Orainville,March 17th, 1915.
Summoned as witness there appeared Private Steglich, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Willy Steglich. I am 22 years old; Protestant; by calling bricklayer in Mügeln, now private in the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103.
As to Case: With Acting-Sergeant-Major and some other men—there were also present some Marburg Jäger—I fetched the occupants out of a house in Dinant which had been wrecked by the impact of a shell, and set them at liberty. There were men, women, and children. They were then brought to a house where, at the instigation of an officer of the Marburg Jäger, they were protected and looked after by two Red Cross nurses.
In various houses in Dinant we found a quantity of small-shot ammunition lying piled up by the windows; everywhere the lowest pane was broken, evidently to allow a rifle to be pushed through the opening.
Read over, approved.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Kleberger, Lieutenant of Reserve and Officer of the Court.Signed: SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Court.
C. App. 53.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveKleberger, as Officer of the Court.SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Court.
Orainville,March 17th, 1915.
Summoned as witness there appeared Acting-Sergeant-Major Bartsch, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Erich Bartsch. I am 25 years old; Protestant; Acting-Sergeant-Major in the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103.
As to Case: As patrol leader I found in a series of houses in Dinant sporting ammunition lying all ready, from which it may with certainty be assumed that it had been used by the francs-tireurs before their expulsion, as ammunition for firing on the German troops.
From the streets I saw inhabitants in the cellars of burning houses, chiefly women and children, who were no longer able to save themselves from their perilous position. Through the men of my patrol, in company with the Marburg Jäger, their rescue was made possible, and the persons saved were lodged in houses which were guarded by German troops. At times the work of rescue could only be carried out with great danger to life on the part of the patrol.
I myself was witness to the fact that Sisters of Mercy, in company with German soldiers, fetched along provisions for the inhabitants who had been given protection.
I was also present when Colonel Hoch sent all non-interested persons to their homes, with the strict injunction not to let themselves be seen in the streets.
For the other inhabitants whose houses had been completely burned down, lodging was procured in the houses of the railway signalmen.
Close to Dinant a bullet was found by a hussar in the leaden centre of which a spear-shaped steel blade had been inserted. This missile was passed round in my platoon.
Read over, approved.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Kleberger, Lieutenant of Reserve and Officer of the Court.Signed: SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 54.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveKleberger, as Officer of the Court.SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
Orainville,March 17th, 1915.
Summoned as witness there appeared Reservist Hentschel, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Alfred Hentschel. I am 25 years old; Protestant; by trade a butcher in Dresden, now Reservist, 9th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103.
As to Case: In a house in Dinant which stood at the right of the bridge I found a severely wounded civilian, an old man with white hair, who still had his sporting rifle with him. I also came across civilians farther on in Belgium who had fired on the German troops with sporting rifles. In a village beyond Dinant, which cannot be very far from Dinant, I had my right hand injured by shot-wounds. The shot are probably still in the fingers.
On this side of the Meuse, where a convent stood, we distributed bread and what else we still had (cold meat, etc.) to the population, women and children, also men.
Read over, approved.
The witness was thereupon duly sworn.
Signed:Kleberger, Lieutenant of Reserve and Officer of the Court.Signed: SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 55.
Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108, Officer of the Court I.
La Ville-aux-Bois,January 20th, 1915.
There appeared Assistant Surgeon of Reserve, Dr. Sorge, 1st Battalion, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108, who, being warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Kurt Hermann Georg Sorge. I am 27 years old; Protestant; 1st Assistant Surgeon of the Ear Department of the town Infirmary of Friedrichstadt, Dresden.
As to Case: During the fighting of the 1st Battalion, Rifle Regiment No. 108, near and in Dinant, I was always in the immediate neighbourhood of the troops engaged. I have repeatedly bandaged riflemen whose injuries were to be ascribed to non-military rifles (shot-wounds).
Women, children, and old men were always spared. The burial of the inhabitants who had been shot, as far as my sphere of work extended, never took place on the same day. I have, moreover, repeatedly seen that bread and drink were handed to various inhabitants by the riflemen.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: Dr.K. Sorge, Assistant Surgeon of Reserve, 1st Battalion,Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Glaser, Lieutenant of Reserve, Adjutant, 1st Battalion,Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108, as Officer of the Military Court.
C. App. 56.
Wood south-west of La Ville-aux-Bois,February 5th, 1915.
By order of Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment "Prinz Georg" there appeared as witness Non-commissioned Officer Lauterbach, who, being warned to speak the whole truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Paul Rudolf Lauterbach. I am 27 years old; Protestant; by trade mechanician, now non-commissioned officer, 10th Company, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108.
As to Case: When, on our advance with the company, from the fort we had reached the Sorinnes-Dinant road in Dinant, I distinctly saw how a woman, standing at full height at a window, fired on the German soldiers with a rifle. The woman was immediately shot by a German soldier, and fell with the upper part of her body on the window-sill.
Volleys of rifle-fire were discharged from a remarkably large house on the west bank of the Meuse which was flying the Red Cross flag.
