Chapter IX: Appendix: C.--Dinant (1)

App. C.

War Office.

Military Court of Inquiry into the Violation of the Laws of War.

BELGIAN CIVILIAN WARFARE IN DINANT FROM AUGUST 21ST TO AUGUST 24TH, 1914.

_Summary Report._

Immediately after crossing the Belgian frontier the XII. Army Corps had difficulties with the civilian population of Belgium, which reached their climax in and around Dinant. For the advance of the Army Corps Dinant had especial importance, since here it was that the crossing of the Meuse was to take place. The town with its suburbs, Leffe and Les Rivages on the right bank of the Meuse, and Neffe, St. Médard, and Bouvignes on the left bank, lies along the river in a deep section of the valley. Both banks rise up in terraces, steep and frequently rocky, to a height of some 70 metres, the right bank somewhat higher than the left. On the right bank about the centre of the town stands the fortress, about 100 metres in height. Close by, to the north, the high road from Sorinnes enters the town. Two further approaches from the east are found in the deep-cut flanking valleys which come to an end in Leffe and Les Rivages.

On August 15th, 1914, the operations of the German cavalry, in which among others Jäger Battalion No. 12 took part, led to the temporary occupation of the right bank of the Meuse. Owing to superior enemy forces, it was again evacuated on the same day; numerous dead and some wounded were left behind.

On August 17th the enemy forces on the left bank of the Meuse withdrew. From this time onward Dinant, Leffe, and Les Rivages were free from the presence of any regular enemy troops.

On August 21st the XII. (1st Royal Saxon) Army Corps engaged in operations before Dinant. The 2nd Battalion of Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108, together with a company of pioneers, undertook on the evening of this day a strong reconnaissance towards Dinant. As the first houses on the road coming from Sorinnes were reached, the sound of a signal shot was suddenly heard. The next moment there came a rattle of musketry from all sides. Shots were fired from all the houses, and the slopes were lighted up with the flashes. The houses were firmly barricaded, so that rifle-butts, hatchets, and hand-grenades had to be used to force an entrance. Trip-wires were drawn across the road. Numerous wounds were inflicted on our men by the discharge of small shot. They were even pelted with stones (Apps. 2-5).

The battalion penetrated as far as the bridge, ascertained that this was occupied by enemy troops, and then returned, being continually fired upon from the houses. Under the necessity of haste it was impossible to clear the place thoroughly of francs-tireurs. To some extent attempts were made to master them by setting on fire the houses from which the firing took place.

It was evident that this assault by the inhabitants on the reconnoitring detachment took place according to plan, that people known in Dinant were aware of the intended operation, and that for this purpose well-prepared measures had been adopted. Among other things indicating this preparation was the fact that numerous houses and walls had been provided with loopholes.

In view of these experiences we naturally assumed that in any further operations the civilian population would also take part in the fighting. Nevertheless, all anticipations in this direction were far exceeded through the extent and obstinacy of the people's participation in the fight.

On August the 23rd the left bank of the Meuse was to be taken by the XII. Corps. After preliminary artillery fire the infantry advanced in the direction of Dinant--the 32nd Infantry Division to the north, the 23rd Infantry Division to the south. On the left wing the (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100 forced its way into the town, on the right of them Infantry Regiment No. 180, and in close conjunction Rifle Regiment No. 108, whilst in the Leffe valley Infantry Regiment No. 178 reached Leffe.

The fighting on August 23rd, accompanied by comparatively slight loss, resulted in the dislodgement of the enemy forces from the heights of the left bank of the Meuse. On the other hand, the losses which the hostile civil population of Dinant and its outskirts had inflicted on the XII. Corps on August 23rd, and the effort which was necessary to break down the completely organised resistance of the civil population on August 23rd and the following days were very considerable. Once more, as on August 21st, people in Dinant and the neighbourhood had apparently secured information that a movement of the corps was imminent, and they were accordingly prepared. The 1st Battalion of the Guards Regiment, approaching from Herbuchenne, were assailed by a vigorous fire from the houses and alleys. Bit by bit, every house had to be fought for singly with the use of hand-grenades in order to dislodge from their hiding-places the inhabitants who had stowed themselves away from cellar to attic and who were making use of every possible kind of weapon. Those who were caught with weapons in their hands were immediately shot, while suspected persons were led off as hostages to the town gaol.

Despite these measures the Grenadier Guards were still further fired on by the population, and thereby suffered considerable losses, especially in officers. Here, among others, fell Lieutenant Treusch von Buttlar, and Captain Legler was severely wounded.

In the meantime, a great part of the place had been consumed by fire, caused partly by the use of hand-grenades, partly by the French and German artillery fire. All this, however, was not sufficient to convince the population of the uselessness and danger of participating in the fighting.

Until the evening, even on the march to the crossing-place at Les Rivages, the regiment was fired on from the houses (Apps. 1, 5, 7, 10, 11).

The Regiments No. 108 and No. 182 had similar experiences when they, to the north of the Guards Regiment, reached Dinant. From the moment they reached the most easterly houses they came under fire. The farm of Malais was stormed by the 1st Battalion of the Rifles (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108, and the whole of the francs-tireurs who made a stand there were destroyed. Fighting hotly for every house, our men pressed forward in the direction of the market, all the time expecting to be fired at by invisible foes from cellars, caves, and hill-sides. It was here that, among others, Major Lommatzsch of Infantry Regiment No. 182 was fatally wounded by the bullets of two civilians from the windows of a house. They even fired down from the cathedral (Apps. 12, 14, 18). Already in the course of the forenoon the Commanding Officer of the 46th Brigade recognised that it was impossible, without artillery bombardment, to gain the mastery over the fanatical population.

