BLACK HOLE OF LILLE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12083, 11 August 1917, Page 7

BLACK HOLE OF LILLE.

GERMAN " PUNISHMENT " OF AUSTRALIAN PRISONERS. (By 0. E. W. BEAN.) BRITISH HEADQUARTERS, FR ANCE, May 27. There hare arrived kck from the German lines, across many lines of German trenches, two Australians who were captured, in the Hindenburg line after the brave attack of April 11. That unparalleled adventure of infantrv against unbroken wire without artillery o»me near success. "When it failed the Germans captured nearly 1000 Australians, cut off by their ma-chine-guns. They have chosen, in their wisdom,' to treat the.se Australians to intentional "punishment." They, are similarly "punishing" British troops. Late in the day, when the adventure was over, and the, two escaped prisoners wre standing in the yard nf a German.'headquarters with 700 oth?r Ausitralan prisoners, a big German in a dist-nguished uniform stood up and harmgued them. Half his time he was tryng to incito them against tho Euglisl —apparently under the. impression tint if ho did this sufficiently they w>uld betray their own side and g«ive bin information which would enable. Ihu to lay German guns on the com-* tides thev had left. ",Miid Englishnen," he said, " mnd Englishmen, you .houglit that veto could get through our lViro. "Well, tliri'o are plenty of you lyinfe on it now." The big German also delivered to the wounded a lecture on t|he crimes of Mr Lloyd George, etc. ON THE MARCH. Next morning, half starved and hungry, the prisoners, who had been placed in a church all night, were ordered to march. Seven hundred and fifty-six Australians, from all States of the, Commonwealth, were, marched off into German territory, and it was from ibis timo -that the deliberate German policy towards them began to appear. On this their second day after capture' they were given a loaf of broad between four men and some coffee. They were not told that this was their whole day's ration, but it was. The bread bad been too sour for some of them (he first day. They were glad to ea.ti it tho next. The J'oad was slushy after snow. They passed a gang of men scraping ihe mud off it. These wore civilian tweed caps; some had old blue French overcoats. Tnoy asked if our men had any bully beef. They were British prisoners. Another <'an/.- passed, men m smock frocks, harnessed up by ropes to a waggon which they were pulling. 3Tie.sc we'\> Russians. | At a siding the Australians were put bito cattle trucks. They detrained and were marched into certain village cellars. They were pinched for hunger bv this time. And possibly the villagers on their route could see it; for in every little French village through which they passed the villagers ca.me out of the cottages and tried to get a ;!oaf of bread through to them, \citf at least a drink of water. But the orders clearly were to stop any food or drink reaching these famished Australians. As tho column reached the Village the French inhabitants would tliroiv" the streets watching it pass. The French would givo you anything they hud/' one of the men said. A little girl ran out from a cottage* with bread- The guard smacked her in the face; the bread they used to throw into the gutter. A Frenchman tried to give the Australians a bucket of water to drink. Tho guard upset the wat»r and threw the pail over the Iman. A woman tried to give tlhem bread. A Prussian soldier hit her in the face and knocked her down. Hi is tsort of scene was repeated until 1 the Australians, however hungry or thirsty, could not boar to bring such treatment cn the French for their kindness, but learned to shake their heads when offered food or drink. ARRIVAL IN LILLE. Two days later they wore moved, by train to Lille. They swung out of tho city and up to an old green fqrlt. At the gate the Australians were divided into panties of 110 each; and each of these was marched into a separate room in Hie upper storey. For live nights and Six days 110 Australians lived in the foom where tho escaped men were. It Was probably the worst experience trbicli Australians have ever experienced at tho bauds of their l'ellow men. It is the first itime in our country's history that they have ever suffered torture. The room was about 50ft by 20ft. The floor was tiled. For a few minutes each day the men were allowed into the yard for exerciso. Their only convenience for all sanitary purposes was one barrel, which stood in the corner uncovered. Tho windows had to bo shut, for they slept on the tiled floor without a blanket, though snow fell at night, and thoir food was too little to keep life together. They wcro given oncpeveuth. of a loaf of bread—that is, ono fctice per man —with some fermented mangels each day; with ono cup of coffee at night ami one at morning. At the end of it a German corporal came into the room. He. asked them if they knew what itlicy wore there for. They said "No." He said, '"You may write ami toll your people and your Government all about it, and say that you Bre her 0 as a punishment. Seven weeks ago tho German Government wrote to [he British Government about (the employment of prisoners near the line, and they have not yet received an answer." iTio Australians told him it was a liethere was not a German prisoner within twenty or thirty kilometres of the line. Two hundred and forty of the Australians were sent by train on tho sixth day to work on a dump closo behind tho front. Lord knows what happened to the rest, or wlior-o they now are. The rations supplied at "the dump" Jrere so meagre that the Australians Ivero driven to beg their guards to Jet them cut any sort of grass that could i>e eaten—dandelions, .stinging nettles, tape, and potato peelings. The men befcame so weak that at tho time, they wore falling ill at tjie rate of four a day. In addition the dump was under our shell fire. The prisoners noticed tho direction from which the shells of tho big guns came, aud laid their plans. One night they got clear. The next day ihey lay behind a hedge, Germans not far awav and shells falling all around. J'hey ato their last crust. Well into tho next night they started again, crawling between tho Gorman batteries, ficross tlir-r-o lines of newly-dug t-ronches. Thoy reached the country of fiholl holes, and had many hairbreadth rscapes, only by the merest chance jvoiding parties of Germans. Dead bodies wero lyin<x all around, and they vere ravenous with hunger and thirst. Due was _ shoit. through the .shoulder, put, deciding " "Wo will have death or i>acon for breakfast," they >. at last reached th e British lines."