German War Diaries Question?

[pfletch3]

I am not very familiar with the records the German Army kept in the first world war and apologies if this isn’t the right place to ask, but does anyone know if the German Infantry Regiments maintained the equivalent of war diaries? If they do exist can you get copies?

I would be particularly interested if any exist for the German Army 27^th Infantry Division

Thanks

Paul

[redbarchetta]

They certainly did, Paul - I have the original carbon copy of the "War Diary of the 2nd Company, Reserve Infantry Regiment 91, 38 Infantry Reserve Brigade, 2nd Guard Infantry Division, 10th Reserve Army Corps, 7th Army" for late 1914 early 1915.

Whether they still survive in official archives is another matter (mine obviously didn't, for some reason!).

James

P.S. Thought I would use your thread to reference my possession of this document, lest anyone should want access to it!

[fritz]

Paul,

this authority may help

[Broken link removed]

Fritz

[GraemeClarke]

Hi

Is this any use to you ??

https://archive.org/details/historiesoftwohu00unit

Regards,

Graeme

[AOK4]

Hello,

Everything exists still for the Württemberg units in Stuttgart.

You have to be able to read kurrent in most cases though (if they are hand written).

Jan

[spof]

The Bavarian ones also till survive in the Kriegsarchiv in Munich.

They came in very handy a few years ago http://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/44/page34_barton/

[pfletch3]

Hello,

Everything exists still for the Württemberg units in Stuttgart.

You have to be able to read kurrent in most cases though (if they are hand written).

Jan

Hi Jan,

That's really helpful to know. The units I would be interested in particularly for the spring of 1918 are the:

2 Württembergisches - No 120

5 Württembergisches - No 123

6 Württembergisches - No 124

Which archive in Stuttgart are these held in and is it possible to get copies of war diaries without going to Germany?

Thanks

Paul

[German IR 169]

Hi Paul, I was able to get a hold of the War Journal for Baden's Infantry Regiment 169, which my grandfather, Albert Rieth served in from 1912-1915. This was a key source for the book I just published titled "Imperial Germany's Iron Regiment of the First World War; War Memories of Service with Infantry Regiment 169" (Additional info on the book can be found under the Book page of the GW Forum.) The journal contained a summary of the regiment's travel, actions and casualties throughout the war. As the entries above attest, it was written in kurrent font, which is difficult for those skilled in modern German to read. As I live in the US, I was very fortunate to have some good friends who could read it and translated for me. Good luck with your search, these really can be a Rosetta Stone in understanding a German's regiment's service in the war.

All the best, John

[Norrette]

Thanks that's interesting. I would also be interested to know if there is an ORBAT of German regiments/battalions available online - especially in English.

[German IR 169]

The following link provides some general information on 251 German Divisions, which does have some regimental breakouts. www.vlib.us/wwi/resources/germanarmywwi.html