TESTIMONY OF EYE-WITNESSES “It is by a deep study of the history of wars that one may protect oneself against exaggerated humanitarian ideas.” —“KRIEGSGEBRAUCH IM LANDKRIEGE” Published by the German General Staff, 1902. Pages 6 and 7. THE W. STEWART BROWN COMPANY, Inc. PRINTERS BALTIMORE, MD....

The Official Belgian Commission of Inquiry, which has been charged with the task of examining into the violation of the rules of International Law and of the Customs of War, is composed of Statesmen and Jurists of the highest standing. The Reports of the Commission have been published from time to time. Report XI will be found in the following pages. These reports are given out by the Commission only after careful examination of the evidence. Consequently the findings of the Commission command t

On August 21st, 1914, the Germans bombarded the town of Namur, without any previous notice given. The bombardment began about 1 p. m. and continued for twenty minutes. The besieger was in possession of long-range guns, which enabled him to fire upon the town before the forts had been taken. Shells fell upon the prison, the hospital, the Burgomaster’s house and the railway station, causing conflagrations and killing several persons. On August 23rd, the German Army pierced the exterior line of def

Tamines was a rich and populous village situated on the Sambre between Charleroi and Namur. It was occupied by detachments of French troops on the 17th, 18th and 19th of August last. On Thursday, the 20th August, a German patrol appeared in front of the suburb of Vilaines. It was greeted by shots fired by French soldiers, and by a party of the Civic Guards of Charleroi. Several Uhlans were killed and wounded, and the rest fled. The people of the village came out of their houses and cried: “Vive

The town of Andenne is situated on the right bank of the Meuse between Namur and Huy. It is connected by a bridge with the village of Seilles, which is built along the river on the opposite, or left, bank. The German troops who were wishing to invade the territory on the left bank of the Meuse arrived at Andenne on Thursday, August 19th, in the morning. Their advance guard of Uhlans found that the bridge was not available. A regiment of Belgian Infantry had blown it up at 8 o’clock on the same m

The town of Dinant was sacked and destroyed by the German Army, and its population was decimated on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th August. On August 15th a lively engagement took place at Dinant between the French troops on the left bank of the Meuse and the German troops coming up from the East. The German troops were routed by the French, who passed over to the right bank of the river following them. The town had little to suffer on that day. Some houses were destroyed by German shells, aimed n

On August 23rd, the Germans entered the village of Hastiere-par-dela. (1) They arrested Dr. Halloy, a Surgeon of the Red Cross, and shot him. Crossing the street, they went to the house of Alphonse Aigret, a butcher, drove out him, his wife and his children, and shot him and his elder son. Next they went to the farm of Jules Rifon, took him out of his cellar, where he had hidden with his daughters, and shot him. They also killed the farmer Bodson and his two sons, with ten other inhabitants of t

In 1902 the Historic Section of the German General Staff published a collection of works for the instruction and guidance of the officers of the German Army. Among these works is a Manual upon “The Laws of War on Land.” (“Kriegsgebrauch im Landkriege.”) The following extracts from this manual show that the ideas of the German General Staff on the conduct of warfare are diametrically opposed to the views generally adopted by civilized countries. It is the systematic carrying-out of these ideas wh