German Regiment

[stevebrocklesby]

Dear All

My Great Grandfather, Rudolf Kallenbach, served in the 233rd Reserve Infantry Regiment later on as regimental adjutant (previously various other positions from 1914, including 3rd battalion adjutant & munitions officer) until the general staff were transferred wholesale to take command of Jaeger Regiment 14, late on in the war.

Can anyone tell me any details of these units and why the transfer (RIR 233 badly hit by casualties?).

He received wounds, which ultimately proved fatal on 15 July 1918 on the Marne. I actually know quite a lot of detail about the incident, but I wonder what is generally known about the movements of the units which may help me to track him throughout the war.

Kind regards

Steve Brocklesby

[bob lembke]

Steve;

The book 251 Divisions will probably give you the activities/locations of the division, at least, but I do not have it, nor even have I seen it. I have heard some complaints about its 100% accuracy. I have sources that will probably give spotty locations/dates, but nothing comprehensive. My sources are especially weak for 1918.

Do you have a date for the transfer from the infantry division to the Jaegern?

Perhaps people will start posting bits and pieces of info. I will go look in some of my sources.

Bob Lembke

[Hoplophile]

Bob Lembke is quite right. The Histories of 251 Divisions is less than completely reliable. It was compiled in haste from French and British by a group of poorly-trained intelligence personnel on the staff of the American Expeditionary Force. It also seems to have been written without the help of an overall editor or even a decent set of standards for rendering German unit names into English. This said, it is the handiest document that we have, and provides a good first cut for further research.

According The Histories of 251 Divisions, the 233 Reserve Infantry Regiment served with the 195th Infantry Division in 1916 and 1917. In 1918, however, its place was taken by the 14th Jäger Regiment.

This is consistent with the account of the transfer of the regimental staff of 233 Reserve Infantry Regiment to the 14th Jäger Regiment. (The regimental staffs of Jäger regiments were tactical headquarters that served to coordinate the actions of several Jäger battalions, each of which retained its status as an administratively autonomous unit. In many cases, the regimental staffs were provided by cavalry regiments that had either been disbanded or combined with other cavalry regiments to form dismounted cavalry regiments.)

I don't have a date for the disbandment of the 233rd Reserve Infantry Regiment. However, I am not surprised that it was chosen for disbandment. The number tells me that it was one of the 'war volunteer' regiments that was raised in August of 1914 and sent to the front in October of that year. There would thus have been no effort made to preserve the unit for the sake of the post-war army.

The 233rd Reserve Infantry Regiment was also the only infantry unit in the 195th Division that was not a Jäger unit. Thus, as the infantry components of the other 'Jäger' divisions (the 200th Infantry Division and the Jäger Division) were composed entirely of Jäger units, one can see the attraction of converting the 195th Division into a 'thoroughbred' Jäger formation by replacing the infantry battalions of the 233rd Reserve Infantry Regiment with Jäger battalions.

Another contributor to this decision seems to have been the heavy casualties sufferred by the 195th Division in Flanders in November of 1917. If the 223rd Infantry Regiment was particularly hard hit, it might have been easier to disband it (and send surplus men to its sister regiments) than to try to rebuild it.

[Landsturm]

Something on the 51st Reserve-Division here and here

I have nothing on your Jäger-unit... Do you know what division was it in? And do you actually mean Jäger Regiment... or -Battalion?

[stevebrocklesby]

My knowledge of German formations is pretty sketchy - I'm new at this, so I may mean battalion rather than regiment, but I am not clear on this yet. My apologies if this is confusing.

My parents have given me a rough and ready first draft translation, from a (rather flowery) eye witness account of the action in which Kallenbach was wounded. In it there is reference to "The battalions" of the 14th Jaeger Regiment, who were in "one of the divisions" of the Seventh Army. The account is an extract from the journal of Colonel Von Riesenthal.

During this action, they were following the advance of Jaeger battalions 15 & 19 and they were moving up with Jaeger battalion 22.

I will try and expand on this later as and when I get further information.

