The French And The Wine

When the French were in the country they camped in Triesen by the Rhein and from there they came up to the upper village and stole the cattle
But in particular they were interested in the wine they retrieved from the cellars and poured into wash buckets so full that is splashed out from both sides
When they carried the load back to their camp in one house an old woman had hidden her belongings in the cellar and erected a wood pile in front of the door
The soldiers however discovered the secret invaded the cellar ravished it and drank themselves into delirium
The farmer woman came upon them and begged that they at least would leave for her a small barrel with old wine
One infantryman knocked the plug out of the barrel so that the wine gushed onto the floor and he howled in broken German:

Yes good lady - after all it is war...