Sack of Dinant

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The Sacking of Dinant
Part of the Rape of Belgium in World War I
Devastated Dinant (top) and as it was a month before the war (bottom)
Sack of Dinant (Belgium)
Native name	Sac de Dinant
Location	Dinant, Namur Province, Wallonia, Belgium
Coordinates	50°15′40″N 4°54′43″E / 50.26111°N 4.91194°E / 50.26111; 4.91194
Date	21–28 August 1914
Target	Belgian civilians
Attack type	War crime, massacre
Deaths	674
Perpetrators	Imperial German Army Max von Hausen
Motive	Presumed presence of francs-tireurs

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.

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.
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