The troops were, however, too much involved in house-to-house fighting to be immediately withdrawn. It was only after 3 o'clock in the afternoon that it was possible to withdraw the troops to the heights north of Dinant, so that the artillery, in particular, sections of Field Artillery Regiment No. 12 and a battery of heavy artillery, could now bring Dinant, from Leffe, more effectually under their fire (Apps. 12, 19, 21).

In the early morning Infantry Regiment No. 178 had set out from Thynes on their march towards Leffe, making use of the Leffe valley road. Already before reaching Leffe the advance company was fired on from detached holdings as well as from the steep hill slopes (partially wooded), which stretched along on the right and the left of the road. This harassing fire was directed with particular activity from the paper-mill situated on the left of the road and the adjacent houses. For this reason, the slopes were searched for francs-tireurs, later on with the co-operation of the 11th Jägers, and the barricaded houses forcibly opened and cleared of inhabitants. All those caught with weapons in their hands were shot. More and more vigorously the advancing regiment was attacked by the inhabitants concealed in the houses. There was firing from all the houses, although in many of them no one was found. The marksmen crept into their hiding-places in order to leave them later on and renew their firing on the German troops. This made it necessary to set on fire a number of houses in order to drive out the marksmen from their places of concealment. A number of inhabitants were marched off as hostages to the monastery (Apps. 22-32).

The 9th Company of the 178th Regiment occupied the garden of a villa along the Meuse and a factory which fronted the enemy on the left bank of the Meuse (Apps. 25, 30, 79).

Here again they were fired on; the villa and the factory were therefore cleared of their occupants. The proprietor and a large number of the workpeople were fetched out of the cellar of the factory and shot, whilst the women and children found there were lodged in the monastery.

Practically for the whole of the day the 178th Regiment carried on a hot fight with the population of Leffe, and suffered severe losses (Apps. 25, 26).

Infantry Regiment No. 103, which reached Leffe towards evening, was also fired on by francs-tireurs from the slopes of the Leffe ravine as well as from the houses, and defended itself in the same way by disarming and shooting the men found with arms, and by burning down single houses which could not otherwise be cleared (Apps. 33, 36).

In the evening it became quiet in Leffe. The assumption, however, that nothing more was to be feared from the inhabitants proved to be erroneous. After nightfall the left-wing outpost of the 2nd Battalion of Infantry Regiment No. 178, posted as a guard against attack along the Meuse, was assailed by a large body of the inhabitants to the south of the barracks of the 13th Belgian Infantry Regiment. A detachment of reinforcements cleared this locality and the adjoining district, being continually fired upon from the houses by francs-tireurs. A large number of persons caught with weapons in their hands were shot (Apps. 22, 24, 29).

In the night, towards 12 o'clock, the Detachment of Zeschau came from Houx by the northern entrance to Leffe. Scarcely had they reached the first houses when the foremost company received a brisk rifle fire. The houses, the doors of which were barred and the windows barricaded with furniture and beds, were stormed and set on fire as a security against francs-tireurs, who were not otherwise to be caught. The men found in them who were carrying arms were shot (App. 38).

From the factory above mentioned also the detachment, especially the Machine-Gun Company of Infantry Regiment No. 177, was briskly and continuously fired on. The shooting of the francs-tireurs only died out when the factory was set on fire (Apps. 38, 64, 65).

Whilst these events were taking place in the north of Dinant, in the south, also at Les Rivages and Anseremme, sanguinary fighting with the civil population had taken place. Late in the afternoon, Grenadier Regiment No. 101 with the 3rd Field Pioneer Company reached Les Rivages by the road which ends there, in order to cross the Meuse. The pioneers, with pontoon waggons for bridge-building, had already entered the section of Dinant occupied by the Guards Regiment.

On account of the fire which they received from the houses, and of which they could not get the mastery, despite all attempts in conjunction with the infantry to clear the houses, they had been obliged to withdraw to the heights.

The village of Les Rivages at first appeared as if deserted. On the opposite bank the houses in Neffe, struck by our artillery fire, burst into flames (Apps. 20, 39, 44).

The crossing began at once. First the 2nd, then the 11th Company of Grenadier Regiment No. 101, gained the left bank and advanced to the attack in extended order against the enemy infantry on the western heights of the river-bank. The 11th Company received about five consecutive discharges of small shot from a house in the narrow alley through which they had passed in Neffe. The barred house was broken open, and the francs-tireurs, a man and two women, were shot.

Directly after this the company, led by the company commander, reached the railway embankment. At this spot a waterway led through the embankment; before the culvert lay a civilian with a sort of carbine, shot dead; in the dark culvert people were seen. From the top of the embankment the officer advancing with another company shouted down that he had been shot at from the culvert. The company commander called out loudly, "Sortez, on ne vous fera rien" ("Come out; nothing will be done to you"). No answer came from the culvert, neither did the people leave it who were concealed there. Thereupon a number of volleys were fired into the culvert. The Grenadiers continued their advance over the railway embankment and up the heights. The detachment left behind for clearing and guarding the culvert brought out about thirty-five to forty civilians, men, half-grown lads, women, and children, and with them about eight to ten rifles, not sporting-guns, but apparently military rifles. A portion of the civilians had been killed or wounded by the fire of the Grenadiers (App. 40). In the meantime everything had still remained quiet in Les Rivages. The first person who showed himself was a lame man. He described himself as the Mayor, and protested that the inhabitants of Les Rivages were peaceable in contrast to those of Neffe. He was therefore sent over to Neffe for the purpose of warning the population in that place to keep the peace, as in that case nothing would happen to them. The commanding officer of Grenadier Regiment No. 101 forcibly collected a large number of persons from the nearest houses in order to hold them as hostages against the hostile action of the populace. It was made clear to them that their lives were guarantee for the safety of the troops. The causes for this measure were the notorious hostility of the population of Dinant, and the report just made by an officer that, close by, to the south of Les Rivages, towards Anseremme, shots had been fired from the houses. The men were placed against a garden wall to the left of the place of crossing, the women and children who came with them out of the houses, somewhat farther down the river.

