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
Present:
President, ELBLE.
Secretary, CASSER.
PÉRONNE, _December 29th, 1914_.
There appears on citation as witness Paymaster Otto Rudolph, Reserve
Railway Constructing Company No. 11, at present at Péronne, who, after
the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, was examined as
follows:
As to Person: My name is Otto Rudolph, aged 34; Protestant; police
officer at Worms.
As to Case: The Reserve Railway Constructing Company No. 11, of whom I
am paymaster, marched into Louvain on August 24th, 1914. My Commandant
instructed me to arrange for quarters for the officers and the horses
of the company near the principal railway station. I first applied to
the proprietors of the hotels in the station square, especially to the
proprietor of the Hôtel "Maria Theresa." Everywhere I was received
in the kindest way. As the rooms of the hotel were, however, already
engaged by officers of other units of troops, I could not get the
necessary rooms. I therefore tried to find quarters in the main road
leading from the town hall direct to the station, but the name of which
I have forgotten. Here the necessary rooms were put at my disposal in
the kindest way. In the house No. 105 of this street I found quarters
for three officers. In the house diagonally opposite, the apartments of
a bank official, I was also well received.
The quarters were not occupied on this day, because the company was
trench-digging at the station during the whole night.
On the following day I had requisitioned vegetables, straw, etc., at
Linden and Kessel-Loo, the latter a suburb of Louvain. The various
farmers fulfilled my requirements in the kindest way. In the evening I
returned from the requisitioning. On the way, in the suburb Kessel-Loo,
male civilians, who had assembled in imposing numbers, intimated to
me that the English had succeeded in breaking through near Louvain.
On inquiring for the messenger who had brought this news I heard
that priests had related it. I also remember actually to have seen
three priests at the eastern exit of the village at about 7 o'clock
p.m. They went through the streets singly, and here and there made
communications to the people. As I heard the firing of cannon at no
very great distance, I hurried to reach the main station at Louvain.
I arrived there at about 8 o'clock p.m. At about 9 o'clock I suddenly
saw, near the station, a rocket go up. At the same moment I heard
violent gun-fire. In order to inform myself regarding the firing, and
to have a better view, I went to a "G"-car of the company transport,
which was about 30 metres distant from the station square. From
the open peep-hole of the "G"-car I obtained a good outlook over
the station square and towards the road that connects Louvain with
Kessel-Loo. I saw quite clearly firing upon the railway train from the
roof of the third house of the street opposite to the train entering
Louvain. I also remarked firing towards the station square from a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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