ALLEGED GERMAN OUTRAGES

33
belonging to the Burgomaster of Peronne. This gentleman is a
member of the Belgian Parliament, belonging to the Catholic party.
His farm is in the commuue of Peronne. The English were compelled
to retreat as well as some French cavalry which was with them.
The Germans advanced and captured the farm, which they burnt.
They took the Burgomaster and his manservant prisoner, and carried
them off in front of the Hotel de Ville of Peronne (Belgium), which
is not far off and there they shot them both. They bandaged the
Burgomaster's eyes with his tricolour scarf of office. I saw the
corpses, but did not see the men shot. The relations of the dead
men were ordered not to touch the bodies, which were left in the
street 48 hours. They also burnt the Hotel de Ville and 62 houses
on the same day. The Germans said, as they always did, that the
civilians had fired on them. That is untrue. Three or four days
before they arrived the Burgomaster had informed the civilian population,
by means of circulars distributed to each house and placards,
that all guns and fire-arms must be deposited at the Hotel de Ville,
and this was done. These arms deposited at the Hotel de Ville were
broken up by the Germans during their stay in the town.
ENGINEER.
About the 21st August at Monceau-sur-Sambre the Germans shot b 17
a young man belonging to the district named R . . . He was 18. Monoeau-
They shot him in his garden. This is how it happened : the Germans g ur-Samfere.
burst in the front door, the young man ran out into the garden by
the back door, the Germans shot him firing from the corner of the
house into the garden. Immediately afterwards the Germans seized
the young man's father and another of his sons aged 22. They took
them to the courtyard of a chateau (the Chateau Baslieu) and shot
them there together with some others. They shot the son first, then
they compelled the father to stand close to his son's feet and to fix
his eyes upon him and shot him in that position. The Germans
buried them in front of the chateau. With regard to the other son,
the son shot in the garden, the neighbours yielding to the entreaties
of his mother, carried him into the house and put him on a bed. The
next morning the Germans arrived and asked where the corpse was
to be found. The neighbours were compelled to say that it was in
a room in the house. The Germans accordingly fetched straw,
entered the house, found the corpse, put straw round the bed on
which it was lying and set fire to it. The house was completely
burnt down. They also burnt 312 houses at Monceau. It would
appear that they had a fixed intention to commit atrocities at Monceam.
Many people living in the surrounding villages have told me that
the troops were always asking about the whereabouts of Monceau :
" Where is Monceau ? Which is the road to Monceau ? "
BELGIAN REFUGEE.
I arrived in England direct from Montigny on Wednesday last, b 18
18th November. I was there continually since July. It is 2 kilometres
lower down the river than Charleroi. On Saturday, the 22nd
August, "Uhlans arrived at 7 a.m. They were engaged with the
French Army on each side of the town some distance away, about
4 kilometres. The French were in ambush—a small detachment
only of 150 or 200—in the wood situated on a very steep hill overlooking
the main road, about 60 or 70 metres in height. The Germans
commenced to march through the town at about 1.30 p.m. First
came the cyclists, about 20, then about 50 infantry, then a good
100 Belgian hostages collected from the neighbouring villages, two
or three of whom I knew personally, one F., a priest, and another
priest whose name I do not know ; then more cyclists, then more
B