The Kingdom of serbia : report upon the atrocities committed by the Austro-Hungarian Army during the first invasion of Serbia

PILLAGE 167

I would not accuse either the entire AustroHungarian army, nor its corps of officers, as a whole. The declarations of the privates among the prisoners, which I have included in this report, state that a considerable number of officers had strictly forbidden the men to loot. These honourable men would certainly be among the first to regret the deeds committed by others, less honourable than themselves. The instructions given to the troops do not appear to have been everywhere the same. Thus there were whole regiments which took no part in either pillage or massacre, owing, probably, to the influence of their chiefs, who refused to lend themselves to the policy of extermination. Unfortunately there were other units where this moderation was not observed, but where looting and massacring were systematically practised. Certain importance also attaches to the declarations of prisoners of war, who assert that the soldiers of the army of invasion indulged to excess in alcoholic drinks, and that the stores of “raki” and other spirituous beverages belonging to the inhabitants of Matchva were very fully laid under contribution by the soldiery. The officers do not seem to have done anything to prevent these orgies. On the contrary, some of them seem to have gone very near setting their men the example, even if they did not actually do so, for in the houses inspected by me, which had harboured officers, I always found a formidable quantity of empty bottles.

The declarations of Serb civilians, no less than those of Austrian prisoners of war, accuse the in-