Present:
Lieutenant of Reserve Kleberger, as Officer of the Court.
Sergeant Richter, as Clerk of the Court.
Orainville, March 17th, 1915.
Summoned as witness there appeared Acting-Sergeant-Major Bartsch, who, after the importance of the oath had been pointed out to him, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Erich Bartsch. I am 25 years old; Protestant; Acting-Sergeant-Major in the Machine-Gun Company, Infantry Regiment No. 103.
As to Case: As patrol leader I found in a series of houses in Dinant sporting ammunition lying all ready, from which it may with certainty be assumed that it had been used by the francs-tireurs before their expulsion, as ammunition for firing on the German troops.
From the streets I saw inhabitants in the cellars of burning houses, chiefly women and children, who were no longer able to save themselves from their perilous position. Through the men of my patrol, in company with the Marburg Jäger, their rescue was made possible, and the persons saved were lodged in houses which were guarded by German troops. At times the work of rescue could only be carried out with great danger to life on the part of the patrol.
I myself was witness to the fact that Sisters of Mercy, in company with German soldiers, fetched along provisions for the inhabitants who had been given protection.
I was also present when Colonel Hoch sent all non-interested persons to their homes, with the strict injunction not to let themselves be seen in the streets.
For the other inhabitants whose houses had been completely burned down, lodging was procured in the houses of the railway signalmen.
Close to Dinant a bullet was found by a hussar in the leaden centre of which a spear-shaped steel blade had been inserted. This missile was passed round in my platoon.