Sack of Dinant

The Sack of Dinant or Dinant massacre refers to the mass execution of civilians, looting and sacking of Dinant, Neffe and Bouvignes-sur-Meuse in Belgium, perpetrated by German troops during the Battle of Dinant against the French in World War I. Convinced that the civilian population was hiding francs-tireurs, the German General Staff issued orders to execute the population and set fire to their houses.

674 individuals died due to gunfire, claiming the lives of men, women, and children, as it spread throughout the town from August 23, 1914, and afterward. Dinant lost two-thirds of its domestic properties to the fire. After being stripped of weapons on August 6, the civilian population had been exhorted to abstain from taking up arms against the invaders.

Belgium vehemently protested, and the global community was outraged, referring to the massacre and other outrages perpetrated during the invasion and occupation of Belgium by Germany as the "Rape of Belgium". Denied for many years, it was only in 2001 that the German government issued an official apology to both Belgium and the victims' descendants.

The locations
The topography of the region significantly influenced the outcome of the Dinant massacre. The town of Dinant, situated mostly on the right bank between the Meuse River and the "Montagne," a rocky outcrop with a citadel, stands four kilometers long from north to south. The bottleneck sections, featuring only a narrow road and towpath, measure a few meters in contrast to the widest part, which spans three hundred meters. Across from the collegiate church, the primary bridge connects the left-bank community of Saint-Médard with the station district. In 1914, a pedestrian bridge linked the Bouvignes-sur-Meuse (left bank) and Devant-Bouvignes (right bank) municipalities. To the north, you'll find the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Leffe neighborhood and Leffe faubourg. To the south, the Rivages and Saint-Nicolas right-bank neighborhoods emerge from Froidvau. On the left bank, opposite the Bayard rock, lies the Neffe village. The town has limited access roads.

Start of World War I
Putting its Schlieffen plan into action, on August 4, 1914, the German army invaded Belgium a few days after sending an ultimatum to the Belgian government asking it to allow German troops to pass through its borders. King Albert and his government refused to allow neutrality and territorial integrity to be violated.

In August 1914, Dinant had a population of 7,890. On August 6, 1914, Burgomaster Arthur Defoin ordered the population of Dinant to deposit their weapons and ammunition at the town hall - the same measure had been taken in Bouvignes-sur-Meuse. The mayor explains:"'Inhabitants are formally warned that civilians may not engage in any attacks or violence by firearms or other weapons against enemy troops. Such attacks are prohibited by the just gentium and would expose their perpetrators, and perhaps even the town, to the most serious consequences. Dinant, August 6, 1914, A. Defoin'."

In the morning of the same day, a company of thirty carabinieri-cyclists from the 1er régiment de chasseurs à pied arrived in Dinant. In the afternoon, the first German reconnaissance patrol made a quick incursion into town. Two uhlans advance into rue Saint-Jacques, and the Garde Civique opens fire, but does not hit them. A hunter-cyclist discharges his rifle, wounding a German and his horse in the arm. He flees on foot and is quickly caught, while the second falls from his horse and is treated by Dr. Remy. In the evening, the vanguard of the French 5th Army, the 148th régiment d'infanterie, took up position to defend the bridges at Bouvignes-sur-Meuse and Dinant. On August 7, the carabinieri-cyclists were recalled to Namur. Skirmishes broke out between the French and Germans over the following days, and a hussar was killed on August 11. The Germans abandoned their scouting missions and used their air force to assess the troops present.

German defeat of August 15, 1914
Two cavalry divisions, under the command of Lieutenant-General von Richtoffen, comprised the vanguard of the 3rd German Army. These divisions consisted of the Guards Cavalry Division and the 5th Division and were supported by 4-5 battalions of chasseurs à pied, along with two groups of artillery and machine guns. The infantry component of over 5,000 men was responsible for crossing the Meuse river between Houx (Belgium), Dinant, and Anseremme. At 6am on August 15, the Germans began bombing both banks of the Meuse. First of all, they destroyed the civil hospital, which nevertheless bore a huge red cross. The Château de Bouvignes, transformed into a field hospital for wounded French soldiers, suffered the same fate. The fighting raged on, with the German army taking the citadel overlooking the town and attempting to cross the Meuse. They were on the verge of succeeding when the French Deligny division, finally authorized to intervene, silenced the enemy artillery with its 75 mm guns and helped repel the assault.

The Germans left Dinant, three thousand of their men dead, wounded, prisoners or missing. When, at the top of the citadel, the people of Dinant saw the French flag replace the German colors that had flown there, they sang La Marseillaise. In the citadel, the French discover that wounded French soldiers have been brutally killed. A corporal of the 148th was found hanging by his belt from a shrub, his genitals cut off. Over the following week, the enemy troops organized themselves. General Lanrezac and his men moved up the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse, while von Hausen's troops closed in on the front between Namur and Givet.

The myth of the francs-tireurs
Since the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the myth of "francs-tireurs" has been prominent among German soldiers and their leaders. Manuals on the art of warfare, such as Kriegsgebrauch im Landkriege published in 1902, even encouraged officers and troops to be harsh in their treatment of "francs-tireurs." This belief significantly influenced the perception and interpretation of events by Saxon troops during August 1914. When patrols did not return or the source of fire couldn't be determined, franc-tireurs were often blamed. Officers spread rumors, occasionally out of nothing but a desire to incite aggression and animosity among the troops.

Additionally, the Civic Guard's presence in the invasion's initial stages supports the Germans' view of it as an armed civilian militia. Founded during the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the Civic Guard consists of middle-class citizens whose mission is to protect the territory's integrity. On August 6, the community ordinance disarmed the people of Dinant, but not the Civic Guard, which remained mobilized until the morning of the 15th and was disarmed on the 18th. The crushing defeat on August 15, which left 3,000 soldiers wounded, and the playing of the Marseillaise after the town was liberated intensified the animosity of the occupiers towards the local people. "Eight days later, the enemy avenged themselves cruelly on the residents of Dinant."