The bridge-building and crossing were in progress. When the bridge had been built out about 40 metres alike from the houses of Les Rivages and from the rocky slopes close to the south of the "Rocher Bayard," francs-tireurs began to direct a hot fire upon the Grenadiers, who were waiting in close order for crossing, and on the working pioneers. The greatest consternation and confusion ensued. In consequence of this the male hostages assembled by the garden wall were shot.

The shooting of the hostages, evidently visible to the unseen francs-tireurs, resulted in the cessation of the firing and a continuation of the bridge-building (Apps. 46, 48).

Partly during the night of August 24th and partly on the next day the troops of the Corps were able to cross the Meuse at Les Rivages and Neffe. On August 25th the rear portions of the Corps also crossed the Meuse.

In no way, however, had the severe measures taken on August 23rd put any final stop to the excesses of the francs-tireurs. On the two following days also, columns passing through and single persons were shot at from the slopes and from the houses, although no longer to the same extent as on August 23rd. This necessarily led again to retaliatory measures, to the shooting of individual inhabitants caught in the act, and to the artillery bombardment of buildings which were occupied by francs-tireurs. The former measures were taken on August 24th in Neffe and St. Médard, and the latter on August 24th and 25th in all parts of the town (Apps. 49, 50). If one reviews the whole of the resistance offered to the German troops by the population of Dinant and its suburbs, the first thing that strikes one is its systematic organisation (Apps. 12, 25, 30).

Already before the 23rd of August it was known to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood of Dinant that in this place there existed an organisation for treacherous attack on the German troops (Apps. 12, 51).

It was known that the surprise attacks upon the German troops by the local inhabitants, which took place at Sorinnes and other places lying to the east of the Meuse, were partly to be traced to emissaries from Dinant.

This organised effort was distinguished by its careful preparation and by the extent of its activities.

The houses were placed in a state of defence by the barricading of the doors and windows, by the construction of loopholes, and by the accumulation of a large supply of firearms and ammunition in the houses. The existence of large stocks of ammunition was proved in one way by the repeated explosions in the burning houses. In the night operations of August 21st trip-wires were drawn across the street (Apps. 3, 9, 10, 11, 18, 26, 28, 29, 31, 38, 49, 50, 52, 53, 70, 81).

From the fact that the firearms were not only in part sporting-guns and revolvers, but were partly machine-guns and Belgian military rifles (Apps. 2, 25), one may conclude that the movement had the support of the Belgian Government. The whole of Dinant with its suburbs on the right and left bank of the Meuse was prepared in the same way. Everywhere, in Leffe, in Les Rivages, in Neffe, one found the barricading of the houses, the loopholes, and the presence of weapons. At the same time it is expressly pointed out in the reports of the fighting that the belligerent Belgian civilians did not wear any kind of military badge (Apps. 4-7, 12, 15, 22, 24, 25, 31). The whole population was imbued with the same purpose--to hold up the German advance. If, by taking part in the dangers into which it knowingly ventured, some portion of it perished, it has only itself to blame.

This resistance offered to our troops was extremely obstinate. It was carried on with every kind of weapon, with military rifles and sporting-guns, with bullets and shot, with revolvers, with knives, with stones (Apps. 5, 10, 11, 25-28, 31, 35, 38, 43, 54, 55, 57, 58, 63, 67, 81). All grades, even the clergy (App. 18), took part in it, men and women, old men and children (Apps. 5, 6, 10, 12, 14, 18, 28, 29, 35, 41, 44, 54, 56, 59, 63). From the cellars of burning houses firing was still kept up. At the very moment when he was being shot by martial law, a franc-tireur discharged a revolver, which he had kept concealed, at the firing-party (App. 5). With treachery and cunning (Apps. 28, 32, 43, 44, 50, 68), themselves invisible from the outside, they fired from loopholes in the rear of passing detachments and on single officers. They disappeared before the advancing Germans (Apps. 12, 37, 64) through back ways into the caves and subterranean passages, to continue their work of assassination in some other place.

Some male francs-tireurs had put on women's clothing (Apps. 64, 65). The Geneva badge was misused by individuals and in the case of buildings in order, under its protection, to cause injury to the Germans (Apps. 9, 16-18, 32, 56, 66-70).

Even the wounded who were being transported to the rear, as well as hospital orderlies, were shot at from the houses (Apps. 71, 72).

The fanaticism of the population found its most revolting expression in the cruel murder of sleeping men, in the mutilation of the fallen, and in the burning of wounded prisoners who were bound up with wire for this purpose (Apps. 56, 59, 61, 67, 73-78).

