App. D.
War Office.
Military Inquiry Office regarding the Breaches of Rules and Usages of
War.
THE UPRISING OF THE BELGIAN POPULACE IN LOUVAIN, 25TH TO THE 28TH
AUGUST 1914.
_Summary Report._
1. The uprising of the town of Louvain against the German troops of
occupation and the judgment inflicted on this town have found a lasting
echo in the whole world.
In the first place, because Louvain is a town famous on account of its
time-honoured University, its rich architectural monuments and art
treasures, the fate of which would interest wide circles; principally,
however, because of the action of the opponents of the German people,
especially of the Belgian Government, who have circulated and spread
abroad in the world by means of the Press, by their foreign diplomatic
representatives, and by agents sent everywhere, reports of the events
of August 1914, which were designed to prejudice public opinion against
the Germans.
The Commission appointed by the Belgian Government for inquiry into
the violation of the code of International Law and of the laws and
usages of war, has tried by every means to throw the blame for the
disturbances in Louvain on the German troops. In several reports it has
brought forward the accusation that the German troops, in violation of
International Law and without any reason, have attacked and ill-treated
the--so it is alleged--unsuspecting and peaceful inhabitants of
Louvain, have wounded and killed a great number, have plundered,
desolated, and burned, and, in fact, completely destroyed the town.
These accusations are false; moreover, it has been confirmed that
the German troops have acted in a manner free from reproach and have
committed no deeds in violation of International Law. On the contrary,
heavy blame attaches to the civil population of Louvain and the
neighbourhood for having, by reason of their disregard of the rules of
international law, and through their thoughtless and criminal action,
inflicted injury on the German Army, and also, as the result, on the
town of Louvain.
2. According to inquiries which were instituted, the events in Louvain
occurred as follows:
On August 19th, 1914, the first German troops marched into Louvain and
occupied quarters in the town. Intercourse between the inhabitants and
the troops, whose number and composition were continually changing,
appeared at first to be exceptionally good. No single case of excess
occurred. The German troops behaved themselves in exemplary fashion,
which even the Belgians recognised; further, the population of the town
made such friendly advances that the German soldiers in Louvain felt so
secure that many of them went about without arms (Apps. 2, 3, 7-9, 11,
18, 31, 36, 38, 40, 45, 48).
This peaceful picture suddenly changed on August 25th, 1914. On that
day Belgian troops from Antwerp made a thrust in the direction of
Louvain. The German troops in and about Louvain advanced to meet them;
further troops were sent from Liège via Louvain to the front. The
fighting took place on the road to Malines, near Bucken and Herent, in
the vicinity of Louvain. The fight ended in the heavy defeat of the
Belgians, who were thrown back in the evening towards Antwerp.
The inhabitants of Louvain, who had remained in secret communication
with Antwerp even after the occupation of their town, and who had
information of the impending attack by their countrymen, had apparently
not reckoned on this result of the fight. They held the erroneous
opinion that the projected breaking through of the Belgian Army must,
with the help of English troops, be successful, and saw in the advance
initiated by the Belgian troops a promise of success and also an
encouragement to themselves to take part in the fighting (Apps. 1, 3,
45, 48).
Already before the fight had been decided, a German company of the
Landsturm, which had been stationed at the north-western exit of
Louvain, marched back towards 7 o'clock in the evening to a place
situated at the east end of the town, near the station, in order
to establish themselves there. During their march through the town
everything was apparently still quiet. In the streets there were
isolated ammunition and baggage columns, and several small detachments
of German soldiers. There were no very large bodies of troops in
Louvain at this time (Apps. 3, 7, 8, 38).
Among the inhabitants of the town who observed the march through of
the Landsturm company were astonishingly large numbers of young men,
apparently belonging to the wealthier classes, who stood about in the
streets and retired slowly into the houses (Apps. 7, 10, 34, 46); women
and children were not to be seen.
The return march through the town of the Landsturm company and other
small bodies of troops most likely strengthened the inhabitants of
Louvain in the belief that the Germans were beaten and retreating, and
encouraged them to execute an apparently long-thought-out and prepared
plan to annihilate the Germans during their retreat through the town. A
little later, after the above company had arrived at the station square
and settled themselves to rest, about 8 p.m. German time, rockets shot
up in the town. Quite a number of soldiers saw first a green and then a
red rocket appear against the dark evening sky (Apps. 7, 8, 12-17, 22,
38, 45, 46).
At the same time, in consequence of this signal, the inhabitants of
Louvain began to open a furious fire from different parts of the town
upon the German troops who were in the town-hall square, the station
square, and the intermediate town quarters.