German troops lived with the trauma caused by this defiance from August 21 onwards. Alcohol, which was pillaged from homes, was extensively consumed to maintain morale, leading to a heightened sense of disorder and chaos that prevailed throughout the subsequent week.

The city of Dinant, located at the bottom of a steep, narrow valley, posed difficulties in ascertaining the origin of gunfire and locating projectiles that ricocheted off of its rocky terrain. Furthermore, French troops situated on the elevated terrain of the left bank would fire whenever a firing angle presented itself. As a result of the disorderly fighting and smoke from fires, numerous German soldiers were unintentionally fired upon by their own allies. These circumstances bolstered the German soldiers' belief that they were being targeted by enemy franc-tireurs. Consequently, the soldiers, whose perception of reality had been distorted to the point of misinterpreting it, believed they had the right to use violence. This impulse, known as "war psychosis" by Arie Nicolaas Jan den Hollander, resulted in their actions.

The day before: "Tomorrow, Dinant all burned and killed!"
On August 21, certain German officers enunciated their intentions unambiguously. A captain informed the parish priest of Lisogne, "Tomorrow, Dinant will be burned and killed! - We have lost too many men!"

On the night of August 21 to 22, the civilian population of Dinant encountered their first skirmishes, as a German reconnaissance patrol, quickly joined by numerous boisterous soldiers, raided Rue Saint-Jacques. It was a diverse battalion comprising members of the 2nd Battalion of the No. 108 Rifle Regiment and collaborating with the 1st Company of the No. 12 Pioneer Battalion. The cruise descended upon the city from the elevated area of the right bank. It even made it as far as the Meuse. The German forces murdered seven civilians and deployed incendiary explosives to burn down roughly twenty houses, which resulted in the deaths of five people. For the Germans, it was a "reconnaissance in force" operation. Maurice Tschoffen characterized it as "the escapade of a group of drunken soldiers." According to the war diary of one of the battalions involved, the decision for the raid was made at the brigade level with the intention of taking Dinant. The goal was to "take Dinant [...], drive out the defenders, and destroy the town as much as possible." After the war, Soldier Rasch described how, upon reaching the bottom of Rue Saint-Jacques one night, they noticed a lit café and threw a hand grenade into it, leading to a fusillade. This action only worsened the panic felt as gunfire seemed to come from all directions, even from residential homes. Rasch's company suffered the loss of eight soldiers, and his captain was severely injured. In the end, this tragic event resulted in the deaths of 19 Germans and injuries to 117 others. However, two factors contributed to the increase in German casualties: the use of torches by German troops made them easy targets for French soldiers, and it is possible that, in a state of panic, German soldiers fired upon their fellow troops. This incident reinforced the idea of francs-tireurs as a myth.

The initial disturbances caused people to flee from the right bank for their safety. Nonetheless, they had to present a pass issued by the local authority to cross to the left bank. Due to the barricading of Dinant and Bouvignes bridges, some families escaped through tourist barges. About 2,500 individuals from Dinant managed to secure refuge behind French lines. However, at noon on the 22nd, the French prohibited such crossings as they would impede troop movements. The First Corps of the French 5th Army was replaced by the 51st Reserve Infantry Division and the 273rd Infantry Regiment (France). A small group from the British Expeditionary Force was also in the area. The 51st Reserve Infantry Division was thus confronted with three German army corps on a front that extended over thirty kilometers. At Dinant, the 273rd Infantry Regiment faced the XIIth Army Corps (1st Saxon Corps) of the entire Saxon Army. As a French assault was not feasible, their strategic location allowed them to obstruct the German XII Corps' crossing of the Meuse. Accordingly, in mid-afternoon, the French detonated the Bouvignes-sur-Meuse bridge, while preserving the Dinant bridge. They entrenched themselves on the left bank and waited for the opposing force, while abandoning their efforts to maintain a presence on the right bank.

August 23, 1914: the Ransack of Dinant
On August 23, 1914, the XIIth Army Corps (1st Saxon Corps) entered the town on four separate routes. To the north, the 32nd Division stormed the sector between Houx and the Faubourg de Leffe. The 178th regiment of the 64th brigade advanced through the Fonds de Leffe. As they passed, the Germans killed all civilians. 13 men are shot at Pré Capelle by 6 men of the 103rd Saxon Regiment, and 71 are murdered in the vicinity of the "paper mill". Paul Zschocke, a non-commissioned officer in the 103rd RI, explained that he had been ordered by the company commander to search for the "francs-tireurs" and "shoot anyone he found there". Houses were systematically searched, and civilians were either shot or taken to the Prémontrés abbey. At ten o'clock in the morning, the religious, unaware of the fate that was about to befall them, gathered together the 43 men present at the request of the German officers. They were all shot in Place de l'Abbaye. As for the monks, the Germans held them to ransom under the pretext of having fired on their troops: Major Fränzel, who spoke French, asked them to raise the sum of 60,000 Belgian francs, which was later reduced, after consultation with his superiors, to 15,000 Belgian francs.

That evening, the 108 civilians who had been hiding in the cellars of the large Leffe fabric factory decided to surrender. The director, Remy Himmer, who was also vice-consul of the Argentine Republic, his relatives and some of his workers were immediately arrested. Women and children were sent to the Prémontrés convent; despite his protests to Lieutenant-Colonel Blegen, Remy Himmer and 30 men were shot dead in the Place de l'Abbaye, still littered with the morning's corpses. In the evening, the fire was set at the Grande Manufacture. The massacre continued throughout the night in the Abbey district: houses were looted and then set on fire, and male civilians were shot. When the Germans left Leffe, only a dozen men were left alive. The 32nd Division built a boat bridge opposite the Pâtis de Leffe and crossed the Meuse.

