Marcin FELEDZIAK Infantry Regiment 171

[Justinth]

This link seems to work:

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/1084325

[AOK4]

Jan,

I am unable to find the information on the end of this link.

I am getting a little confused now, perhaps the restored broken link will clear it up.

Thanks Martin

It was just a link to the start of the RIR 61 losses (with the places and dates). You have found it yourself and put it in your post, so there's nothing new there. There is an error because of the ")" which got added to my link.

[Martin Feledziak]

Thanks Justin and Jan.

That explains it, I must admit that I am still a little confused with all three of the reports, two have him seriously wounded with odd units and a third report of a light wounding later in 1916.

We know from Patrick that he did get shrapnel splinters left to carry for the rest of his life picked up on the Eastern front.

I will keep looking.

Martin

Another report here to for Maj Constantin CEBRAIN

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/2907017

[Martin Feledziak]

I am aware of the Militärpass and Soldbuch

which are the Soldiers official service record and Paybook

Something I learned today is "Familien Stammbuch"

which is a booklet or Family Book issued following a marriage.

There is space in the book for the marriage certificate and then pages for details of children from that marriage.

also space to record the subsequent deaths.

The individual entries are all stamped by the local town hall following each event.

It is such a nice thing to have.

I am now interested to know if this Family Book was a legal requirement for all German families of that time ?

[egbert]

Marcin, not a legal requirement, but every family has got one..

Here is an excerpt of my GF's Familien-Stammbuch.

For general information see here:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Familienstammbuch

[Martin Feledziak]

Thank you Egbert,

Patrick shared his Grandfather's Familien-Stammbuch with me and many other treasures including this period picture which has a family connection.
(Not sure what it is yet )

So crisp it could have been taken yesterday, one chap even appears to be holding a Nokia N95 mobile phone.
BUT it is just over 100 years old.

What are the chances that these are members of Fusilier Regiment No37 - their home base was Krotoschin- Poland
The Division was in the Consenvoye region, Verdun Sector during most of 1915.

The card has a 10th reserve Division Feldpost stamp for April 1915.

[Martin Feledziak]

An experiment with colour.

This is a still from 1919 so not an official uniform.

I am testing this coloring technique to take a black and white still into a coloured world.

I do not have any idea if the colours are correct !

[Martin Feledziak]

The below photograph is dated 1909 and has been amateurishly hand painted by myself guessing various colours.

I believe that the gentleman top right, with the wine glass is Jacob Feledziak. Born 1886.

He would have been called up for national service in his 20th year - making it 1906, so that could fit with the photograph.

In late 1914 Jacob was listed as wounded and attached to RIR61.

My question is then, when war broke out would there have been a standing IR61. So that Jacob and all the reservists formed an additional Regiment titled RIR61 ?

http://genwiki.genealogy.net/IR_61

I now believe that this is IR61 in their Garrison town of Torun, Now Poland, taken in 1909 - I suspect that the shoulder tabs should be yellow with a red 61.

http://www.kaisersbu...w/infantry1.htm

Infanterie-Regt. von der Marwitz (8.Pommersches) Nr.61
(Thorn) XVII Armee Korps

[trajan]

... My question is then, when war broke out would there have been a standing IR61. So that Jacob and all the reservists formed an additional Regiment titled RIR61 ? ...

Seemingly so... http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/IR_61has for IR 61:

Garnison: Thorn

Das Regiment war 1914 (vor der Mobilmachung) unterstellt:

Armeekorps: XVII. Armee-Korps / Danzig

Division: 35. Division / Thorn

Brigade: 70. Infanterie-Brigade / Thorn

And see http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/RIR_61for the RIR 61

Trajan

[Martin Feledziak]

Thanks Trajan,

That is what I was thinking and it would be the logical option.

It would appear that they form in 1914 at Gdansk in the North and are sent to the Eastern front.

[trajan]

Happy to help - and I did like the colorised photographs, BTW!

[Martin Feledziak]

From the book of Divisions.

[trajan]

Martin,

Buchholz, et al (co-author Col.Joe on this forum) say in the Great War Dawning, p161, that:

"Even active units were not fully manned in peacetime. Reservists filled them in time of mobilisation.", and add, same page, "When the war broke out... reservists were drawn from the previous five classes: 1891, 1890, 1889, 1888, and 1887"

[Martin Feledziak]

Trajan,

It takes much pondering to understand these issues and sometimes an individual case may help to confirm the theory.

So with Jacob he was from class 1886. It does not look like he backfilled IR61 and went into the newly formed RIR61.

I am basing this on the fact that he is listed as wounded late 1914 with Reserve IR61.

I should add that he got serious wounds, from shell splinters, which put him out of the war and probably saved his future life.

I will have to get the history of RIR61 now..

Martin

[bierast]

Martin,

Buchholz, et al (co-author Col.Joe on this forum) say in the Great War Dawning, p161, that:

"Even active units were not fully manned in peacetime. Reservists filled them in time of mobilisation.", and add, same page, "When the war broke out... reservists were drawn from the previous five classes: 1891, 1890, 1889, 1888, and 1887"

According to Busche (Formationsgeschichte der deutschen Infanterie im Ersten Weltkrieg 1914-1918) the composition of the infantry units when mobilised in August 1914 was as follows - I think this relates purely to the NCOs and men, but am not certain:

Active infantry regiments: 54% active personnel; 46% reservists up to 26 years old.