Regards

Steve

[Landsturm]

It's possible that 14th Jäger Regiment was a bigger formation (At least I know that there was 3rd Jäger regiment that operated in the Balkans) or a peace-time unit. Most times when I read about Jägers in WW1 they are mentioned in battalions...

[Jack Sheldon]

The easiest way to get to the bottom of this is to look in the regimental histories. Both exist and are of a good length to provide detail but, unfortunately, I have neither and a lot of mainstream records get a bit sketchy as 1918 progresses. The two books are: Das Grossherzoglich Mecklenburgische Jaeger-Bataillon Nr 14 Hans Schwenck zu Schweinsberg/ Wilhelm Bornefeld: Berlin 1926 and Kriegserlebnisse 1914 - 18 im Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 233 Wilhelm Brendler: Zeulenroda 1929.

The whole thing is a bit of a mystery. 195th Inf Div fought until the end of the war and was not disbanded. In early 1918 Jaeger Bn 14 was part of the Ostseedivision, operating against Finland from March to May 1918. Then the trail goes quiet.

I suspect that what happened is that once that campaign was over the units and formatioons were shipped west to beef up other worn down divisions and that Jaeger 14 was either broken up and spread around RIR 233 as individual reinforcements, or that the unit was kept in one piece and subordinated to RIR 233 or the Division itself direct (not an uncommon occurence). If the individual reinforcement idea, or something like it occurred, then it is possible that the staff of Jaeger 14 did something else and the unit received a new command staff. The history would tell us.

On 15 Jul 18 Seventh Army was certainly engaged between the Aisne and the Marne, with at least some elements involved in an attack or offensive between 15 and 17 July. The 195th Division was certainly involved in this attack, so we are beginning to close in on the truth although, as I say, records are confused and Jaeger 14 does not get a mention. On the other hand Res Jaeger 8, originally part of 28th Res Division does and I do have that history. Later on, I shall take alook at it and see if it throws any light into the murk.

Jack

[bob lembke]

One point. As the war went on, about half-way, the various Jaeger battalions began to be assembled into Jaeger regiments, a formation that did not exist in 1914; traditionally, each army corps had only one Jaeger battalion, or none. In 1900 the Guards Corps (Prussian) had two battalions of Jaegers (one possibly "riflemen", not Jaegers; I am working from an imperfect English translation of a German book), one in each of its two infantry divisions; the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 17th, 19th, and 2nd Bavarian Army Corps seem to have one Jaeger battalion each. The 2nd, 4th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 14th (possibly 5, not 0), 15th, 16th, 18th, and 1st Bavarian Army Corps seem to not have a Jaeger battalion. The 12th (Saxon) Army Corps may have had 2-3 Jaeger battalions (again, a poor translation; why can't people publish German books in German?), or possibly none.

Between 1900 and 1914 I assume that some additional Jaeger battalions were added to several army corps, as the Army gradually increased in size.

But there did not seem to be a single Jaeger regiment at this time (1900 or even 1914). I think they were formed in 1916 or 1917 from an increased number of line and reserve Jaeger battalions in existence at that time.

One also should check to see if the Alpine Corps (actually a division) contained Jaeger battalions or regiments, as well as Alpine units.

I hope that this clarifies (and not confuses) the various references to Jaeger battalions and regiments.

Bob Lembke

[Jack Sheldon]

Steve

I am afraid that the Res Jaeger 8 idea was a dead end. It had been serving on the Western Front with a 'Jaeger Division' (first I have heard of one), which was disbanded in June 1918 and Res Jag 8 went off for rest and recuperation.

I can chip in the information, just in case you do not know, that your Great Grandfather succumbed to his wounds on 8 Aug 18 and is buried in the German Cemtery at Laon 'Champ de Manoeuvre' - Block 1 Grave 337.

In the meantime I am afraid that I see no alternative but to get hold of the regimental histories - particularly RIR 233. There is a copy available via www.zvab.com (site available in English) at a very reasonable €120: German regimental histories are notoriously expensive. Jaeger 14 is also available for €142 (search 'Wilhelm Bornefeld')

Jack

[Hoplophile]

A lot of clues to the mysteries discussed in this thread can be found in a great big doorstopper of a book called The Honour Book of the Green Colours (Ehrenbuch der Grünen Farbe). This book, which includes detailed articles on two of the Jäger regiments - Jäger Regiment 2 and Jäger Regiment 4 - makes it clear that the Jäger regiments were wartime organizations, each of which served as a means of integrating existing (and otherwise autonomous) Jäger battalions into the structure of one of the four 'Jäger divisions'.

