As to Person: My name is Heinrich Max Emil Büchner, 22 years old;
private in the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 102.
As to Case: On August 23rd, 1914, the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry
Regiment No. 102, marched from Houx along the Meuse by Leffe to the
military bridge at Dinant. The company arrived in Leffe towards
midnight of the 23rd and 24th August 1914. On the left of the line of
march was a large factory. From this a brook or canal led into the
Meuse. Our route passed over this brook or canal by a bridge. I marched
with Ulbricht behind a provision waggon which brought up the rear.
When the centre of the company was on the bridge, two shots came from
the direction of the bridge towards us. I at once ran with Ulbricht
to the bank of the Meuse to see if anybody there had fired. The two
shots appeared to have been alarm shots, for immediately after several
rifle-shots were fired from the factory. While we were running to the
bank of the Meuse, two white figures came out from under the bridge in
order to swim to the other bank of the Meuse. I immediately shot with
Ulbricht at the two white figures. We reached one whilst still close
to the bank, whilst the other was already in the middle of the Meuse.
Both figures were hit, for the one who was already in the middle of the
river suddenly drifted with the stream, while the other was floated up
to our bank. Together with Ulbricht, I let myself down the steep bank
with the aid of comrades who had come up, by means of a bearing-girth.
We drew the white body from the water, threw back the white cloth,
and saw by the face that it was a man. This man was wearing women's
green stockings and a pair of black low shoes such as women wear. He
had received a shot in the back of the head and was dead. We then
went under the bridge; not far from the water stood two chairs. From
the bridge, the canal went through a tunnel towards the factory. In
this tunnel-canal, which was about 50 metres long, there was very
little water; one could easily go upright in it. With Ulbricht, I
had penetrated about two to three metres into the tunnel, but as our
company was marching on and were being called by our comrades, we
turned back. Behind us came men of the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry
Regiment No. 177; they went into the factory in order to search it
whilst I and Ulbricht went to our company. The firing only came from
the factory when the two white figures had discharged the two shots,
the firing, which lasted about five minutes, evidently came from the
windows of the factory and originated from several persons. During
this time our company halted, then it moved nearer to the military
bridge. As the firing from the factory opened again shortly after,
the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 177, replied with the
machine-guns. We now saw the flashes of the francs-tireurs' fire at the
windows of the factory. The firing from the factory only ceased when
the place had been set on fire.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: BÜCHNER.