Paris War Days Part 8

"But the situation is not yet so grave. We knew our frontier would be invaded somewhere. We have many troops in reserve for the big battle that will follow this one.

"The Germans cannot besiege or invest Paris. Its size is too vast. Its defence will be a.s.sisted by the armies now fighting on the Oise, seventy miles away.

"The fortifications of Paris are by no means the feeble things they were in 1870. From the Eiffel Tower we can control the movements in co-operation with our armies in the provinces of France.

"The situation is in no way desperate, although the Germans have invaded France. France will fight on and on until this attempt to establish tyranny in Europe is overthrown."

[Photograph: Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N.Y. Eiffel Tower's searchlight, to reveal bomb-throwing air craft and air-scouts of the Germans.]

Monday, August 31.

Twenty-ninth day of the war. Hot, somewhat hazy, summer weather, with faint northerly wind. Thermometer at five P.M. 27 degrees centigrade.

Kaiser William, who it appears was on the field during the battle of Charleroi, is pressing forward in hot haste, regardless of consequences, on the road to Paris, close behind the steel-tipped elite of his vast armies, consisting of the Royal Prussian Guard Corps and the famous Third Army Corps. To-morrow will be the anniversary of the Battle of Sedan. The "Mailed Fist" is doing his best to celebrate it by leading his legions to Paris. It is daredevil desperation that spurs him on, for nowhere, as yet, have the Franco-British armies been broken through, and they continue to present successive stone walls to the Teuton invasion, and oppose every inch of ground with dogged tenacity. The allied left wing has been forced-always by the traditional enveloping tactics on their right-to retreat, but they do so sullenly and in good order, making the Germans pay dearly for every step gained. The battle is raging continuously, and much depends upon which side first receives strong reenforcements to fill up the gaps made by tremendous losses. The Russian advance in East Prussia, according to accounts from Brussels, has already forced the Germans to send back to Berlin from their center at least one army corps.

There is hurry and skurry all day long among Parisians and foreign residents to get away from Paris to more peaceful towns in the south and west. The railway stations are so crowded that it is almost impossible, at the Gare of Saint-Lazare or at the Quai d'Orsay to get anywhere near the booking office. Motor-cabs are being hired at extravagant prices to convey families to Tours, Orleans, Le Mans, or Bordeaux. The bearing of the public however by no means resembles that of "nerves," and less still a panic.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Copyright by International News Service. Wounded French soldiers returning to Paris with trophies from the battlefields.]

I lunched to-day with Mr. Hulme Beaman, correspondent of the London Standard, and his charming wife, who live just across the way from me, in the Boulevard de Courcelles. Mr. Beaman pa.s.sed Sunday at Poissy, where he usually goes fis.h.i.+ng for gudgeon. At Acheres, the junction of the lines from Picardy and Belgium, he saw train after train filled with wounded French soldiers, who seemed in good spirits and who, in spite of their suffering, were burning to get back again to the front.

Another German air-lieutenant made a flight over Paris this afternoon and dropped two bombs near the Notre Dame Cathedral, but caused no damage; one of the projectiles fell into the Seine. The airman also tossed into Paris a German flag, to which was tied a postal card calling upon Paris to surrender. Groups watched the aeroplane, which never came lower than fifteen hundred meters, and women and children seemed rather amused at the sight.

A fugitive from Belgium, who was at Louvain shortly before the wilful destruction of the once beautiful university town, tells a curious story of a Dutchman who had a thrilling escape on the arrival of the Germans. He rushed for the Dutch flag, which, in his nervousness, he hoisted outside his door upside down. This then represented the French flag, and the Dutchman, who spoke no German, was immediately seized by the enemy and ordered to be shot. He was placed upright against a wall and was about to be riddled with bullets when his employer rushed up and told the Germans that they were going to shoot a Dutchman, which saved his life.

General Gallieni, Governor of Paris, has issued a decree prohibiting newspapers to publish "spread-head" lines extending over two columns in width. The news vendors are not allowed to shout out the news, or even the names of the papers on the streets. The type of headlines must not be of alarming size. In fact, a worldwide war was required to check the march of the sensational Paris "yellow" press.

The Minister of War has suppressed sauf-conduits for travelers leaving Paris by rail, but they must be provided with proper identification papers. The laisser-pa.s.ser, delivered by the Prefecture of Police, is still required however for all who leave Paris by automobile.

The American committee, in a circular to Americans, signed by Judge Elbert H. Gary, chairman, and H. Herman Harjes, secretary, gives a warning against sensational reports about the "imminent occupation" of the city by the Germans, but expresses the opinion that "it would be wise for Americans who cannot be of special service during the war, or who are not required to remain by their business or professional interests, to leave the city in an orderly and quiet way, whenever reasonable opportunity is offered."

Tuesday, September 1.

Thirtieth day of the war, and forty-fourth anniversary of the Battle of Sedan. Oppressive sultry weather, with northeasterly wind. Thermometer at five P.M. 23 degrees centigrade.