Regiments no. 108, no. 182 of the 46th Brigade and the 12th and 48th artillery regiments came down the Rue Saint-Jacques. At 6:30 a.m., their vanguard reached the slaughterhouse, which was soon engulfed in flames. The Germans, finding fewer civilians in the dwellings, set fire to the whole district. The male civilians who had decided to stay were all executed, without exception. In the afternoon, a platoon from the 108th RI found around a hundred civilians taking refuge in the Nicaise brewery. The women and children were taken to the Leffe abbey; the men, numbering 30, were taken to rue des Tanneries, lined up along the mur Laurent and executed. Three of them managed to escape under the cover of falling darkness.

During the conflict, furniture looted from nearby houses was used by members of the 182nd RI to construct a barricade. Despite being found unarmed, a young man who was identified as a possible sniper was bound and held as a human shield. As their own troops were firing upon them, the group shot and killed their hostage before retreating. The German 100th Regiment descended from Montagne de la Croix and launched an attack on the Saint-Nicolas district. The area was mercilessly ravaged from eight in the morning until eight in the evening. A witness to these tragic events, Maurice Tschoffen, described the soldiers marching in two lines alongside the houses, with those on the right carefully monitoring those on the left, both with their fingers on the trigger, ready to open fire at any moment. In front of each doorway, groups formed and halted, firing bullets at the houses, with a particular focus on the windows. It was known that the soldiers threw numerous bombs into the cellars. Two men were fatally shot on their doorstep. Similar to what occurred on Rue Saint-Jacques, civilians were exploited as human shields on Place d'Armes, resulting in some of them being hit by French bullets fired from across the river. The German forces capitalized on the opportunity to cross the square and make their way to the Rivages area. They proceeded to set houses alight and take the civilians to the Bouille house. Afterward, they dispersed them amongst several outbuildings, the café, forge, and stables. As the fires spread, the Germans directed them towards the prison. Eventually, men and women were separated at the base of Croix Mountain. The women and children remained despite being asked to leave, to await news of the fate of their husbands, brothers, and sons. Some men were incarcerated while 137 others were arranged in four rows along Maurice Tschoffen's garden wall. Colonel Bernhard Kielmannsegg of the 100th RI issued the execution order, followed by two rounds of platoon gunfire and machine-gun fire shot at the corpses from the Frankinet garden's terrace. While around 30 men feigned death, 109 were killed. Most of the wounded individuals escaped from the pile of corpses during the night. In the subsequent days, five of them were apprehended and executed. Major von Loeben, in charge of one of the two execution teams - the other led by Lieutenant von Ehrenthal - testified to a German inquiry commission: "I presume that these were the men who had engaged in hostile activities against our troops".

To the south of the town, the German 101st Regiment arrived that afternoon via the Froidvau road and constructed a boat bridge upstream from Bayard Rock. To the south of the town, the German 101st Regiment arrived that afternoon via the Froidvau road and constructed a boat bridge upstream from Bayard Rock. Several civilians were taken hostages, including a group of Neffe residents forced to cross the river on boats. At around 5 p.m., the Germans encountered intense gunfire from the left bank, despite advancing 40 meters along the Meuse. On the basis of the claim that the "French were firing at them", the Germans executed 89 hostages against the wall of the Bourdon garden. The incident claimed the lives of 76, including 38 women and seven children, the youngest being three-week-old Madeleine Fivet. The 101st then crossed the Meuse to Neffe A group of 55 civilians had sought refuge in a small aqueduct underneath the railroad line. Karl Adolf von Zeschau instructed the attack with rifles and grenades, resulting in the deaths of 23 civilians and the injury of 12 others.

The Dinant bridge was blown up by the French around 6 p.m. on August 23 before they retreated along the Philippeville road. German brutality persisted in the ensuing days before ultimately diminishing. Those who emerged from hiding prematurely frequently paid with their lives. Civilians were compelled to inter the numerous bodies that adorned the pavement and plazas of Dinant and its surroundings.

Earlier at the prison, the Germans separated the women and children from the men. The men, aware of their fate, received absolution from a priest. Gunfire at the Tschoffen wall confused the prisoners and their jailers, leading some to believe the French were attempting to recapture the town. Ultimately, the execution did not occur, and the prisoners were taken to Bayard Rock. The women and children were then forced to journey on foot to Dréhance and Anseremme. The 416 men were awaiting deportation to Germany under Captain Hammerstein's command. They were directed to Marche and then transferred to Melreux (Belgium) station. The men were divided into groups of 40 and transported in cattle cars to Kassel prison in Germany.



The prisoners' travel was made difficult by the brutality inflicted by German contingents and the local populations they came across. Some individuals were executed without trial after experiencing mental breakdowns. The imprisonment conditions were exceedingly harsh, resulting in the passing of some prisoners who were seriously injured during the Dinant trials and deported. Prison regulations prohibit family members from sharing the same cell. Additionally, four inmates were compelled to share 9 m² cells without even a straw mattress. During the first eight days, no excursions were permitted. Subsequently, the schedule was adjusted to allow just one outing per week, which was eventually increased to three. In his deposition, Maurice Tschoffen, the King's Public Prosecutor in Belgium, reported that the prison governor informed him that the military authorities in Berlin were convinced that no shots were fired in Dinant. The source of this assertion is unknown. So, there was no justification for our arrest, but I am uncertain why we were ultimately released. During a subsequent conversation in Belgium, General von Longchamps shared his findings about the events in Dinant with me. He conveyed, "From my investigation, it appears that no civilians fired at Dinant; however, there might have been some French soldiers disguised as civilians who fired. Additionally, in combat training, individuals can sometimes exceed the limits of their training."