Reserve infantry regiments: 1% active personnel; 44% reservists; 55% Landwehr men of the I. Aufgebot (first age class of the Landwehr) up to 30 years old.

Mobile brigade ersatz battalions (with ersatz divisions): similar to reserve infantry regiments, though probably lacking the active cadre.

Mobile reserve brigade ersatz battalions: definitely no active personnel, mainly men of the Landwehr II. Aufgebot.

Landwehr infantry regiments: 62% Landwehr men of the I. Aufgebot; 38% Landwehr men of the II. Aufgebot up to 36 years old.

Mobile Landwehr brigade ersatz battalions: men of the Landwehr II. Aufgebot and trained Landsturm.

Landsturm infantry battalions: as many men as possible from the trained Landsturm (overaged ex-Landwehr men) with numbers made up from the untrained Landsturm (everyone liable to military service but not in one of the other categories).

The untrained ersatz-reservists (men of military age who had not been trained in peacetime) were assigned to new units formed after the initial mobilisation or to existing units as replacements from autumn 1914 onwards.

[Martin Feledziak]

Thanks Andi.

That fits with Jacobs circumstances. He was 28 in 1914 so he went into the newly formed RIR61 as opposed to the standing IR61.

Martin

[Martin Feledziak]

The below is a screen grab from p219 of 18th September 1914 Verlustlisten.

it is for IR61 and lists the home base as Thorn (Torun, Poland)

It identifies the men by role and reservists are listed which fits with Andi's post 2 above.

In this report the regiment appeared to have been badly hit, even a Battalion Commander was wounded.

[Martin Feledziak]

The below is the first report I found for RIR61 homebase Danzig ( Gdansk, Poland)

p309 22nd September 1914

details of the place and date are also reported

[Martin Feledziak]

Reserve Infanterie Regiment Nr 61.

Looking through the verlustlisten they appear to be in Smolenska - Warsaw, at the end of October 1914.

[Martin Feledziak]

I am just dropping this French Regiment onto this thread.

4th Division: General Rabier

7th Brigade: General Lejaille

(Colonel Blondin after 9 September)

91st Infantry Regiment

147th Infantry Regiment

It transpires that that the French 4th Army were in the Argonne forest during 1914-1915 and having had a look through the pages of a very interesting on-line war diary I see that they were in exactly the same area as my great Uncles.

here is a screen grab featuring a map near to Four de Paris. a link to the book is below the screen grab. Sadly it is French language.

The whole book can be examined below

http://www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr/fr/arkotheque/visionneuse/visionneuse.php?arko=YToxMDp7czoxMDoidHlwZV9mb25kcyI7czo3OiJhcmtvX2lyIjtzOjg6ImltZ190eXBlIjtzOjM6ImpwZyI7czo0OiJyZWYwIjtzOjM6IjU2NiI7czo0OiJyZWYxIjtpOjY7czo0OiJyZWYyIjtzOjM6Ijc1MyI7czo0OiJyZWYzIjtzOjA6IiI7czo0OiJyZWY0IjtzOjA6IiI7czoxMjoiaW1hZ2VfZGVwYXJ0IjtzOjcyOiIvMUdNL0pVTklURVMxNDE4L0xPVDAyLzI2X05fNjY4XzAxOS9TSERHUl9fR1JfMjZfTl82NjhfXzAxOV9fMDAwMV9fVC5KUEciO3M6MTY6InZpc2lvbm5ldXNlX2h0bWwiO2I6MTtzOjIxOiJ2aXNpb25uZXVzZV9odG1sX21vZGUiO3M6NDoicHJvZCI7fQ==#uielem_move=0%2C0&uielem_rotate=F&uielem_islocked=0&uielem_zoom=65

[Martin Feledziak]

Here is a book cover from Le 91 eme d'Infanterie de Mezieres.

[Martin Feledziak]

I received this today.

I am sure it contains many clues - I am only hampered by a lack of German language.

However there are maps and pictures.

[Martin Feledziak]

Here is the "Team Sheet" for the 3rd Battalion RIR61 in 1914.

I have Highlighted Lt SEVERIN who is named as dead here and on the December report where Jacob is listed Severely wounded.

[AOK4]

Hello,

Leutnant der Reserve Severin (patented in IR 163) was killed on 14 November 1914 in Bialotarsk (Kutno).

Jan

[AliceF]

Hi,

Surely this will be a tremendous interesting source for you!

From time to time I goggle the Fussartillerieregiment Nr 18; first the regimental history of Battalion II was for sale and now of Battalion III (160 Euro). Gustav was in the fourth IV, which hasn’t one. I always doubt too long and then it’s sold. If there was one for No IV I would buy it without hesitation. For the other battalions I think one of these cheap copies would do, but I never see any for the FuAR 18.

How did you buy yours of RIR 61?

Christine