The German Army in Belgium, the White Book of May 1915Germany. Auswärtiges Amt
History
The German Army in Belgium, the White Book of May 1915
Germany. Auswärtiges Amt
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities; World War, 1914-1918 -- Belgium
We had just spread out our maps and were informing ourselves with
regard to the situation when Acting-Sergeant-Major Fischer returned by
motor from the III. Reserve Corps and reported that the III. Reserve
Corps before Antwerp was attacked and asking for immediate support
from the IX. Reserve Corps. At that time about half of our corps was
detrained and the other half still on the rails. The Chief of the
General Staff and I immediately went to see the General in command.
Meanwhile the greater part of the officers of the General Staff with
the horses had arrived and were still busy with the unloading. It must
also be mentioned that on driving up to the battlefield the Commanding
General ordered the alarm to be sounded, and the troops already
quartered in Louvain were ordered to the battle-ground.
At 9 o'clock p.m. the General, the Chief of the General Staff, and I
returned to Louvain by motor-car. The battle took place at Bueken,
7 km. north of Louvain. On returning to Louvain we already found in
the villages situated between Bueken and Louvain regular troops (of
the Landwehr) who declared that our men were being fired at in the
surrounding villages. We saw ourselves how all the traffic was stopped
in a village because firing from the houses had taken place. All
troops warned the Commanding General from going into the town because
street-fights were taking place there. But the Commanding General
declared that he would not leave his Staff in the town if fighting
were going on, and he wished to return to the Staff. We were therefore
obliged to get out when we got into Louvain. The Commanding General,
with the chauffeurs and we few officers, went through the dark town to
the market-place at about 10 o'clock p.m. During this march through
the town a flank fire was opened on us every time we turned a street
corner. Suddenly, the Staff veterinary surgeon of the corps arrived and
reported that the Staff of the General Commandant had been attacked,
and that the horses were either shot or had stampeded. The men were
firing on the houses. The baggage therefore was safe, only the horses
were gone. We went first of all to the town hall, and there found a
number of hostages who had been taken in the meantime. My brother,
Lieutenant v. Klewitz, now told the hostages in the presence of the
Commanding General that they would be shot if the firing in the town
did not cease at once. The hostages then begged to be allowed to use
their influence in the streets. Lieutenant v. Klewitz then passed
through the town with the hostages, and the inhabitants were exhorted
to be quiet. We then went to our Hôtel Métropole. When we arrived there
we found in front of the house a civilian, shot. It appeared that this
man had sat in the Hôtel Métropole, and when the hotel was searched
he had been found in a room, armed, and had wounded two soldiers,
whereupon the soldiers shot him in a hand-to-hand fight and threw
him out of the window.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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