The first three of the Jäger regiments (1, 2, and 3) were formed when the Alpine Corps (Alpenkorps) was put together in the spring of 1915. (The fourth regiment of this division was the Bavarian Life Guards Regiment.)

In 1916, four more Jäger regiments were formed (4,5, 6 and 8). As Jäger Regiments 4 and 5 (along with

Jäger Regiment 3 from the Alpine Corps) formed the 200th Infantry Division and Jäger Regiments 6 and 8 (along with RIR 233) formed the 195th Infantry Division, it is reasonable to speculate that a seventh Jäger regiment had been contemplated, but not formed.

In 1917, the three Jäger regiments of the Jäger Division were formed. These were numbered in a new series that began with 11.

Thus, in 1918, when a new Jäger regiment for the 195th Division is formed, it could either have been named Jäger Regiment 7 or Jäger Regiment 14. For whatever reason, the authories chose the latter.

There was no particular connection between the numbers carried by Jäger regiments and the numbers of their component battalions.

[Chris Henschke]

Here are some notes - (They were at Broodseinde in October, 1917)

'195 Div

Hooge sector 16 May 1917 Men killed

Second Army Intelligence Summary 15-31 May 1917

Losses. The losses in the 195th Div. have undoubtedly been very heavy, and prisoners state that it is common talk in the 8th Jäger Regt. That the 13th Res. Jäger Bn. has suffered about 50 killed and 200 wounded since they came into the line. It is definitely established that the 3rd Coy. Of this battalion has had 15 killed and 30-40 wounded.

Company Strength. The company strength of the 8th Jäger Bn. averages 60-70 men.

Reliefs. The 195th Div. expected to be relieved last night by the 5th Bav. Res. Div.

Prisoners. During yesterday, prisoners were taken from 9 companies of the 233rd R.I.R. and from all three machine-gun companies.

General. A number of wounded from the Jäger Bns. Of the 195th Div. interviewed at a C.C.S. were, on the whole, a fine looking lot of men and contained a good proportion of 1916, 1917and 1918 Classes and some Kriegsfreiwillige.

Prisoners of the 195th Div. stated that our artillery shoot too far and that it causes them very few casualties. Owing to the sodden state of the ground the shells burst badly, and unless a direct hit was obtained on a shell-hole, no damage was done. They described the ground as a “sump” (morass). '

Second Army Intelligence Summary 13 Oct 1917

'Information from prisoners

Men of 195 Div. captured on 12th October.

Machine Guns. It seems evident from a number of prisoners’ statements that a large number of machine-guns were actually in position prior to our attack on the 12th but with orders not to fire until the actual assault. It should be remembered that both the Jäger Regiments have an establishment of twice the number of machine guns – both heavy and light – as compared with other units.

Losses. Officers confirm that the losses of the 195 Div. have been severe, but one Bn. Commander ventured the opinion that the erratic nature of the French artillery bombardment had a much greater moral and material effect than ours which was always maintained on definite localities for long periods and could therefore be easily avoided.

N.C.O. and several men of 233 R.I.R., 195th Div.

Captured in D11 between 6 and 6.30 a.m. on 12th.

Machine Guns.- The number of light machine guns varies between 6 and 8 per Company. A large number of new ones have been delivered during the last few days.

Composition of 6th Coy.- Ration Strength – 250 men;

Trench strength – 150/200 men. No 1918, Class, and about 15 of the 1817 Class in the Company. The majority of the ages were between 20 and 30 years. The Company had four 2/Lieutenants.

Commanders.- Of the Division – Major-General HOFMANN.

233rd R.I.R. – Major RIESENTHAL.'

Second Army Intelligence Summary 14 Oct 1917

Chris Henschke

[Chris Henschke]

This is from II ANZAC intelligence, 10th October, 1917.

'Machine Guns in the 195th Division.

