German Formations - Gravenstafel Ridge April 1915

[Acknown]

I have been attempting to determine the German formations that captured the ridge, and specifically Boetleer's Farm, in April 1915. Judging from maps in books, I think that the assaulting infantry were from the 2nd Reserve Ersatz Brigade of the 51st Reserve Division to the west, and the 38th Landwehr Brigade of the 1st Landwehr Division to the east. However, those capturing Boetleer’s Farm may have been from a composite brigade, ‘Brigade Schmieden’, a strong ad hoc formation organized from battalions of the 27th Reserve Corps for the purpose of exploiting any progress on the left wing of the 26th Corps, as indeed they did as this brigade was pushed through the 2nd Reserve Ersatz Brigade on 24th April. An eye-witness source claims that there were also 'marines' there. If so, they were probably from the 4th Marine Brigade, another exploitation formation, which similarly advanced through the area on 25th April. 

Can anyone confirm or deny this statement?

Thanks,

Acknown

[The Prussian]

Hello!

Gravenstafel is mentioned four times in the german battle-recordings.

 

Once in 1914 and three times during the battles of Ypres (22.4.-25.5.1915):

22.4.15-15.5.15: Poelcapelle-Wallenmolen-Gravenstafel-Frezenberg (38.Landwehr-Brig.)

24.4.15-3.5.15: Poelcapelle-Wallenmolen-Gravenstafel (XXVII.Res.Korps and the Marines: Matrosen-Rgt.5 until 30.4.15)

2.5.15.-3.5.15: Storming on Gravenstafel (XXVII.Res.Korps)

 

The Brigade Schmieden was the 105.Res.Inf.Brig. (Res.Inf.Rgt. 241 and 243) of 53rd Res.Div. (Res.Inf.Rgt. 241-244 and 25.Res.Jäger-Btl.).

In that period Brig. 105 had 241 and 243, Brig. 106 had 241 and 244.

For this battle the Brigade Schmieden was a compiled unit.

The official german recordings (Reichsarchiv) says:

April 24, the XXVI.Res.Korps and the right wing of XXVII.Res.Korps as well were prepared to attack. By daybreak the compiled Brigade Schmieden took place behind the left wing of 53. (saxon) Res.Div. Also engaged 38.Ldw.Brig. and 106.Res.Inf.Brig.

During the attack the Brig. Schmieden met a strong enemy and had to attack directly. After this succesfully attack they could march forward southeast. In the evening of April, 24 the right wing of the Brigade stood northwest of s´Gravenstafel.

The right wing of XXVII.Res.Korps reached the road Fortuin - Mosselmarkt at nightfall and about 1000 Canadians were captured.

Later, April, 26, several counterattacks stopped the advance of XXVII.Res.Korps.

Unfortunately the Boetleer´s Fram is not mentioned.

West of Brig. Schmieden we can see the Matrosen-Rgt.5.

I assume, you know the official british recordings? (Military Operations vol. III, France and Belgium 1915). There are different maps with a unit, called "Comp.Bde". That is the compiled Brigade Schmieden.

The green circle in the last map is Boetleer´s Farm.

By the way 1: Which canadian unit held that farm? As far as I could see on the maps in the canadian recordings, it was 1st coy. 14th bataillon "Royal Montreal Regiment", am I right?

 

The Brigade Schmieden was a saxon one, so I checked the saxon book of honour!

"In april a new storm-brigade was formed in the division under the saxon general-major v. Schmieden. These Brigade was:

Regiment Reußner (Lt.Col. Reußner was commander Res.Inf.Rgt.241), consisted of II. and III.Btl./Res.Inf.Rgt. 241 and II.Btl./Res.Inf.Rgt.242. It existed from 24.4.15-29.4.15.

Regiment Wilhelmi (Col. Wilhelmi) with II. and III./Ldw.Inf.Rgt. 78, II.Btl./Res.Inf.Rgt. 244

I./Res.Fieldartillery-Regiment 54

Two Landwehr-Batteries

One Platoon Engeneers"

 

As "Korps-Reserve" another storm-regiment, called "v. Heygendorff" (Major and commander of Res.Inf.Rgt. 245) was formed with:

III.Btl./Res.Inf.Rgt. 245, II.Btl./Res.Inf.Rgt. 247, 3. 4. and 9. comp. of Res.Inf.Rgt. 246. This regiment should be under command of Brigade Schmieding later.

