Dinant Massacre

The Third German Army of Commander Max Klemens von Hausen is in charge of the invasion of Belgium and France in August 1914, following the Schlieffen Plan. On August 15, the Saxon Chasseur Regiments nos. 11, 12 and 13 try to force the passage of the Meuse in the city of Dinant, being rejected by the artillery of the French Fifth Army on the opposite bank of the river. The French reconquered the city hours later, capturing some German artillery pieces. Between August 16 and 20, the French build a stronghold on the left bank of the river, taking the railway station and the main factories. The German counterattack is limited to long-range artillery fire.

On August 20, the Line Infantry Regiments 103, 177, 178 and 182, the Rifle Regiment 108, the Grenadier Regiments 100 and 101 and the Hunter Battalions 11 and 12 march on the city. The next day, they began the assault on the city on the right bank of the river, setting fire to some buildings on the night of the 21st. On the 22nd the Germans occupied the entire right bank of the river, beginning the reconstruction of the bridges over the Meuse.

On the morning of August 23, German engineers attempting to rebuild the bridges are attacked by French artillery and rifle fire. Alleging that the civilian population is trying to attack the German army, the withdrawal of the city is ordered and an artillery bombardment begins that lasts several hours. Afterwards, the German soldiers return and begin shooting the civilian population in retaliation and looting the city, causing a total of six hundred and two victims that same day. Between August 21 and 25, six hundred and seventy-four civilians died at the hands of the German army during the capture of the city.

During the war, the Belgian government unsuccessfully attempted to open several international commissions of inquiry in order to judge the violations of the Law of Nations committed by the German armies during the invasion. After the war, a Reichstag commission led by Professor Meurer publishes a memoir on The Legend of the Dinant Snipers (1929) that attempts to justify the deaths of civilians in the city. The mayor of Dinant commissions his own investigation from Dom Norbert Nieuwland and Maurice Tschoffen, who publish their conclusions that same year, denying the existence of civilians who fought the invading army.

In reality, the occupation of Dinant, like that of Leuven, was part of the German strategy that tried to ensure the cooperation of the Belgian civilian population through fear of reprisals.