According to several prisoners' statements the Jager Battalions each have two M.G. Companies, that is to say a total of 24 heavy M.Gs per battalion. Of these, two per company were usually kept in reserve.

The 233rd R.I.R. has the normal establishment of one M.G. company per battalion.

As regards light M.Gs. each company has apparently its complement of one '08/15 gun.

Each M.G. Company of the 233rd R.I.R. had, according to one prisoners statement a telephone detachment attached, this detachment consisting of one N.C.O. and three men.

Roll of Prisoners passed into Corps cage between 6 p.m. 8th October and 6 p.m. 9th Oct.

195th Division.

233rd Inf. Regt. 5th Coy. 26 ORs

6th Coy 29 ORs

7th Coy 11 ORs

8th Coy 1 ORs

9th Coy 1 ORs

3rd M.G. Coy. 3 ORs'

II ANZAC Intelligence, 10th October, 1917.

Chris Henschke

[vb136]

A Gliederung des Deutschen Heeres 1918 ( date of publication not known) gives the infantry units of 195 ID as RIR 233 and Jägerregimente 6 and 8

[stevebrocklesby]

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the topic so far, your efforts and expertise are much appreciated and I hope it will continue.

As it happens, my German cousin, Bernd & my Dad, Peter, who now lives in Germany, have been working hard on this recently and have turned up a lot of really interesting information. I have just received the following email, which summarises things quite nicely, I think. Apart from anything else, it shows that I have been muddling my regiments with my battalions. The situation as regards composition of the relevant units now seems clear, though I welcome your comments:

Stephan

The following summary of the facts which I have so far ascertained may to help clarify matters.

According to Bernd, Rudolf Kallenbach first appears in the officer establishment of the Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment (RIR) 233 on 10.10.1914 with the rank of Offizierstellvertreter in the post of Adjutant of the 3rd Battallion. On 01.12.1914 he appears with the rank of Leutnant der Landwehr in the same post. On 22.04.15 he occupies the post of Regimental Ordnance Officer. On 01.08.1916 he becomes Regimental Adjutant. The RIR 233 was disbanded in May 1918.

At the start of World War 1, Jäger Regiments did not exist in the German Army - only free-standing Jäger Battalions. Jäger regiments only appeared in the latter stages of the War. I believe that there was also one Jäger Division. Jäger Regiment 14 was one of the new Jäger Regiments. It was formed in May 1918 and consisted of a regimental staff together with three battalions numbered 15, 19 and 22. The regimental staff was built from the regimental staff of the defunct RIR 233, and Rudolf Kallenbach was appointed Regimental Adjutant.

Rudolf Kallenbach fought 1914-1916 in Flanders, 1916-1917 in Galicia, 1917 in Flanders and Italy, and 1918 on the Marne. He suffered severe war wounds on 15.07.1918 in the second battle of the Marne, and died from these wounds on 06.08.1918 in the military hospital at Laon. He is buried in the military cemetary in Laon "Champ de Manoeuvre", France, Block 1, Grave 337. He received these medals: Ehrenkreuz 1 and 2, Hohenzollern-Orden, Meinigen'sches Ehrenkreuz, Weisser Falken 2 Klasse, Wilhelm Ernst-Kreuz.

I am informed that the detailed account (a translation of which you have) of the battle in which Rudolf Kallenbach received his fatal wounds, was taken from the Journal of Colonel Riesenthal, Commanding Officer of Jäger Regiment 14, who actually took part in the battle.

I have just acquired a very old book: "Brendler, Wilhelm: Kriegserlebnisse [War Experiences] 1914 bis [to] 1918 im [in the] Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 233. Zeulenroda Sport wohl [likely] 1929. I am hoping that this book will help substantiate and amplify the above.

Have a good holiday.

Dad

Incidentally, can anyone help with details of the 6 medals awarded to Kallenbach, mentioned above. I would be interested in what he might have done to get them.

Kind regards

Steve Brocklesby

[MartH]

Hi

There is a Jaeger association in Germany, when I went on my "Jaeger training tour" in the early 1990's they organised part of it in Germany, and got access to restricted training grounds.

