The Attack on the Offices of the 3rd Division
(Liége, August 6, 1914)
From Accounts by General Major Stassin, Commanders Vinçotte and
Buisset, Captains Lhermite and Renard, Adjutant Burlet and Private
Poncelet
The aspect of St.-Foi Street on August 5, 1914, will never be forgotten
by those who were there on that date. Officers and soldiers, covered
with dust, came hurrying along from the Quays and from St. Leonard
Street and Defrecheux Street, towards the offices of the Military
Headquarters of the fortified position. With feverish haste, they
hurried along through the crowds of young men in the street, who,
with their tri-coloured cockade in their buttonholes, were shouting
and singing in their enthusiasm, for they had all come to offer their
life for their country. Everyone was in high spirits, as the greatest
confidence and certainty of victory reigned supreme. The various
groups were chatting and joking with each other, and the arrival and
departure of the military couriers were greeted with amusing sallies.
"Bring me back a helmet!" called out one man. "I would rather have a
lance to make a hat-pin with for my wife!" cried another. Bursts of
laughter greeted every speech. Young men, rich and poor, were all there
together, fraternising with each other, all actuated by a fine burst
of patriotic enthusiasm. Here and there, forming a contrast to this
careless gaiety, were the farmers and cattle-dealers, in their smocks,
with their iron-tipped sticks. They all looked more or less anxious and
were discussing gruffly the requisition prices.
"Make way there!" called out a voice authoritatively.
A gendarme suddenly appeared, carrying a pigeon crouching in a woman's
hat. He was followed by a wretched-looking woman in tears, with
dishevelled hair, and by a shifty-looking individual. Both of them had
a shrinking attitude as they were hustled along. The man kept repeating
in a mechanical way: "Let us go! Let us go!"
"Down with all spies!" yelled the crowd and fists threatened the two
Boches, as they disappeared under the archway. Several carts, under
the care of a sub-officer, followed. They were full of weapons and war
equipment of various kinds. The news soon spread that fifteen thousand
guns had just been discovered in a cellar in St. Marguerite Street and
more than fifty thousand lances, saddles, revolvers, and machine-guns
in a house in Jonckeu Street, which, from cellar to attic, had been
converted into a veritable arsenal. A thrill of anger ran through the
whole crowd.
Inside the house which was the Headquarters of the Staff, feverish
activity reigned. Night and day, without ceasing and without any
rest, the officers had been at work, for, we may as well confess it,
we had had too much faith in the loyalty of our neighbours, and the
ultimatum had taken us by surprise. Everything had to be thought of and
everything organised within a few days. Motor-cars, horses, cattle, and
fodder had to be requisitioned. Houses in the firing line would have to
be destroyed, trenches and shelters must be constructed. There were, in
fact, thousands of things to be done, in order to complete and improve
the defence of the Forts.
The telephone bell kept ringing and couriers rushed off every minute
along the various routes, carrying orders from the Governor to the
various points threatened.
Towards midnight, St.-Foi Street was silent again. At the Military
Headquarters, the officers continued their work and, at the door of the
building, a bureau carriage and several motor-cars were stationed.
Suddenly, shouts and cries of "Hurrah!" were to be heard. Surrounded by
a crowd, wild with delight, an open motor-car appeared.
Standing on the cushions, Engineer Hiard was to be seen waving a
German flag. It was the flag of the 89th Regiment of the Mecklenburg
Grenadiers, which a soldier, Fernand Lange, had just taken at the
Wandre bridge, at Herstal. Windows opened, and faces, with eyes
puffed up with sleep, appeared. Bare arms were to be seen waving
handkerchiefs, and the enthusiasm was beyond all words.
Gradually the tumult ceased once more and there was silence again.
Day broke and a dim light illumined the street. Suddenly a motor-car
appeared through the morning mist, and two lancers, who were seated in
it, cried out, "The English are here!" Behind them were five German
officers, preceding soldiers in grey uniform marching in two ranks and
shouldering guns.[3]
A crowd of men and women of the people accompanied them, shouting
joyfully: "Long live the English!" Commander Marchand was standing
in the doorway of the Headquarters building, smoking a cigarette. He
looked at the procession in amazement, wondering whether the men were
truce-bearers or deserters. He advanced a few steps to meet them in a
hesitating way.
Inside the building, the officers were still at work, taking no notice
of the noise in the street. By chance, Commander Delannoy went to the
window. His office is on the second floor and looks on to St. Leonard
Street. He saw about thirty Germans in this street. He rushed back to
the landing shouting: "The Germans are here!" Commander Vinçotte, who
was on the first floor, loaded his revolver and rushed down the stairs.
Commander Buisset and Lieutenant Renard followed him.
