The Martyrdom of Belgium: Official Report of Massacres of Peaceable Citizens, Women and Children by The German ArmyBelgium. Commission d'enquête sur la violation des règles du droit des gens, des lois et des coutumes de la guerre
History
The Martyrdom of Belgium: Official Report of Massacres of Peaceable Citizens, Women and Children by The German Army
Belgium. Commission d'enquête sur la violation des règles du droit des gens, des lois et des coutumes de la guerre
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities
“While some of us were carrying the corpses along I saw a case where
they had stopped and called to a German doctor. They had noticed that
the man whom they were conveying was still alive. The doctor examined
the wounded man and made a sign that he was to be buried with the rest.
The plank on which he was lying was borne on again, and I saw the
wounded man raise his arm elbow-high. They called to the doctor again,
but he made a gesture that he was to go into the trench with the others.
“I saw M. X---- carrying off the body of his own son-in-law. He was
able to take away his watch, but was not allowed to remove some papers
which were on him.
“When a soldier, seized with an impulse of pity, came near us, an
officer immediately scolded him away. When all the bodies had been
interred, certain wounded were brought to the Church. Officers
consulted about them for some time. Four mounted officers came into
the Square, and, after a long conversation, we with our wives and
children were made to fall into marching order. We were taken through
Tamines, amid the debris which obstructed the streets, and led to
Vilaines between two ranks of soldiers. Think of our mental sufferings
during this march! We all thought that we were going to be shot in the
presence of our wives and children. I saw German soldiers who could not
refrain from bursting into tears, on seeing the despair of the women.
One of our party was seized with an apoplectic fit from mere terror,
and I saw many who fainted.”
When the cortege arrived at Vilaines, an officer told the unhappy
people that they were free, but that anyone returning to Tamines
would be shot. He obliged the women and children to cry: “Vive
l’Allemagne.” The Germans burnt, after sacking them, 264 houses in
Tamines. Many persons, including women and children, were burnt or
stifled in their own homes. Many others were shot in the fields. The
total number of victims was over 650. The Commission of Enquiry
devoted special attention to ascertaining whether the inhabitants of
the village had fired on the German troops. Every surviving witness
unanimously declared the contrary. They explained the massacre of
their fellow-villagers by the fact that the Germans attributed to the
inhabitants the shots which had been fired by the French skirmishers,
or perhaps to the anger produced among the Germans by the success of an
attack which had been made on them that night by the French troops.
(III.) PILLAGE AND MASSACRE AT ANDENNE.
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