Help ID Rank, Gear, Unit of German-Great-Uncle

[apwright]

I think I might have found them ...

Brothers Peter and Wilhelm Gruler, born 8.11.72 and 27.8.90 at Deisslingen, Württemberg, sons of Katherina (nee Blust) and Johann (deceased), appear in the BAVARIAN Stammrollen on Ancestry.

Peter, a lathe operator resident in Frankfurt/Main, married to Anna (Ostheimer) with one child, joined Landsturm-Infanterie-Bataillon Limburg/Lahn on 1.2.15, then transferred to Bavarian Armee-Kraftwagen-Park Nr.6 on 24.6.15.

Wilhelm, a truck driver also resident in Frankfurt, unmarried, joined the Ersatz-Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment Nr.88, then to Kraftfahr-Ersatz-Abteilung Nr.1 on 7.5.15. Then a number of other Kraftfahr formations before ending up in Bavarian Armee-Kraftwagen-Park Nr.23 in 1917.

If you have an Ancestry sub, Peter is here and here (the first mis-indexed as Peter Guder), and Wilhelm is here.

Hope this helps!

Adrian

EDIT:

And maybe there was another brother?? Gefreiter Adolf Gruler from Deisslingen is listed as killed in action with 11th Company, 3rd Battalion, Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr.238, in Prussian Verlustliste 119 of 7.1.1915.
http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/1191450
His name is on the war memorial at Deisslingen:
http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/2012/deisslingen_lk-rottweil_wk1_wk2_bawue.html
This is probably his grave, killed on 5.11.14:
http://www.volksbund.de/index.php?id=1775&tx_igverlustsuche_pi2[gid]=4049f649ab16e7dfa60ea1e7dbac3883

[AOK4]

Hello,

I hadn't thought of checking ancestry as I hadn't considered them being in a Bavarian unit. Well done, apwright!

The man buried in Menen is indeed Peter from 11/RIR 238.

Jan

[oldport]

Ken S. - I had no idea such directories existed !. Thank you Google (doubtful as European Union hasn't exactly embraced that company) ... no, thank YOU Ken !! Maria geb. Wernz is my grandmother's grandmother! I have posted an image of her death announcement below. Can you explain to me the first few letters of the three addresses? I have noticed German's in general love abbreviations and am guessing that's what those are: abbreviations of first names. The font is unfamiliar to me as well, but here are my guesses: "Joh." Johann? "Jof." Joseph;? (my great-grandfather, grandmother's father, was a Joseph); and "Wive." Widow? preceding Maria my great-great-grandmother's name.

Adrian - amazing ! Thank you so much. I will subscribe to Ancestry immediately (had no idea it's reach included Europe). I am not aware of an Adolf family member, but will keep a lookout as I browse the scant family correspondence.

Andy - I really like the translation "high voltage." I am a paper-pusher (office worker) but henceforth I refer to myself as "high voltage paper-pusher."

Trajan - your provoking questions were insightful; thanks.

You all have treated me so well, I am forever indebted. Please let me know how I may return the favor. I am trying to convince a local acquaintance of mine to post his grandfather's pictures/story on your site - a WWI U-boat captain !! Apparently his old U-boat is on display to this day in a [Munich?] museum. Even if I cannot convince him, I will at least get the museum location accurately.

Not sure if this is of interest to you, but here are the death announcements of two other young men I found in my grandmother's correspondence. I do not recognize the names. Maybe friends or perhaps cousins. I'll look them up on Ancestry.

[JWK]

Joseph Mechling, born in Freiburg im Breisgau, IR 170, died 14/06/1915 in Hospital nr 25 in Nantes/ Brittany/ Western France (as POW):

http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/File/Details/266391/1/2/

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/6079227

and he's buried in Nantes:

http://www.volksbund.de/index.php?id=1775&tx_igverlustsuche_pi2[gid]=5d1e367d29e19a438caea32acde3e46a

 

Wilhelm Freirich, RIR 254, died of wounds in a Kriegslazarett :

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/2028412

 

JW

Edited 12 November , 2017 by JWK

[The Prussian]

Well, Oldport, I thought, it was called High Voltage, but I checked it again and in a military dictionary from 1918 a Starkstrom-Abteilung was translated with "Electric power detachment". But that sounds like "normally electric power", not "high voltage power"...

