"R.H. Davis Tells of Louvain Horrors," Richard Harding Davis New York Tribune, August 31, 1914 American reporter Richard Harding Davis rushed to Belgium when war broke out and wrote several articles about what he witnessed there during the German invasion. He believed that the United States should intervene on the side of the Allies. War on the Defenceless In other wars I have watched men on one hilltop, without haste,without heat, fire at men on another hill and in consequence on both sides good men were wasted. But in those fights there were no women or children , and the shells struck only vacant stretches of veldt [open country]or uninhabited mountainsides. At Louvain [a city in Belgium] it was war upon the defenceless war upon churches, colleges, shops of milliners and lacemakers; war brought to the bedside and the fireside; against children in wooden shoes at play in the streets. Men to Be Shot Marched Past You could tell when an officer passed by the electric torch he carried strapped to the chest. In the darkness the gray uniforms filled the station with an army of ghosts. You distinguished men only when pipes hanging from their teeth glowed red or their bayonets flashed. Outside the station in the public square the people of Louvain passed in an unending procession, women bareheaded,weeping, men carrying the children asleep on their shoulders, all hemmed in by the shadowy army of gray wolves. Once they were halted, and among them were marched a line of men. They well knew their fellow townsmen. These were on their way to be shot.And better to point the moral an officer halted both processions and, climbing to a cart, explained why the men were to die. He warned others not to bring down upon themselves a like vengeance. As those being led to spend the night in the fields looked across to those marked for death they saw old friends, neighbors of long standing, men of their own household. The officer bellowing at them from the cart was illuminated by the headlights of an automobile. He looked like an actor held in a spotlight on a darkened stage. 1. According to this account, how did the tactics of warfare change during World War I? 2. Why do you think the invaders used these tactics? 3. Who was the audience of this article and what effect would reading it have on its readers?

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"R.H. Davis Tells of Louvain Horrors," Richard Harding Davis New York Tribune, August 31, 1914 American reporter Richard Harding Davis rushed to Belgium when war broke out and wrote several articles about what he witnessed there during the German invasion. He believed that the United States should intervene on the side of the Allies. War on the Defenceless In other wars I have watched men on one hilltop, without haste,without heat, fire at men on another hill and in consequence on both sides good men were wasted. But in those fights there were no women or children , and the shells struck only vacant stretches of veldt [open country]or uninhabited mountainsides. At Louvain [a city in Belgium] it was war upon the defenceless war upon churches, colleges, shops of milliners and lacemakers; war brought to the bedside and the fireside; against children in wooden shoes at play in the streets. Men to Be Shot Marched Past You could tell when an officer passed by the electric torch he carried strapped to the chest. In the darkness the gray uniforms filled the station with an army of ghosts. You distinguished men only when pipes hanging from their teeth glowed red or their bayonets flashed. Outside the station in the public square the people of Louvain passed in an unending procession, women bareheaded,weeping, men carrying the children asleep on their shoulders, all hemmed in by the shadowy army of gray wolves. Once they were halted, and among them were marched a line of men. They well knew their fellow townsmen. These were on their way to be shot.And better to point the moral an officer halted both processions and, climbing to a cart, explained why the men were to die. He warned others not to bring down upon themselves a like vengeance. As those being led to spend the night in the fields looked across to those marked for death they saw old friends, neighbors of long standing, men of their own household. The officer bellowing at them from the cart was illuminated by the headlights of an automobile. He looked like an actor held in a spotlight on a darkened stage. 1. According to this account, how did the tactics of warfare change during World War I? 2. Why do you think the invaders used these tactics? 3. Who was the audience of this article and what effect would reading it have on its readers?

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1. According to this account, the tactics of warfare changed during World War I by involving attacks on defenseless civilians, including women and children, and targeting non-military establishments such as churches, colleges, and shops.2. The invaders likely used these tactics to instill fear, break the spirit of the local population, and discourage resistance. Attacking civilians and their institutions was a brutal strategy aiming to create chaos and submission among the occupied territories.3. The audience of this article was likely the readers of the New York Tribune in 1914. Reading it would likely evoke strong emotions such as outrage, sympathy, and a sense of urgency among the readers. The purpose was to mobilize public opinion, possibly influencing the United States to intervene on the side of the Allies in response to the reported atrocities in Belgium during World War I.

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