I can swear according to the truth that in the station square where my company lay, the inhabitants were the first to fire on us from the houses, and that it was only then, after the Belgians had commenced the firing, that we Germans fired on the houses in the station square.
Court of the Government-General at Brussels.
Present: Dr. IVERS, Judge of Military Law. Secretary, RAMBEAU.
Landsturm-soldier Küppers, Landsturm Battalion Neuss, made the following statement:
As to Person: My name is Hubert Küppers, born at Güchen, district of Grevenbroich, on April 11th, 1877; Catholic.
As to Case: I am a soldier of the 1st Company, Landsturm Infantry Battalion Neuss.
On August 25th I was, in the evening between 7 and 9 o'clock, sentinel in front of the main entrance to the station building at Louvain. At about 8 o'clock the leader of our company arrived with his company in the station square. One part of the company drew up between our baggage-carts in the station square, another part lay down on the ground a few paces from us. The company had only been in the station square for about five minutes when I saw a green rocket go up, going in the direction above the Hôtel "Maria Theresa" at the station square. I saw how the rocket became extinguished above the Monument in the station square and a number of bright, many-coloured little balls fell down, which all went out in the air before they touched the ground.
Hardly had the green rocket and the small balls become extinguished when, on the opposite side of the town, and also in the direction towards the station, a red rocket became visible. After a few minutes the red rocket also became extinguished, and immediately afterwards a number of luminous little balls, blue, red, and green, from the rocket fell down and were extinguished before touching the ground. Only a few seconds later a murderous fire was opened upon the German soldiers from the windows and attics of nearly all the houses in the station square. I am certain that the two rockets were a sign to the Belgians for commencing the fire upon the German soldiers. At 9 o'clock I was relieved. I immediately reported to Non-commissioned Officer Grünewald, on duty in the guardroom, that at about 8 o'clock I had seen two rockets go up, one from the left of the town and the other from the right--the first, a green one, followed immediately by a red one, from both of which fell a quantity of luminous, many-coloured, small balls.