[oldport]

JWK - that is amazing that you were able to find those references!

Want to hear a small-world coincidence?

........ the first time I ever met my wife was in her native Nantes at the central train station which is within merely several hundred meters of the cemetery where Joseph Mechling is buried !

Sooo going to visit his grave next time I travel to France !! I absolutely need to figure out who he was in relation to the family.

I am reading his Geneva Intl Agency card showing his Truppengattung which I cannot entirely make out: looks like, Inf. Reg. 170, 11 Th. L Y Div. 14 A.Th. - would you translate please - here is an image

[JWK]

Mechling

Joseph

geb. 20/9.94 Freiburg i/Br.

Inf.R. 170 11 K.

29 Div. 14. A.K.

Mechling

Joseph

Born 20 Sept 1894 Freiburg im Breisgau

Infanterie Regiment 170, 11th Company

29th Division [Freiburg in Baden], 14th Army Corps [Karlsruhe]

 

And that ís a small world indeed!

If I didn't know any better I'd say Joseph wánted to be found, why else would you post his Totenzettel when there's no obvious family-connection?

 

Stand at his grave, speak out his name. You may well be the first person ever to do that.

 

And another coincidence: Joseph was in the véry same spot (the Prellbock Stellung in Auchy-les-Mines) 4 months before Fritz Limbach (see my signature) was stationed there!

 

Some info about IR 170 (all in German I'm afraid):

http://genwiki.genealogy.net/IR_170

and where they were during the war:

http://genwiki.genealogy.net/29._Division_%28Alte_Armee%29#Feldz.C3.BCge.2C_Gefechte_usw.

JW

Edited 12 November , 2017 by JWK

[oldport]

Can anyone please read the handwriting and translate the line "Erkennungsmarke" - thanks ! I understand "/6.15 im Nordfrankreich" but wondering what the first word (beginning with "f"?) means and whether the date is 12-June-1915 or 14-June-1915

JWK, you are indeed a poet and a romantic (I completely agree and associate with you) - I will do as you suggest !!

[The Prussian]

Hello Oldport!

I read:

Seit 17(or 12).6.15 in Nordfrankreich (since 17.5.15 in Nothern France)

[JWK]

Seit 12/6.15 in Nordfrankreich

See e.g. how the 2 in his birthdate and the 7 in the regiment are written.

and it's actually part of the "Place and date where disappeared"

 

He was captured between La Bassée and Arras on the 12th? and died on the 14th many miles away?

What's the story there?

 

His mother, Wilhelmine Mechling-Maier,a widow, had a bakery on Talstrasse in Freiburg in 1914:

(From the addressbook for 1914 http://dl.ub.uni-freiburg.de/diglit/adr1914/0235?sid=c876ea1a41fb8c90496323ceed2bb339 )

JW

Edited 12 November , 2017 by JWK

[The Prussian]

ah, ok.it´ll be a 12

[oldport]

JWK, wow, amazing work:

"His mother, Wilhelmine Mechling-Maier,a widow, had a bakery on Talstrasse in Freiburg in 1914" - nice find !

"He was captured between La Bassée and Arras on the 12th? and died on the 14th many miles away?

What's the story there?" - I understand your logic, makes total sense

Do you have any relation to Fritz Limbach? I will be reading the blogspot posts - looks very interesting

[JWK]

Nope, Fritz Limbach is no relation of mine. I´ve researched my family/tree back to the 1400's or so, and it´s all Dutch with a few Germans from Nassau, a few French, and a few Italians from Florence thrown in for good measure.\

 

It´s just that I bought this whole correspondence of Fritz, some 100 letters & cards, a year ago. On a whim really.

