Palestine German deaths

[stevenbecker]

Mates,

I notice that the Germans held a rememberance at Jersulam lately.

Photos by Eran shows some of the panels;

Two that interested me were;

I did notice this man in your photo killed or died 8 Nov 1917

Lt Rolf Scheler Bavarian Jasta 304

I take it he was killed in the Allied 30 plane raid on the air field around Arak el Menshiye?

As I also notice this man

Gefr Harald Roepke Ballon Abw Kan Zug 136

or the Bavarian AA flak Section 136

I wonder if Ballon is Balloon, and what was a balloon sect with this AA flak unit?

Killed or died 3 Oct 1918

Any ideas on how Lt Scheler was killed and what a balloon unit was with the 136th AA Sect

Cheers

S.B

[The Prussian]

Hello Steve!

Lt. Scheler, born feb.8, 1893 in Aeschbach, was wounded in action nov.8, 1917 in Wadi-Sarar, he died nov.13, 1917 in Jerusalem.

The unit of Roepke was the Flakzug 136. Earlier those Flak units were called Bak (Ballon-Abwehr-Kanonen), later it changed into Flak

[michaeldr]

Mates,

I notice that the Germans held a rememberance at Jersulam Nazareth lately.

Photos by Eran Michael shows some of the panels;

Two that interested me were;

I did notice this man in your photo killed or died 8 Nov 1917

Lt Rolf Scheler Bavarian Jasta 304

I take it he was killed in the Allied 30 plane raid on the air field around Arak el Menshiye?

As I also notice this man

Gefr Harald Roepke Ballon Abw Kan Zug 136

or the Bavarian AA flak Section 136

I wonder if Ballon is Balloon, and what was a balloon sect with this AA flak unit?

Killed or died 3 Oct 1918

Any ideas on how Lt Scheler was killed and what a balloon unit was with the 136th AA Sect

Cheers

S.B

[Guest]

Mates,

Danke

Cheers

S.B

[michaeldr]

Regarding the action of November 1917

O Nikolajsen has the following in his 'Ottoman Aviation 1909-1919' (2^nd version 2012)

“... FA304, the Bavarian unit, under Capt. Walz had been caught by the fire at Haydarpasa and lost 5 of its aircraft. It was not until the 25th of October that it arrived at its designated field close to the railway station of Arak el Menchir.... …..........

… the British intensified their efforts and on the 8th of November a large formation of aircraft bombed the field at Arak el Menchir, the newly arrived FA304 being taken by surprise. One aircraft was destroyed and 4 others damaged. When the airfield was evacuated later in the afternoon, after the British had broken through the front, these aircraft had to be burned by its crews. While most of the personnel of FA304 were rescued by the unit's trucks, only two aircraft were flown to safety.”

A slightly different account appears in 'The Changing Land between the Jordan and the Sea' by Benjamin Z. Kedar

“On 7^th Nov, with the British drawing closer, Squadron Commander Waltz ordered the evacuation of equipment to Wadi es-Sarar to the north, and preparations there for a new airfield. On 8^th Nov, British planes bombed the airfield at 'Araq el-Manshiya at noon and again at 16:40. … … …

Early in the morning of 9^th Nov, the Turkish commander informed the Germans that the British would arrive within the hour. The six serviceable planes immediately took off for the north. Equipment impossible to evacuate was burned, and at 08:30 the last soldiers set off northward on foot, their equipment loaded onto wagons pulled by oxen. In the meantime the Turks destroyed the railway station near the village. Waltz, the squadron's commander, was the last to leave the place; his plane took off at 09:00.

The withdrawal was unduly hasty. Not until midnight did troopers of the 3^rd Australian Light Horse Brigade reach the village's railway station, and only the next morning did they enter the village. As they rode through the deserted German airfield they saw destroyed hangars, many corpes, and the skeletons of seven burnt-out planes.”

Kedar's footnote suggests that his sources included Bericht über die Räumung des Flugplatzes Arak el-Manchije. Bavarian War Archives, Munich, Luftschiffer u. Flieger, No.54, (as well as Gullett and Jones)

[Guest]

Mate,

Yes the 9th LHR is reported with the capture, but I did wonder where Rolf came into the operation?

Was he hit by a bomb on the ground during the air raid or was he shot down.

From what I can find it looks like he was hit by bomb shrapnel in the raid and recovered to Jerusalm to died?

Cheers

S.B

[michaeldr]

The aerial shots here date from after the action in which Lt Rolf Scheler was mortally wounded,

however they will give a good idea of the location.

http://www.gda-old.bayern.de/bestaende/viewer/viewer.php?show=/bestaende/palaestina/bayhsta_bs_palaestina_0462

The above shows the village of 'Arak el-Manshiya. The white arrow indicates North, and I understand that the Bavarian air base was to the West of the village. The railway line and the Turkish station are clearly seen (lower centre) and it was usual practice for the Ottoman/German air bases to be sited close to such installations for ease of supply

When Squadron Commander Waltz relocated northwards to Wadi es-Sarar, then it is reasonable to assume that this new site would also be near a railway station for the convenience of supply.

There are many aerial photographs of this second location in the Bavarian collection and they can be seen here

http://www.gda-old.bayern.de/findmittel/ead/findbuch.php?fb=478&lft=18609&rgt=21188&id=18604

One of these later found its way into allied hands, complete with a German Staff Officer's notes

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205286459

The Bavarian collection contains several photographs of various members of FA304 including Walts, however as far as I can tell these were taken later when the squadron was based at Afula and therefore I can find no trace of a shot of Scheler

see http://www.gda-old.bayern.de/findmittel/ead/findbuch.php?fb=478&lft=49860&rgt=58181&id=49855

and in particular

http://www.gda-old.bayern.de/bestaende/viewer/viewer.php?show=/bestaende/palaestina/bayhsta_bs-palaestina_1259

http://www.gda-old.bayern.de/bestaende/viewer/viewer.php?show=/bestaende/palaestina/bayhsta_bs-palaestina_1259-a

http://www.gda-old.bayern.de/bestaende/viewer/viewer.php?show=/bestaende/palaestina/bayhsta_bs-palaestina_1259-b