This was aggravated in one case near Tirlemont by the
German soldiers wearing Belgian uniforms.
Witness speaks also of a stretcher party with the Red Cross being used
to cover an attack and of a German Red Cross man working a machine gun.
There is also a well-attested case of a Red Cross motor car being used
to carry ammunition under command of officers.
Unless all these statements are willfully false, which the committee
sees no reason to believe, these acts must have been deliberate, and it
does not seem possible that a Red Cross car could be equipped with a
machine gun by soldiers acting without orders. There is also one case of
firing from a cottage where the Red Cross flag was flying, and this
could not be accidental.
On the whole, there is distinct evidence of the Red Cross having been
deliberately misused for offensive purposes, and seemingly under orders,
on some, though not many, occasions.
ABUSE OF THE WHITE FLAG.
Cases of this kind are numerous. It is possible that a small group of
men may show a white flag without authority from any proper officer, in
which case their action is, of course, not binding on the rest of the
platoon or other unit.
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