In the meantime, the five German officers walked slowly up to Commander
Marchand and, putting their hands behind their backs, armed themselves
with a revolver in the right hand and a dagger in the left. When within
two yards of the Commander, their chief officer, a tall, stout man,
whom we learnt afterwards was Major Count Joachim von Alvensleben,
spoke to the Belgian officer in English. No one knows what he said.
Marchand suddenly shouted: "You shall never pass!" All the German
officers, feigning no longer, fired immediately. Marchand and Vinçotte
fired back. Three German officers fell. Alvensleben rushed to the door
to enter the house, but Vinçotte forthwith fired four shots at him, and
the Major fell forward head first. The last German officer fell at his
side, brought down by Captain Lhermite with the butt end of his gun.
Following the example of their chiefs, the enemy soldiers opened fire,
holding the butt end of their guns on their hips. They aimed badly and
the shots grazed the walls. Commander Sauber sprang out of the carriage
standing at the door, and discharged his Browning on the assailants.
A German slipped behind the motor-cars and aimed at Sauber from the
footpath. He missed the Commander, but hit Marchand, who fell down,
wounded at the back of the neck and in the chest.
At this moment, about twenty Germans turned the corner of the street
and rushed to the rescue of their countrymen. Hidden behind a barrier,
they fired into the windows and entrance hall. Colonel Stassin, Chief
of the Staff, was working with General Leman in a back room of the
ground floor. At the sound of the shooting, he rushed along the hall
and, in spite of a shower of bullets, out into the street. A terrible
sight awaited him there. Commander Marchand was lying in a pool of
blood, and four Belgian officers were fighting courageously with about
thirty Germans. The Colonel did not hesitate a moment. Before all
things, the Governor must be saved. He returned to the office and took
the General to the Royal foundry which adjoins the buildings. Helped
by Captain de Krahe and Captain Lebbe, the two chiefs scaled the wall,
between the houses, and, by taking St. Leonard Street, reached the
Vivegnis station. From there, they went by carriage to the Loncin
Fort, where the Governor remained.
In the meantime, Commander Vinçotte, in order to cover the General's
retreat, called together the soldiers and the gendarmes of the Guard
and led them to the attack, seconded by Captain Buisset, Captain
Lhermite, and Lieutenant Renard. With a gun which he found in the
street, Commander Hauteclerc joined in the attack. The Belgians were
ten against thirty, but, in spite of this, they sustained the fight
with advantage to themselves. On their knees on the ground, crouching
down on the footpath, or sheltered behind doors, they avoided the
enemy's balls, whilst their well-aimed firing brought down many
victims. When about ten were killed, the others, most of whom were
wounded, took flight. One alone, the last of them all, posted opposite
the Headquarters, continued firing at the windows. Adjutant Burlet,
from the balcony above, brought him down. Undecided which way to
escape, the Germans stopped at the corner of St. Leonard Street. A few
of them waved the white flag.
"Forward!" cried Vinçotte, at the head of his courageous little troop,
rushing off in pursuit of them. In St. Leonard Street, two more Germans
were killed. Unfortunately the Belgians only had their revolvers and,
thanks to this, the remaining Boches escaped.
After placing men to guard each end of the street, the officers
returned to Headquarters and carried the body of Commander Marchand
into a room on the ground floor. The unfortunate officer gave no
sign of life. He had a frightful wound at the back of his neck and a
great clot of blood at his chest. A second victim, a gendarme, named
Houba, was placed at his side. In an adjoining room the wounds of
two soldiers were quickly dressed. The bodies of the enemy were then
searched. In Major von Alvensleben's pocket, a 1/60,000 map of Liége
was found, on which an itinerary was traced in pencil from Hermée to
Coron-Meuse. Had the Germans really followed that itinerary and had
they managed to come unseen across the waste land of the Vignes and
so enter the town? It is possible, but it is quite certain that their
departure was as mysterious as their arrival, as they were neither
seen to enter nor leave the town at any point of the fortified region.
It is much more probable that they were hidden inside the town when
they prepared this expedition. The following rumoured version of the
affair is much the more probable explanation. A few days before the
declaration of war, it is said that some Danes took a flat at Thier,
Liége. On the evening of August 5th, they paid their bill to their
landlady, an honest, unsuspecting woman, telling her that the town
did not seem safe and that they intended leaving the following night.
Towards three in the morning, she heard a noise and, getting up, went
to see them off. To her amazement, she saw that they were wearing
German uniforms. Without attempting any explanation, the Boches made
off. Were these men Alvensleben and his friends?
Whatever were the means employed, the attempt on the offices of the
3rd Division was a most daring exploit, and if it had not been for the
heroic resistance of the Staff officers and of the soldiers on guard,
the Germans would certainly have succeeded in capturing the Governor
of the stronghold and in getting hold of the documents concerning the
defence.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 3: Some of these soldiers belonged to the 7th Regiment of
Chasseurs.]