In judging of the attitude taken by the troops of the XII. Corps in the face of the action of the civil population, which was hostile to the last degree and employed the most reprehensible methods, we must remember that the tactical aim of the XII. Corps was the rapid passage over the Meuse and the clearing of the enemy from the left bank. The speedy suppression of the resistance of the inhabitants, which was directly opposed to this aim, was a military necessity to be secured by all possible means. From this point of view, the bombardment of the town, which was taking an active part in the fighting, and the burning of the houses occupied by the francs-tireurs, as well as the shooting of inhabitants caught with weapons in their hands, were all justified.

In the same way, the shooting of the hostages in various localities was also justified. The troops fighting in the town found themselves in the direst extremity, inasmuch as they were under the artillery, machine-gun, and rifle fire of the regular troops posted on the left bank of the Meuse, and were at the same time being fired at in the rear and on the flanks by the inhabitants. The hostages were taken as security in order to put a stop to the conduct of the francs-tireurs. Despite this, and since the population continued, as before, to inflict losses on the struggling troops, the shooting of the hostages was carried out; otherwise, the holding of the hostages would have only implied an empty threat. Their execution was all the more justified, since, with the general participation of the populace in the fighting, it was hardly a case of innocent victims.

In view of the military objective mentioned above and the serious straits in which the troops found themselves, treacherously attacked as they were from the rear, such action on our part could not be avoided.

The lives of women and children were, on principle, spared, so long as they were not caught in the act, or it was not a case of self-defence against their attacks (Apps. 5, 6, 25, 26, 28, 31, 35, 41, 47, 79). The fact that, despite this, women and children were killed and wounded is intelligible from the prevailing circumstances.

They were struck partly by shots coming from the enemy on the left bank of the Meuse and partly by stray shots during the house and street fighting (App. 10). In the shooting of the hostages at Les Rivages a few women and children were also hit. This happened in the case of some who, contrary to the arrangements made, had left their station which was apart from the male hostages, and had crowded together with the latter (Apps. 45, 46). That the troops of the XII. Corps did not show themselves harsh or cruel is proved by numerous cases in which they exhibited, under the existing circumstances, a solicitude, deserving special recognition, for women, old men, and children (Apps. 52, 53, 55, 58, 80-86). A number of women confined to their beds on account of child-birth were carried from houses in the danger zone to a sheltered place and laid on mattresses near our wounded (App. 5). Wounded inhabitants--the wounds mostly originated from the enemy's fire--were bandaged and given over to conscientious medical treatment (Apps. 7, 10, 29, 44, 47, 50-52, 68, 86, 87). Little children found alone were handed over to female care (Apps. 47, 51). The large number of women and children from burning Dinant who were in Les Rivages on the night of August 24th were sheltered in a house and provided with food and drink (Apps. 45, 51). In the morning they all received coffee from the field-kitchen of the Guards Regiment.

The account given by the surviving inhabitants of Dinant about the fighting for their town, and the statements thereto appended by the Belgian Commission of Inquiry, as well as those of the hostile Press, are marked by their complete silence as regards the part taken by the populace in the fighting against our troops, and, with intentional exaggeration, solely record what our troops have done to suppress this participation in the fighting. In face of what positively occurred, it is a malicious distortion of the actual facts to maintain that, because orders had been issued to give up all weapons, the inhabitants did not fire.

Without doubt it is deeply regrettable that, in consequence of the events of August 23rd and 24th, the flourishing town of Dinant with its suburbs was burnt and laid in ruins and a great number of human lives were destroyed. The responsibility for this lies not on the German Army, but only on the population. The inhabitants collectively engaged in conflict with the German troops contrary to international law and in a fanatical and treacherous manner, and forced our troops to take those counter-measures required for the purposes of war.

Had the population held aloof from armed resistance and open participation in the fighting, scarcely any injury would have been incurred by them, as regards life or property, despite the hazardous position in which they were placed by reason of military operations.

BERLIN, _April 11th, 1915_.

Military Department of Investigation into the Violation of the Laws of War.

Signed: Major BAUER.
Signed: Councillor of the Supreme Court of Judicature, Dr. WAGNER.

C. App. 1.

EXTRACT from the military diary of the General Officer commanding the XII. (1st Royal Saxon) Army Corps.

_August 22nd, 1914._

On August 22nd the Imperial Headquarters remained at the Château of Taviet. The day was occupied in carrying on reconnaissances in the manner directed. Towards 3 o'clock in the forenoon the report came through a General Staff-Officer sent in advance that the 2nd Battalion of Rifle Regiment No. 108 had succeeded by a night attack in throwing the enemy back across the Meuse at Dinant. Here the inhabitants had once more taken part in the fighting, in some cases with shot-guns.

_August 23rd, 1914._

The General's Staff reached the western outlet of Sorinnes at 4 a.m. The 23rd Infantry Division, present at the same point, immediately reported its readiness for opening fire; the 32nd Infantry Division, communication with which was at first lacking, did not report until 5.40 a.m. At 5.55 a.m. the Commander-in-Chief gave the order to fire, which, at first, could not be complied with on account of the thick weather.

In virtue of the command to open fire, the General in command gave the order: "The divisions to occupy the bank on this side of the Meuse with strong lines of riflemen, to enable the slopes on the opposite side to be taken under an effective infantry fire." As the weather, towards 6 a.m., permitted regular artillery fire to be delivered, it was observed that the enemy only replied weakly. For this reason the General in command gave the order at 6.30 a.m. that his reserve troops were to follow their divisions, as he expected a more rapid advance of the divisions towards the Meuse. For the same reason the General Staff proceeded at 8 a.m. to Gemechenne.