They shot with rifles, revolvers, and pistols out of cellars and out
of the windows of the buildings, and especially out of windows in the
roofs (Apps. 1-8, 7-13, 18-22, 24, 25, 29, 30, 32, 33, 36, 45-49);
the firing sounded in several places as if machine-guns were in use
(Apps. 2, 29, 38, 40, 42, 46, 49). The German soldiers were completely
surprised at this attack. Many of them were wounded and some were
killed before they could offer any resistance. Among the columns and
the baggage sections, which had drawn up in the streets, confusion
reigned, because the horses, who had shied from fright and were hit by
the bullets and small-shot, broke loose and were galloping through the
streets (Apps. 8, 18, 19, 37, 47).
An especially violent fire was poured upon the market-place and the
first échelon of the General Command stationed there. Several officers
and men were wounded or killed. The Staff of the General Command alone
lost 5 officers, 2 officials, 23 men, and 95 horses (App. 1).
The fire was most violent in the Rue de la Gare and at the station.
The Landsturm company, standing there between the baggage carts, was
obliged to retire into the station in order to find better cover. A
vigorous fire was also directed upon the troops drawn up at the Place
du Peuple (Apps. 6, 20, 46).
The horror of this treacherous attack was increased by the darkness
which had already fallen on the town, the street-lighting having been
destroyed. The surprised troops tried to assemble, sought to defend
themselves, and returned the fire. When this ceased for a moment they
entered the houses out of which shots had been fired, by the order of
their superior officers, and searched for the culprits. Several of
these had been killed in the fight (Apps. 1, 3, 29, 37); others were
found in possession of arms and were shot according to the usages
of war, after having previously been found guilty of unjustifiable
participation in the fight (Apps. 19, 20, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43, 44,
48). Many were able to escape through the back exits of the houses to
participate once more in the continual recommencing street-fights.
While these fights were raging, the General in command of the XI.
Reserve Army Corps, von Boehn, returned from the battlefield to the
town.
This was about 11.30 p.m. On his way to the town hall he was several
times shot at. So as to put an end to the street-fighting, he ordered a
brigade of the Landwehr to enter the town, and had the Mayor and other
distinguished citizens arrested as hostages. At his order they were
led through the town and told to order the insurgents in a loud voice
to cease their hostilities. Although accompanied by threats of severe
punishment, these orders had no effect. The population continued to
attack the troops. In their fury they even shot at the doctors, the
hospital orderlies, and at the sick and wounded who were under the
protection of the Red Cross (Apps. 9, 21, 25-28, 47). They paid so
little attention to the Geneva Convention that they also fired out of
houses from which flew the Red Cross flag (Apps. 29, 38); they even
directed their fire against a military hospital (Apps. 25, 27, 28). On
more than one occasion the use of explosives and bombs is vouched for
(Apps. 36, 37, 46); it is proved also that hot tar was poured upon the
German troops (Apps. 25, 29).
In some cases the population was even carried away to commit barbarous
atrocities on German soldiers who had become defenceless. Private Hoos
found in the cellar of a house the corpse of a German soldier whose
abdomen had been cut open with a sharp knife so that the intestines
were protruding (App. 35); one of the German soldiers had a revolting
mutilation inflicted upon him by one of the inhuman inhabitants, in
consequence of which he died (App. 37).
In the face of these brutal attacks, the German soldiers had to protect
themselves by energetic retaliatory measures. As had been threatened,
the inhabitants who had participated in the attack were shot, and
the houses out of which they fired were burned. It was impossible to
prevent the fire from spreading to other houses, and thus some rows
of them were destroyed. It was in this way also that the Cathedral
caught fire (App. 4). A further spreading of the conflagration was
prevented by our troops who, led by their officers, undertook the work
of extinguishing the fire in a self-sacrificing manner (App. 46).
Thanks to their efforts, only a comparatively small part of the town,
_i.e._ the quarter between the station and the town hall, suffered. The
magnificent town hall was saved through the efforts of our troops. The
burning houses lit up the dark night and enabled our soldiers to meet
the attack more effectively. Thus it diminished gradually; only here
and there a few shots were fired during the night. The next morning,
however, the attacks were renewed with great violence. The disturbances
still continued on this and the following days, though the hostages
were, on August the 26th and 27th, again led through the streets in
order to exhort the inhabitants to keep the peace (Apps. 1, 37, 38, 40,
44, 45, 47).
That the insurrection did not break out accidentally, but was prepared
long beforehand, can be proved, apart from the above-mentioned
rocket-signals which announced the beginning of the surprise attack, by
the following facts:
1. The circumstance that arms had been found in large quantities,
though these, according to the declaration of the Mayor, had been
already handed over on August 19th (Apps. 1, 20).