Thirty-three clergymen were apprehended at the regimental school in Dinant and subsequently imprisoned in Marche for one month.

Dinant in ruins
During the sack, 750 buildings were burnt down or demolished, with two-thirds of the buildings destroyed.

The German command
The Third German Army was under the command of Saxon Max von Hausen. This army was divided into three corps. The XII Corps (1st Saxon Corps), commanded by Karl Ludwig d'Elsa, was tasked with taking Dinant and crossing the Meuse at that location. The XII Corps was further divided into two divisions: the 32nd Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Horst Edler von der Planitz, and the 23rd Infantry Division, led by Karl von Lindeman.

Explaining the opinions of the war leaders, General Jakob von Hartmann stated, "While it is regrettable for individuals to suffer the consequences of being used as examples, it is beneficial for the community as a whole when strict punishment is imposed. In times of national war, terrorism becomes a necessary military principle." Max von Hausen, a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, advised the civilian population to avoid taking up arms against German troops. Consequently, the watchword at all levels of command was to "treat civilians with the utmost rigor."

The German General Staff received the first concrete reports of snipers in the east as the 3rd Army concentrated. The civilian population, allegedly incited by a biased press, the clergy, and the government, is allegedly acting on prearranged instructions. In light of this, it is imperative that we respond to this situation with utmost seriousness and stringent measures, without any hesitation.

The German belief in the "franc-tireurs myth" resulted in them taking the harshest possible action against the civilian population. During the Battle of Dinant, certain battalions and regiments were given orders to terrorize the civilian population. This instruction was issued as part of the battle against the French. This was the situation with Infantry Regiment No. 178, commanded by Colonel Kurt von Reyher, who was himself under the command of Brigade Commander General Major Morgenstern-Döring. The troops were instructed to use energetic means and act ruthlessly without any consideration towards the fanatical rebels. Major Kock of the 2nd Battalion was directed by Von Reyher to "purge the houses". Captain Wilke, who commanded the 6th and later the 9th company, initiated several operations to terrorize the civilian population, particularly in the Fonds de Leffe and at the abbey.

As per the 23rd Infantry Division's understanding, executions, looting, and burning in Les Rivages, St. Nicolas district, and Neffe, to the south of the city were mainly carried out by the 101st Saxon Grenadier Regiment, headed by Colonel Meister, and the 100th Infantry Regiment, headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Kilmannsegg, under Staff Warrant Officer Karl Adolf von Zeschau's coordination. Major Schlick, who commanded the 3rd and 4th companies of RI no. 101, demonstrated exceptional activity during these operations.

Following the sacking of Leffe, the 178th RI crossed the Meuse after the French troops withdrew and arrived in Bouvignes-sur-Meuse. There, it committed numerous violent acts that resulted in the death of 31 individuals. Delayed for one week, the German Third Army pursued its advance, leaving a country ravaged by looting, arson, and executions of civilians in its wake. The Germans faced two enemies - the French and the imagined francs-tireurs.

In February 1915, the first issue of the clandestine La Libre Belgique asserted, "There is something more robust than the Germans; it is the truth."

The victims
674 civilians died during the siege of Dinant, including 92 women, 18 over the age of 60, and 16 under the age of 15. Out of the 577 men, 76 were over the age of 60 and 22 were under the age of 15. The oldest victim was 88 years old, while 14 children were under the age of 5, with the youngest only 3 weeks old.

A list of the victims' names was quickly circulated through an obituary. The first edition, published in 1915 by Dom Norbert Nieuwland, contains 606 names. The military authority occupying the area demanded that the population provide copies of the obituary, under threat of severe punishment.

In 1922, Nieuwland and Schmitz recorded 674 victims (including 5 missing), and in 1928, Nieuwland and Tschoffen reported the same number of victims and missing persons. Finally, just before the centennial, Michel Coleau and Michel Kellner revised the obituary and identified a total of 674 victims and three unidentified individuals.

The witnesses


Just a few days after the events that struck Dinant, residents in the local community made the decision to document their personal accounts, allowing for the reconstruction of the events as they occurred. Three depositions from the Bishopric of Namur and the Abbey of Maredsous are noteworthy. The witnesses provide evidence that:

"'The whole family was gathered at my parents' house, which backed onto the rock behind the homes of Joseph Rondelet and the widow Camille Thomas, on rue Saint-Pierre. My father, who worked in Mianoye (Assesse), was absent. On Sunday, August 23, at around 4 p.m., when we saw Germans settling into the Café Rondelet, whose owners had fled the day before, and drinking themselves into a stupor, we fled into the mountains. My mother, who had stood in front of us with 4-year-old Marcel in her arms, raised the hand that was still free. Nevertheless, the soldiers fired on us: a first bullet broke Marcel's arm, a second hit my mother in the wrist and a third blew her brains out. Other bullets hit my sisters Adèle and Éloïse, who fall. While Léon, Aline and Paul fled to one side, I managed to hide in a rock, where I remained until Monday evening. Then the Germans discovered me and, along with others, took me to the Premonstratensians, where I found those of my family still alive. Little René, my sister Éloïse's son, had been taken in by Mme Barzin and Mme Coupienne by order of the Germans. Arthur Bietlot, who buried our dead, declares that little Marcel's corpse was literally in pieces. Constantin Demuyter was buried with ours, but I don't know how he got there. Eugène Mathieu's corpse was also found in our garden, but a little higher up.'"



