D. App. 10.
Court of the Government-General at Brussels.
Present:
Dr. Ivers, Judge of Military Law.
Secretary, Rambeau.
Louvain, September 17th, 1914.
Station Buildings.
Non-commissioned Officer Friedrich Hüllermeier, 1st Company, 2nd Mobile Landsturm Infantry Battalion Neuss, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Friedrich Hüllermeier, born at Hardenberg, near Neviges (district of Düsseldorf), on November 13th, 1874; Protestant.
As to Case: On Monday, August 24th, 1914, our company, coming from Neuss, arrived at Louvain, the 1st Company having gone as far as Louvain by rail. I was attached to the baggage, consisting of three carts, three drivers, six men, and four cyclists. We arrived at Louvain at about 9.30 p.m. The night passed quietly at Louvain. On August 25th everything in Louvain was quiet until 5 o'clock p.m. Our carts and baggage, with the necessary guard, stood in front of the hotels in the station square. At 5.30 the baggage leader, Non-commissioned Officer Cardinco, came and gave orders to fetch the horses at once from the avenue and side-street, and to make them ready for marching. We stood harnessed. At about 8 o'clock our company, with 1st Lieutenant v. Sandt at its head, returned from the north-west exit of Louvain and drew up between our baggage. The company had been barely five minutes near the baggage when suddenly and unexpectedly we were terribly fired at from the surrounding houses, from windows, attics, and particularly from the roofs. Beside me stood the servant of Colonel Schweder, Corporal Fehnes. He received a wound in the head and several in the arm, and was carried from the place seriously injured. I also saw four of our horses hit by shots from the windows. I saw that many shots were fired on us from the Hôtel de l'Industrie, the hotel where our officers were staying. Several soldiers of our company are said to have been grievously injured. I add, that the inhabitants fired too high. This was our good fortune, for, in the terrible fire directed upon us from all the houses in the station square most of the German officers and soldiers would have been killed or seriously wounded. At the command of Colonel Schweder the company was then led close to the station building. We stood close to the station for about a quarter of an hour, and then I saw that the houses at the station—except the Hôtel "Maria Theresa"—were blazing. The Hôtel "Maria Theresa" had not been set on fire because, as I heard only later on, the German military store of benzine was near it. But I saw clearly that several volleys had been fired from the windows and the roof of this hotel, which were aimed directly at the officers and men in front of the station. Besides my company, about 120 to 150 soldiers from a regiment just detrained stood at the station. Only, now, since the volleys had been fired from the house Hôtel "Maria Theresa," we also fired at this house and set it alight. Not a single shot was fired either by our soldiers, standing near the baggage, or by my company, which returned about 8 o'clock from the north-west exit of Louvain, and which was partly standing between our baggage and partly lying down a little distance away. Only after we German officers and soldiers had been fired at from almost all the houses round the station did we receive orders to reply to the fire. I can swear to this.
The witness, after his statement had been read over to him, was admonished that his statement must be perfectly true, since he would have to swear to it. The witness declared:
I have only spoken what is quite true, and I can swear to it to the best of my knowledge.
Read over, approved, signed.