Germany : Fritz Limbach - letters from the front - 1915

[JWK]

Came across this website : http://www.world-war-one.de/

This person is publishing the entries from his grandfather's war-diary 100 years to the day after they were written, starting in August 1914/2014.

It's all in German though, but there's a Google translator included (with the added warning "Of course it loses by machine translation.So take care")

And the original diary was written in Sutterlin! Must have been a labour of love to have thát transcribed!

[Martin Feledziak]

Nice interactive map can be found on this link.

It features Auchy, Douvrine, La Bassee and the Trenches for the Embankment.

http://digitalarchive.mcmaster.ca/islandora/object/macrepo%3A67524

It is dated August 1915 - Screen example :-

[Martin Feledziak]

Inspired by your blog post featuring the village of Orchies.

http://fritzlimbach.blogspot.nl/

"This morning we were in Orchies, about 9 km’s from here, where our wounded were so miserably treated last September. Maybe you remember that.

The village, which had about 5000 inhabitants, looks terrible. It was burned to the ground then, on orders of the Kaiser. There are still a few houses left standing, but not many.

The municipality of Orchies has created a cemetary for the soldiers that were killed then, and it looks very nice. Of course the inhabitants did not do that voluntarily, but on higher orders."

What a truly horrible story from the great war. Either a very nasty multiple murder of soldiers being treated in a hospital and then mutilated. or a clever misinformation by the German authorities. But I am sure it would certainly make the German army fight all the harder.

I have blended a period picture over the top of what appears to be the rebuilt town hall. From 2015 google street view. ( I think it is right )

[Martin Feledziak]

[Martin Feledziak]

I might be jumping to conclusions here but is Fritz being a little economical with his reports home.

I can understand why, he would not wish to over stress his Mother.

He does mention the loss of Karl Steigleder, cross in the picture from your Blogg below.

I know this scan is not the best but there are a number from 6 Company who also perished in early May 1915, They could also be the crosses behind Karl's cross.

taken from the report of 3 June 1915

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/2023620

[JWK]

When these guys died, in May 1915, Fritz was away on that officers-course in Oignies/Bersée.

If I remember correctly he did write home that his Kompanie had had a hard time when he was away, or words to that effect.

He wrote about Karl Steigleder specifically, and not the others, because Karl was a personal friend, and their parents knew eachother.

Also, and I learned this from Ulrich in Altena, the Verlustlisten would be sent to every town-hall in the country. A clerk then would pick out the local boys so to say, and publish that list either in the local newspaper or on a noticeboard, so the homefront was fully aware of the cost of war. Not mentioning it in your letters home wouldn't have fooled them.

Ofcourse Fritz’s letters are a little rosy-coloured, and he usually sounds chipper, he doesn’t want his family to be worried sick thinking of him.

But sometimes the unimaginable cruelty of war seeps through in his letters, e.g. when he writes home he doesn't "smoke for the smoking, but only to get that g*d awfull stench [of decomposing bodies] out of my nostrils".

[Martin Feledziak]

God point Jan.

so if news was sent back to the town hall, news would get round very fast. so little point not referring to it.

Also do you think that was the type of little camera which he later made his pictures with ?

"Ticka Camera"

I know September is a couple of months away but I will just pop this on your thread.

The more I read about this incident the more convinced I am that this is matching.

Even the artist has him on the logical side of the canal. Fritz would be about where Kilby is looking.

http://www.leamingtonhistory.co.uk/?p=1044#!prettyPhoto

[JWK]

No, his "Ticka" could not be repaired (Probably because it was British made, and what with the blockade etc.) so his parents sent him a new camera, but I don't know the make of that unfortunately.

Re the "Kilby VC connection"

I leave it to the experts to determine whether or not there is a connection.

The wardiary of 2nd Sth Staff alas misses the entry for September 25th (at least it does in the scan I purchased from the National Archives).

The History of IR16, plus the Volksbund and his gravestone, puts his date of death at 24th September 1915. 10 or so other German soldiers have that same date of death 24th September 1915.

The History of IR16 dóes describe the attack on the Prellbock on the 25th, there's nothing in the history about the few days preceding it so *presumably* nothing much happened then.

The letters written to his family by his company-commander and sergeant state 25th september as the date of death

The cross on Fritz's initial grave at Douvrin puts his date of death on 26th September.

Confused? You won't be after the next episode of ....

Did find this "clearer' picture of the fatal place on the canal, from the book/guide "Loos-Hohenzollern" , published by Battleground Europe

Photo is taken from "the other side" of the canal, the Neuve Chapelle side, in the direction of Cuinchy.

Fritz's trenches are on the left ("Embankment Redoubt" or as the Germans called it "Prellbock Stellung".