South of the Dinant-Sorinnes road by the Meuse, at a place which I am no longer able to fix, I saw lying there the charred body of a German Jäger whose feet were bound together with wire.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Paul Rudolf Lauterbach.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Lossow, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.Signed:Schubert, Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 57.
(Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100, 2nd Battalion.
Willmsbaracken,January 31st, 1915.
Deposition concerning the wounding by the discharge of (small) shot in Dinant.
There appeared as witness Grenadier Bischoff, who, being warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Karl Bischoff. I was born on January 18th, 1893, at Dürschau, near Zittau; Protestant; by trade butcher.
As to Case: When the 7th Company was marching through Dinant at about 7 o'clock p.m. on August 23rd we were fired on from two houses. I was struck in the left arm and the left leg. An examination of the wounds in the leg showed that they resulted from a discharge of small shot.
In the Carolahaus in Dresden a small round bullet was removed in an operation by Dr. Kretzschmar from the left foot; besides this a pellet was located in the left upper thigh, and is still there. On December 10th I returned again to the 7th Company.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Karl Bischoff.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:V. Loeben, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.Signed:Baier, Non-commissioned Officer and Clerk of the Court.
C. App. 58.
Present:Lieutenant of LandwehrOertel, as Officer of the Court.Acting-Sergeant-MajorSommerburg, as Clerk of the Court.
Proviseux,March 2nd, 1915.
There appeared for examination as witness Deputy-Officer Ebert, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Eduard Kurt Ebert, Deputy-Officer, Acting-Sergeant-Major, 11th Company, Grenadier Regiment No. 101; 33 years old; Protestant.
As to Case: On August 23rd, 1914, I came back early, towards 9 o'clock, from a patrol which I had undertaken on the previous evening from before Château Reux to Dinant in company with Lieutenant Schurig and some men of the 9th and 12th Companies of my regiment, which lay in readiness about half an hour's distance from Dinant. On the way back from Dinant to the regiment we found at the end of the town a non-commissioned officer and six men of Rifle Regiment No. 108 lying dead in the road. Some of the dead showed wounds on the face and chest, which Lieutenant Schurig, as well as myself, recognised without doubt as having been caused by small shot.
On the evening of the same day, probably about 5 p.m., I stood with the 12th Company of Grenadier Regiment No. 101 in the street on the bank of the Meuse below the place where the bridge was being built. All at once a heavy fire was opened on us from all sides, especially from above. A man of the 12th Company, who stood beside me, received a shot in the stock of the rifle. I removed the missile myself from the wood; it was a small round bullet. The firing then died down, and I was put across the Meuse. After I had crossed over, I received the order from Lieutenant and Adjutant Stark to guard the civilian prisoners who had been rounded up there, and later the military prisoners also. I then saw how men of my guard handed water to the captive women and children and gave them chocolate. I myself bandaged a wounded French sergeant.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Eduard Kurt Ebert.
The witness Ebert was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Oertel, Lieutenant of Reserve and Officer of the Court.Signed:Sommerburg, Acting-Sergeant-Majorand Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 59.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveDachsel, as Officer of the Court.Non-commissioned Officer of ReserveSteiger, as Clerk of the Court.
La Ville-aux-Bois près Pontavert,March 6th, 1915.
At the request of the Imperial German Court of Justice of the General Government in Belgium there appeared by order, as witness, Medical-Corps Non-commissioned Officer Rost, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, and he had been warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Paul Richard Rost, Medical-Corps Non-commissioned Officer, 6th Company, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108; 25 years old; Protestant.
As to Case: When I was attending the wounded in Dinant on the night of August 21st and 22nd, I noticed that behind the men, some in their shirt-sleeves, who were firing from the windows, the heads of women were also visible.
The next day I saw in the courtyard of the Château of Sorinnes, among the dead lying there on biers, Corporal Kirchhof of my company. He had an injury to the skull which could only have originated from a blunt instrument. The brain-pan was quite smashed in.
On August 23rd I found on a detached estate near Dinant, close by the road which leads from Sorinnes to Dinant, a German soldier almost completely carbonised, lying under a burnt heap of straw. He appeared to be a Jäger, judging from portions of his equipment which lay near. I was told by comrades that a second Jäger had been found in a field in the vicinity of Dinant, with his face burnt. The estate, where I found the Jäger, had been organised as a dressing-station for wounds.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Paul Richard Rost.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Dachsel. Signed:Steiger.
C. App. 60.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveDachsel, as Officer of the Court.Non-commissioned OfficerSteiger, as Clerk of the Court.
La Ville-aux-Bois près Pontavert,March 6th, 1915.
At the request of the Imperial German Court of Justice of the General Government in Belgium, there appeared by order, as witness, Rifleman Lange, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, and he had been warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Emil Bruno Lange, Rifleman of Reserve, 7th Company, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108; 25 years old; Protestant.
