Transcriber's Note.
A list of the changes made can be found at the end of the book.
THE GERMAN FURYIN BELGIUM
THE GERMAN FURY
IN BELGIUM
EXPERIENCES OF A NETHERLAND JOURNALIST
DURING FOUR MONTHS WITH THE GERMAN
ARMY IN BELGIUM
BY
L. MOKVELD
War-Correspondent of "De Tijd"
TRANSLATED BY
C. THIEME
London Correspondent of "De Nieuwe Courant"
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
MCMXVII
Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.,London and Aylesbury.
PREFACE
Among the many books published on the behaviourof the German Army in Belgium, this account bya distinguished Dutch journalist must occupy aunique place. It is written by a neutral, who held,at the start, no brief for either side. It is writtenby an eye-witness, who chronicles not what heheard, but what he saw. It is written also by onewho mingled with the German troops and was presentat the inception of the whole campaign of outrage.Mr. Mokveld took his life in his hands when, withgreat courage and devotion, he visited Visé andLiège and Louvain at the most critical moments.His character of neutral journalist was only a flimsyprotection among the drunken and excited Germantroops. But his boldness was justified, for aftermany adventures he came safely through, and hewas enabled in those early weeks to see the wholeof Belgium from Liège to the Yser and from Antwerpto Dinant. The result is an admirable piece of war-correspondence,which bears on every page theproofs of shrewd observation and a sincere love oftruth and honest dealing.
There is much in Mr. Mokveld's narrative tointerest the historian. For example, he gives a6fuller account than we have yet had of that obscureperiod when Liège had fallen, but its northern fortswere still holding out. But it is less a history ofthe campaign than a chronicle of those lesser incidentsof war which reveal the character of the combatants.No more crushing indictment of Germanmethods has been issued, the more crushing sinceit is so fair and reasonable. The author has veryreadily set down on the credit side any act of Germanhumanity or courtesy which he witnessed or heardof. But the credit side is meagre and the blacklist of crimes portentous. Episodes like the burningof Visé and the treatment of British prisoners inthe train at Landen would be hard to match inhistory for squalid horror.
Two facts are made clear by Mr. Mokveld's book,if, indeed, the world has ever doubted them. Thefirst is that the German authorities, believing theirvictory to be beyond question, deliberately sanctioneda campaign of frightfulness. They did notimagine that they would ever be held to account.They wished to terrorise their opponents by showingthem what resistance involved. The atrocitieswere not the blunders of drink-sodden reservists,but the result of the theories of half-witted militarypedants. The second is