In Amiens the
French army had regained ground,
As the Cavalry
were pursuing the German retreat.
Some miles from
the town they soon intercepted
A convoy of
German Red Cross, who surrendered.
The cavalry
escorted the convoy back to Amiens,
48 medical
officers wearing Red Cross insignia,
Were handed
across to the General Staff Officers,
Who were now
occupying the regained town.
The General
welcomed the prisoners with hospitality.
Addressing them
as gentlemen, he politely stated
That they had
been captured, on a humanitarian
Mission, for
unfortunate war victims - if either German
Or French - The
48 German Doctors saluted the bow
Of the General,
who reminded them of rules of war -
That they could
not be released as yet - the plan was
They would all be
sent to Geneva for an exchange:
Same number of
their Doctors captured by Germany.
Meanwhile all
comforts would be provided to them,
As long as they
remained in assigned quarters. They
Were to be under
the charge of the chief Medical Officer,
With whom they
would share meal times. With salutes
The meeting ended
– The convoy having undergone
A search,
revealed a surprise amid medical equipment,
To find
ammunition arms, along with explosives.
The 48 were again
summoned before the General
Who made the
polite question for an explanation –
The senior
medical officer stepped forth to say,
That it is custom
for German army to carry arms
For
self-protection against any troops, that might
Not understand
the meaning of the Red Cross.
The reason for
the explosives was that they must
Have been placed
there, without his knowledge.
The General said
their army had strange customs
But that he would
have to accept the given reason.
At 8pm the French
Medical Officer came to escort
German medics to
eat – in their honour was a banquet.
These Frenchman,
feeling the war was turning in their
Favour, were in
good humour. Instead of retreating,
Now, with their
allies, they were advancing on the front.
With comforts of
Amiens being in contrast to weeks
Of living out in
the open – the French host's standards
Were high - the
German officers were divided between
French doctors,
with all their wants attended to - wine
Was consumed and
the situation of war discussed, with
Focus of warfare
wounds and the variety of treatments.
The actuality of
war between them, seemed to dissolve.
With cigars and
coffee, the captive guests and hosts
Came to the best
of terms – yet the chief medical officer
Noted how some of
the 48 prisoners were not at ease,
Or enjoying the
feast - some were also anxious
To avoid joining
the general conversation on wounds,
Caused by modern
weapons – after being served coffee
And liqueurs the
Chief Medical Officer bid his guests
Goodnight,
explaining of his duties to still perform.
As one, the 48
stood and bowed - The medical officer
Instead of going
to the hospital went to the Chief of Staff,
Present his
thoughts to the General, stating the prisoners,
Seemingly worried
and depressed came across as quite
Strange. He asked
if he was sure that all were Doctors?
The presumption
was, all being taken with the convoy
Wearing the Red
Cross, that they were all indeed Doctors.
How could he
prove otherwise? Certain they were not
All Medical
staff, the officer proposed to ask each man
Some medical
questions, with the witness of Chief of Staff.
In agreement both
entered a small room with two doors,
One led to a room
where a French officer and guards resided.
The other to
garden and courtyard where the staff smoked
An orderly
proceeded to the dining room, requesting
The German
Doctors in order of seniority to follow him
So that their
passes could be made to the Swiss frontier.
In turn each
entered the small room where the French
Officers sat –
The first was a colonel – the Chief Officer
Asked for his
opinions to the treatment for wounded
Suffering from
gangrene – The German Colonel relayed
Details of
knowledge, showing his study of the complaint.
Courteously he
was shown to the garden to join French
Officers relaxing
– four more men were then interviewed,
And all passed
the test, so that the Chief of Staff became
Quite sceptical,
thinking the suspicions being unfounded.
The sixth men in
being presented to the panel, promptly
Started stumbling
with replies of ignorance - with more
Questions his
ignorance quickly became more apparent.
He was told that
it would be unfair, to his army, to be sent
To Geneva in the
hope to be exchanged for French doctor.
Informed he would
be sent elsewhere, was asked to wait
In the large room
–While turning pale, he regained himself.
With a sharp
salute, he was conveyed to sit with the guards.
The rest of the
48 undertook the same process, whereby 37
Were able to
exchange medical knowledge - the remainder
Were led into the
large room, placed in the charge of guards.
A compiled list
of names were given to the aide-de-camp
Of French
officers to be imminently sitting at a court-martial –
As the hour was
late, the Chief Medical officer escorted
The 37 officers
to their quarters, with a breakfast invitation
For the next
day. After this, seven French
Officer gathered
About a table,
with armed guards lining the room between
The 11 German
officers, each with a Red Cross on their arm.
Each man was
asked to make statement to clear themselves,
Or explain
reasons for the Medical Insignia on their arm –
Only a few of
them gave any justification and were led away.
The court debated
for some two minutes before the Germans
Returned – The
presiding officer a Colonel stood in his address
Stating how they
had made unlawful use of the Red Cross seen
As guilty, were
now believed to be spies with their sentence,
To be shot at
dawn. The 11 kept silent as they were informed
They could write
Letters – after being read, to be forwarded
At the first
opportunity –all their papers would be taken from
Them, for
identification - the 11 Germans in army discipline,
Saluted, then the
Officer of the Guard led the prisoners away.
At daybreak the
next day the 37 German Doctors rose
To join their
French equivalent for breakfast – the Colonel
Asked if they had
a comfortable night and the men thanked
The Colonel for
being given hospitality, as a barked sound
Of command, came
from the courtyard. With sounds of feet
Marching, a
procession passed the window – came a platoon
Of French
Infantry, then the 11 German Officers, followed
By an officer
with a drawn sword and then came more infantry.
In rising from
his seat, the German Colonel asked
Where their
comrades were going – the French officer
Explained, that
as they had no medical knowledge,
They could not do
their army injustice, by an exchange
For 11 of their
own Doctors - so are bound for another
Destination –
gloom descended, as the procession passed.
All conversation
ceased and a slow five minutes was spent
In silence.
Suddenly the sound of a distant volley caused
Them all to look
up – as the German colonel asked the
Reason for the
shots, the host stood and informed them,
That their
friends had now reached their destination
And within an
hour their train will leave for Geneva.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1914. Spies as Doctors – ‘The Further Destination’ – Incident of
the War. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 15 October. p.8. Col.6-7. Available
at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11149724/Daily-Telegraph-October-15-1914.html [Accessed: 15th October
2014].
Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 15 October 2014).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #ww1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered
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