Denials and recriminations had spread
From a centre, revolving around
murder
Of Edith Cavell; a British nurse in
Belgium,
Shot in assisting wounded men to escape.
A German parallel had been drawn
Between two executions in France,
On grounds of espionage - a Parisian
Reporter gained authority to comment.
The reply spelt to German despatches
Would verify there was no parallel
With Edith Cavell - as French sought
To avidly avoid any likely
controversy.
The two females spies had both been
Caught separately in 1915; Ottillie
Voss
And Margarette Schmidt - the proof
Evident in their German employment.
The date of February 27 had seen an
Arrest of Jeanne Bouvir - the false
Papers hid her identity of Ottillie Voss
-
Aged 33, single from Rhine provinces.
For 7 years she had lived in
region
Of Bordeaux, in Agen, as a teacher
Of German - to where she returned
With war’s start, to be unemployed.
Accepting the position of a spy,
Voss
Travelled about France to Marseilles,
Montpellier, Nice and Lynos -
her brief
To report back details regarding
troops.
Details to be found out were to
include:
Military rail transport timings,
numbers
Of wounded and conditions of the
army -
Visiting ports to observe disembarkations.
Voss investigated the population's state
To having 400f in paying all her expenses -
Voss had travelled from 3 to 11
February.
160 marks were then awarded to her
for
A mark of good work - then a few days
Later she went on another mission - this
Time carrying 500f for all her expenses.
Arrested at Bourges, Voss confessed
-
Within two days, to be condemned on
Espionage charge by war council - by
Articles 197, 206, 209 of military
code.
An appeal in April for Voss was
rejected,
Along with another in May for
clemency.
On 16 May Ottillie Voss was
executed -
Then there had been the Schmitt
case.
With her origins as a French
national -
Born Thiaucourt - Marguerite Schmitt
Had travelled well, with same
intentions
As Voss for information of British troops.
Amy presence about Nancy, BarLe Duc
And St Menehould, were of keen
interest.
Via a friend Schmitt met with
Germans -
At first she had refused their
money.
Then accepting 200f, she was taken
To the border of Switzerland at
Anoux -
Her intent was not to spy on French,
But return to state she had been
held.
Yet her presence in Nancy worked
Against this - while in her
possession
Was a book of probing questions,
Put together by a German officer.
Her arrest in February, led to trial
Before council of war - where all
Schmitt repeated was apologies -
Articles 64 and 206 were raised.
By these military codes of justice
Schmitt was sentenced to death
On 20 March - two days later Schmitt
Was executed; thus was fate of spies.
The Parisian reporter further quoted
A statement of French officials -
Refusing the German controversy over
Cavell case - never officially discussed.
Schmitt, Voss or Cavell had no links
-
Germany had posted notice across
Brussels and Belgium, to dash peoples
Morale if attempting Cavell’s ways.
The public reactions everywhere,
Emphasised German miscarriage -
In realisation of this terrible
error,
Germany had sought distractions.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1915. Women Spies in France - Why
They Were Shot. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 3 November. P.10. Col.2. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11963638/Daily-Telegraph-November-3-1915.html
[Accessed: 3 November 2015].
Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 3 November 2015).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1France