2. The observation that a great number of young men entered Louvain
and dispersed in the town (App. 34). It was easy for them to take up
quarters in the hotels and the lodging-houses left by the students.
3. Numerous stores of cartridges and explosives, which had been hidden
there by the population, exploded in the burning houses (Apps. 1, 2, 6,
37).
In accordance with these facts, the attack evidently was carefully
planned, and lasted for several days with the utmost stubbornness. The
length of time during which the revolt against the German military
force continued excludes any idea of spontaneous and excited actions on
the part of isolated persons. The direction of the treacherous revolt
must have been in the hands of highly placed persons. Everything points
to the fact that the authorities had a hand in the organisation. The
official headquarters of the Chief of the so-called Garde Civique were
in Louvain; he was still in the town immediately before the rising,
and the movement commenced there with the dispatch into Louvain of
undisciplined young men not wearing any distinctive badge or uniform,
who, together with soldiers transformed into civilians, concealed
themselves in the houses in order, while invisible themselves, to fire
at a suitable moment upon the apparently departing German troops.
The Belgian Government itself has never dared to speak about the
regular troops having participated in these actions. We are here
dealing with the perfidious deeds of francs-tireurs who were most
readily received and offered hiding-places by the population of
Louvain. The crimes of the Garde Civique will be unveiled to the whole
civilised world in the classical case of Louvain (Apps. 1, 30, 45, 48).
Unfortunately a number of priests also allowed themselves to be carried
away into misusing their influence upon the civilian population, and
encouraging them to shelter the insurgents; it is certain that some of
them even took direct part in the fighting (Apps. 1, 19, 34, 37, 38,
41, 42, 45, 48). Those who appreciate the authentic facts discovered
by the German Government regarding the case of Louvain, facts which
are not based upon hasty examinations of people labouring under strong
excitement and possessing little education, by equally agitated
examiners, but which are founded upon inquiries entered upon in a calm
and quiet spirit, will be able to judge for themselves what value can
be attached to other similar accusations on the part of the Belgians
against the German troops.
In the case of Louvain the Official Belgian Commission of Inquiry has
tried to account for the doubtless very embarrassing fact, so difficult
to be explained away, of the shots fired in the streets by maintaining
that the German troops had fired on their own soldiers. But it
conceals the point that the firing lasted several days and was renewed
continuously. This simple fact does away with the thread-bare attempt
to explain the beginning of the street-fights.
While the Belgian Commission of Inquiry so lightly brushes aside the
above-mentioned principal question of the violation of International
Law, it seeks to calumniate the German Army by accusations in isolated
cases. We have not been able to establish the truth of any of these
cases; the impartial person must not overlook in this matter on what
kind of evidence these cases are founded, nor how these accusations
recede into the background, compared with the principal question of
the origin of the street-fights. They are based on the depositions of
the same persons who are responsible for the statement that Louvain
was completely destroyed, and that of the whole town nothing but the
town hall and the station remained intact, as is asserted in the third
Report of the Commission and thus announced throughout the whole world.
The adjoining sketch shows how matters really stand with regard to the
conflagration; in reality not one-sixth part of the town, but only the
quarter in the proximity of the station, was destroyed by the fire
(App. 50).
One of the few positive calumnies can be brought home, because
it foolishly tries to cast a slur on the entire German Army
Administration; according to the fifth Report of the Commission,
a "large part of the booty (derived from the alleged looting) was
forwarded in military waggons and later on sent to Germany."
This allegation is a pure invention, for what has to be forwarded in
waggons and railway trucks is decided by the Army Administration, and
the latter has never made any arrangements of the kind.
The slight importance the Commission even attaches to the tales dished
up to them and unfortunately passed on without criticism is also shown
in the fifth Report, which mentions the execution of Bishop Coenraets
and Father Schmidt. The Commission even speaks about the "alleged"
execution, and adds without further ado the fairy-tale that the
compulsory spectators of this pretended scene were forced to show their
appreciation by clapping. It is impossible to admit more forcibly that
the hurriedly collected material was brought out in order to create
a sensation whereby truth and justice would have to suffer. One must
know, moreover, that--as can hardly have been concealed from the
Belgian Commission--Mons. Coenraets, who is safe and sound, is living
to-day with Professor Toels in Jirlen, Holland.
BERLIN, _April 10th, 1915_.
Military Inquiry Office, regarding the Violations of the Rules and
Usages of War.
Signed: BAUER, Major.
Signed: Dr. WAGNER, Councillor of the Supreme Court of Justice.