Present:
President of the Court, Schweinitz.
Secretary, Lips.
Invincourt, March 1st, 1915.
In the matter for inquiry concerning the events in Dinant there appeared as witness Major von Zeschau, who stated:
As to Person: My name is Arnd Maximilian Ernst von Zeschau. I am 41 years old; Protestant; Major and Battalion Commander, Grenadier Regiment No. 101.
As to Case: On August 23rd, 1914, towards 6 o'clock in the afternoon, I, with my 11th Company, reached the Meuse at Les Rivages, and was at once taken across. I had the order to gain the heights on the other bank, to the right of the 2nd Company, which had already been put across. Opposite Les Rivages were connected rows of houses. We first went downstream as far as the church, and then turned off to the right. I passed with a detachment through a very narrow lane; the shop windows and house doors were closed. Suddenly four to five shots came from behind me. My men at once broke open the house from which the shots were fired. The house was empty; at the back was a small yard with a washhouse. In the yard lay a discharged sporting-gun.
Going farther, we came to a railway embankment through which ran a culvert. Before it lay a dead civilian with a weapon like a carbine. On the other side of the embankment was Lieutenant von Oer, who shouted to me that he had been fired at from the culvert. In the culvert I noticed some people; a few paces in front of the culvert crouched some of my men with rifles at the ready, and, on my question, reported that there had been firing from the culvert. I shouted into the culvert, "Sortez, on ne vous fera rien." As the people did not come out, I caused about five to six men to fire some shots, ten to twelve in all, into the culvert. As there arose a great outcry in the culvert, I left a non-commissioned officer behind to clear it. This officer reported to me next morning that he had fetched out about thirty-five to forty civilians, men, half-grown lads, women, and children, and with them a number of weapons—he told me there were about eight to ten carbine-shaped weapons. The captured civilians were handed over at the bridge-head. About 200 metres behind the railway embankment I came into fighting contact with the French infantry.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: von Zeschau.
The witness was thereupon sworn.
Signed: Schweinitz. Signed: Lips.