Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael_Dailey
I am an MvR fan myself but I wouldn't so quickly posit that he would have went after Hitler or would have not tolerated terror bombings, etc. He was a product of his country and his time. I seem to recall in his autobiography that early in the war when he was in the cavalry, he didn't seem to mind the idea of taking hostages, executing civilians suspected of spying during the German drive through Belgium, etc.
MDD
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MvR's "autobiography" is widely believed to have been heavily "edited" by the authorities before it was published. Modern research has shown that MvR's regiment had nothing to do with the execution of the "monks" mentioned and that in fact the men were probably priests and that the building was a school rather than a monastary.
In Russia MvR did hold an Orthodox priest as insurance of the townsfolk's behavior; the man was released unharmed. Oddly MvR uses the word "betrayed" when the priest is later approached by Cossacks. This may just be a clumsy translation but it also indicates that this priest was at least the acting local authority.
One very telling incident, not recorded in the autobiography, happened when MvR's patrol was fired on from a cottage. It was immediately surrounded and a handful of adolescent boys detained. Buckshot had injured a trooper's hand and a horse. Stating that he had "not yet killed anyone" MvR explains his reticense to execute the boys. As the house is searched the boys "somehow" eascape out the back with MvR's shooting his handgun at them, a shotgun is found and MvR has the cottage burned.
Now MvR's batman reported that MvR would have him set wine bottles along a wall "30-40 meters distant" and MvR would break all of the bottles, rapid fire, without missing with his handgun. I think he let the boys run, sent bullets whistling about their ears and burned the house as a message to leave the war to the professionals.