Poem ~ Swiss Bombed - Tuesday, 4 April 1916

Impression sketch of Cartoon showing Germans dropping bombs on Porrentruy, Switzerland - by Jamie. From an original image that can be seen at: <http://aetdebesancon.blog.lemonde.fr/2016/04/04/cinq-bombes-sur-porrentruy/> [Accessed: 3 April 2016] 

An enforced pressured conversation

Occurred, between Swiss Federal

Council and Imperial German

Government, over an incident.

31 March 1916, German aviators

Dropped a number of bombs

Onto Porrentruy - a village

Of neutral Switzerland.

Extolling apologies, the German

Government gave explanation

That the aviators had totally

Lost their flight bearings.

The German aviators believed

They were still over French

Soil - that Belfort, a border

Town, was directly below.

In fact, Germans were 40 km away,

Flying over Swiss border village

Porrentruy - where five bombs

Caused civilian casualties.

The act had happened with two

German aircrafts over Swiss

Jura - where sub alpine was

A state mountain range.

The situation fell under canton

Of Bern's administration, that

Held a sympathetic union

With the French Swiss.

With close held French ties, this

Prompted solid anti German

Feelings; from the actions

Of five bombs on Swiss.

The incident was then reported

In the Petit Comtois - whose

Reporter quoted locals, as

Saying this was no error.

Whereas the French towns were

Under Curfews, Porrentruy had

No such light restrictions and

Belfort was the larger town.

As a country, Switzerland kept up

Stand of their armed neutrality -

Having arms only in purposes

Of self-protection defence.

Ready for insurgence from any

Other nation, the Swiss army

Manned all borders; against

Spilling over of trench war.

In this incident Government

Of Germany extolled deep

Regret - that the aviators

Would be punished.

Further they prompted suggestion

That some visible demarcation

Of the frontier may be made,

To prevent other repeats.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. Bombs On Swiss Town - German Apologies. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 3 April 1916. P.6. Col.1. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12206737/Daily-Telegraph-April-4-1916.html>  [Accessed: 4 April 2016].

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 4 April 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12206737/Daily-Telegraph-April-4-1916.html

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