It was through their links we had an honour guard at one of the services of some German Helicopter Jaegers, - tough looking ********,. The Lieut Col. in charge wondered what on earth an Englishman was doing on the tour. He was tough, but not tough enough to taken on Finnish maiden aunts!

Regards

Mart

[Alex]

On 27/03/2007 at 05:36, Jack Sheldon said:

Steve

I am afraid that the Res Jaeger 8 idea was a dead end. It had been serving on the Western Front with a 'Jaeger Division' (first I have heard of one), which was disbanded in June 1918 and Res Jag 8 went off for rest and recuperation.

I can chip in the information, just in case you do not know, that your Great Grandfather succumbed to his wounds on 8 Aug 18 and is buried in the German Cemtery at Laon 'Champ de Manoeuvre' - Block 1 Grave 337.

In the meantime I am afraid that I see no alternative but to get hold of the regimental histories - particularly RIR 233. There is a copy available via www.zvab.com (site available in English) at a very reasonable €120: German regimental histories are notoriously expensive. Jaeger 14 is also available for €142 (search 'Wilhelm Bornefeld')

Jack

Hi Steve,

My great grandfather Ernst Pfaffe, also died on Jul 25, 1918 in this group.   Starting out in the 233rd RIR, he fought and survived the entire war but tragically died only a few months before it ended.   I have not been able to figure out much from him.   I tried looking for 'Wilhelm Bornefeld' on the site you listed but had no luck.   Any thoughts on where to look next?

[AOK4]

23 minutes ago, Alex said:

Hi Steve,

My great grandfather Ernst Pfaffe, also died on Jul 25, 1918 in this group.   Starting out in the 233rd RIR, he fought and survived the entire war but tragically died only a few months before it ended.   I have not been able to figure out much from him.   I tried looking for 'Wilhelm Bornefeld' on the site you listed but had no luck.   Any thoughts on where to look next?

Hello,

Is this your great grandfather?

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/1832792

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/6361384

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/8055191

Have you read the regimental history? I see he gets a short mention on page 296.

Do you have more information about Ernst Pfaffe? This is necessary to find out in which unit he died. RIR 233 was already disbanded in May 1918 and its components transferred to several units.

Jan

[Alex]

41 minutes ago, AOK4 said:

Hello,

Is this your great grandfather?

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/1832792

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/6361384

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/8055191

Have you read the regimental history? I see he gets a short mention on page 296.

Do you have more information about Ernst Pfaffe? This is necessary to find out in which unit he died. RIR 233 was already disbanded in May 1918 and its components transferred to several units.

Jan

I have the info for the first and second link, but not the 3rd link.   These are all him.
It appears he died on the 22nd of June.   He was from Rosa

He was an Officer awarded with the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class.   He was the leader of the Meiningen group in the Jager Regiment, presumably the 14th as the 233 seems to have been merged into it.   I also just found his brother Richard Pfaffe in those WW1 Verlustlisten.   He was wounded twice, but lived, and I have many pictures of of him.   But for my great grandfather I have not found anything.   I wonder if there is a group picture with him in it.   I am pretty sure I would recognize him and he would probably have the iron cross on him.
I have not found the regimental history, the link referenced by steve doesnt show the book.
What does it say on page 296?   Does it tell where he died?

 

Edited 3 January , 2022 by Alex

[AOK4]

Hello Alex,

Do you have asked for a copy of his death certificate (from the commune)? There may be more details there.

Only the regimental staff was used as the staff of the newly formed Jäger-Regiment 14, the battalions were sent to other units: I to IR 466 as I/466, the others probably to IR 467 and IR 468.

Ernst Pfaffe is only mentioned on page 296 in a small chapter written by Oberstleutnant von Germar when describing his experiences as newly appointed commander of I/233 in 1914. Germar mentions some people there whom he apparently respected highly for their courage and devotion.

Jan

[AOK4]

BTW: 22.6 is his birthdate in the last Verlustliste-Meldung... Are you sure he died on that day as well? The 239th division was behind the front line around that date preparing for the offensive near Reims.

