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

by Germany. Auswärtiges Amt

Summary Report.

1. The uprising of the town of Louvain against the German troops of occupation and the judgment inflicted on this town have found a lasting echo in the whole world.

In the first place, because Louvain is a town famous on account of its time-honoured University, its rich architectural monuments and art treasures, the fate of which would interest wide circles; principally, however, because of the action of the opponents of the German people, especially of the Belgian Government, who have circulated and spread abroad in the world by means of the Press, by their foreign diplomatic representatives, and by agents sent everywhere, reports of the events of August 1914, which were designed to prejudice public opinion against the Germans.

The Commission appointed by the Belgian Government for inquiry into the violation of the code of International Law and of the laws and usages of war, has tried by every means to throw the blame for the disturbances in Louvain on the German troops. In several reports it has brought forward the accusation that the German troops, in violation of International Law and without any reason, have attacked and ill-treated the—so it is alleged—unsuspecting and peaceful inhabitants of Louvain, have wounded and killed a great number, have plundered, desolated, and burned, and, in fact, completely destroyed the town.

These accusations are false; moreover, it has been confirmed that the German troops have acted in a manner free from reproach and have committed no deeds in violation of International Law. On the contrary, heavy blame attaches to the civil population of Louvain and the neighbourhood for having, by reason of their disregard of the rules of international law, and through their thoughtless and criminal action, inflicted injury on the German Army, and also, as the result, on the town of Louvain.

2. According to inquiries which were instituted, the events in Louvain occurred as follows:

On August 19th, 1914, the first German troops marched into Louvain and occupied quarters in the town. Intercourse between the inhabitants and the troops, whose number and composition were continually changing, appeared at first to be exceptionally good. No single case of excess occurred. The German troops behaved themselves in exemplary fashion, which even the Belgians recognised; further, the population of the town made such friendly advances that the German soldiers in Louvain felt so secure that many of them went about without arms (Apps. 2, 3, 7-9, 11, 18, 31, 36, 38, 40, 45, 48).

This peaceful picture suddenly changed on August 25th, 1914. On that day Belgian troops from Antwerp made a thrust in the direction of Louvain. The German troops in and about Louvain advanced to meet them; further troops were sent from Liège via Louvain to the front. The fighting took place on the road to Malines, near Bucken and Herent, in the vicinity of Louvain. The fight ended in the heavy defeat of the Belgians, who were thrown back in the evening towards Antwerp.

The inhabitants of Louvain, who had remained in secret communication with Antwerp even after the occupation of their town, and who had information of the impending attack by their countrymen, had apparently not reckoned on this result of the fight. They held the erroneous opinion that the projected breaking through of the Belgian Army must, with the help of English troops, be successful, and saw in the advance initiated by the Belgian troops a promise of success and also an encouragement to themselves to take part in the fighting (Apps. 1, 3, 45, 48).

Already before the fight had been decided, a German company of the Landsturm, which had been stationed at the north-western exit of Louvain, marched back towards 7 o'clock in the evening to a place situated at the east end of the town, near the station, in order to establish themselves there. During their march through the town everything was apparently still quiet. In the streets there were isolated ammunition and baggage columns, and several small detachments of German soldiers. There were no very large bodies of troops in Louvain at this time (Apps. 3, 7, 8, 38).