Belgium -- History -- German occupation, 1914-1918
When the occupation comes to an end we shall report in detail the case
of a German engineer, who, in returning to us with the rank of officer,
presided over the systematic destruction by fire of the workshop
which he had managed; and the case of another engineer, who commanded
the gang ordered to set fire to the quarter adjoining the factory in
which he had been employed. Thanks to his knowledge of the locality,
he was able in a few seconds to set fire to the richest streets of
the neighbourhood. We shall be able to mark on a map the foundations
of reinforced concrete for the great German guns, constructed long
in advance, in the localities most favourable to bombardment; we
shall also point to the store of timber intended to serve for the
construction of a bridge over the Scheldt, which was found in a factory
established by Germans on the banks of the river. As for the store of
Mauser rifles discovered at Liége, our newspapers spoke of that at the
time.
Here is a fact which can be related without danger. A German officer
dropped from his pocket--we shall state later on in what locality--a
detailed plan of the town of Soignies, in which his troops had lodged a
few days earlier. This plan gives, besides the details of streets, and
even houses, information concerning the occupants of certain buildings:
pharmacies, breweries, tanneries, the Communal treasury, the bank, and
other establishments where the army might need to make requisitions.
The large buildings are coloured blue. It was there that the troops
were lodged. This plan, drawn in Chinese ink and coloured, dates from
fifteen years back according to the indications which it contains.
But it has quite recently been revised and completed, for the latest
alterations in the town have been added in pencil; improvement of the
Senne, creation of a public square, etc.
The case related by the _N.R.C._ of 19th August (evening) is
particularly instructive. When the Germans occupied Liége and Seraing
the Cockerill workshops naturally refused to work for them, since the
Germans wished them to make munitions for them. The German Colonel
Keppel then assumed the direction of the works, promising the workers
an increased salary of 50 per cent. And this officer did not blush to
sign his proclamation: "Attaché of the German Government at the Liége
Exposition." He had consequently profited by his privileged situation
in Belgium in order to make himself familiar with the organization of
the Cockerill works. But it must be supposed that matters were too
difficult for him, for Herren Koester and Noske (_Kriegsfahrten_, p.
21) assert that he had to abandon the position.
_The Mentality of the German Soldiers at the beginning of the Campaign._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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