In Spain the destruction of the cathedral of Reims partly destroyed the long preparation of Spanish opinion which had been carried on in favour of Germany. The indignation of Spaniards was faithfully expressed by an article in the Libéral, in which the following words occur: “It seemed that the universal anathema heaped upon the Germans after the destruction of Louvain would have restrained their acts of unjustifiable destruction. The Emperor appeared to feel sorry in his letter of apologies addressed to the President of the United States; but his soldiers surpassed themselves, and the appalling barbarism of their achievement is unexampled in history.”
Finally, in America not only the general public but the Government were profoundly moved by the news of the bombardment of one of the finest cathedrals in the world. The American Consul at Lausanne was instructed by his Government, on the day after the crime, to go to Reims and make an inquiry on the spot. As for American newspapers, the following are extracts from them—
The Tribune said: “The destruction of the fine monument of the Middle Ages is an act of vandalism which puts German military methods on a level with those of the Goths and the Huns. The crime of destroying this venerable pile was committed by a nation which claims that its mission is to impose its civilisation on the rest of the world. By violating the laws of war, Germany is encouraging other nations to do the same.”
The World said: “Prussian militarism has outdone everything previously seen in the category of vandalism. Throughout the centuries, since the destruction of the Parthenon, the world has known no such act.”
The Sun said: “In spite of the regrets which Germany pretends to express, we cannot fail to draw the conclusion that the cathedral of Reims was the target of a deliberate attempt to destroy.”
Bombardment of Gerbeviller
The following are other examples of bombardments at this period, which were carried out at places less known, but in which the aim to destroy at any cost, by any means, and in violation of every law stands no less emphatically self-condemned. Of the picturesque little village of Gerbeviller there remains only a heap of stones, dust and ashes. The Germans bombarded it mercilessly in the month of August. Possibly this bombardment was due to necessity, but the precise aim of the German guns, posted in the outskirts of the village, reveals the criminal design at work. The village church was the chief object aimed at: it was burnt down by shell fire, the pretty palatine chapel demolished, and the château completely wiped out.
Bombardment of Dompierre-aux-Bois
On the 22nd September the Germans forced a way into Dompierre-aux-Bois. They entered each house with fixed bayonets, made all the men come out, and then shut them up in the church. On the following day it was the women’s and children’s turn, and so these poor people found they were compelled to face the fire of the German artillery which was let loose in the village. Men, women, children and old folk were, for five long days without ceasing, exposed to a rain of bombs and shells.
On the 27th September the Germans lay in ambush in the country behind Troyon so as to be able to fire on the fort from which the French were bombarding them. During the artillery duel which followed, the Germans thought it well not to forget the wretched people of Dompierre-aux-Bois, who were still shut up in the church. About five p.m. they fired at the church and a shell fell upon it. Forty persons were killed or wounded by the hand of the same people who forced them to stay in this spot, and who, from being their gaolers, made themselves their executioners.