ANDENNE, Belgium, a small manufac turing town on the southern bank of the Meuse, eastward of Namur and west of Huy, with a population of nearly 9,000 inhabitants, chiefly engaged in paper-making, faience and pottery work. For many centuries, down to 1785, a female religious community belonging to one of the °open° orders, i.e., not bound by any vows, had existed here. On the opposite bank of the river lies the town of Seilles, connected with Andenne by a bridge for pedestrians with a single carriageway. During the German invasion of Belgium this light structure was blown up by the Belgian troops at 8 A.M. on 19 Aug. 1914. A few hours later an advanced guard of Uhlans entered Andenne, seized the cash at the tax-office and took away with them the burgomaster, an old, corpulent man, who was compelled to keep pace with their horses at a run. By evening a large body of German troops had entered the town without meeting any resistance. On the following afternoon (20 August) shots were fired from. the opposite bank of the Meuse, from Seilles, to which the Germans in Andenne replied. Immediately turning upon the inhabitants (of Andenne), the Germans brought machine guns into play and shot them down in large numbers for over two hours. At 7 P.M. a considerable portion of the town was in flames. At 6 on the fol lowing morning the Germans began to drag the inhabitants from their houses. Men, women and children were driven into the square, where the sexes were separated. Three men were then
shot and a fourth bayoneted. The German colonel in command accused the population of firing on the soldiers; some of the prisoners were picked out, taken to the banks of the Meuse and there shot. °Other places have suf fered more than Andenne, but no other Belgian town was the theatre of so many scenes of ferocity and cruelty° (Belgian Report). The Bryce Committee stated in their report that °About 400 people lost their lives in this massacre, some on the banks of the Meuse, where they were shot according to orders given, and some in the cellars of the houses where they had taken refuge.° The German reply to the allegations (White Book; see AERSCHOT) was that "the demeanor of the in pecting troops," and that thand-bombs and hand-grenades were rained down on the de fenseless men nearest at hand. . . . Machine guns sent their murderous bullets into the files of the soldiery." In the same report, Maj. Freiherr von Langermann testifies that the German losses were °singularly small; the in habitants had aimed very badly." Lieutenant Gfitze, who had been sent to Andenne to in terrogate some of the survivors, reports that the burgomaster handed him a list of 234 per sons who had been shot. "An examination of this list," said Lieutenant Giitze, °proved that only in the case of 196 persons is it absolutely certain that they were shot; 28 were merely missing."