JW

[Martin Feledziak]

I am sure the two events are connected.

Your new picture is exactly as I would expect.

Kilby is listed as killed on 25th September 1915

Fritz boss

states that Fritz was killed on the same day. 25th September 1915

There is just one canal in this area and both list the activity on the South side tow path.

For me I would just like someone to explain a reason why it is not the same incident.

………… I await the next episode like the "Taught Umbrella"

P.S — do you know how many people are watching the Fritz blog ?

also you are a clever guy.

Read English French German Dutch, Old German script

write English, Dutch, perhaps German and old German Script

Probably understand ENIGMA codes too …..Good work.

[JWK]

As one Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs once said, tongue-in-cheek : “I’m Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and that’s a véry véry important job, because the Netherlands is only a tiny country so there is a lót of “Foreign” to deal with”

I don’t normally write in German, it’s too difficult with all their der-des-dem-den, die-der-der-die, etc . and does this word require a Capital First Letter or not, and why is deutsch (“German”) written with a lower case d and not a capital D, and Küchen with an umlaut and Kuchen without an umlaut mean something completely different (Although one is made in the other, usually, I think)

In speech you can sort of “cloak” those issues.

As for visitors to the blog: well, it won’t make it to the top 1000 worldwide that’s for sure, but what’s interesting is that the vast majority of hits come from France !

*edit: and coming back to my post #256 about the Verlustlisten being published in the newspaper, see e.g.

http://archivewk1.hypotheses.org/tag/verlustlisten for examples.

Read also the recap of the first 70 Verlustlisten in the entry for 11th November 1914! The homefront was fully aware of what was going on.

[Martin Feledziak]

Jan,

You sneaked that edit in.

I like the graphic , the central man appears to be using a sausage to communicate whilst the other two have Galaxy note tablets...

Great link, I have dragged that onto my desktop for more information.

To be fair they are admitting some serious casualty figures.

[JWK]

Haha, “Vorsprung durch Technik” even then !

I read somewhere the German feldpost handled some 30 Billion letters and parcels during those 4 years! Incredible!

In the case of Fritz (I can’t vouch for others) just about every parcel addressed to him (there were some 400 I think, I lost count) reached its destination within a few days, a week at the most, and apparently all his letters home (all 88 of them) were delivered to his family’s doorstep 3-4 days, at the latest, after they were posted.

And you could even send a Fieldpost-letter "Registered".

Don;t know how the money-transfers worked. Fritz advised his parents to send "just a 5 Mark note slipped into a letter now and then". That seemed to work fine.

[Martin Feledziak]

I know he probably did not know Fritz in life but if there is/was an afterlife then perhaps they did in another place,

this is part of the display at Tyne Cot, cemetery.

Remembered here is Franz Haghuber - another 16er

[spyinthesky2]

JWK

Amazingly just found this thread, absolutely awesome work on your behalf, a chilling insight into the real people of the war.

Thank you

Regards

Paul

[JWK]

I know he probably did not know Fritz in life but if there is/was an afterlife then perhaps they did in another place,

this is part of the display at Tyne Cot, cemetery.

Remembered here is Franz Haghuber - another 16er

16.jpg

Franz Haghuber is a Bavarian 16'er! I had to do a double take too, as it's not really clear, but it says Bayer. Infanterie Regiment nr 16.: Bavarian IR 16

And there's a Franz Haghuber, died 9.10.17, buried at Langemark. The only Haghuber in the VdK database.

With a bit of research I'm sure it can be found out whether that is him.

The three entries in the Verlustliste for a Haghuber all seem to point to one and the same person.

JW

[JWK]

JWK

Amazingly just found this thread, absolutely awesome work on your behalf, a chilling insight into the real people of the war.

Thank you

Regards

Paul

Thanks Paul!

It was amazingly lucky to get these letters.

Unfortunately it's only one side of the story, as the letters from his family and friends to him have been destroyed (by him, trenches were to be kept neat and tidy at all times, and he couldn't go lugging around 200 or more letters all the time)

This thread is only some excerpts from his 88 letters, full version of his letters is on the blog.

JW

[Martin Feledziak]

Shown as unidentified in the Australian collection. Does it belong to Fritz's unit or the Bavarian 16'ers

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RELAWM15049.003/?image=1

[JWK]

Martin,

I noticed that too.

I *think* this is Fritz's regiment, IR 16 was in/around Soissons from June-August 1918. Maybe that ties in with where them Aussies were?

The Bavarians had yellow numerals (If I understood it correctly)

And I *think* it's the Schulterklappe of a Schütze, a Machine-gunner, with the green piping.

