We are not making war upon citizens, but only on the enemy army.
In spite of this, the German troops have been attacked in great number by persons who do not belong to the army. They have committed _acts of the most lugubrious cruelty_ not only against combatants, but also against our wounded and our doctors who are under the protection of the Red Cross. To prevent these brutalities I order that which follows:
1. Any person who does not belong to the army and who is found arms in hand, will be shot instantly. He will be regarded as outside the laws of nations.
2. All arms, rifles, pistols, Brownings, sabres, daggers, etc., and all explosive material, must be delivered immediately by the mayors of every village or town to the commander of the German troops; if a single weapon is found, no matter in what house, or if any act has been committed against our troops, our transports, our telegraph lines, our railways, etc., or if any one gives asylum to _francs-tireurs_; the guilty persons and the hostages who will be taken in each village will be shot without pity. Besides this, the inhabitants of the villages, etc., in question will be driven out. The villages and towns even will be demolished and burned. If this happens on the road of communication between two villages or two towns, the inhabitants of the two villages will be treated in the same manner.
I expect the mayors and populations will be able, by their prudent supervision and conduct, to ensure the safety of our troops as well as their own.
In the contrary case, the measures indicated above will come into force.
The appeal to brutality comes from above. In 1900 the whole world shuddered at the advice which Wilhelm II gave the expeditionary corps setting out for China. "Follow the example of the Huns," cried the Kaiser. Why, then, do the Germans profess to be annoyed when compared to-day with the soldiers of Attila--or when their motto is spelt _Gott mit Huns_?
A German lieutenant, whose military note-book we have had before us, does full justice to his companions. After the massacre and burning of Ottignies on the 20th August, 1914, he wrote as follows (we translate):--
The inhabitants were in the square, under a guard of soldiers. Several men were condemned by the Council of War and at once put to death. The women, dressed in black, as in a solemn procession, then departed. Among those who had just fallen, how many innocent were shot! The village has been literally sacked: the "blond brute" has shown himself for what he is. The Huns and the freebooters of the Middle Ages could not have done better. The houses are burning now, and when the action of the fire is not enough we raze what remains standing.