"'Early in the morning of August 23, the cannon sounded and we thought we were witnessing a battle similar to that of the 15th . Taking advantage of a slight lull, at around 10 a.m., my father and I opened the front door to get a better idea of what was going on in the street. We quickly closed it, spotting German soldiers at the barracks, who had raised their rifles at the sight of us, and went underground. Some time later, we hear the sound of windows being broken and doors being kicked in. Soon we could clearly hear the blows of an axe shaking ours. My parents decided to open the door, and were already in the corridor, when the door gave way under the blows of these energetic men who burst into the house, shouting like demons, and unloading their weapons at point-blank range. My father, hit in the chest, staggered back a few steps, clung to his cutting table and fell: he was dead. My mother, hit in the shoulder, cries out in pain and takes refuge in the cellar, while my grandmother, trying to help her mortally wounded son, is herself hit by a bullet in the back of the neck that sends her sprawling to the ground. A fourth shot hit my grandfather, seated in an armchair, killing him. Seeing me, the bandits unload their weapons on me, but the bullets whistle past my ears without hitting me. The soldiers, convinced that they had spared no one, withdrew, and soon all around me was dead silence.'"

"'No sooner had we arrived in front of the Bourdon wall than we were fired upon; I fell. Alexandre Bourdon was on top of me. Around 9 p.m., I tried to get up; they immediately fired in my direction, but as I was below Bourdon, it was he who was hit. I could then see what was going on around me. I heard a baby crying and asking for a drink - it was little Gilda Marchot, aged 2. A German immediately approached, put the barrel of his rifle in the child's mouth and fired! Disgusted, I turned to the other side and saw a soldier carrying something at the end of his bayonet; I recognized the body of my little niece, Mariette Fivet, who was three weeks old. After playing with this child's corpse, the soldier laid it on the ground and put his foot on its stomach to remove his bayonet... The next day, I buried the bodies of my brother, my sister-in-law and little Mariette, 22 days old. I found that the baby's cloths were all torn in the stomach and filled with blood.'"

Immediate response to the massacre


Thomas-Louis Heylen, the Bishop of Namur, informed Pope Benedict XV of the situation. A large part of the world's population was outraged. A group of 93 German intellectuals issued the "Manifesto of the 93," a document attempting to absolve their army. On May 10, 1915, the German Empire Foreign Office released a White Book to the world, seeking to prove that "the German troops, unfortunate in their circumstances, were brutally tested in Dinant by savage and unfaithful attacks from a fanatic population."

The Cooreman government responded in its Grey Book of 1916 with the statement, "He is twice guilty who, after violating the rights of others, attempts to justify himself with audacity by attributing false faults to his victim." The Anglo-Saxon press was outraged and referred to the events as "The Rape of Belgium," a term now associated with the atrocities experienced by Belgian civilians in August and September 1914.

For his part, the Bishop of Namur responds to the Germans following the publication of their White Book: "'We are only waiting for the moment when the impartial historian can come to Dinant, see for himself what happened there, and interview the survivors. There are enough of them left to reconstruct all the facts in their truth and sincerity. Then it will become clear that there has never been a time when the innocence of the victims has been more clearly demonstrated, and the guilt of the perpetrators more obvious. Events will resolve themselves in the unleashing, within an army, of a cruelty as useless as it is inexplicable. Then the universe, which has already judged with extreme and just rigor the massacre of nearly seven hundred civilians and the destruction of an ancient city, with its monuments, archives and industries, will appreciate with even greater severity this new procedure which, to clear itself of a deserved accusation, stops at nothing and transforms unjustly sacrificed victims into assassins.'"

Post-war trials


At the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was compelled by the Allies to conduct a set of trials for purported German war criminals known as the Leipzig Trials, which occurred in 1921. In February 1920, the Allied extradition list had 853 names of chiefs of the former German regime accused of committing heinous acts against civilians, wounded or prisoners of war. Out of the 853, only 43 names were registered with the German Reichsgericht. France called for the trial of 11 individuals, Belgium for 15, Great Britain for 5, and Italy, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia for 12. However, these instructions did not pertain to the Dinant massacre.

The trial of a nation's own citizens for war crimes was a new development. Nonetheless, the Leipzig trials were unsatisfactory for the Allies as German justice swiftly absolved the defendants or found mitigating circumstances. The sentences handed down were deemed weak or even symbolic in relation to the committed crimes.

The French and Belgians indicted 7 generals in regards to the exactions committed by the 3rd German Army. On May 9, 1925, a court martial in Dinant sentenced German officers, found guilty in absentia of sacking the town. Finally, at the end of 1925, the court in Leipzig rejected all these judgments and took no further action.

Among the seven generals was Colonel Johann Meister, who commanded the 101st Grenadier Regiment. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. The ruling was rooted in the German investigations of 1915 and 1920, which echoed the arguments presented in the White Book on the francs-tireurs. Lastly, the court recognized the occurrence of hostage executions but found no proof that they were conducted unlawfully.

Commemorations
On August 23, 1919, Paul Deschanel, the president of the French Chamber of Deputies, honored the victims of Dinant. Jean Schmitz and Norbert Nieuwland utilize this speech to demonstrate Dinant's distinctiveness among other Belgian and French towns that were martyred:

"''Dinant is one of the stations on the bloody road by which humanity has risen, in pain, to justice'. These were the words of Paul Deschanel, then President of the French Chamber, as he stood over the ruins of the town and the graves of its victims on August 23, 1919, the anniversary of the Sack of Dinant. And he was right. Of all the martyred towns on the Western Front - and God knows there were many in both France and Belgium - no one would deny Dinant first place. Dinant has paid a high enough price for this dismal honor, moreover, for it not to be haggled over; For it is not only a past of glory and prosperity that it has seen wiped out in the space of a few hours, it is not only historical memories and works of art that it has seen destroyed by the incendiary torch - other towns have suffered materially more than the Mosan city, but they are already coming back to life - no, what places the town of Dinant at the top of the long list of martyred cities is its obituary. It mourns nearly seven hundred of its children who are no longer with us and who, innocent victims, were cowardly murdered by the enemy without any prior judgment having been passed, without any proof of guilt having been formulated against them.'"