As to Case: In the night-fighting at Dinant on August 21st I saw an elderly woman firing at us from a house which was brightly lighted up by a lamp burning in the street. After some time she fell backwards; apparently she had been hit by us.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Emil Bruno Lange.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Dachsel. Signed:Steiger.
C. App. 61.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveDachsel, as Officer of the Court.Non-commissioned Officer of ReserveSteiger, as Clerk of the Court.
La Ville-aux-Bois près Pontavert,March 6th, 1915.
By request of the Imperial German Court of Justice of the General Government in Belgium, there appeared by order, as witness, Rifleman Vorwieger, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, and he had been warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Paul Vorwieder, Rifleman, 6th Company, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108; 20 years old; Protestant.
As to Case: In the street-fighting in Dinant on August 21st I saw in a house, which I was just about to enter, a woman about thirty years of age standing with a revolver in her hand, ready to fire.
On August 23rd I found in an open field, about 600 metres from Dinant, a dead Saxon Jäger—I recognised him as such by his uniform—with face completely carbonised. He lay on his back, his arms widely extended.
Read over, approved, signed.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Dachsel. Signed:Steiger.
C. App. 62.
There appeared as witness Reservist Hund, who stated:
As to Person: My name is Artur Otto Hund; I was born on February 15th, 1889, at Dresden; Protestant; at the time Reservist in the 12th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 178.
As to Case: I saw how the twelve-year-old son of the Lawyer Adam shot at me and two comrades with a revolver. The two comrades were wounded.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Hund.Signed:Ryssel, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.Signed:Schultz, Acting-Sergeant-Majorand Clerk of the Military Court.
Present:President of the Court,Schweinitz.Secretary,Lips.
Quarters of Infantry Regiment No. 178,March 3rd, 1915.
In the inquiry concerning the events in Dinant there appeared as witness Reservist Hund, who stated:
As to Person: My name is Artur Otto Hund; I was born on February 15th, 1889, at Dresden; Protestant; at the time Reservist in the 12th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 178; coachman by calling.
As to Case: I was sent with two comrades into the house to see if it was vacant, so that it could be turned into a hospital. We were shot at in the garden behind. When we went in the direction of the shots we found under a bush a twelve-year-old boy with a revolver in his hand. One of my comrades was fatally wounded by the shots, the other slightly. The lad was shot on the spot by one of the comrades who had also come up. We knew by photographs in the house that he was the son of the occupier of the house.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Hund.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Schweinitz. Signed:Lips.
C. App. 63.
There appeared Private Trenkler, 12th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 178, who stated:
As to Person: My name is Max Julius Trenkler; I was born on December 31st, 1891, at Markersdorf; Protestant; at the time on the active list, 12th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 178.
As to Case: I have seen civilians firing with (small) shot, and, in a like manner, children have fired on our soldiers in the rear of the convent.
Signed:Max Trenkler.Signed:Ryssel, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.Signed:Schultz, Acting-Sergeant-Major and Clerk of the Court.
Present:President of the Court,Schweinitz.Secretary,Lips.
Quarters of Infantry Regiment No. 178,March 3rd, 1915.
In the inquiry concerning the events in Dinant there appeared Private Max Julius Trenkler as witness, who, after the reading over of the preceding statement, declared: Details as to myself are correctly given; I am an excavation worker.
As to Case: On the afternoon of August 23rd, 1914, we lay in reserve on the northern slope of the Leffe valley opposite the convent in the wood. There we saw how a boy on the opposite slope behind the convent fired at us from a fir copse, and with small shot too. The shot fell in our vicinity. We called to comrades who were on the road to go and search for the lad behind the convent. They then brought him along. I do not know what they did with him.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Trenkler.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Schweinitz. Signed:Lips.
C. App. 64.
Reporton the encounter of the Machine-Gun Company with Francs-Tireurs at Leffe-Dinant on August 23rd, 1914.
Reporton the encounter of the Machine-Gun Company with Francs-Tireurs at Leffe-Dinant on August 23rd, 1914.
Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 102.
The Machine-Gun Company of Infantry Regiment No. 102 had started off from Houx in the rear of the regiment towards the evening of August 23rd, 1914, and had marched along the Meuse to Leffe. When the company had entered Leffe about midnight, and the last of their vehicles were passing a bridge, two white figures were all at once seen under it. The men of the company bringing up the rear noticed these people; two shots followed close upon one another, and immediately after two figures enveloped in white clothes were seen to jump into the Meuse. The marksmen of the Machine-Gun Company fired at the two persons, who, shortly after, were washed up dead to the bank. A closer examination showed that they were two men wearing female dress, who had wrapped themselves up in white cloths. Under the bridge stood two chairs, and from here the column in marching by had been fired on. It was supposed that the two francs-tireurs wanted to blow up the bridge, and, surprised by our people, flew to arms; as their retreat was cut off, they wanted to make their way through the water.
Shortly after, Infantry Regiment No. 177, which was marching behind us, was fired at from the factory which stands close to the bridge. As was ascertained, a passage led from the bridge into the factory, which was, at any rate, made use of by other francs-tireurs in order to withdraw in safety into the factory, from the windows of which they then opened a brisk fire.
