WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!
Reading edition
The official investigations conducted at Vienna with reference to the claim that the Russians at Tomaszow placed civilians in front of their troops during the engagement there disclose the following:
"A battalion of the reserves under the direction of a cavalry regiment was engaged in a rearguard action while seeking to occupy certain positions near Tomaszow. During the encounter the Russians drove the inhabitants of Tomaszow along the highways in front of them and directly in the path of the German fire. Among these were women and children. Similar action was taken by the Russians at Kipanen and Sendrowen, in East Prussia. Since strong masses of Russian troops in this manner approached our positions as close as 400 or 500 yards, we had to open fire. It was unavoidable that many of the innocent civilians thus had to be sacrificed."