As to Person: My name is Gustav Voigt. I am 24 years old; Protestant;
Reservist of the 6th Company, Infantry Regiment No. 165.
As to Case: On the morning of August 6th found myself with seven
comrades separated from my detachment. In order to get cover we had
to creep through the gardens of a village lying just beyond Herve in
Belgium. We suddenly saw five Belgian soldiers, who held up their
arms and offered to surrender. They called to us, and when we reached
them we noticed that they had with them two German soldiers of the
10th Hussars in handcuffs. One of them brought to our notice that a
third hussar was hanging dead in the tree. We observed that the ears
and nose of the corpse had been cut off. The two hussars told us
also that the five Belgians, who were there, had hung and mutilated
their comrade. The Belgians were just on the point of slaughtering or
mutilating these two also, had we not arrived on the scene. We disarmed
the Belgians, took them prisoners, and handed them over to a party of
five Uhlans, who were already taking several Belgian prisoners away
with them. We, too, then joined the Uhlans in order to regain our
company, and, while passing through the village, were fired at from
the cellars and windows. The name of the village I do not know, but
it lies between Herve and a large coalpit shaft in the direction of
Liège. I myself was wounded in the street-fighting at Liège. On the day
before this occurrence our company had an outpost fight to the right
of Herve, in the course of which an Einjähriger of the 5th Company,
Infantry Regiment No. 165, was wounded and left behind. When we passed
this spot again on the following morning we found the body of the
Einjähriger lying under a garden fence; both his eyes had been gouged
out. We were all convinced that this had been done by villagers.
On about August 7th, as we were advancing towards Liège, we saw a
German infantry-man; I believe he belonged to Infantry Regiment No. 27.
He showed no marks of any shot wound, but was dead, and all his private
parts had been cut away.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: GUSTAV VOIGT.