But for the same money I could be só tótally wrong, bit of a minefield these shouldertitles and their pipings!

JW

[Martin Feledziak]

We never met Fritz -

Sadly he spent all of his time in the war in the same area of France.

I have not read that about green piping being linked to machine gunners.

I shall remember this.

I am sure he would have been a person we would all have liked.

There were so many people sending him stuff to the front line..

How many UK soldiers were sent Lobster ?

Browning pistols and ammo, cameras and film. Not many I would guess.

keep up the good work..!!!

[JWK]

Don't forget the cognac! "It gets chilly at night these days, even wíth a coat"

And as for that ammo for his Browning: I forget the date, but Fritz dóes write to his parents "Please send me some more ammo for my Browning, I used it all shooting rats"

Then this week this interesting Tweet showed up on my Twitter-feed:

https://twitter.com/1418research/status/635424770838937600/photo/1

Opposite reactions, from opposite sides, to the same thing.....

Robert Graves, who was at Cuinchy, opposite Auchy/Prellbock Stellung, at about the same time Fritz was at Auchy, wrote "Cuinchy bred rats. They came up from the canal, fed on the plentiful corpses, and multiplied exceedingly"

The contents of the 400 or so parcels Fritz received during those short 9 months sure were an eye-opener.

It ranged from Wiener Schnitzels, to Cognac, to Lobster in Mayonaise, to preserved fruit and veg., to smoked hams, to a Browning and ammo, to rolls of film, to lemon-juice, to cakes in all sorts and sizes and varieties, to you-name-it-and-he-got-it.

But then you've got to remember his father was a wealthy factory-owner, ánd there were guys in his Kompanie who did not get anywhere néar the amount of parcels Fritz got.

It all seems to have been shared in a friendly manner amongst all though.

There's one instance where he wrote something along the lines of "I have had to rethink my opinions of the Polish.When I had nothing they would share áll they had with me.They're now in a different Kompanie. Wish I could meet them again someday, to repay them for their goodness"

As for the Machine gunners' green piping: don't take it as gospel!

It's something that I think I understood from some véry complicated diagram showing the piping colours of the Germans.

JW

[JWK]

Came across these pictures of IR 56 (or to be precise: Infanterie-Regiment Vogel von Falkenstein (7. Westfälisches) Nr.56 ) which was sort of a brother-regiment to IR16 and IR57.

The Regiments battled side-by-side at Auchy/La Bassée/Neuve Chapelle in 1914/1915 e.g., and IR56 was the Regiment Fritz Limbach would have joined originally (were he not transferred to IR16 at the last moment).

http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/alltag-im-ersten-weltkrieg-das-schicksal-des-infanterie-regiments-56-fotostrecke-118296.html

These photographs were taken by Sanitätsunteroffizier Johann Hebing, he survived the war, and his 200 glass-plate negatives are now in the Archives in Wesel/Germany.

http://www.zdf.de/zdfzeit/verlorene-soehne-hundert-jahre-erster-weltkrieg-infranterie-regiment-34501232.html

From Der Spiegel Online : http://www.spiegel.de/einestages/alltag-im-ersten-weltkrieg-das-schicksal-des-infanterie-regiments-56-a-987967.html

Whether or not the story in Der Spiegel is correct I cannot say, but if there is a grain of truth in them.....

“The Regiment [iR56] marched out to war 3200 men strong. After 4 years of warfare less than 30 battle-ready soldiers remained”

“On 4^th November 1918, the last day of battle for the Regiment, 2 Officers and 26 Soldiers remained.

133 Officers and 4473 other ranks would never return home”

"They all had a family, they all had dreams, but neither of them had a future"

And the accompanying ZDF documentary, “The search for the lost sons”:

And it's all in German of course......

JW

[AliceF]

Thank you for sharing these links. I watched the documentation, very interesting information on the IR56 and very sad.

Christine

[JWK]

No Regiment is complete without its own Regimental March as we all know, and in that respect Imperial Germany was no exception.

So here’s the “Hacketäuer Marsch” (IR 16’s nickname was the “Hacketäuer”)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_2ro1qpDKI

Bit of a catchy tune.

[bierast]

Shown as unidentified in the Australian collection. Does it belong to Fritz's unit or the Bavarian 16'ers

Neither - it's for a Jäger battalion, either JB 16 or RJB 16. Note how the base cloth is a greener shade than all the others on the board.

[JWK]

Andi,

thanks for clearing that up! Did not realise there were móre Regiment 16'ers other than the Prussian and the Bavarian Infanterists.

Also didn't realise the Jäger wore a slightly different colour.

Man wird alt wie eine Kuh
und lernt immer noch was dazu!

JW