Signed:Noack, Lieutenant and Company Leader.
C. App. 65.
Present:1st LieutenantWinkler, as Officer of the Court.Non-commissioned OfficerSchwertner, as Clerk of the Military Court.
NearSt. Marie,March 7th, 1915.
In the matter for inquiry concerning the firing on a Machine-Gun Company by francs-tireurs at Leffe-Dinant there appeared as witnesses Privates Büchner and Ulbricht of the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 102, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to them, were examined individually as follows:
1. Private Büchner.
As to Person: My name is Heinrich Max Emil Büchner, 22 years old; private in the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 102.
As to Case: On August 23rd, 1914, the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 102, marched from Houx along the Meuse by Leffe to the military bridge at Dinant. The company arrived in Leffe towards midnight of the 23rd and 24th August 1914. On the left of the line of march was a large factory. From this a brook or canal led into the Meuse. Our route passed over this brook or canal by a bridge. I marched with Ulbricht behind a provision waggon which brought up the rear. When the centre of the company was on the bridge, two shots came from the direction of the bridge towards us. I at once ran with Ulbricht to the bank of the Meuse to see if anybody there had fired. The two shots appeared to have been alarm shots, for immediately after several rifle-shots were fired from the factory. While we were running to the bank of the Meuse, two white figures came out from under the bridge in order to swim to the other bank of the Meuse. I immediately shot with Ulbricht at the two white figures. We reached one whilst still close to the bank, whilst the other was already in the middle of the Meuse. Both figures were hit, for the one who was already in the middle of the river suddenly drifted with the stream, while the other was floated up to our bank. Together with Ulbricht, I let myself down the steep bank with the aid of comrades who had come up, by means of a bearing-girth. We drew the white body from the water, threw back the white cloth, and saw by the face that it was a man. This man was wearing women's green stockings and a pair of black low shoes such as women wear. He had received a shot in the back of the head and was dead. We then went under the bridge; not far from the water stood two chairs. From the bridge, the canal went through a tunnel towards the factory. In this tunnel-canal, which was about 50 metres long, there was very little water; one could easily go upright in it. With Ulbricht, I had penetrated about two to three metres into the tunnel, but as our company was marching on and were being called by our comrades, we turned back. Behind us came men of the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 177; they went into the factory in order to search it whilst I and Ulbricht went to our company. The firing only came from the factory when the two white figures had discharged the two shots, the firing, which lasted about five minutes, evidently came from the windows of the factory and originated from several persons. During this time our company halted, then it moved nearer to the military bridge. As the firing from the factory opened again shortly after, the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 177, replied with the machine-guns. We now saw the flashes of the francs-tireurs' fire at the windows of the factory. The firing from the factory only ceased when the place had been set on fire.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Büchner.
2. Private Ulbricht.
As to Person: My name is Friedrich Richard Ulbricht, 22 years old; Protestant; private in the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 102.
As to Case: The statements of Private Büchner, which were read over to me, I fully endorse.
I have nothing further to add.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Ulbricht.
The witnesses were thereupon sworn.
Signed:Winkler, 1st Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.Signed:Schwertner, Non-commissioned Officer and Clerk of the Court.
C. App. 66.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveGlaser, as Officer of the Court.Acting-Sergeant-Major of Reserve ReferendarRichter,as Clerk of the Court.
Sinzbaracken,February 25th, 1915.
Rifleman Kähler, 1st Company, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, stated:
As to Person: My name is Emil Robert Kähler, 22 years old; Protestant; electrician at Kiel, on active service since October 14th, 1913, in the Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108.
As to Case: On August 23rd, 1914, I saw in a street at Dinant a civilian, about twenty-seven years old, who wore a band on the left arm with the Geneva badge, and who fired a revolver from a house door at a Pioneer, but without hitting him. I thereupon shot the civilian. The Pioneer took the revolver away from him.
Kähler took the oath as a witness.
Signed:Kähler.Signed:Glaser, Officer of the Court.Signed:Richter, as Clerk of the Court.
C. App. 67.
Present:Lieutenant of Reserve and Battalion AdjutantDachsel,as Officer of the Court.Non-commissioned Officer of ReserveSteiger, as Clerk of the Court.
La Ville-aux-Bois les Pontarvet,February 2nd, 1915.
There appeared by order as witness, Assistant-Surgeon Dr.med. Köckeritz, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him and he had been warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Albin Werner Köckeritz. I am Assistant-Surgeon of Reserve, Dr.med.; 28 years old; Protestant.
As to Case: During the night-fighting of August 21st to 22nd, I was in Dinant. I did not see any cruelties committed by our troops against the inhabitants, who fired with shot-guns and buck-shot from their windows. In the further fighting round Dinant also, at the close of which we moved into Dinant, I saw no misusage whatever of the civilian population.
