Court of the Government-General at Brussels.
Present:
Dr. IVERS, Judge of Military Law.
Secretary, RAMBEAU.
LOUVAIN, _September 17th, 1914_.
Station Buildings.
First Lieutenant of Reserve v. Sandt, 2nd Westphalian Hussar Regiment
No. 11 and leader of the company, 2nd Mobile Landsturm Infantry
Battalion Neuss, declares the following:
As to Person: My name is Otto v. Sandt, born at Bonn, May 11th, 1869;
Catholic.
The witness was informed that the Governor-General, Field-Marshal
General Baron von der Goltz, had arranged judicial proceedings for the
purpose of ascertaining whether any German military persons; and, if
so, which, were guilty and deserving of punishment; he then made the
following statement:
As to Case: I arrived at Louvain from Neuss with the 1st Company, 2nd
Mobile Landsturm Infantry Battalion Neuss, on August 24th, 1914. My
company was quartered in closed ranks in an alarm quarter near the
station. The night passed quietly; on the morning of August 25th I
commenced at once to fall in 150 sentries as a railway guard. There
were no other troops in Louvain on this day except a section of railway
engineers, about 60 strong. During the day, great trains of troops of
the IX. Reserve Army Corps, coming from Liège, went through Louvain
towards Malines. At about 5 o'clock Colonel Schweder ordered me to
march with my company to the north-west exit of Louvain; at about 6
o'clock my company lay upon a small hill in a covered position. A good
deal of fighting was taking place about 1500 metres away from us. I
did not take part in it with my company. On the command of Colonel
Schweder we marched back to the station square at Louvain. On the way
to the town-hall square many German troops with the baggage passed us.
Inhabitants stood singly and in groups before the various houses. On
the way to the station square all was quiet; one could not anticipate
that the inhabitants were planning an attack. At about ten minutes
before 8 o'clock I was with my company in the station square near the
baggage that was ready to march. I stood with my company about five
minutes, when my company was suddenly and quite unexpectedly fired
at from all the surrounding houses, from the windows and attics. At
the same time, I heard lively firing in the station road and all the
adjacent streets; firing also took place from the window of my hotel
(Hôtel de l'Industrie), directly from my room.
We stood near the baggage; then we knelt down and fired upon the houses
opposite. After a short time the baggage horses and those of the
officers, some of which had been wounded by shots, ran away. I then
sought cover with my company inside the doors of a few houses. Five men
of my company were wounded in this attack. That so few were wounded can
be explained by the fact that the inhabitants fired too high. On the
command of Colonel Schweder I then led my company back, close to the
station.
An hour later an adjutant came who called my name--v. Sandt. He said
that he was an adjutant of His Excellency v. Boehn. The adjutant
asked me, "Can you swear that Belgians fired on your company from the
opposite and adjacent houses?" I replied, "Yes; I can swear that."
The adjutant then led me to General v. Boehn, who stood near. His
Excellency desired an accurate report. I gave my report exactly as I
have given it here before the Judge of Military Law, Dr. Ivers. After
having given my report, His Excellency said to me, "Can you swear to
the accuracy of what you have just reported to me, especially to the
fact that the inhabitants first fired from the houses?" I replied to
this, "Yes; I can swear to this."
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: OTTO V. SANDT.
The witness was then sworn.
Signed: Dr. IVERS. Signed: RAMBEAU.
Court of the Government-General at Brussels.
Present:
Dr. IVERS, Judge of Military Law.
Secretary, RAMBEAU.
LOUVAIN, _September 17th, 1914_.
Station Buildings, 4 o'clock p.m.
First Lieutenant v. Sandt added the following:
About half an hour after His Excellency v. Boehn had spoken with me
about the firing of the Belgians from their houses upon my company, and
after His Excellency had had these houses at the station set on fire,
and while they were blazing, with the exception of the house "Maria
Theresa" (an hotel which was not set on fire because near it were the
military benzine stores), two or three more volleys were fired from the
windows, and particularly from the roof of this hotel directly upon the
officers and men standing in front of the station. Besides my company,
about 150 soldiers of the 35th Reserve Regiment, just detrained, stood
in front of the station. It was only now that--after having removed the
barrels of benzine--we fired on the house and set it alight.
After this statement too had been read to the witness he declared it
also on the oath which he had taken at the first examination on the
morning of the same day.
Signed: OTTO V. SANDT.
Signed: Dr. IVERS. Signed: RAMBEAU.
Court of the Government-General of Belgium.
Present:
President, STEMPEL.
Secretary, STEMPER.
MALINES, _November 19th, 1914_.
There appears on citation Captain v. Sandt as witness, and after the
object of the examination has been made known to him, he is examined as
follows:
As to Person: As already stated.
As to Case: I can only confirm as perfectly true my statement of
September 17th, 1914, which has been shown to me again. Like my
commander, Schweder, I had taken up my quarters in the Hôtel de
l'Industrie at Louvain. I did not see myself the light signals shown
at the station, but soldiers of my company assured me repeatedly
in the most trustworthy manner that light signals had gone up near
the station, and the firing from the surrounding houses commenced
immediately afterwards. The shots from these houses were undoubtedly
fired by civilians. There were not yet any German soldiers in the
houses at that time. Our soldiers only fired after a lively fire had
been opened on them from the houses. Our troops marched into Louvain
in close order when they arrived from the fight at Bueken, and they
were not pursued by Belgian troops as far as Louvain. The Belgian
troops had been pressed back beyond Herent to Bueken. There was no
reason at all for our troops to fire prior to the firing from the
houses. I emphatically declare on my oath that it is altogether out of
the question that our troops should have previously fired upon each
other by mistake in Louvain. I was told that identification discs were
frequently found on shot civilians, so that one may assume that Belgian
soldiers in civilian clothes took part in the firing. I did not myself
see any mutilated German soldiers in Louvain, but soldiers of the
Marine Battalion--I think of the 7th--under the command of Colonel v.
Berund, told me credibly that a German soldier had been found in the
Hôtel de Suède with the head beaten in. According to their statement
another German soldier was found dead in the Rue Maria Thérèse, his
legs and arms having been chopped off. This house was consequently set
on fire.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: OTTO V. SANDT.
The witness affirmed the correctness of his statement, referring to the
oath already previously made.
Signed: STEMPEL. Signed: STEMPER.