Some hundreds of the personnel and patients of British hospitals behind the battlelines were killed and wounded on May 19 in the heavy attack by German bombing planes. Among those on the casualty list were several nurses, some of whom were killed, and several medical officers who were wounded. A large American hospital in the neighborhood escaped. A great number of the bombs were of extraordinary size, digging vast craters in the hospital grounds, while others were high-explosive shrapnel bombs, which scattered bullets through the crowded hospital tents and buildings. A three-seated airplane was brought down by gunfire while flying at a low altitude, and the occupants were made prisoner. The German Captain and the pilot sustained comparatively light shrapnel wounds, while the observer was not hurt. When questioned why he had directed his men against hospitals, the Captain asserted that he did not see the Red Cross signs. He said that he was seeking military objectives and had no desire to molest hospitals. With a shrug shoulders, the Captain added that if the British chose to build their hospitals near railways, they must expect to get them bombed.
The same group of hospitals was attacked again on the night of May 31. Several of them were hit and the casualty list among patients and workers was considerable. One hospital was almost demolished when an enemy aviator dropped an explosive on it after getting his bearings by letting fall a brilliant flare which lighted up the whole district. The raid lasted two hours. In one hospital one ward was destroyed and two other wards were damaged. Several attendants were killed in this place, and there were other casualties. The operating theatre of still another hospital was wrecked.
Altogether between May 15 and June 1 German airmen bombed British hospitals in France seven times, causing casualties totaling 991, as follows: Killed—Officers, 11; other ranks, 318; nursing sisters, 5; Women's Auxiliary Corps, 8; civilians, 6. Wounded—Officers, 18; other ranks, 534; nursing sisters, 11; Women's Auxiliary Corps, 7; civilians, 73.
On the night of May 28 German airmen deliberately dropped bombs on hospitals many miles in the rear of the front, in which there were scores of American and hundreds of French sick and wounded. A number of Americans were slightly injured by flying glass. One French nurse was killed and another injured. Several civilians died of wounds.
In addition to their operations against the Germans in France and Belgium, the Allies continued to carry the war into Germany. In a raid during the night of May 27 British long-distance bombing machines dropped between four and five tons of bombs on chemical works at Mannheim, the Landau railroad station, an electric power station at Kreuzwald, and on the Metz-Sablons railroad station. Very large explosions were caused and much damage done. The same night the important railway triangle at Liége in Belgium was bombarded. In spite of determined opposition by German airplanes, British aviators on May dropped bombs on factories and the railroad station at Saarbrücken in Rhenish Prussia.
Cologne, the sixth largest city of Germany, was raided by British bombing planes on May 18. Bombs were dropped on railroad stations, factories, and barracks. Eighty-eight of the persons who were killed were buried in the same grave. The people of the city became panic-stricken. Aix-la-Chapelle was also attacked and factories set on fire.
TONS OF BRITISH BOMBS
British air squadrons carried out successful raids in Germany on May 31. Long-distance bombing machines crossed the Rhine and, in spite of strong opposition from enemy aircraft, dropped over a ton of bombs on the station and workshops at Karlsruhe. Another group of British airplanes dropped a ton of bombs on the railway triangle of Metz-Sablons with good effect and without losses. During the course of the day thirty-one tons of bombs were dropped on different targets behind the enemy lines. Twenty German machines were destroyed in air fighting, and six were driven out of control. During the night sixteen tons of bombs were dropped on targets in enemy territory. Six tons were dropped on the Bruges docks and on the Zeebrugge-Bruges Canal. In addition, four tons were dropped on railway junctions and the stations at Metz-Sablons, Karthaus, and Thionville.
Another typical day's work of the British aviators was that described in the official report issued on June 6. On the previous night long-distance bombing machines again attacked the Metz-Sablons station triangle and also the railway sidings at Thionville, dropping five tons of bombs with good results, although the visibility was indifferent. Next morning (June 6) the railway station at Coblenz was heavily attacked. The fine weather of June 5 enabled the British airmen to carry out much photographic, reconnoissance, and artillery work. Twenty tons of bombs were dropped on different targets, including hostile dumps and railway billets, the Armentières and Roye stations, and the Zeebrugge seaplane base. In addition long-distance day bombing machines heavily attacked the railway station and barracks at Treves, and the Metz-Sablons railway station, and the railways at Karthaus, returning without loss. Seven hostile machines and three German observation balloons were shot down during the day, and three hostile airplanes were driven down out of control. Four of the British machines are missing. On the night of June 5 thirteen tons of bombs were dropped on the St. Quentin, Boesinghe, Cambrai, and Armentières stations.