The War Office communique to-night states that: "on our left wing, in consequence of the enveloping movement of the Germans and with the object of not entering into a decisive action under bad conditions, our troops have fallen back, some towards the south and others towards the southwest. The action which took place in the district of Rethel has enabled our forces to stop the enemy for the time being. In the center and on the right (Woevre, Lorraine, and the Vosges), there is no change in the situation."

This means that Emperor William is hacking his way still nearer to Paris. The failure however to realize his boast that he would celebrate the anniversary of Sedan by appearing within striking distance of the French capital may indicate that the turning point of this phase of the war is near at hand.

The allied troops north of Paris have established themselves in a fighting position more favorable than that into which an attempt was made to draw them. The dam still holds good, and breaches are being repaired.

The people of Paris are quite calm, in spite of false rumors and of pyrotechnics aloft executed by the German taubes.

At quarter past five this afternoon, I was walking across the Place de la Bourse to file a cable message to the New York Tribune. I heard a loud explosion, followed by clas.h.i.+ng of broken gla.s.s. A projectile had fallen a hundred yards distant and hit the top of a house in the Rue de Hanovre. The pompiers were on the spot within three minutes, having been summoned by the fire-alarm box near the Bourse. No serious damage was done, but little lead pellets were found in profusion. When I heard the explosion, I looked up and saw an aeroplane at an alt.i.tude of about fourteen hundred meters vanis.h.i.+ng towards the northeast. It was pale yellow, and white near the after part. It was a German taube. A sand-bag with a German Uhlan's pennant was dropped, bearing a card reminding Parisians that it was "the anniversary of Sedan, that they would soon be obliged to surrender the city, and that the Russians had been crushed on the Prussian frontier." Another bomb had been dropped on the roof of Number 29 Rue du Mail and broke into an empty room, but did not explode. A third bomb fell on a schoolhouse in the Rue Colbert; ricochetting off the wall, it fell into a courtyard, where it exploded and made a hole in the ground. Other bombs were dropped in the Rue de Londres and in the Rue de la Condamine; the last one injured a woman and a little girl, who were hit in the chest and head by fragments of the projectile. As the taube pa.s.sed over the Pepiniere barracks, and the Place de l'Opera, at an alt.i.tude of perhaps twelve hundred meters, some soldiers fired at it with their rifles, but without effect. The German air-lieutenants have so far avoided the Eiffel Tower, where machine guns are placed.

The War Office announces that a flotilla of armored aeroplanes provided with machine guns has been organized to attack the German aeroplanes that fly over Paris. Spectacular sights are thus in store for us.

[Photograph: Photo. Henri Manuel, Paris. 29th Infantry Reserves, Army of the Defence of Paris.]

The American committee, const.i.tuted by the American Amba.s.sador and including some of the most eminent Americans residing in Paris on the day of the declaration of war, has requested the Minister of War to supply it with formal proofs of the fact that the bombs which have fallen in Paris were thrown from a German aeroplane.

M. Millerand, in response to this request, has submitted to the American Amba.s.sador and two delegates from the committee the complete "dossier."

The Amba.s.sador, after having examined the evidence submitted to him, and to the members of the committee, decided to cable a report to his Government concerning these methods of warfare, which are not only acts against humanity, but, further, are in absolute violation of The Hague Convention, signed by Germany herself.

The committee has also decided to ask the American Government, while remaining loyal to its declaration of neutrality, to make a strong protest to the German Government.

The Minister of War has issued a decree calling up territorial reservists of all cla.s.ses in the north and northeastern districts of France, not yet with the colors.

The French "left wing," which, as foreseen more than twenty years ago, must be the vulnerable spot in the defence of Paris, will very likely be forced to retire still nearer to the capital. In that case, a battle would be likely under the shelter of the Paris forts, which encircle the city at from thirty to forty kilometers from the Notre Dame. This belt of forts, connected by three lines of formidable entrenchments and rifle pits, now being dug, not only by the troops, but by thousands of Paris workmen out of regular employment, make a circ.u.mference of two hundred kilometers, or about one hundred and twenty-five miles. This line of defence would protect Paris and also a field army with all its own resources, and probably make it impossible for the Germans to completely invest the city, as they did in 1870. Meanwhile the allied armies outside of Paris would be able to keep the rest of the German armies "busy," and threaten the long line of German communications. Paris would thus be able to hold out for a long time. The Germans would obtain food supplies from the rich country that they occupy, but their supplies of ammunition, and of men to fill gaps in the fighting units of the first line, must become precarious. Meanwhile the Russian "steam-roller" is moving towards Berlin.

At six o'clock this evening the following decree was issued by the Prefecture of Police: "By order of the Military Governor of Paris, no civilian automobile carriage will be allowed to leave Paris from today. This order has been immediately enforced."

Streams of people from the regions to the north of Paris within the sphere of the German operations are swarming into Paris, bringing their belongings with them. I saw a train pull slowly into the Gare du Nord laden with about fifteen hundred peasants-old men, women, children-enc.u.mbered with bags, boxes, bundles, fowls, and provisions of various kinds. The station is strewn with straw, on which country folk fleeing from the Germans are soundly sleeping for the first time in many days. These refugees are being shunted on to the chemin de fer de la ceinture and proceed around the city to other stations, from which they are transported towards the south.

