jeff2

Yes, because Allen is writing about Americans and can't possibly be the source. Could you kindly explain how to look up "Soldiers Died"? BTW, while the quotation in Winter claims about 100 men and 5 officers were killed, Pitt's total, "over a hundred," includes both killed and wounded. As I mentioned, Pitt also gives a location--"a small village east of Valenciennes." No "Read," "I." or otherwise, in his skimpy bibliography.

Maybe it is a magazine article, though Winter lists only the book by Hervey Allen. I took a look at it, but could find no reference to the incident--not surprisingly, as Allen was an American and the memoir ends on August 14. (Both Allen's memoir and the account quoted by Winter are in the first person.) So this promising trail doesn't seem to lead anywhere, except to the conclusion that Winter's scholarship leaves something to be desired. _Death's Men_ has only 8 footnotes. A section called "References" lists all the memoirs he consulted, but there are of course no page numbers. Winter ( p. 214) does specifically attribute the quotation to Allen. Wait a minute. Just noticed that a long quotation further down the page is attributed to "Read." In fact, it comes from Allen's book. Perhaps Winter transposed the names and the Weltmacht oder Niedergang incident is in Read. This may be Herbert Read, who I recall fought in the First World War. But no published memoir by Read is listed. However, under "unpublished material cited in the text" an "I. Read" is mentioned. Winter also lists D. Read's _Edwardian England_ under "social history." All of Winter's unpublished material is in the Imperial War Museum, so maybe if you or some other reader finds himself in the IWM with some time on his hands, this can be pursued further. One more illustration of how frustrating it can be when writers don't provide decent references.

Actually, it looks like the same description. The lieutenant is discovered by a corporal at the edge of a plantation, wounded in the thigh, propped up against a tree (Winter) or wall (Pitt). In both accounts it's the corporal who returns to bayonet him. I see that I inferred it took place on the 11th from the section above, which begins w/ the cease-fire message. But Pitt doesn't give a date. So being that it's the identical story, I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. If my university library has Allen's memoir, I'll investigate further.

Hope you can come up with the reference. When stories like this are alleged to have taken place in different locations and at different times, one naturally become suspicious.

In his _1918: The Last Act_ (pp. 285-6), Barrie Pitt tells the story of a British battalion that was ambushed in "a village east of Valenciennes" on the morning of the 11th. A patrol encountered a wounded German lieutenant who assured them that the village was deserted. When the battalion naively formed up and marched into the village square, hidden machine guns opened up and more than 100 men were killed or wounded before the gunners (and the lieutenant) were shot or bayoneted. Pitt does not provide a reference, and I wonder if anyone knows more about this suicidal attack. Many thanks. Jeff

Dear Eduardo, Rapports et Documents d'Enqu?te, v. 1, tome 1, published after the war by the Belgian government's Commission d'Enqu?te sur les Violations des R?gles du Droit des Gens, des Lois et des Coutumes de la Guerre, which is pretty reliable, says 12 people were killed on August 18, including two women and a 13 year old child. (p. 272). The German commandant in Leuven sent a letter of apology to the burgomaster 3 days later, which was very unusual, but only for the broken windows and thefts. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any depositions from residents in the Annexes. You might write to the KLM/MRA to see if the Russians have returned any of the original depositions from Tongeren. (The Germans moved them to Berlin during WWII and they were transferred to Moscow at the end of the war.) The town might possibly be mentioned in the first section of the German White Book, but I'm pretty sure there's no testimony in the Bryce Report or in the reports of the first Commission d'Enqu?te that were published during the war. Good luck with your research. Cordially, Jeff Lipkes