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90 WITH THE GERMAN ARMIES IN THE WEST
in forming a pretty good idea of the grouping of the forces
on the French side. General Bernhard asked how the
prisoners had been fed before they were captured. The
answers varied considerably. Most of them were satisfied,
but a couple of soldiers said that they had only had hot food
twice during the last week, which was probably due to the
fact that they were posted at a point where it was impossible
to bring them soup. Such inaccessible posts are by no means
rare. They are also considered the most dangerous.
Finally the prisoners were asked if they had any diaries.
Eight or nine men answered yes. The books were handed
over to the General, who retained them. In this way one
frequently gets much important information about the
movement of troops on the other side, often from apparently
very trivial notes, which can only be interpreted by an expert.
General Bernhard afterwards read out to us an extract from
one of these diaries. It was the last entry made by the
prisoner on the previous day. It was as follows :
" The
Prussians are bombarding Varennes. They seem to aim pretty
straight, for last night one of their shells hit General X ^
just as he had gone to bed." At this General Pfeil exclaimed
:
" Good gracious, is he dead ! I met him once." General
Bernhard told me that the French prisoners always were
polite and attentive, and replied carefully and truthfully to
all questions. In most cases they called him Mon General,
showing that they knew the German insignia of rank even
on the plain field-service uniform. As regards the General
himself, I noticed that he spoke to the prisoners without the
slightest trace of military stiffness and without that air of
superiority which rank and power might otherwise tend to
instil. Whilst the examination was proceeding, a French
N.C.O. with a fair beard turned to me and asked :
" What
are they going to do with us, sir ?
" To which I replied :
" They are going to offer you soup and bread, and if you have
any wounded they are going to hand them over to the doctors."
The man looked puzzled and surprised and wondered whether
what I said was really true. He showed me one of his com-
rades whose neck had been grazed by a bullet, and whom a
German lieutenant immediately placed in the hands of an
ambulance man.
Thus I received close to the field of battle an immediate
^ I never noted his name and have forgotten it.
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