolen, rapes: enough to make one's hair stand on end."

FOOTNOTES:

[3] We have not found this fact recorded in the Commission's Reports. It was told to us, on his return from captivity, by Dr. Marlier, of the 20th Corps, taken prisoner at Morhange, and Dr. Marlier is the soul of honour.