The next reports received up to 8.30 a.m., as well as a reconnaissance undertaken by Captain Bahrdt and 1st Lieutenant Count Schall in the district of Dinant, seemed to contradict this assumption. At 8.50 a.m. a report arrived from Colonel Francke, Infantry Regiment No. 180, which seemed to confirm the original opinion of the General in command. A communication by the Oberquartiermeister with reference to the observation of an army airman coincided also with this opinion. At the same time the Commanding General had directed that the order for the crossing of the Meuse should be made out.

In the meantime, the troops had also advanced into new positions in the direction of the Meuse. It seemed to be more and more certain that the enemy had to all intents and purposes withdrawn, and only continued to offer any serious resistance at the presumed crossing-places, especially at Houx.

Although 1st Lieutenant Berckmüller and 1st Lieutenant Count Schall reported at 10.15 a.m. that on a renewed reconnaissance near Dinant they had met with brisk shrapnel-fire, the Army Corps order to cross the Meuse was given at 10.20 a.m.; for this purpose a half of the bridge-building corps was placed at the disposal of each of the two divisions. For the more rapid suppression of the resistance at Houx, the reserve division of the General in command was given back to the 32nd Infantry Division at 10 a.m.

After the issue of this order, 1st Lieutenant Hasse of General Staff No. 3 arrived and reported that the II. Army had crossed the Sambre to the west of Namur on August 22nd, so that a serious resistance on the part of the enemy on the Meuse was not to be expected. It was intended to give the XII. Army Corps the direction on Anthée; the XIX. Army Corps, on the other hand, was to be taken over the Meuse to the south of Givet. The possibility of getting into touch on the western bank of the Meuse with the General Command (left wing, II. Army) was immediately communicated to the 32nd Infantry Division.

The opinion, seemingly confirmed by an air report received in the meantime that the Corps would get across the Meuse without serious difficulties, was destined to prove incorrect. The 32nd Infantry Division met with serious opposition at Houx and Leffe, and a similar experience befell the 46th Infantry Brigade in burning Dinant. It was only at the crossing-place of the 45th Infantry Brigade at Les Rivages that everything, at first, appeared to go smoothly, so that the 23rd Infantry Division reported at 12.40 a.m. through Major v. Zeschau that they were able to commence the crossing.

It was to be inferred from the reports in general that the crossing, even if beset with difficulties, could still be effected in the afternoon. A Corps command was therefore issued at 5.10 p.m., which assigned Sommière as the objective of the 32nd Infantry Division, and Onhaye that of the 23rd Infantry Division.

The General Staff, in view of the shortly expected crossing, proceeded from Gemechenne to the bend in the road 1.5 kilometres to the east of Dinant. At 2 p.m. the XIX. Army Corps reported that the 24th Infantry Division was crossing at Lenne with a brigade.

The troops of the Corps had, however, at the crossing-places some very severe fighting with the enemy posted on the west bank of the Meuse. This fighting, through the participation of the inhabitants, assumed an especiallv severe character. At the moment when the (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100 had lowered the first pontoons into the water, a violent fire was delivered from the adjacent houses. The troops found themselves in the unpleasant position of being fired at by the infantry and artillery of the enemy on the western bank and by the inhabitants in their rear. The most unsatisfactory result of this fight was that a part of the pontoons had been rendered unserviceable by the bombardment.

Subsequently the crossing of the 23rd Infantry Division proved exceedingly difficult. The material to hand was no longer sufficient for the building of a military bridge. The General in command, who towards 7 p.m. had personally ascertained the position of the 32nd Infantry Division in Leffe, proceeded to the crossing-place of the 23rd Infantry Division, which he reached towards 8 p.m. The position of the Corps at this time was more or less as follows:

In Leffe the 32nd Infantry Division was still fighting for the crossing. At Dinant the 46th Infantry Brigade had been obliged to withdraw to the heights on the eastern bank because it was impossible to remain in the burning town. At Les Rivages a part of the bridge was ready, but the material was not sufficient for its completion, consequently a system of ferrying had to be contrived.

The commander of the 23rd Infantry Division accordingly arranged that a mixed force under Colonel Meister (Grenadier Regiment No. 101, Hussar Regiment No. 20, 1st Section, Field Artillery Regiment No. 12) should first be put across. The (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100 was to follow next, while the remainder of the Army Corps was directed to the bridge of the 32nd Infantry Division at Leffe.

According to an Army Order sent at 7.15 p.m. to the east of Dinant, the pursuit was to be taken up with the available troops on the western bank of Meuse; XII. Army Corps; direction, Philippeville.

For correct transcript.

Signed: VON LOEBEN, Captain on the General Staff.

C. App. 2.

EXTRACT from the Report of Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108 on the fighting in Dinant during the night of the 21st-22nd August 1914.

When the rear of the 2nd Battalion had reached the first houses in Dinant, a signal shot suddenly rang out. The next moment there was a rattle of musketry on all sides. There was firing from all the houses; from all the slopes, which are honeycombed by cellars and vaults, there came flashes. All the houses were firmly barricaded. An attempt was made to penetrate into the houses. If rifle-butts and hatchets were not adequate, there were pioneers at hand to throw in hand-grenades. Machine-guns had been fixed up in a corner house.

C. App. 3.

EXTRACT from the Report of the 1st Field Company of Pioneer Battalion No. 12 on the reconnaissance in force of August 21st, 1914, carried out with the 2nd Battalion, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108.