Memorials and monuments
On August 20, 1922, a commemorative monument was unveiled at "La Papeterie" (Ravet sawmill). The monument, which can still be viewed today, pays tribute to 68 individuals who were shot at this location. Despite being destroyed in 1940, the monument remains a testament to the tragedy that occurred at this site.

Additionally, two bronze plaques were inaugurated by the Compagnie des Bronzes de Bruxelles on that same day at the former fabric factory site to honor its director, Remy Himmer, and his 147 employees. Lost for some time, the objects were discovered in a public dump in Anseremme in 1956 and kept in the Fonds de Leffe until 2005, when they were finally returned to their original place.

On August 23, 1923, a neo-classical monument was erected in Neffe which, unfortunately, was damaged by the Germans in 1940. The monument commemorates the 81 victims, including 23 individuals killed at the aqueduct and the Neffe citizens executed at the "Bourdon Wall."

On August 23, 1927, the "Altar of the Fatherland" was unveiled in the courtyard of the town hall in the presence of the Crown Prince of Belgium. This monument was created by Brussels sculptor Frans Huygelen, and it represents an allegory of the victorious Fatherland in several bronze groups. The occasion was also marked with the inauguration of commemorative steles in different parts of the city, including the "Tschoffen Wall". This impressive bronze relief is 1.4 meters tall and 3.5 meters long and was crafted by the same artist. The blue stone base bears the inscription: "Pieux hommage du souvenir dinantais aux 674 victimes innocentes de la furie teutonne dont 116 trouvèrent la mort ici, le 23 août 1914" (A sincere tribute of Dinant memory to the innocent victims of German savagery, 116 of whom died here on August 23, 1914). In 1927, a commemorative monument was also erected at the "Mur Bourdon" site. The sculpture, depicting a firing squad holding women and children at gunpoint, has since been lost. The Sacré-Coeur, inaugurated on October 5, 1930, pays homage to the 83 individuals, seven of whom were children aged between three weeks and two years, who perished at the site.

Erected in Leffe on Place de l'Abbaye at "À la cliche de bois", this structure replaced an earlier memorial built around 1920. Notably, the former Servais house bears a commemorative plaque sculpted by Frans Huygelen portraying a bust of Christ on the cross as a tribute to the 243 Leffe victims.

On August 23, 1936, a monument honoring the 23,700 Belgian civilian victims of August and September 1914, which included the 674 victims of the sack of Dinant, was unveiled at the Place d'Armes (Furore Teutonico). The monument was created by sculptor Pierre de Soete and features a central hand with two fingers reaching upwards as a sign of promise. The central stele repeats the Dinant oath, commemorating the victims. "'Before God and before Men, on our honor and conscience, without hatred and without anger, penetrated by the importance of the oath we are about to take, we all swear that we did not, in August 1914, know, see or know of anything that could have constituted an act of illegitimate violence against the troops of the invader.'"

The Germans destroyed it in May 1940 during World War II.

On August 23, 2014, a new memorial with a complete list of the victims was inaugurated on the banks of the Meuse to mark the centenary of the massacre in the presence of the King and the authorities.

Belated apology from Germany
On May 6, 2001, the German government, led by Secretary of State for Defense Walter Kolbow, issued an official apology 87 years after the events in question for the atrocities committed against the Dinant population in 1914. "[...] And that's why I'm here today. I would like to ask you all to forgive the injustices that Germans once committed in this country. I ask this because I believe that such a request is more necessary than ever, precisely at a time when the process of European unification is intensifying, a Europe in which our two countries are jointly pursuing a policy aimed at preventing the recurrence of such crimes and suffering."The local authorities stated that granting forgiveness in the name of the deceased was not within their purview, but they appreciated the effort to reconcile and move forward, particularly for the benefit of younger generations. Following this, a symbolic act was carried out by young Belgians and Germans who raised the German flag on the Dinant bridge, which had previously been the only flag missing among the display of other European flags.

The immediate post-massacre research
Written accounts of the Dinant massacres were collected in the winter of 1914, with the initial purpose of recording testimonies and compiling a precise list of victims. Professor Joseph Chot, who received Philippe Pétain in August 1914, searched for eyewitness accounts throughout the Namur region. Dom Norbert Nieuwland of Maredsous Abbey published the first obituary with a list of 606 names. The text was repeatedly published, even by foreign press, to the point where the German military command prohibited its dissemination.

The press, predominantly British but also including that of neutral nations, shared firsthand accounts of civilians and informative pamphlets that condemned the conduct of the German Heer. The army was accused of violating the agreements established by Germany pursuant to the Hague Convention of 1907. Occasionally, the desire for emphasis prompted certain journalists to cross the line even further, as stated by Edouard Gérard: "'People of letters more concerned, it seems, with 'monetizing our disaster' - the expression is not mine - than with contributing to 'bringing the truth to light', have already published high fantasy accounts. This is an insult to the memory of our martyrs.'"

Belgium is often viewed as a victimized country by both the British and Americans, who refer to the tragic events as the "rape of Belgium." It is noteworthy that some Americans are not aware of the United States' humanitarian involvement.

Although the German response was delayed, 93 German intellectuals issued a "manifesto to civilized nations," attempting to absolve their army of any wrongdoing.

