A perusal of the confession of these abominations, a confession, too, made in such terms, gives a better idea of the character and aims of this nation.
General Stenger, to whom we have already referred, the commander of the 38th Brigade, gave instructions for the massacre of the wounded in an order of the day which we reproduce verbatim, and which is so abominable that it is beyond criticism.
“From to-day, there will be no more prisoners made. All prisoners will be massacred. Even prisoners who have already been arranged in convoys will be massacred. Behind us no enemy will be left alive.
“Stoy, Lieutenant and Commander-in-Chief of the Company.
“Neubauer, Colonel in command of the Regiment.
“Stenger, General in command of the Brigade.”
M. Bédier has reproduced in his book the actual original of this document.
Treatment of Prisoners in Germany
Once they had left the battlefields for the German fortresses, where they were to be kept under guard, it was inevitable that prisoners of war should be exposed to the most brutal ill-treatment, death, wounds and blows. A regular prison regimen following upon possible outrages on the field of battle would, of course, absolutely prevent that. But all the penalties which the prisoners could possibly be made to suffer under these new circumstances were heaped upon them in profusion. They were not allowed to have their letters; customs duties were imposed on the packages sent to them from their own country, and the transmission of these packages was irregular and uncertain; finally, some of these consignments were constantly and systematically looted.
The French Government complained. In fear of reprisals the Germans had to alter their ways, though in some respects they continued as before. They refused to sanction the pay of private soldiers and non-commissioned officers, who had been taken prisoner; they fixed the pay of inferior and superior officers at the ridiculous amounts of sixty and a hundred marks; they refused to serve out allowances of tobacco and cruelly cut short the supply of food.