As soon as the first houses in Dinant were reached, the street-lighting was destroyed; the columns marched closely along by the two rows of houses and arrived as far as the first cross-street. Here the head of the infantry column suddenly received from the corner house on the right a very violent fire, which was immediately returned. Instantly there was firing from all the houses. A violent street-fight then ensued. The pioneers forced the fastened doors open with hatchets and axes, threw hand-grenades into the lower rooms, and set others on fire with the torches which had been in the meantime ignited.

Lieutenant Brink turned into the first side-street on the left. This, however, had been obstructed by trip-wires; from the houses came firing, and stones were thrown.

All at once the company was fired at from the rear, and was obliged to return to the corner of the street. Non-commissioned Officer Grosse, who had been struck by several stones and lay unconscious by the trip-wires, was also brought back.

The 1st Company had fifteen slightly wounded and one severely wounded.

C. App. 4.

DRESDEN, _November 6th, 1914_.

Chief Military Court, Dresden.

On citation Paul Kurt Büchner, Reservist, 1st Field Company, Pioneer Battalion No. 12, in Pirna, appeared as witness and made a statement:

On the night of August 21st, 1914, my company was sent on a reconnaissance towards Dinant in Belgium. The 2nd Battalion, Rifle Regiment No. 108, marched with us. When we had arrived in the town we were briskly shot at from the houses, and, indeed, chiefly with small shot. We stormed a number of houses, and saw that the marksmen were civilians without any military uniform or badge. We then withdrew.

On August 23rd, 1914, the 23rd Division advanced to the attack on Dinant. Here, also, we were vigorously fired on from the houses, and certainly only by civilians, of whom a number were killed. It was here that I received a shot in the thigh.

I then got into the hospital which had been established in the Château of Sorinnes. In the night the Château of Sorinnes was attacked and fired at by the inhabitants of the place. The inhabitants were, however, beaten off before they could force their way into the château.

Read over, approved, signed.

Signed: KURT BÜCHNER.

The witness was sworn.

Signed: Dr. ILLING, Chief Counsellor of the Military Court.

C. App. 5.

Present:
President of the Court, SCHWEINITZ.
Secretary, LIPS.

NEUFCHÂTEL, _February 20th, 1915_.

In the examination concerning the events in Dinant the under-mentioned witness appeared and stated:

As to Person: My name is Herbert Max Reinhard Brink. I am 22 years old; Protestant; Lieutenant in the 1st Field Company, Pioneer Battalion No. 12, XII. Army Corps.

As to Case: I was leader of the platoon of the 1st Field Pioneer Company which took part in the reconnaissance in force on the night of the 21st-22nd August 1914. In Dinant, on that occasion, we were briskly fired at from the houses. I did not see the marksmen; certainly they were not soldiers. I conclude this from the numerous injuries from small shot which our wounded had. During the street-fighting a little old cylinder-revolver, from which one shot had been discharged, fell on my head. No officer and, still more, no soldier would have been likely to use such an antiquated weapon.

On August 23rd, 1914, I marched into Dinant with a part of the 1st Field Pioneer Company, and joined up with the detachment of Count Kielmannsegg. We were fired at very vigorously from the houses, among others also from those on the bank of the Meuse, but not at all from the opposite bank. The marksmen were civilians without any military badge. I myself saw several civilians with weapons in their hands. A woman also fired down at us from the stairs as we were forcing our way into a house. She was immediately shot down from below.

I was witness how four men and a woman were shot by grenadiers because they came out, armed, from the houses from which we had been fired at. I was further witness how a larger number of guilty inhabitants were shot by order of Count Kielmannsegg; the women and children were first separated from the men. I saw, at the moment when the volley was delivered, one of the men draw a revolver from his pocket and fire at the soldiers. I was astonished, too, that the weapon had not been taken away from him. In any case, he had only just been brought up at the last moment before the execution.

As far as I have seen, our soldiers did not in any way behave cruelly towards the inhabitants. On the contrary, from the houses out of which the inhabitants had been driven, our men brought out on mattresses four women, who were unable to walk on account of recent confinement, and laid them in the street in a place sheltered from the firing, close to our own wounded.

In the evening towards 7 o'clock I marched with my detachment from Dinant to Les Rivages. On the way, at the last houses in Dinant we again received a brisk fire from the houses. We had no time to stop and clear these houses, as we had strict orders to evacuate Dinant immediately on account of the impending bombardment of the place. As we entered Les Rivages the bridge-building was in progress.

We remained at this place a further two days. After the completion of the bridge, we noticed repeatedly on August 24th that our columns, which had crossed the bridge and were marching downstream on the west bank of the Meuse, were fired at from Dinant.

Read over, approved, signed.

Signed: BRINK, Lieutenant.

The witness was hereupon sworn.

Signed: SCHWEINITZ. Signed: LIPS.

C. App. 6.

EXTRACT from the Report of the (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100.

_August 23rd, 1914._

During the descent towards Dinant all three companies of the 1st Battalion received losses through the fire of civilians--portions of the populace, amongst whom were women and children--and presumably also from Belgian soldiers in civilian clothing, who obstinately defended themselves with every possible kind of weapon. In the streets the companies encountered a murderous fire. In parts every single house had to be fought for with the use of hand-grenades. The civilians wore no military badge or uniform; if they were caught with weapons in their hands, they were shot. The remainder of the population were led away to the town gaol. The Grenadier Guards pressed farther on, all the time being fired at by the treacherous inhabitants. A great number of buildings were provided with flags bearing the Geneva cross, yet from these the troops were fired on with special violence.

Grenadier H., thrice wounded, nevertheless continued to take part in the fighting, while he called his comrade's attention to the houses from which the inhabitants were firing.