The February 1915 German White Book posited that imperial troops encountered francs-tireurs, who were organized, armed, and trained by the Belgian government. Both men and women, and even children, subjected the troops to numerous underhand attacks, resulting in significant losses. The attacks necessitated a response, which could only be violent. In response to the allegations in the German White Book, Mgr Thomas-Louis Heylen, the Bishop of Namur, released a Protestation contre les accusations du Livre Blanc allemand in October 1915. Further opposition to the White Book came from Belgium, which published its own Grey Book in May 1916.

Cardinal Mercier also called for the gathering of accurate and objective information on the atrocities committed by the Germans as early as 1914, independent of the State's efforts to produce its Grey Book.

In response to a request, Mgr Thomas-Louis Heylen assigned his secretary, Canon Jean Schmitz, the responsibility of collecting testimonies and documents to create an accurate account of all the suffering the country underwent due to the Germans' "monument of hypocrisy and lies." Due to Jean Schmitz's role within the bishopric, he was able to enlist the support of all 719 parishes in the diocese. He quickly recognized the challenge of producing an organized and unbiased account. He joined forces with the vicar-general to gather evidence, documentation, and photographic evidence of the perpetrators' actions. On October 31, 1915, the initial report was forwarded to the military governor, Moritz von Bissing, along with neutral country representatives and Pope Benedict XV.

Cardinal Mercier appointed Dom Norbert Niewland from Maredsous Abbey to complete a corresponding task, unaware another was already assigned. In November 1918, they joined forces, combining their documentation of over 2,000 testimonies collected during the four-year war to cross-check their sources for objectivity.

This material resulted in the publication of seven volumes of "Documents pour servir à l'histoire de l'invasion allemande dans les provinces de Namur et de Luxembourg" between 1919 and 1924. Volume IV, which is divided into two parts, focuses on the Battle of Dinant. The initial section on the conquest of the Meuse was released in June 1921, while the second section on the town's sacking was released in April 1922.

The archives of Jean Schmitz were be held at the bishopric of Namur, while Dom Norbert Nieuwland's archives were stored at the abbey of Maredsous. The documentation was made available to researchers early on. The Jean Schmitz archives comprise 41 boxes that have all been classified and indexed by an archivist. Meanwhile, those of Norbert Nieuwland consist of just one box pertaining to the 1914-1918 period. They were hastily buried in a metal box during World War II and were found to be largely degraded by its end. In 1938, a portion of Jean Schmitz's documents were relocated to the State Archives in Namur and cataloged in 1991. The Jean Schmitz archival collection contains 4.54 linear meters of records, predominantly composed of themed files. Regrettably, the approach used by Jean Schmitz, which involved fragmenting and thematically organizing the original documents, renders the reconstruction of the initial parish reports a laborious undertaking.

Already praised in the 1920s, Schmitz and Nieuwland's work remains highly regarded by contemporary historians researching the topic. According to John Horne and Alan Kramer, the documentation is exceptional.

Interwar period


In the 1920s, Dinant unveiled multiple memorials. Germany was offended by the use of the terms "German barbarism" and "Teutonic fury" and criticized the Belgian government for reviving the "legend of atrocities". The controversy resurfaced. In 1927, Professor Christian Meurer, commissioned by the Reichstag to investigate the events of August 1914, submitted his conclusions. The Weimar Republic endorsed the text, which reaffirmed the presence of "franktireurkriegers" and supported the thesis of the White Book. Norbert Nieuwland and Maurice Tschoffen responded with their book "Le Conte de fée des francs-tireurs de Dinant: Réponse au rapport du professor Meurer de l'Université de Würzburg." Meurer criticized Tschoffen for insulting Germany in his response to Tschoffen's first reports in the Belgian government's XXth report.

"'Third criticism of my reports. 'They contain nothing but insults against the Germans', you write. This is not true, Professor, and you know it. I defy you to cite an insulting expression you've read in them; there isn't one! I reported the facts; I didn't qualify them. I didn't need to; they were self-explanatory. Furthermore, I agree with you on the principle that insults are not arguments, and I think that expressions such as 'dirty inventions', 'bestial cruelties', 'atrocities that could not be more repulsive' are more the stuff of pamphlets than of history. I gather them from your work. To conclude this letter, I search in vain for the polite formula appropriate to the nature of our relationship. Please allow me, Professor, not to use any."

During the interwar period, revisionist literature emerged, even in English-speaking countries, due to the dynamics of pacification.

In May 1940, during World War II, the occupying forces used the pretext that it was an affront to justify the dynamiting of the memorial to the 674 victims of August 1914. The memorial, entitled "furore teutonico," was erected in 1936 on the Place d'Armes. In the 1950s, there was an ongoing dispute over whether to include the events of August 1914 in history textbooks. During the 1960s, historians from Germany, Belgium, and France collaborated on the matter. Specifically, Belgians Fernand Mayence, Jean de Sturler, and Léon van der Essen, worked alongside Germans Franz Petri, Hans Rothfels, and Werner Conze.

Events and recent historical research
In 1994, John Horne and Allan Kramer published an article analyzing the campaign diaries of German soldiers present in Belgium during August 1914. This publication successfully debunked the legend of German atrocities committed in Belgium during World War I. Since 1995, historians including Michel Coleau, Aurore François, Michel Kellner, Vincent Scarniet, Axel Tixhon, and Frédéric Vesentini have conducted research on the episode. Thanks to first-hand accounts and German documents such as war diaries, and eyewitness accounts, the facts have been established. These historians have contextualized and analyzed the evidence.

In 2001, John Horne and Allan Kramer published German Atrocities, which was subsequently translated into French in 2005 under the title ''1914. Les Atrocités allemandes'', subtitled La Vérité sur les crimes de guerre en France et en Belgique. The sacking of Dinant is now recognized as a reality.