That the bodies of inhabitants, who had been shot for taking part in fighting, were mutilated, is untrue. I saw, however, in a side-valley a German cavalryman, who had apparently been shot down, lying charred upon a grating and fastened with wire. This was in the vicinity of the Field Dressing Station put up by the 22nd and 3rd Battalion, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108 and the 1st Field Artillery Regiment No. 12 and stationed west of Dinant.
The firing, which came from the hospital denoted by a Red Cross flag, lighted up for a long way the opposite bank of the Meuse.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: Dr.Köckeritz.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Dachsel. Signed:Steiger.
C. App. 68.
(Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100, Officer of Court III.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveBandel, as Officer of the Court.Acting-Sergeant-MajorRanke, as Clerk of the Military Court.
Guignicourt,January 9th, 1915.
By order there appeared as witness:
Non-commissioned Officer Martin, 10th Company (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100, who, after having been warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Otto Kurt Martin, 22 years old; Protestant.
As to Case: Concerning the article "The incredible atrocities of the German soldiers," Martin made the following statement:
Inhabitants of the town of Dinant were only shot after it had been conclusively established that they had treacherously fired at us from the houses. Moreover, there was firing from houses which displayed the Red Cross. I did not see any mutilated inhabitants. I likewise do not know of any cruelties or crimes by our troops. I did not see that our troops were treated by a Belgian doctor. On the contrary, I noticed that wounded inhabitants were treated by German doctors and bandaged by our military non-commissioned officers. I know nothing of the remainder of the incidents mentioned in the article. I have nothing further to add.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Kurt Martin.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Bandel, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.Signed:Ranke, Acting-Sergeant-Major and Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 69.
Reportto (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100.
Reportto (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100.
In the fight at Dinant, heavy rifle fire was directed upon our troops from several houses on the west bank of the Meuse, especially from a large red Infirmary. These houses were all distinguished as hospitals by the hanging out of flags with the Red Cross, and were, in consequence, at first spared by our troops. Later, however, after the occupation of these houses by hostile, armed inhabitants had been definitely ascertained, and it was recognised that the Red Cross only served as a blind, the houses were brought under fire and destroyed. Witnesses to this are all the officers of the 1st Battalion (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100.
Signed:Zeidler, Captain and Battalion Leader,(Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100.
C. App. 70.
Present:Military Magistrate,Naumann.Secretary of the Military Court,Schwarzbach.
La Malmaison,December 10th, 1914.
In the inquiry concerning the violations of International Law committed against German troops, there appeared as witness Non-commissioned Officer Esche, 10th Company, Grenadier Regiment No. 100, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
My name is Bruno Arno Esche, 24 years old; Protestant; factory worker.
On Sunday, August 23rd, 1914, in the afternoon, I saw plainly with field glasses from the right bank of the Meuse that the windows of a large red house on the left bank of the Meuse were blocked up with boards, mattresses or coverlets. Loopholes were cut out in the house at the height of a man. The house was flying the Red Cross flag.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Bruno Arno Esche.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Naumann. Signed:Schwarzbach.
C. App. 71.
St. Erme,December 17th, 1914.
Staff-Surgeon Dr. Lange, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made, as witness, the following deposition:
As to Person: My name is Richard Gotthold Lange, 33 years old; Protestant; Staff-Surgeon and Battalion Surgeon of the 3rd Battalion Infantry Regiment No. 178.
As to Case: Directly after the entry of the battalion into Leffe it was surprised by shots which not only came from the two ranges of hills but also from the houses and cellars. The houses from which the shots came were thereupon searched for sharpshooters and the guilty civilians found there were shot. The houses from which there was no firing were searched in the same way, and their occupants were guarded in the street. It was reported to me that a sergeant-major of the 9th Company of my regiment had been severely wounded, whereupon I rode through the streets and was continuously fired at from the houses, especially from the cellars. I found two German wounded inside the houses, further, one dead in a cellar and another dead on a ground floor. As the number of the wounded accumulated, I saw myself obliged to arrange as a dressing-station the villa of Councillor Adam, where I was busy up till 11 o'clock at night. The number of the wounded German soldiers, on the handing over of the hospital to the 2nd Medical Company, amounted to about eighty men.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: Dr.Lange.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Starke, Officer of the Court.
C. App. 72.
Present:Military Magistrate,Naumann.Secretary of Military Court,Schwarzbach.
La Malmaison,December 8th, 1914.
In the inquiry concerning the violations of International Law committed against German troops, there appeared as witness Medical Non-commissioned Officer Ostmann of the 5th Company, Grenadier Regiment No. 101, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Otto Eduard Ostmann, 26 years old; Protestant; shop assistant by trade.
As to Case: On the evening of August 23rd, 1914, when it was getting dark, my company entered Les Rivages. It halted in the street at the beginning of the place. As there was no medical non-commissioned officer farther on, I went as far as the crossing-place over the Meuse and stood close by in the middle of the street. There was no one in the street in my immediate neighbourhood.
While I was facing the houses where some civilians were standing, a shot fell from a house to the right of me; I immediately felt a stinging pain under my right eye and felt blood running down my cheek.