Late in the afternoon, since the whole place was not yet in our hands, the artillery bombarded the town, which now, for the most part, became enveloped in flames.

Towards 8 o'clock in the evening the house-fighting in the midst of the burning streets broke out once more for a short time.

The civilians detained in the prison were brought out. Old men, women, and children were released; the men were led by up to Marche as prisoners.

On the morning of August 24th, after the pontoons had been repaired, the regiment began to cross in pursuit of the retreating enemy. While this was going on, shots from different houses struck the marching column.

C. App. 7.

WILLMSBARACKEN, _January 6th, 1915_.

_Deposition._

By order of the (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100, Lieutenant-Colonel Count Kielmannsegg appeared for examination and, being warned to speak the whole truth, made the following deposition:

As to Person: My name is Bernhardt Hermann Carl Kedel, Count Kielmannsegg, born in Celle (Hanover) on July 6th, 1866; evangelical-Lutheran; Lieutenant-Colonel in the (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100 and Commander of the 1st Battalion.

As to Case: The town of Dinant was attacked and occupied at about 8 o'clock in the forenoon on August 23rd, 1914, by the 3rd Company, 1st Battalion, 1st (Guards) Grenadier Regiment. No enemy troops were discovered on the right bank of the Meuse. Notwithstanding this, our troops were fired on from the houses of the town by persons in civilian clothing without any military badge or uniform, whereby Captain Legler, the first of the Guards Company to enter the town, was severely wounded. Sections of the town were assigned to the companies for the purpose of searching and clearing, with the injunction to take all inhabitants, so long as they offered no resistance, to the town gaol; all those who offered resistance to be dealt with by force of arms. The occupant of the house, from which Captain Legler was wounded, was shot by my order.

Infringements of the orders given by me have not been reported from anywhere. The search took place by patrols under leaders who were detailed for this purpose by the companies. Several hundred inhabitants were brought into the town gaol, and there put under guard. Before leaving the town, in which the three companies had been engaged, from about 8 o'clock in the morning until about 8 o'clock in the evening, in constant street and house fighting, with their own losses as indicated, about a hundred guilty inhabitants of the male sex were shot by my direction and in accordance with an order given by higher authority. Our own wounded, as well as the inhabitants who were wounded, chiefly by the fire of the enemy on the left bank of the Meuse, were bandaged and taken care of by Chief-Doctor Merx of the 2nd Battalion of the (Guards) Grenadier Regiment in a house prepared for this purpose.

Read over, approved, signed.

Signed: KIELMANNSEGG.

Witness was hereupon sworn.

Signed: VON HAUGK, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.
Signed: BEYMANN, Acting-Sergeant-Major, Clerk of the Court.

C. App. 8.

(Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100.

Present:
Lieutenant of Reserve BANDEL, as Officer of the Court.
Non-commissioned Officer HAUNSTEIN, as Military Clerk of the Court.

GUIGNICOURT, _January 9th, 1915_.

By order there appeared as witness Captain von Montbé, who, being warned to speak the whole truth, made the following deposition:

As to Person: My name is Charles Sylvester Alban von Montbé. I am 31 years old; Protestant.

As to Case: It has not come to my knowledge that any cruelties have been committed by our soldiers on the inhabitants of Dinant; neither have the inhabitants of Dinant been ill-treated or mutilated or been badly treated at all; on the other hand, various inhabitants of the place who have treacherously fired from the houses, so far as one could get hold of them, were shot.

Read over, approved, signed.

Signed: V. MONTBÉ.

Witness was hereupon sworn.

Signed: BANDEL, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.
Signed: HAUNSTEIN, Non-commissioned Officer
and Military Clerk of the Court.

C. App. 9.

GUIGNICOURT, _January 8th, 1915_.

_Deposition._

Lieutenant Prietzel of the Reserve appeared as witness and, being warned to speak the truth, in lieu of oath declared as follows:

As to Person: My name is Ernst Rudolf Prietzel. I am 29 years of age; Evangelical-Lutheran; Dr. Jur. of Bautzen.

As to Case: When the 5th Company of the 1st (Guards) Grenadier Regiment marched into Dinant it was fired on from the houses situated in the narrow lane leading from Herbuchenne. I was myself able to observe shots from about three windows. Grenadier Oberlander was killed; probably two or three Grenadiers were wounded. The shots undoubtedly did not come from the opposite bank of the Meuse, which, at that time, was only weakly occupied by the enemy troops. On the contrary, the shots were discharged by the civilian population. In the narrow lane, and previously towards Herbuchenne, there lay numerous dead and wounded of the 8th Company, which had, in the same way, been fired at by the civilian population from the houses.

One could plainly see in the burning houses of Dinant, mostly wrecked by our artillery, that cartridges were exploding in the flames. These houses were unsuitable for military purposes, especially for defence. The cartridges must therefore have originated from the civilian population.

On the other side of the Meuse was a building provided with a Red Cross flag. The walls enclosing this building had loopholes. The building was therefore, despite the Red Cross flag, adapted for defence. The 5th Company, in passing through the narrow lane mentioned above, replied to the fire of the civilian population.

It is not true that soldiers of the Guards Regiment or of any other regiment have taken any action which was not absolutely required by the military situation or in consequence of the behaviour of the civilian population.

Read over, approved, signed.

Signed: Lieutenant of Reserve PRIETZEL.

Witness was thereupon sworn.

Signed: VON LOEBEN, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.
Signed: BAIER, Non-commissioned Officer
and Clerk of the Military Court.

