Читать книгу German Atrocities: An Official Investigation - J. H. Morgan - Страница 16

Let us now turn to Louvain. “The insurrection of the town of Louvain,” say the authors of the White Book with some naïveté, “against the German garrison and the punishment which was meted out to the town have found a long-drawn-out echo in the whole world.” Some twenty-eight thousand words are therefore devoted to establishing the thesis that the German troops in occupation of the town were the victims of a carefully organised, long premeditated, and diabolically executed attack on the part of the inhabitants assisted by the Garde Civique. Thus:

“We are evidently dealing with a carefully planned assault which was carried on for several days with the greatest obstinacy. The long duration of the insurrection against the German military power in itself disposes of any planless action committed by individuals in excitement. The leadership of the treacherous revolt must have lain in the hands of a higher authority.”—Summarising Report.

Great emphasis is laid on the formidable nature of the attack and the heavy odds against which the Germans had to contend. The fire of the Belgians was “murderous” (D 11, D 13), “fearful” (D 9), “violent” (D 36), “furious” (D 41); it was supported by machine-guns (D 28, 29, 37, 38, 40) and hand-grenades (D 46), and was materially assisted by Belgian soldiers in disguise (Appendix D 1, 19, 38), and by the Garde Civique (D 45, 46), who occupied houses with the most “elaborate preparations.” In spite of this careful preparation the German troops, who had been in the town six days and had there established the Head-quarters of a whole Army Corps (the 9th Reserve Corps), were so impressed by the “extraordinarily good” behaviour of the inhabitants that on the evening of August 25th, about 7.30 or 8 p.m., they were taken completely by surprise. “It was impossible to foresee,” says Lieutenant von Sandt (D 8), “that the inhabitants were planning an assault.” Other witnesses say, however, that “a remarkable number of young men” were observed congregating in the streets some hours beforehand. None the less the German authorities exhibited an ingenuous trustfulness and, what is even more remarkable, a complete disregard of the most ordinary police precautions, which will come as a surprise to anyone who has studied the German Proclamations and the drastic measures usually taken by them immediately upon their occupation of a town.