They were excited and kept shouting, "It is war to the death,"
and making signs of cutting throats. They rushed in and with their
revolvers shot down Dr. Sedillot (who happily survived, with others, to
give evidence), and set fire to the place. Maddened by the flames, the
wounded (many of whom had had amputations performed on them that very
morning) leapt from the windows on the first floor and fell into the
garden, where the executioners picked them up, gathering them in a
bunch, and shot them. In this way Lieutenant Jeannin and Dr. Charette
were murdered, and from one hundred to one hundred and twenty officers
and soldiers--whose wounds should have made them sacred--perished from
shot or fire after terrible sufferings.
When all is said, however, it is better to kill wounded soldiers by fire
or sword than by starvation, as the following incident shows: One
hundred wounded Frenchmen, together with Dr. Bender, were brought to the
Stenay barracks, and one hundred and eighty more came in shortly
afterwards; the latter, having been left out unattended on the
battle-field for five days, were in a terrible condition. Dr. Bender in
vain begged the Germans for help in getting the wounded men out of the
ambulances into the hospital. The Boches refused, and simply went on
sucking their pipes. Though wounded himself, the doctor, with the aid of
two male nurses (Frenchmen both), had to do the whole thing himself.
For several days the Boches gave them no food at all.
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