C. App. 10.

Present:
President of the Court, SCHWEINITZ.
Secretary, LIPS.

NEUFCHÂTEL, _February 16th, 1915_.

In the matter for investigation with reference to the events in Dinant, Acting-Sergeant-Major Bartusch appeared as witness. After he had been made acquainted with the object of the investigation, and the importance of the oath to be taken had been pointed out, he was examined as follows:

As to Person: My name is Georg Wilhelm Bartusch. I am 33 years of age; Protestant; Acting-Sergeant-Major, Battalion Drummer, 1st Battalion, (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100.

As to Case: On August 23rd I served on the staff of the 1st Battalion in Dinant. We slid down the steep slopes into Dinant rather than ran. An inhabitant, the Luxemburger mentioned below, told me they did not believe we should get down; on the contrary, they reckoned that we would be shot on the way. From the very beginning we were assailed by fire from the houses, small shot was also used; the firing came from all the openings in the houses, from the windows and doors, and also from holes cut out between the roof and wall. Below in the town we sought a temporary shelter in a warehouse nearly opposite the gaol. From here an attempt was made to clear the neighbourhood of sharpshooters. All those of the inhabitants who were found in the houses were taken to the prison. The persons who had been caught with weapons in their hands were separated and placed against the garden wall near the open place. They were there shot by a detachment of Grenadiers by order of Lieutenant-Colonel Count Kielmannsegg. How many there were, I cannot exactly say; there may have been 50 or 100. They stood in three or four rows, and were to my knowledge only men. That women and children were shot with them, I did not see. One man tried to keep a child on his arm, but this was prevented by a woman who took the child from him. One must try to imagine the confusion prevailing, and that all this was taking place while we were still being fired on. I think it is possible that some of the women and children, whom we had forced away from the men, had fled behind the wall of the garden, and that there they perished either by our bullets which pierced the wall or by the bullets of the enemy on the other bank of the Meuse. Everyone who stayed out of doors did so at the continual risk of his life. At the very commencement, when we reached Dinant, a girl of about thirteen years of age received a shot in the stomach from the other bank of the Meuse. She was bandaged by two German stretcher-bearers.

One man was caught in the street by two Grenadiers, who declared he had wounded Captain Legler. We tied his hands with a cord and took him with us. He was, however, rescued by civilians in the street-fighting. I recognised him again among the men lined up for execution by the marks left by the cord on his hands. In a house which had already been searched, and which I and a Grenadier were again searching through, I found behind a secret door two men of about twenty years of age; each had a revolver in his hand from which shots had already been discharged.

Among the persons who had been taken to the prison was a well-dressed man of about seventy years of age. A bulging of his waistcoat attracted my attention; when I went to touch it he said, "Purse." I tore his waistcoat open and produced from it a small revolver from which a shot had already been discharged. As far as I know, this old man was not among those who were shot. To judge by the continuous firing, all the inhabitants of Dinant must have taken part in the shooting. When we were attending to the thirteen-year-old girl who had been shot, her father, a Luxemburger living in Dinant, who spoke broken German, said that in Dinant parents had given revolvers to their children of ten to twelve years so that they might shoot at the "Allemands."

In the prison we found about eight pistols and the same number of swords, as well as a cigar-box full of cardboard packets which were filled with small shot.

Read over, approved, signed.

Signed: BARTUSCH.

Witness was hereupon sworn.

Signed: SCHWEINITZ. Signed: LIPS.

C. App. 11.

WILLMSBARACKEN, _February 3rd, 1915_.

_Deposition._

By order of the regiment there appeared as witness Grenadier of the Reserve Straczinsky, 4th Company (Guards), Grenadier Regiment No. 100, who, being warned to speak the whole truth, made the following deposition:

As to Person: My name is Felix Johannes Straczinsky; born on the 15th June 1890 at Bautzen (Saxony); Evangelical-Lutheran.

As to Case: I was wounded on August 23rd, 1914, in Dinant by a discharge of small shot fired from a cellar window. The shot went into my right ankle. The grains of shot were removed at Julich, near Aachen, where I was under treatment. I saw the shot myself.

Read over, approved, signed.

Signed: JOHANNES STRACZINSKY.

The witness was hereupon sworn.

Also signed.

Signed: VON HAUGK, 1st Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.
Signed: BEYMANN, Acting-Sergeant-Major and Clerk to the Court.

C. App. 12.

EXTRACT from the Reports of the Staff of the 46th Infantry Brigade and of Regiments Nos. 108 and 182 on the fighting at Dinant, August 23rd, 1914.

Staff of the 46th Infantry Brigade.

Towards 9 o'clock in the forenoon Regiments Nos. 108 and 182 reached the eastern slopes of the Meuse.

There now ensued a hot fight for the town of Dinant, which was defended by francs-tireurs, and which resulted in serious loss, especially of officers. As the Brigade Commander was of opinion that Dinant could not be taken without previously bombarding it with artillery, he gave the order at 10 a.m. to again evacuate Dinant if possible. At the time this was no longer practicable, since the regiments were already too much involved in the house-to-house fighting and were pressing forward in the direction of the market-place.

Whilst every individual house was being hotly fought for, the troops were being heavily fired on from the opposite bank of the Meuse by artillery and machine-guns.

The commanders of the two regiments met in the market-place. Since no decisive result was possible without artillery against the enemy who were concealed in houses, cellars, and caves, and who were even firing from the cathedral, they resolved to gradually evacuate the town.

This was begun at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

Rifle-Fusilier Regiment No. 108.