Court of the Mobile Commissary Commando, 1, VII. Army Corps.
Present:
President, ELBLE.
Secretary, CASSER.
PÉRONNE, _December 29th, 1914_.
There appears on citation as witness Paymaster Otto Rudolph, Reserve
Railway Constructing Company No. 11, at present at Péronne, who, after
the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, was examined as
follows:
As to Person: My name is Otto Rudolph, aged 34; Protestant; police
officer at Worms.
As to Case: The Reserve Railway Constructing Company No. 11, of whom I
am paymaster, marched into Louvain on August 24th, 1914. My Commandant
instructed me to arrange for quarters for the officers and the horses
of the company near the principal railway station. I first applied to
the proprietors of the hotels in the station square, especially to the
proprietor of the Hôtel "Maria Theresa." Everywhere I was received
in the kindest way. As the rooms of the hotel were, however, already
engaged by officers of other units of troops, I could not get the
necessary rooms. I therefore tried to find quarters in the main road
leading from the town hall direct to the station, but the name of which
I have forgotten. Here the necessary rooms were put at my disposal in
the kindest way. In the house No. 105 of this street I found quarters
for three officers. In the house diagonally opposite, the apartments of
a bank official, I was also well received.
The quarters were not occupied on this day, because the company was
trench-digging at the station during the whole night.
On the following day I had requisitioned vegetables, straw, etc., at
Linden and Kessel-Loo, the latter a suburb of Louvain. The various
farmers fulfilled my requirements in the kindest way. In the evening I
returned from the requisitioning. On the way, in the suburb Kessel-Loo,
male civilians, who had assembled in imposing numbers, intimated to
me that the English had succeeded in breaking through near Louvain.
On inquiring for the messenger who had brought this news I heard
that priests had related it. I also remember actually to have seen
three priests at the eastern exit of the village at about 7 o'clock
p.m. They went through the streets singly, and here and there made
communications to the people. As I heard the firing of cannon at no
very great distance, I hurried to reach the main station at Louvain.
I arrived there at about 8 o'clock p.m. At about 9 o'clock I suddenly
saw, near the station, a rocket go up. At the same moment I heard
violent gun-fire. In order to inform myself regarding the firing, and
to have a better view, I went to a "G"-car of the company transport,
which was about 30 metres distant from the station square. From
the open peep-hole of the "G"-car I obtained a good outlook over
the station square and towards the road that connects Louvain with
Kessel-Loo. I saw quite clearly firing upon the railway train from the
roof of the third house of the street opposite to the train entering
Louvain. I also remarked firing towards the station square from a
window on the third floor of an hotel. From a window of the Hôtel
"Maria Theresa" firing upon the station square took place. During the
firing, the station square and the adjacent streets, which I was able
to overlook, were filled with our troops. The firing could only be
intended for our troops. Our men replied to the firing. I myself fired
at a window of the second floor of the fifth house of the road that is
parallel to the train, from which a civilian, whom I could clearly see,
was firing.
After our side had received the signal to stop firing, I went to the
station square; this may have been at about 10.30. A General there
had instructed the field-gendarmes to search the houses from which
firing had taken place for arms and ammunition. On my report of what I
had seen, a search was also made in the third and fifth houses of the
street parallel to the train. In both houses suspected persons with
guns and suitable ammunition were found. One of these persons who was
examined at the station had cartridges which fitted the guns in his
pocket.
At about 12 o'clock p.m. several civilians, among them about six or
seven priests, were shot in the station square. Suddenly a window was
opened on the second floor of the Hôtel "Maria Theresa," where I had
received information in such a trustworthy manner during my search for
quarters on the previous day. I saw a male person who repeatedly fired
upon the troops assembled in the station square. Firing also took place
from houses whose inhabitants had wished to signify their friendliness
by flying white flags.
On the following day, August 26th, at about 12 o'clock, I again went
to the station square. A large number of male and female inhabitants
of Louvain were there. Among the male inhabitants who were held as
hostages I recognised the bank official who was the proprietor of the
house in the Rue de la Station in Louvain. I entered into conversation
with him; he told me that the Belgian Garde Civique had fired from his
house, as well as from house No. 105 in which I had intended to engage
quarters. When asked why he had permitted it, he told me that on August
25th, 1914, at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, members of the Belgian
Garde Civique had appeared and had forcibly seized the houses under
threat of death; he said that the citizens of Louvain did not wish this
treacherous firing, but had been forced by the Garde Civique to put up
with the firing from the houses.
At about 2 o'clock p.m., when a few of the houses in the main street
of Kessel-Loo, opposite the main railway station, had been set on
fire, firing took place from the other houses of this street whose
inhabitants had on the previous day conversed with me apparently in the
kindest way.
In my opinion, supported by the foregoing personal observations, this
treacherous firing was organised according to plan.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: RUDOLPH.
The witness was then sworn.
Signed: ELBLE, President.
Signed: CASSER, Secretary.