However, in August 2017, art historian Ulrich Keller reignited the controversy in his book Schuldfragen: Belgischer Untergrundkrieg und deutsche Vergeltung im August 1914 (Questions de culpabilité: guerre clandestine belge et représailles allemandes en août 1914). The author posits that civilian gunfire towards the German army was the catalyst for the German response towards the population. The analysis draws from archival documents in Berlin, showing the finding of Belgian and French soldiers' uniforms in Dinant without accompanying weapons. The author concludes that soldiers disguised themselves as civilians to shoot at German soldiers. He examined the injuries sustained by certain soldiers, which were unlikely to have been inflicted by conventional weaponry but rather by shotguns.

However, Horne and Kramer, in their book, concede that it cannot be entirely discounted that in isolated instances, civilians might have opened fire on the enemy to defend themselves (as allowed by the Second Hague Conference of 1907), but they emphasize the sporadic occurrence of such incidents. Military historian Fernand Gérard urged Angela Merkel to request that her government make a formal denial. The municipal council of Dinant officially and unanimously denounced the allegations in Keller's book at its November 27, 2017 meeting, and also urged the federal government to take the same position. The German newspaper Die Welt now concurs with Axel Tixhon's findings. Although the Belgian militia (the Garde Civique) may have fired on the Germans, there was no occurrence of Franktireurkrieg ("francs-tireurs war") in Dinant. The latter was a fabrication of the German soldiers' imagination. Lastly, as Keller's conclusions rely solely on the latter's accounts, their validity is questionable. Axel Tixhon, a historian who specializes in the events of August 1914, argues that this work faces a challenge as it pursues objectives that differ from those of scientific research.

Philippe Pétain and Charles de Gaulle


Two significant individuals who played vital roles in World War II were present in Dinant. Firstly, 58-year-old Philippe Pétain served as a colonel under Charles Lanrezac, commander-in-chief of the 5th French Army during the war. Colonel Pétain led the 4th Brigade of the 1st Army Corps and arrived in Dinant on August 13. He stayed with Joseph Chot, a professor of history, and his spouse during his time there.

The other influential figure was Charles de Gaulle, who was only 23 years old at the time and served as a young lieutenant. He encountered his baptism by fire on August 15, 1914. He led the first section of the 11th company of the Arras 33rd infantry regiment, under the command of General Duplessis. Following a forced march, he arrived in Dinant on the night of August 14–15. Observing that the Germans had not yet occupied the town, his unit rested on the ground in a street in Dinant's faubourg Saint-Médard. In his 2014 published war diaries, he provides detailed descriptions of the events from the 15th, including the circumstances leading to his injury as his unit crossed the Dinant bridge (now named after him) to support the troops engaged in the battle for the citadel.

"'I've barely crossed the twenty meters or so that separate us from the entrance to the bridge when I receive a whiplash-like blow to the knee that makes me miss my footing. The first four with me are also mowed down in the blink of an eye. I fall, and Sergeant Debout falls on top of me, killed stiff! Then, for half a minute, I'm surrounded by a hail of bullets. I can hear them cracking on the cobblestones and parapets, in front, behind and beside me! I also hear them thud into the corpses and wounded strewn across the ground. I think to myself: 'My man, you're there!' Then, on reflection: 'The only chance you've got of getting out of this is to drag yourself across the road to a house that's luckily open next door.''"

He crawled on his stomach while clutching his sabre that was secured to his wrist by a lanyard and eventually made it to Madame Meurice's residence. The house was filled with civilians and soldiers, including a French Major who lost control after sustaining an injury to the head. The injured soldier was then transported to Charleroi via Anthée and finally to the Hôpital Saint-Joseph in Paris where he underwent surgery.

On September 11, 1927, Philippe Pétain, who was then serving as the vice-president of the Conseil supérieur de la guerre, visited Dinant with his aide-de-camp, Captain de Gaulle. Together, they inaugurated the L'Assaut monument, which had been sculpted by Alexandre Daoust. The monument was located in the French cemetery of the Dinant citadel.

On August 15, 2014, a statue of Lieutenant de Gaulle was erected just before the entrance to the bridge on the left bank. There is a commemorative plaque at the exact place where he was wounded, which marks the episode that had a significant impact on his life. The plaque raises the question of why he survived while many others were left behind.

Prince Maximilian of Saxony
At the time of the events, Maximilian von Sachsen, the brother of King Frederick-Augustus III of Saxony, served as chaplain to the German 23rd Division during the invasion of Belgium. He witnessed the atrocities committed by his army and later affirmed these observations.

"'If I could have foreseen this march through Belgium and all the things that went with it, I would have refused to follow the army as a military chaplain.'"

Hermann Hoffmann, a German chaplain, discusses in his memoir how in September 1914, he encountered another volunteer chaplain in Belgium, Prince Max, brother of the King of Saxony, whose neutrality had been violated. With tears in his eyes, Prince Max expressed that if a just god existed, Germany would lose the war due to the atrocities committed in Belgium.

Finally, some historians of Dinant identify Maximilien de Saxe as the officer who intervened after the Tschoffen Wall shoot-out to prevent a potential mass execution at Dinant prison, though there is no evidence to support this claim. However, it is known that he intervened in Sorinnes, a few kilometers away, to halt the execution of civilians.

Documents

 * André Dartevelle, Trois journées d'août 1914 (200 min). Prod. Dérives, with RTBF, WIP, Pillarbox, VRT, VAAF, 2014.
 * Céline Sérusiaux, Melvin Wittocx, "Dimanche 23", le jour où tout a basculé" archive, matele.be, 2014.

Street theater

 * "674", Reconstitution historique by Compagnie du Rocher Bayard, 2014.