My Battalion-Surgeon, Dr. Haupt, after examining the wound, said that a small shot had grazed me. The shot could only have been meant for me, since I was the only person standing in an open space of 2 metres in circumference.
I had duly put on the Geneva Cross band, which was visible.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Otto Eduard Ostmann.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Naumann. Signed:Schwarzbach.
C. App. 73.
Present:Military Magistrate,Naumann.Secretary of the Military Court,Schwarzbach.
La Malmaison,December 5th, 1914.
In the inquiry concerning the violations of International Law committed against German troops, there appeared as witness Transport Soldier of Reserve Müller, 2nd Field Pioneer Company, Pioneer Battalion No. 12, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
My name is Emil Erwin Müller, 26 years old; Protestant; fruit grower.
On the afternoon of August 25th, 1914, in company with Non-commissioned Officer Fehrmann, I saw a number of bodies of civilians and that of a woman lying in front of a house in a cross-street in Dinant. We entered the house. In the room on the right there lay an officer—a lieutenant of Infantry Regiment No. 182—a sofa-cushion under his head; his head and a part of his chest were covered with a white cloth. All three civilians wore the uniform of Infantry Regiment No. 182. In the adjoining room there lay stretched out dead a non-commissioned officer and five privates of the same regiment.
I lifted up the cloth covering the lieutenant and saw that he had received a shot in the head. I did not see any further injuries to the officer.
One of the privates who lay beside the lieutenant had his trousers unbuttoned in front so that one could see his body. This soldier had a shot in the lower part of the body. Extending from the larynx to at least 10 cm. to the left was a cut which was bloody and the edges were probably 1 cm. apart. The blood had flowed down towards the side. I am convinced that it could only have been a wound from a cut.
In the other room the trousers of one of the soldiers were unbuttoned so that one could see the body. This man had a cut or stab wound in the lower body about 3 cm. wide. The clothing of the remaining soldiers showed no disarrangement, they all bore shot-wounds.
The scene conveyed the impression that the officer, the non-commissioned officer and the men had been attacked in their sleep by the inhabitants in that quarter. I infer this from the fact that the officer had a sofa-cushion and the others either a cloth or a knapsack under their heads. The rifles stood in a corner.
In the house with Fehrmann and myself was also Pioneer of Reserve Kretzschmann.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Emil Erwin Müller.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Naumann. Signed:Schwarzbach.
C. App. 74.
By order of the Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment "Prinz Georg" No. 108 there appeared Staff-Surgeon of Reserve Dr. Holey, who, having been warned to speak the whole truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Franz Alfred Holey. I was born on September 21st, 1878; Protestant; practising physician in civil life, during the war, Staff-surgeon and battalion-surgeon with the 3rd Battalion, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108.
As to Case: On August 23rd, as we were proceeding to Dinant, my attention was drawn by Major von der Pforte, a short distance from Dinant, to the body of a German soldier, who had been fastened with wire by the hands and feet to pegs which had been driven into the ground. The body was almost completely carbonised, and to all appearances some highly inflammable liquid had been poured over it. According to the state of the existing lines of demarcation, the man must have been burnt alive. By the remains of the uniform, particularly the buttons, he was plainly to be recognised as a German soldier.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: Dr.Holey, Staff-Surgeon of Reserve.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Further remark: The body lay in the neighbourhood of an estate near the marble quarries.
Signed:Lossow, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.Signed:Schubert, Acting-Sergeant-Majorand Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 75.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveDachsel, as Officer of the Court.Non-commissioned Officer of ReserveSteiger, as Clerk of the Court.
La Ville-aux-Bois, near Pontarvet,March 6th, 1915.
By request of the Imperial German Court of Justice of the General Government in Belgium there appeared by order as witness Corporal of Reserve Wahl, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, and he had been warned to speak the whole truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Hermann Kurt Wahl, 22 years old; Protestant; Corporal of Reserve, 5th Company, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108; shop assistant at Deuben, near Dresden.
As to Case: On the march to Dinant on August 23rd, I saw lying in a ditch by the road to the east of the Sorinnes-Dinant road a dead Jäger. His hands and feet were bound together with wire. The body was otherwise completely charred. I was only able to recognise that he was a Jäger by the articles of equipment lying near.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Hermann Kurt Wahl.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Dachsel. Signed:Steiger.
C. App. 76.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveDachsel, as Officer of the Court.Non-commissioned Officer of ReserveSteiger, as Clerk of the Court.
La Ville-aux-Bois,March 7th, 1914.
By order there appeared as witness Rifleman Willkommen, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, and he had been warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Paul Robert Willkommen, rifleman, 7th Company, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108; 22 years old; Protestant.
As to Case: On the afternoon of August 23rd, I found a completely charred body quite close to an estate near Dinant, where we had set up a dressing-station. On closer inspection it proved to be a Saxon Jäger whose hands and feet had been tied up. He lay in the ditch close to the road. We covered him with straw. That he was a Saxon Jäger I recognised with certainty from his buttons and other articles of equipment.
