The German Army in Belgium, the White Book of May 1915

by Germany. Auswärtiges Amt

February 14th, 1915.

Report.

On the night of the 22nd August 1914, after its assembly at Thynes-les-Dinant, the 32nd Infantry Division marched by the so-called Leffe lower road to the northern suburb of Dinant.

On the 23rd August, towards 5 o'clock in the forenoon, a halt was made about 1500 metres east of the spot where this way enters the Meuse Valley road; the cartridge waggons were emptied and the colours were unfurled for the first time in the campaign. There the first command to attack was given. The 64th Infantry Brigade deployed on the heights to the north of the lower road.

The 2nd Battalion of the Infantry Regiment held itself at the disposal of the Brigade Commander on this road close to the first houses in Leffe. Shortly after the front battalions had fallen in, I received the order from the Battalion Commander, Major Koch, to report myself to the Brigade Commander for a reconnaissance patrol. There I received the instruction to reconnoitre a pathway which leads by La Papeterie to the heights north of the lower road; a group of about ten houses on the left of the road, clustering round a large paper factory, is called La Papeterie.

In carrying out this order I rode first by the lower road to La Papeterie in order then to turn off towards the heights. On my approaching the factory some shots were fired, evidently pistol-shots; I then rode farther, because I thought the firing was not meant for me; but as it became more brisk and I saw that the shots struck the steep-rising wall of the rocks, as high as houses, on the right of the road, and that I could not carry out the reconnaissance in this very broken, rocky district on horseback, I turned back. Only the sharpest pace saved me from the shots which, thick as hail, struck the face of the cliff beside me. I reported this affair to my Battalion Commander and took the foremost section of the leading company in order to execute my errand on foot without delay, not without having first asked to have the factory cleared. On my second advance I was again fired at, so that I found myself obliged to turn off before the steep cliff in order to get forward under cover of gardens and hedges. I succeeded in this without any losses, although on this occasion I was still briskly fired at.

When I had returned from this patrol I learned that the company had penetrated into the factory and had cleared the place. I heard and saw shots still being fired from this direction. I thereupon received the order to clear the houses without regard to anything, but to spare old men, women, and children. Having reached the houses of the factory workpeople, I was heavily fired on from all sides. Of the marksmen there was no trace to be discovered, despite the keenest search. The houses were consequently surrounded, and separate individuals forced their way into the buildings. It turned out that these were strongly barricaded. The doors were barred, the entrances to cellars and basements were blocked up with boxes, mattresses, and all kinds of domestic utensils; windows and skylights were covered with boards. I, personally, penetrated into two or three houses, and am witness to the fact that it required an extraordinary amount of strength and skill to gain an entry to the forty-five buildings. In one house I found a number of discharged Browning-pistol cartridge cases. This house I had set on fire, as nobody was found in it. In this district of Leffe we had to deal in the main, according to my opinion, with Browning marksmen, who did not seem to be properly acquainted with the weapon. The discharged ammunition found proves this in the first place; also, on the other hand, the quick succession of shots, then a long pause, because the marksmen were not properly acquainted with the loading mechanism of the pistol. Some non-commissioned officers reported to me that they had fought in the house with armed civilians, had overpowered, killed, or shot them.

After the houses had been cleared and searched I assembled my company and moved back by the road to the original position of the battalion.

In the meantime the Marburg Jägers had marched up, and had again searched the factory and the adjacent buildings. I saw how a number of men in civilian clothing, about twenty, were shot by this unit in the yard of the factory.

Meanwhile my company lay on the lower road and was further fired on from the steep slopes of the valley, which were covered with wood and thickets, through which the road passed. On the right flank I sent out in advance Lieutenant Schreyer of the Reserve in order to search the thickets, whilst the Marburg Jägers advanced on the left. With glasses I was able to plainly see several civilians on the left slope who were firing at us. I believe I can remember that they were equipped with pistols.