In an unsigned note-book of a soldier belonging to the 32^{nd} Infantry
(IV Reserve Corps) we come across the following statement.
«3^{rd} September. _Creil._ The iron bridge has been blown up.
Consequently we burnt the streets and shot the civilians.»[3]
The regular French troops alone--the Engineers--had blown up the
iron bridge at Creil; the civilians had nothing to do with it. To
excuse these massacres, when they condescend to make any excuse these
note-books usually say: "_civilians_" and "_sharpshooters_" had fired
on our men. But the Convention of 1907, that "scrap of paper", signed
by Germany, stipulates that by its first Article the laws, rights, and
duties of war apply, not only to the army, but also to the militia
and volunteer corps, adding certain conditions, the chief one of
which is the bearing of arms openly and in Art. 2. "The population of
unoccupied territory, who, at the approach of the enemy, spontaneously
take up arms against the invading forces without having had time to
organize according to the conditions of Art. 1, shall be considered as
belligerent, if the population bears arms openly and respects the laws
and customs of war." Read in the light of this text the savage stories
which follow will take their true proportions:
_a_) _Diary of P^{te} Hassemer_ VIII Corps.
«3. 9. 1914. Sommepy (Marne). Horrible massacre. The village burnt to
the ground, the French thrown into houses in flames, civilians and
all burnt together.»[4]
_b_) _Diary of Lt Kietzmann_ (2^{nd} Company, 1^{st} Battalion of the
49^{th} Reg^t of Infantry), dated 18^{th} August (_Plate 3_).
[Illustration: _Plate 3._]
«A little in front of Diest[5] lies the village of Schaffen. About 50
civilians had hidden in the church tower and had fired on our men
with a machine-gun. All the civilians were shot.»[6]
_c_) _Diary of a Saxon officer_ (_unsigned_) (178^{th} Reg^t XII Army
Corps, I Saxon Corps).
"26^{th} August. The pretty village of Gué-d'Hossus in the Ardennes
has been burnt, although innocent of any crime, it seemed to me.
I was told a cyclist had fallen off his machine, and that in doing so
his gun had gone off: so they fired in his direction. Thereupon, the
male inhabitants were simply consigned to the flames. It is to be
hoped that such atrocities will not be repeated."[7]
The Saxon officer however had already seen such "atrocities" the
previous day, 25^{th} August, at Villers en Fagne (Belgian Ardennes).
"Where some Grenadiers of the Guard had been found dead or wounded", he
had seen the priest and other villagers shot; and three days earlier
the 23^{rd} August, in the village of Bouvignes to the north of Dinant,
he had seen things which he describes as follows:
"We got into the property of a well-to-do inhabitant, by a breach
effected in the rear, and we occupied the house. Through a maze of
rooms we reached the threshold. There was the body of the owner
on the floor. Inside our men destroyed everything, like Vandals.
Every corner was searched. Outside in the country, the sight of the
villagers who had been shot defies all description. The volley had
almost decapitated some of them.
"Every house had been searched to the smallest corner, and the
inhabitants dragged from their hiding-places. The men were shot; the
women and children shut up in a convent, from which some shots were
fired. Consequently, the convent is to be burnt. It can be ransomed
however on the surrender of the guilty and on payment of 15.000
francs."[8]
Sometimes, as we shall see, the diaries supplement one another.
_d_) _Diary of Private Philipp._ (Kamenz, Saxony. 1^{st} Company.
1^{st} Battalion of the 178^{th} Regt.) The same day 23^{rd} August,
a soldier of the same regiment saw a similar scene to that described
above, probably the same, but the point of view is a different one
(_Plate 4_).
"In the evening, at 10 o'clock the first battalion of the 178^{th}
Regt went down to the village that had been burnt to the north of
Dinant. A sad and beautiful sight, and one that made you shudder. At
the entrance of the village there lay about 50 dead bodies strewn
on the road. They had been shot for having fired on our troops from
ambush. In the course of the night, many others were shot in the same
way, so that we could count more than two hundred. The women and
children, lamp in hand, were obliged to watch the horrible scene. We
then ate our rice, in the midst of the corpses, for we had not tasted
food since morning."[9]
[Illustration: _Plate 4._]
A fine military subject indeed, and worthy to compete at the Dresden
Academy of Fine Arts. One passage in the text however is obscure, and
might embarrass the competitors. "The women and children lamp in hand
were obliged to watch the horrible scene."
What scene? The shooting, or the counting of the corpses? Painters,
who wish to elucidate this point need only consult the colonel of the
178^{th} Regt. What a gallant soldier!
He did, that night, but carry out the spirit of his superiors and
comrades in arms. He who wishes to be convinced need but read in the
Sixth Report of the Belgian Enquiry Commission on the violation of the
laws of nations (Le Havre, 10 Nov. 1914) the base proclamations which
the Germans placarded in Belgium. Three short excerpts will suffice.
Extract from a Proclamation of General von Bülow posted up at Liège on
the 22^{nd} of August 1914:
"The inhabitants of the town of Andenne, after having protested
their peaceful intentions, treacherously surprised our troops. It is
with my full consent that the general in command had the whole place
burnt, and about a hundred people were shot."[10]
Extract from a Proclamation of Major Commander Dieckmann[11] posted up
at Grivegnée on the 8^{th} of September 1914:
"Everyone who does not at once obey the word of command "Hands up!"
is guilty (_sic_) of the penalty of death."
Extract from a Proclamation of Marshall, Baron von der Goltz posted up
in Brussels on the 5^{th} of October 1914:
"In future, all places near the spot where such acts have taken
place (destruction of railway lines or telegraph wires)--_no matter
whether guilty or not_--shall be punished without mercy. With this
end in view, hostages have been brought from all places near railway
lines exposed to such attacks, and at the first attempt to destroy
railway lines, telegraph or telephone lines, they will be immediately
shot."[12]