the remains of the meals; while many a German Landsturm man,
recollecting his own wife and children, fills the mouths of dirty French
children instead of completely satisfying his own hunger."[170]

[Footnote 170: Ibid., p. 34. Herr Koehrer has evidently never visited
many Bavarian villages: otherwise he would be more careful with his
adjectives when describing the villages of France.--Author.]

No one disputes the presence of kindly Germans in the Kaiser's armies,
and it is pleasing to read about these acts of generosity in relieving
distress which is entirely the result of Germany's guilt. But the point
which all German writers miss is the explanation of positive evidence of
brutal deeds. Their kindly incidents and proofs of German chivalry are
all of a negative character, and do not overthrow one jot or tittle of
the opposing positive evidence.

Iron crosses have fallen in thick showers on the German armies; during
the month of July, 1915, no fewer than 3,400 of these decorations were
awarded to the Bavarian army alone. Still, as far back as November of
last year, Herr Koehrer wrote: "In the villages on the slopes of the
Argonnes and on the banks of the Aisne, nearly every second soldier is
wearing an iron cross. One has the certain conviction that it is not an
army of fifty or sixty thousand, but a nation of heroes which occupies
the plains of France and fights for us.

"They are all heroes at the front, including those who do not wear the
outward symbol of personal bravery. When we see how our men live, it
would seem that the earliest days of the human race have returned. They
have become cave-dwellers, troglodytes in the worst form. Our heavy
batteries are placed on the slopes of the Argonne forest, while the
light field-howitzers occupy the summits.

"Near them holes have been dug in the wet clay or chalk, and meagrely
lined with straw; these dark, damp caves are the dwellings of our
officers and men for weeks at a time, while the shells from the enemy's
artillery whiz and burst around. In them the differences of rank
disappear, except that one sometimes sees a couple of chairs provided
for officers. When duty does not call them to the guns, they are free to
remain in the open exposed to a sudden and awful death, or to spend
their time in the womb of mother earth. Yet one never hears a word of
complaint; rather the hardships of this strange existence are borne with
rough good-humour."[171]

[Footnote 171: