the attack on the offices of the 3rd division
(liége, august 6, 1914)
from accounts by general major stassin, commanders vin?otte and buisset, captains lhermite and renard, adjutant burlet and private poncelet
the aspect of st.-foi street on august 5, 1914, will never be forgotten by those who were there on that date. officers and soldiers, covered with dust, came hurrying along from the quays and from st. leonard street and defrecheux street, towards the offices of the military headquarters of the fortified position. with feverish haste, they hurried along through the crowds of young men in the street, who, with their tri-coloured cockade in their buttonholes, were shouting and singing in their enthusiasm, for they had all come to offer their life for their country. everyone was in high spirits, as the greatest confidence and certainty of victory reigned supreme. the various groups were chatting and joking with each other, and the arrival and departure of the military couriers were greeted with amusing sallies. "bring me back a helmet!" called out one man. "i would[pg 18] rather have a lance to make a hat-pin with for my wife!" cried another. bursts of laughter greeted every speech. young men, rich and poor, were all there together, fraternising with each other, all actuated by a fine burst of patriotic enthusiasm. here and there, forming a contrast to this careless gaiety, were the farmers and cattle-dealers, in their smocks, with their iron-tipped sticks. they all looked more or less anxious and were discussing gruffly the requisition prices.
"make way there!" called out a voice authoritatively.
a gendarme suddenly appeared, carrying a pigeon crouching in a woman's hat. he was followed by a wretched-looking woman in tears, with dishevelled hair, and by a shifty-looking individual. both of them had a shrinking attitude as they were hustled along. the man kept repeating in a mechanical way: "let us go! let us go!"
"down with all spies!" yelled the crowd and fists threatened the two boches, as they disappeared under the archway. several carts, under the care of a sub-officer, followed. they were full of weapons and war equipment of various kinds. the news soon spread that fifteen thousand guns had just been discovered in a cellar in st. marguerite street and more than fifty thousand lances, saddles, revolvers, and machine-guns in a house in jonckeu street, which, from cellar to attic, had been converted into a veritable arsenal. a thrill of anger ran through the whole crowd.
inside the house which was the headquarters of the staff, feverish activity reigned. night and day, without ceasing and without any rest, the officers had[pg 19] been at work, for, we may as well confess it, we had had too much faith in the loyalty of our neighbours, and the ultimatum had taken us by surprise. everything had to be thought of and everything organised within a few days. motor-cars, horses, cattle, and fodder had to be requisitioned. houses in the firing line would have to be destroyed, trenches and shelters must be constructed. there were, in fact, thousands of things to be done, in order to complete and improve the defence of the forts.
the telephone bell kept ringing and couriers rushed off every minute along the various routes, carrying orders from the governor to the various points threatened.
towards midnight, st.-foi street was silent again. at the military headquarters, the officers continued their work and, at the door of the building, a bureau carriage and several motor-cars were stationed.
suddenly, shouts and cries of "hurrah!" were to be heard. surrounded by a crowd, wild with delight, an open motor-car appeared.
standing on the cushions, engineer hiard was to be seen waving a german flag. it was the flag of the 89th regiment of the mecklenburg grenadiers, which a soldier, fernand lange, had just taken at the wandre bridge, at herstal. windows opened, and faces, with eyes puffed up with sleep, appeared. bare arms were to be seen waving handkerchiefs, and the enthusiasm was beyond all words.
gradually the tumult ceased once more and there was silence again. day broke and a dim light illumined the street. suddenly a motor-car appeared through the morning mist, and two lancers, who were seated in it, cried out, "the english are here!"[pg 20] behind them were five german officers, preceding soldiers in grey uniform marching in two ranks and shouldering guns.[3]
a crowd of men and women of the people accompanied them, shouting joyfully: "long live the english!" commander marchand was standing in the doorway of the headquarters building, smoking a cigarette. he looked at the procession in amazement, wondering whether the men were truce-bearers or deserters. he advanced a few steps to meet them in a hesitating way.
inside the building, the officers were still at work, taking no notice of the noise in the street. by chance, commander delannoy went to the window. his office is on the second floor and looks on to st. leonard street. he saw about thirty germans in this street. he rushed back to the landing shouting: "the germans are here!" commander vin?otte, who was on the first floor, loaded his revolver and rushed down the stairs. commander buisset and lieutenant renard followed him.
in the meantime, the five german officers walked slowly up to commander marchand and, putting their hands behind their backs, armed themselves with a revolver in the right hand and a dagger in the left. when within two yards of the commander, their chief officer, a tall, stout man, whom we learnt afterwards was major count joachim von alvensleben, spoke to the belgian officer in english. no one knows what he said. marchand suddenly shouted: "you shall never pass!" all the german officers, feigning no longer, fired immediately. marchand[pg 21] and vin?otte fired back. three german officers fell. alvensleben rushed to the door to enter the house, but vin?otte forthwith fired four shots at him, and the major fell forward head first. the last german officer fell at his side, brought down by captain lhermite with the butt end of his gun. following the example of their chiefs, the enemy soldiers opened fire, holding the butt end of their guns on their hips. they aimed badly and the shots grazed the walls. commander sauber sprang out of the carriage standing at the door, and discharged his browning on the assailants. a german slipped behind the motor-cars and aimed at sauber from the footpath. he missed the commander, but hit marchand, who fell down, wounded at the back of the neck and in the chest.
at this moment, about twenty germans turned the corner of the street and rushed to the rescue of their countrymen. hidden behind a barrier, they fired into the windows and entrance hall. colonel stassin, chief of the staff, was working with general leman in a back room of the ground floor. at the sound of the shooting, he rushed along the hall and, in spite of a shower of bullets, out into the street. a terrible sight awaited him there. commander marchand was lying in a pool of blood, and four belgian officers were fighting courageously with about thirty germans. the colonel did not hesitate a moment. before all things, the governor must be saved. he returned to the office and took the general to the royal foundry which adjoins the buildings. helped by captain de krahe and captain lebbe, the two chiefs scaled the wall, between the houses, and, by taking st. leonard street, reached the vivegnis station. from[pg 22] there, they went by carriage to the loncin fort, where the governor remained.
in the meantime, commander vin?otte, in order to cover the general's retreat, called together the soldiers and the gendarmes of the guard and led them to the attack, seconded by captain buisset, captain lhermite, and lieutenant renard. with a gun which he found in the street, commander hauteclerc joined in the attack. the belgians were ten against thirty, but, in spite of this, they sustained the fight with advantage to themselves. on their knees on the ground, crouching down on the footpath, or sheltered behind doors, they avoided the enemy's balls, whilst their well-aimed firing brought down many victims. when about ten were killed, the others, most of whom were wounded, took flight. one alone, the last of them all, posted opposite the headquarters, continued firing at the windows. adjutant burlet, from the balcony above, brought him down. undecided which way to escape, the germans stopped at the corner of st. leonard street. a few of them waved the white flag.
"forward!" cried vin?otte, at the head of his courageous little troop, rushing off in pursuit of them. in st. leonard street, two more germans were killed. unfortunately the belgians only had their revolvers and, thanks to this, the remaining boches escaped.
after placing men to guard each end of the street, the officers returned to headquarters and carried the body of commander marchand into a room on the ground floor. the unfortunate officer gave no sign of life. he had a frightful wound at the back of his neck and a great clot of blood at his chest. a second victim, a gendarme, named houba, was placed at his[pg 23] side. in an adjoining room the wounds of two soldiers were quickly dressed. the bodies of the enemy were then searched. in major von alvensleben's pocket, a 1/60,000 map of liége was found, on which an itinerary was traced in pencil from hermée to coron-meuse. had the germans really followed that itinerary and had they managed to come unseen across the waste land of the vignes and so enter the town? it is possible, but it is quite certain that their departure was as mysterious as their arrival, as they were neither seen to enter nor leave the town at any point of the fortified region. it is much more probable that they were hidden inside the town when they prepared this expedition. the following rumoured version of the affair is much the more probable explanation. a few days before the declaration of war, it is said that some danes took a flat at thier, liége. on the evening of august 5th, they paid their bill to their landlady, an honest, unsuspecting woman, telling her that the town did not seem safe and that they intended leaving the following night. towards three in the morning, she heard a noise and, getting up, went to see them off. to her amazement, she saw that they were wearing german uniforms. without attempting any explanation, the boches made off. were these men alvensleben and his friends?
whatever were the means employed, the attempt on the offices of the 3rd division was a most daring exploit, and if it had not been for the heroic resistance of the staff officers and of the soldiers on guard, the germans would certainly have succeeded in capturing the governor of the stronghold and in getting hold of the documents concerning the defence.
footnotes:
[3] some of these soldiers belonged to the 7th regiment of chasseurs.