[charlie2]

Probably best to point out that he was not an Officer but an assistant officer (Offizierstellvertreter) with the rank of Vizefeldwebel.  
Charlie

[AOK4]

8 minutes ago, charlie2 said:

Probably best to point out that he was not an Officer but an assistant officer (Offizierstellvertreter) with the rank of Vizefeldwebel.  
Charlie

Charlie, yes indeed. I hadn't noticed that the poster had mentioned this wrongly. If he would have been an officer, I would have found some more information (there's an Ehrentafel of officers in IR 466, where he isn't mentioned). Prussian officers also have the Ehrenmal des Preußischen Offizier-Korps or a mention in the Ehren-Rangliste, which makes it a lot easier to find a little bit more information.

Jan

[Alex]

1 hour ago, AOK4 said:

Charlie, yes indeed. I hadn't noticed that the poster had mentioned this wrongly. If he would have been an officer, I would have found some more information (there's an Ehrentafel of officers in IR 466, where he isn't mentioned). Prussian officers also have the Ehrenmal des Preußischen Offizier-Korps or a mention in the Ehren-Rangliste, which makes it a lot easier to find a little bit more information.

Jan

Correct,  I'm not sure what the distinction of Offizierstellvertreter is.   My dates for him are that he was born on Jun 22, 1887 and he died on Jul 25, 1918, but from http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/8055191 I saw 22,6 Rosa, I didn't realize that they put the birthday next to the name.   I thought it was a more accurate death date since it is only 3 weeks earlier.    Below is the only picture I have of him, from a post card he sent in Dec 14, 1916.   It has a reference to the 233 on the side, I am unable to decipher the hand writing of the rest.   I believe he is the man on the left in the picture as he looks most like the picture of his brothers.   Thanks for your help on this.   I have been stuck for several years trying to get more info.   The story I heard from my father was that he was killed accidentally while they were already marching away from the front because someone else fired some artillery that was still loaded with a live shell to clear it out before transport.   So that would make sense in regards to your comment about them being behind the front lines.  I'm not familiar with the military organization.  Did the 239th division oversee the 14th Jager Regiment?

Edited 3 January , 2022 by Alex

[AOK4]

Interesting,

It seems to indicate he was indeed in one of the sub-units of Jäger-Regiment 14. I'll check some of the histories and see whether I can find him.

Jan

[Alex]

If he was in the 7th Army, I found this map giving some idea of the front lines http://www.deutsche-kriegsgeschichte.de/fragego.html around that time.

Also the reference here, http://www.deutsche-kriegsgeschichte.de/krgj18.html ,  from the 28th confirms the removal of equipment (artillery etc.) for a retreat.   I think the story could be true.   What a sad way to be killed by friendly fire in this way. 

19./20.	In der Nacht gelingt es den Deutschen unter Einsatz der letzten Kräfte, die bedrohte Front hinter die Marne zurückzunehmen und sich etwas vom Feind abzusetzen.
21.	Trotz weiterer Angriffe ist die Front der Deutschen vorläufig wieder stabilisiert, ein Durchbruch war im letzten Moment verhindert worden. Die Lage im Marnebogen war aber unhaltbar geworden. Die OHL entschließt sich, die Truppen in die Aisne-Vesle-Stellung zurückzunehmen.
25.	Bei der deutschen Führung erkennt man, daß der feindliche Angriff zwar keine großen Geländeverluste gebracht hatte, aber der  m o r a l i s c h e  Eindruck, den er bei den Truppen hinterließ, war nicht zu unterschätzen. Zum ersten Mal seit dem 21.März trat eine Rückwaärtsbewegung ein!
28.	Soweit möglich, wird in aller Eile alles kriegswichtige Gerät, Waffen und Munition, aber auch die Verwundeten aus dem Marnebogen nach rückwärts geschafft.
30.	Die OHL gibt den "Hagen"-Angriff in Flandern gegen die Engländer auf, der Kräfteverbrauch war außerordentlich hoch gewesen und der Ersatz wurde zusehends knapper.

I look forward to hearing what you might be able to find w.r.t. histories or references to clarify which units he was with and where those units were and what they were tasked with.
Thanks for taking the time to look into this.

Edited 3 January , 2022 by Alex