 

Coming back to Joseph/Josef and Wilhelm:

 

Maria Gruler-Wernz lived on Sternwaldstrasse, which is a side-street of Talstrasse

Wilhem Freirich lived on Talstrasse (nr 40)

 

And with Joseph at Talstrasse 92 it could well be they just all knew eachother as neighbours and there is no familyconnection.

 

Lot's of hits on Ancestry for Josef/Joseph Mechling, maybe some info can be gleaned from that.

 

JW

Edited 12 November , 2017 by JWK
spacing

[JWK]

Ha!

Wilhelm is a half-Gruler!

Can't find a connection to the Grulers or the Blusts for Joseph yet though:

JW

[JWK]

And there he is....

Joseph is related to the Grulers through the Maiers, or so it seems:

Wilhelm Freirich's maternal grandmother was a Maier, and Joseph's mother was a Maier

(All from familysearch.org)

JW

[Ken S.]

The marriage notice can be seen here in the section "Auszug aus den Standesregistern," however Wilhelm Freirich is given as "Wilhelm Iwoirich".

http://az.ub.uni-freiburg.de/show/fz.cgi?cmd=showpic&ausgabe=03&day=05&year=1885&month=05&project=3&anzahl=4

Birth for Josef Mechling ("Wechling" in notice).

http://az.ub.uni-freiburg.de/show/fz.cgi?cmd=showpic&ausgabe=03&day=25&year=1894&month=09&project=3&anzahl=4

Birth for Wilhelm Alexander Freirich

http://az.ub.uni-freiburg.de/show/fz.cgi?cmd=showpic&ausgabe=03&day=28&year=1895&month=09&project=3&anzahl=4

[oldport]

JWK, you did it -amazing. You have mad-dedective-skillz (that is meant to be a huge compliment ! )

Ken S, you too (mad skillz)

Thank you both [and everyone else] so much for your energy and generosity - and also for teaching me some of "the tricks of the trade" to be able to help myself

[JWK]

Gern geschehen!

[oldport]

JWK, I was reading your translation of Fritz's letters with labels "Auchy-les-Mines" very insightful - really enjoyed it; thanks for your hard work and generosity sharing

[ph0ebus]

Thanks Jan !!

Family is from Freiburg. To me it seems only two soldiers in OP-photo appear to wear collar numbers ("12" "42"): those kneeling at each opposite end

Here is another picture of Peter (on the right, on cigarette break) ..... have no translation of handwriting (other than date which appears to read 6 August 1916)

Uncle Peter Gruler in France 6 Aug 1916.jpgRear of cigarette break photo.jpg

Am I seeing Fulda mentioned here on this card? I wonder why he was there? I know there was a military hospital there, so perhaps that's the reason?

[oldport]

ph0ebus, AOK4 says at post #6 that the handwriting on the of the postcard at post #4 says:

"it says: Ein Widersehen [should be Wiedersehen] im Felde am 6.8.1918 in Russland Uziany.

I think this may be nowadays Utena in Lithuania (but I'm not sure)."

I believe you are saying the handwriting says Fulda not Felde. Unfortunately my German is almost nonexistent and thus I am not able to comment intelligently (other than to say that AOK4's translation makes sense with only one city-location, but your's less so in that it implies two city-locations)

[Ken S.]

looks like "Felde"to me.

[Ken S.]

...

[ph0ebus]

Ah, my mistake...carry on!

[oldport]

I am trying to learn some of the history of Peter's unit pictured in the postcard at post #1 and am, well, lost

At post #26 apwright says that "Peter joined Landsturm-Infanterie-Bataillon Limburg/Lahn on 1.2.15"

but

At post #10 The Prussion says "Inf.Brig.42 stands in Frankfurt/Main (XVIII. army corps)" I believe with reference to the collar number "42" shown in the original picture. (BTW, does this page refer to that unit: http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/42._Infanterie-Brigade)

Are these two groups the same? different? Sorry this is an absolute newb question, but any help is most appreciated (but if nothing additional is forthcoming I am already eternally grateful for everyone's generosity)

Doug