On this day, before we marched through Dinant and crossed the Meuse, my company made a halt at an estate near Dinant. The inhabitants of the estate—several men, women, and children—fetched us water. I and several of my comrades gave in return some cigars to the men and sweetstuff to the children.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Paul Robert Willkommen.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Dachsel. Signed:Steiger.
C. App. 77.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveDachsel, as Officer of the Court.Non-commissioned Officer of ReserveSteiger, as Clerk of the Court.
La Ville-aux-Bois,March 7th, 1915.
There appeared by order as witness Corporal Oehmigen, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, and he had been warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Otto Albert Oehmigen; corporal, 6th Company, Rifle (Fusilier) Regiment No. 108; 23 years old; Protestant.
As to Case: Before we marched through Dinant on August 23rd I saw in a cabbage field near Dinant the body of a Saxon Jäger with a charred face lying on his back. He lay in the middle of the field, not by the road. I did not notice whether his feet and arms were tied.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Otto Albert Oehmigen.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Dachsel. Signed:Steiger.
C. App. 78.
Prouvais,February 24th, 1915.
By order of Field Artillery Regiment No. 12 there appeared as witness this day Captain von Lippe of the Light Munitions Columns, 2nd Division, 1st Field Artillery Regiment No. 12, in order to be examined on oath regarding the occurrences in Dinant. Captain von Lippe stated:
As to Person: My name is Fritz von Lippe. I am 40 years old; Protestant; estate-tenant by calling, attached to the Light Munitions Column of the 2nd Division, Field Artillery Regiment No. 12.
As to Case: On August 23rd, 1914, behind the firing position of the 2nd Division, 1st Field Artillery Regiment No. 12, I saw the bodies of a rifleman and a Jäger. One had his eyes gouged out, and the other lay half burnt under a heap of straw with hands and feet tied together.
Captain von Lippe testified his statements on oath, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Fritz von Lippe.Signed:Haase, 1st Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.
C. App. 79.
St. Erme,December 17th, 1914.
Acting-Sergeant-Major Göpfert, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Oswald Emil Göpfert. I am 27 years old; Protestant; battalion drummer, 3rd Battalion, Infantry Regiment No. 178.
As to Case: When my battalion was entering Leffe, numerous shots came from almost all the houses. We supposed at first that the shots came from soldiers; however, it could only have been civilians, since no soldiers were found in the houses. I saw with my own eyes that a civilian fired at and wounded Captain Franz. Only the men who were implicated in the firing from the houses were shot, while the old men, women, and children were taken to the convent. I was myself present when an old man, who had been fetched out of a house, was separated from the guilty civilians and taken to the convent.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Göpfert.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Starke, Officer of the Court.
C. App. 80.
Guignicourt,January 8th, 1915.
Deposition.
There appeared, as witness, Lieutenant of Reserve Löser of the 5th Company, (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100, who, having been warned to speak the truth, made the following statement:
My name is Walter Löser. I am 28 years old; Protestant; Forest-referendary on the State Forest Preserves, Elster II. at Adorf in Saxony.
As to Case: On entering Dinant the 5th Company, (Guards) Grenadier Regiment No. 100, was ordered to fire only at civilians who were themselves shooting at our troops. The order was everywhere complied with. No atrocities were committed by our troops. I even know of cases where our troops treated with the greatest consideration the innocent inhabitants of Dinant, who evidently were suffering under the critical condition of the time. I remember to have seen how the men of our regiment carried infirm old people and children through the rows of burning houses with the intention of rescuing them.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed:Löser, Lieutenant of the Reserve.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Von Loeben, Lieutenant and Officer of the Court.Signed:Baier, Non-commissioned Officerand Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 81.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveKleberger, as Officer of the Court.SergeantRichter, as Military Clerk of the Court.
Orainville,March 17th, 1915.
Summoned as witness there appeared Non-commissioned Officer of Reserve Teubner, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Georg Teubner. I am 26 years old; Catholic; by trade a locksmith at Schirgiswalde, now non-commissioned officer of Reserve, Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103.
As to Case: In the night, after we had crossed the Meuse, two platoons of the Machine-Gun Company lay by the railway; an infantry guard lay opposite. In the house where the guard lay were already some civilians. In the early morning a Belgian woman came to us and gave us to understand by motions of the hands—we could not understand French—that somewhere a house was on fire, and that we were to help. We saw that something must be particularly amiss there, and some of the men followed the woman with tools (hatchets, etc.). I was not able to go at once myself. When, later, I was on my way to the burning house I met the men with the rescued civilians who had stayed in the cellars and had been buried by the débris. They were men, women, and children—among them a priest. The people were taken to the guard, and there examined; later they were again released.
In the last house of a village behind Dinant we found a large quantity of ammunition (shot and spear-like missiles), which were evidently placed there for use. In the gable-roof were openings similar to loopholes.
On the march farther I saw a civilian who had been shot lying by the corner of a house; he had a gun still in his hand—it was a double-barrelled sporting-gun.