Tens of thousands of Parisians throng the railway stations, seeking their turn to buy tickets to points outside the city. At the Gare de Lyon, Montparna.s.se, d'Orsay, d'Orleans, people are standing in lines ten abreast and a quarter of a mile in length, waiting for hours and hours to book for Bordeaux, Biarritz, Brest, Rennes, or Nantes. Some of these people have waited from seven in the morning until three in the afternoon to obtain tickets.

If matters get worse, President Poincare and the Ministry will establish themselves at Bordeaux. Amba.s.sador Herrick intends to remain in Paris, as Minister Elihu Washburne did in 1870. He will delegate a secretary to represent the United States Emba.s.sy at the seat of government. Perhaps Mr. Sharp, the newly appointed Amba.s.sador, might be utilized for this purpose.

A convoy of one hundred and forty British soldiers, wounded in the recent fighting in the Aisne Department, arrived at nine o'clock this morning at the Gare du Nord.

Most of them were shot in the legs and arms, but in spite of their sufferings, none of them showed the least sign of being broken in spirit. As they were transported from the train, there were touching demonstrations of sympathy from the crowd, which the wounded men acknowledged to the best of their ability.

By a pretty little attention on the part of the Red Cross workers in Chantilly, all the men wore a flower and had been the recipients of refreshments and fair words of encouragement.

There was quite a procession of wounded of various nationalities at the station, and scenes were witnessed which caused the tears to start in many eyes. A group of Belgian soldiers, including several wounded, encountered the British convoy on their arrival, and hearty handshakes were exchanged.

Half an hour after the arrival of the British wounded, a party of thirty Turcos wounded in the battle of Guise came in and were in turn accorded an ovation. According to one of the men, they fought for nine days and nights without a break, but were gratified in the end by beating back the enemy. With one voice they declared that they are impatient to get back again into the fighting line.

A British private, wounded in the leg by a German sh.e.l.l, described the fighting around Mons on Sunday week as "terrific." They first got the German sh.e.l.l fire quite unexpectedly near the railway station. Two of their battalions marched through the streets of Mons and were fired on from house windows by the Germans. Some of the German sh.e.l.ls, he said, were filled with broken gla.s.s and emitted a suffocating gas when they exploded.

Mr. Elbert H. Gary, chairman of the American Committee, left to-day by automobile for Havre, whence he expects to start for New York on Sat.u.r.day on the France. It was decided at the meeting of the committee yesterday afternoon that Mr. Gary should, though absent, retain the chairmans.h.i.+p, with Mr. H. Herman Harjes, the secretary, acting as presiding officer. Mr. Lazo, the a.s.sistant secretary, becomes secretary in Mr. Harjes' place.

Mr. F. E. Drake, Major Clyde M. Hunt, Mr. Henry S. Downe and Mr. W. H.

Ingram were added to the members.h.i.+p of the committee.

Wednesday, September 2.

Thirty-first day of the war. Beautifully clear weather, cloudless sky, northeasterly wind. Temperature at five P.M. 25 degrees centigrade.

German prisoners declare that Emperor William has made it known to every soldier that his orders are to "take Paris or die." A German cavalry division came into contact with British troops yesterday in the forest of Compiegne. The British captured ten field guns. But the right wing of the German army, which ever since the battles of Charleroi and Mons has enveloped and turned the allied left, continues its advance. The allied troops have retired partly to the south and partly to the southwest. A great battle must consequently take place within the range of the Paris forts. Work on the entrenched lines connecting the forts is actively carried out and is said to give every satisfaction. The positions, believed to be impregnable, are strengthened by ingenious arrangements of barbed wire. It is reported that some of this barbed entanglement contains live wires fed by the electric batteries of the defence.

In a stirring editorial in his newspaper L'Homme Libre, M. Georges Clemenceau frankly faces the situation now that "the Germans are close to Paris." He adds: "We have left open the approach to Paris, while reserving to ourselves flank attacks on the enemy. If the forts do their duty, this move may be a happy one. From what we have seen of him, General Joffre belongs to the temporizing school. At this moment there are no better tactics. The supreme art will be to seize the instant when temporization must give way to a carefully prepared offensive movement. I have full confidence in General Joffre."

Lord Kitchener made a rapid incognito visit to Paris yesterday, where he met Field-marshal Sir John French. As far as can be ascertained, Lord Kitchener went to the front and had a conference with General Joffre. There seems to be no doubt but what General Joffre's plans have the heartiest approval and support of Lord Kitchener. French troops from the eastern theater of the war are being brought up rapidly, so as to attack the German lines of communications, possibly near Rethel. Reenforcements are coming in rapidly from England, and a large new army has formed, at Le Mans, and will soon be ready to take the field with great effect.

[Ill.u.s.tration: General Joffre, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies in France.]

The usual six o'clock serenade of the German air-lieutenants this afternoon drew forth a few rifle shots from roofs of Paris houses, and even a quick-firing gun was discharged at one of these taubes. But the distance was too great, and the two German aeroplanes vanished shortly before seven in a northerly direction.