Two civilians were shot at once."
We may now sum up and endeavor to explain the character and significance
of the wrongful acts done by the German Army in Belgium.
If a line is drawn on a map from the Belgian frontier to Liege and
continued to Charleroi, and a second line drawn from Liege to Malines, a
sort of figure resembling an irregular Y will be formed. It is along
this Y that most of the systematic (as opposed to isolated) outrages
were committed. If the period from Aug. 4 to Aug. 30 is taken it will be
found to cover most of these organized outrages. Termonde and Alost
extend, it is true, beyond the Y lines, and they belong to the month of
September. Murder, rape, arson, and pillage began from the moment when
the German Army crossed the frontier. For the first fortnight of the war
the towns and villages near Liege were the chief sufferers. From Aug. 19
to the end of the month, outrages spread in the directions of Charleroi
and Malines and reach their period of greatest intensity. There is a
certain significance in the fact that the outrages around Liege
coincide with the unexpected resistance of the Belgian Army in that
district, and that the slaughter which reigned from Aug.
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