Read over, approved.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Kleberger, Lieutenant of Reserve and Officer of the Court.Signed: SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 82.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveKleberger, as Officer of the Court.SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Court.
Orainville,March 17th, 1915.
Summoned as witness there appeared Corporal Richter, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Max Gustav Richter. I am 23 years old; Protestant; by trade a chairmaker at Bärenstein, now corporal, 6th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103.
As to Case: The 6th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103, after the fighting at Dinant; was detained to guard the bridge. Lieutenant Lemke was Local Commandant of the district allotted to us. We lay there four to five days. During these days Lieutenant Lemke had those civilians who were innocent taken to a house and looked after. The people received bread, meat, potatoes, and milk.
Read over, approved.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Kleberger, Lieutenant of Reserve and Officer of the Court.Signed: SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 83.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveKleberger, as Officer of the Court.SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
Orainville,March 17th, 1915.
Summoned as witness there appeared Lieutenant Lemke, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Martin Lemke, 27 years old; Protestant; merchant at Zürich, now Lieutenant of Reserve, 6th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103.
As to Case: One night between the 23rd and the 26th August 1914, a large column of 3700 captured Belgian soldiers came through Dinant. I had been left behind with a platoon of the 6th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103, as bridge-guard, and was, during the days named, Local Commandant of Dinant-Bouvignes. This long column of prisoners I lodged in double columns of route on the railway track in the neighbourhood of the station at Dinant. At intervals 100 paces I had lighted large wood-fires. Towards 3 o'clock a heavy fusillade broke out. Two Belgians jumped down from the railway embankment into the road and were shot by my sentries. A wounded Belgian was at once taken to the "Red Cross" near by, where a small-shot wound in the posterior was able to be ascertained with certainty. The firing with small shot came down from the wooded height on this side of the railway track amongst the resting column, and the result was, that a panic broke out among the prisoners, of which the two Belgians were the victims. The Belgian officers present, as well as the Mayor of Bouvignes, to whom I explained the affair, expressed their indignation about the francs-tireurs.
The inhabitants were well treated by the soldiers under my command. On August 24th a number of women, children, and men were fetched out of the cellar of a burning house on the road to Bouvignes by our soldiers at the risk of their lives. During those days I provided with victuals a total of over fifty inhabitants, mostly women, also children and various men belonging on the average to the better classes. Among them were also patients from the wrecked hospitals. An old lady who could not walk was carried by our soldiers to the "Red Cross." We provided the people with woollen coverings for the night, and gave up some mattresses from our district, which had been quite forsaken. For the invalids and a little child we provided milk. For the "Red Cross" in Bouvignes, where some twenty wounded French soldiers were lying, among them one Major and one 1st Lieutenant, we also provided victuals, especially flour for baking bread. The people could not adequately express their gratitude. The Lord of the Manor at Bouvignes, the Mayor of Bouvignes, a Mons. van Willmart of the same place, have taken a note of my home address in order, after the war, to inquire after my welfare. The people had all acquired a high opinion of Germany. Mons. van Willmart even wants to visit me after the war. A health-resort patient at Dinant, a legal official from Brussels, who was staying there with his two sisters, has written a card to my mother to testify his gratitude.
Read over, approved.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Kleberger, Lieutenant of Reserve and Officer of the Court.Signed: SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 84.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveKleberger, as Officer of the Court.SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
Orainville,March 17th, 1915.
Summoned as witness there appeared Captain Schröder, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Severin Schröder. I am 34 years old; Protestant; Captain and Company Chief, 6th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103.
As to Case: My company was bridge-guard on the left Meuse bank from the 23rd to the 24th August. In some houses were from 150 to 200 civilian prisoners, among them also many women and some children. I had the provisions brought together from the partially destroyed houses in order to provide for my company. On the petition of some women for victuals I gave them bread, rice, and sausage, and some for the remainder of the civilians.
I had explained to the inhabitants that nothing would happen to them as long as they remained in the houses under the protection of the company. A number were let go at their request, as they did not appear to be under suspicion. Men who seemed open to suspicion were detained; some women remained voluntarily. When I was relieved, Lieutenant Lemke, who remained behind with his platoon, took over the prisoners.
Read over, approved.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed:Kleberger, Lieutenant of Reserve and Officer of the Court.Signed: SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
C. App. 85.
Present:Lieutenant of ReserveKleberger, as Officer of the Court.SergeantRichter, as Clerk of the Military Court.
Orainville,March 17th, 1915.
Summoned as witness there appeared Captain von Lüder, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Georg von Lüder. I am 41 years old; Protestant; Captain and Battalion Commander, 2nd Battalion, Infantry Regiment No. 103.
As to Case: On August 23rd, 1914, as Company Chief, I led the Machine-Gun Company. This was transported late in the evening on pontoons across the Meuse. The company remained until midday of August 24th, on the other bank of the Meuse, to await the arrival of the vehicles which were to reach the left bank of the Meuse by the bridge erected by the Pioneers. When the vehicles arrived in the afternoon of August 24th the company marched off.