As to Case: On August 25th, 1914, I was as adjutant of the Forage Commando at Louvain in the town hall there. Between 7 and 8 p.m. it was reported to me several times at short intervals that Belgians had fired upon our German troops on the outskirts of the town. I asked the Commandant, Major v. Manteuffel, to come to the town hall. Shortly after his arrival, at about 8 p.m., violent firing took place directly outside the town hall. On going from the office of the Commando into the hall, our soldiers told me that the inhabitants had fired from the opposite windows and roofs. The German soldiers replied to the fire. Among the soldiers at the town hall I saw several with shot-wounds; one was injured in the upper part of the thigh, and was bandaged at the office of the Commando. In the course of the night, German soldiers brought in a corpse wrapped in a red cover; the bearers related that he was an ensign of the 90th Regiment, who had been shot in the head by the Belgians.
During the night I noticed that a house diagonally opposite and one behind the town hall were burning. I went to see Judge Schmit, who was at the town hall as a hostage, and upon my request he asked the police to collect the firemen who, in company with German soldiers, commenced operations for extinguishing the fire. The other houses burned near the town hall and the Peter Church were, as far as I could see, set on fire by sparks from neighbouring conflagrations. The roof of the church burned first. The endeavours of an hussar officer to extinguish the fire by means of a Minimax apparatus from the roof of the church were ineffective.
A soldier coming to the town hall gave me a broken shot-gun which had been found in the possession of an inhabitant shot by summary court-martial.
Read over, approved, signed.
Signed: Ernst Ibach.
The witness was then sworn.
Signed: Dr. Ivers. Signed: Rambeau.
D. App. 5.
Court of the Government-General at Brussels.
Present:
Dr. Ivers, Judge of Military Law.
Secretary, Rambeau.