The Spectator at war: The German mentality

From News of the Week, The Spectator, 9 January 1915:

The Report of the French Commission appointed to investigate the acts committed in violation of international law by Germany appears in the Journal Officiel of Friday. The Commission declares that “the terrible sufferings witnessed surpass in horror all that the imagination can conceive.” Not only have towns and villages been laid flat by the cannon, but “pillage, violation, incendiarism, and murder are common practices of the enemy.” The Commissioners go on to declare that the facts show the astounding degeneration of German “mentality” since 1870. “The officers commanding, even the most exalted, will bear a crushing responsibility in the face of humanity.” The whole picture drawn is a terrible one. The usual excuse that civilians fired upon German troops is, we are told, a mere pretext. An amazing fact, vouched for by the Commission, is the practice of the German Armies of carrying torches, hand grenades, rockets, paraffin, and other inflammable material solely for burning houses and other buildings.