Sack of Dinant
1914 executions and looting in Belgium / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sack of Dinant[nb 1] or Dinant massacre[nb 2] refers to the mass execution of civilians, looting and sacking of Dinant, Neffe and Bouvignes-sur-Meuse in Belgium, perpetrated by German troops during the Battle of Dinant against the French in World War I. Convinced that the civilian population was hiding francs-tireurs, the German General Staff issued orders to execute the population and set fire to their houses.
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The Sacking of Dinant | |
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Part of the Rape of Belgium in World War I | |
Native name | Sac de Dinant |
Location | Dinant, Namur Province, Wallonia, Belgium |
Coordinates | 50°15′40″N 4°54′43″E |
Date | 21–28 August 1914 |
Target | Belgian civilians |
Attack type | War crime, massacre |
Deaths | 674 |
Perpetrators | Imperial German Army |
Motive | Presumed presence of francs-tireurs |
674 individuals died due to gunfire, claiming the lives of men, women, and children, as it spread throughout the town from August 23, 1914, and afterward. Dinant lost two-thirds of its domestic properties to the fire. After being stripped of weapons on August 6, the civilian population had been exhorted to abstain from taking up arms against the invaders.
Belgium vehemently protested, and the global community was outraged, referring to the massacre and other outrages perpetrated during the invasion and occupation of Belgium by Germany as the "Rape of Belgium". Denied for many years, it was only in 2001 that the German government issued an official apology to both Belgium and the victims' descendants.