The Brigade Schmieden attacked April, 24 northeast corner of the enemy trenches and conquered Hill 32 and the crossing road northwest of s´Gravenstafel.

The conquer of the farm is NOT mentioned, so I assume, the Marines took it!

April, 25 the losses of the 53.Res.Div. were 446 men.

By the way 2: You can get regimental history of Matrosen-Regiment 5 digitally for 5€ here (for more units click left at 1.World War, then "books sort by unit number and name"):

http://military-books.lima-city.de/hp02/005.html

He also has the histories of Res. 241 and 242:

http://military-books.lima-city.de/hp02/241.html

http://military-books.lima-city.de/hp02/242.html

 

Some men of that regiment fell april 25 near Poelcapelle:

http://www.denkmalprojekt.org/2012/matr-reg-nr5_offiziere_und_offizierdiensttuer_wk1.html

 

 

 

Edited 1 January , 2018 by The Prussian

[Acknown]

Dear Prussian,

This is excellent detail and I am most grateful to you for your detailed research. In light of your advice, I think I am about right; the farm, which is a bit further north than the green circle you have placed on the map (on the dotted blue line, just to the east of the formation boundary) was probably captured by Brigade Schmieden, with Mtr.5 on its immediate right, but if the boundary was not adhered to, it may have been Mtr.5. My source states: 'Our guards were marine and some of them gave us a drink of coffee from their water bottles’. This was after he was captured, so some marines may have also been doing guard duty behind the lines.

Boetleer's Farm was held by the 8th Battalion (90th Winnipeg Rifles) Canadian Infantry on 25th April. Thereafter, it was occupied by 1/8th Durham Light Infantry. See this page: http://www.durhamatwar.org.uk/story/12527/. My source (in the 7th Canadian Battalion, which had been to the west of the 8th) was wounded and made his way to the farm during the late morning of 25th April, hiding in the pig-pen with some other wounded. The Canadians were ordered to withdraw at 5.00 p.m. and did so that evening, but the Durhams held on until the early hours of the 26th. My source states that the last troops pulled out after a gun battle at about 3 a.m. At dawn the German troops entered the farm and took the wounded in there prisoner.

Danke für seine Unterstützung.

Acknown

[The Prussian]

Yes, you´re right. The far,m is a little bit more north. I attached a trench map from 1918, but the farm is stil visible. You also can see Hill 32.

I don´ t know, if you are able to read german. If not, I´ll buy the history of the 5th Marines.

 

[Acknown]

Andy,

Many thanks again. I've been to Boetleer's Farm, which has been rebuilt. The top of Hill 32 was known by the Allies as 'Locality C'. Please don't purchase the history on my account. I only need the outline details we have already discussed, but it was a kind thought.

Regards,

Acknown

[The Prussian]

That is no problem. The seller is a friend of mine. I will ask him to look for April 24/25

[bierast]

Having gone through the sources at length for our booklet The Saxons at Zonnebeke I'm confident that Boetleer Farm fell to Sturmbrigade von Schmieden. Regiment Reußner received fresh attack orders at 1am German time (midnight British time) on the morning of 26th April, and subsequently advanced (unfortunately no time for the actual attack is given in the regimental history of RIR 241) with 5. Kompagnie / Matrosen-Regiment 5 attached on its right flank and 'elements of Regiment Wilhelmi' on its left. They already had a foothold on Hill 32, and this attack swept downwards towards the valley beyond. The 'elements of Regiment Wilhelmi' were probably from II. / RIR 244, as 5./244 were (according to their regimental history) the first to reach what I now believe must have been the 'Bombarded Crossroads'; the other three companies of II./244 were subsequently despatched to assist Regiment von Heygendorff and some 'Marine-Infanterie' in clearing the s'Gravenstafel crossroads, where severe resistance was encountered. See the map below from the history of RIR 247, showing where von Heygendorff's force advanced on the 26th:

 

 

I believe this means that Boetleer Farm was certainly taken by Saxons, either from Reußner's composite regiment or the adjacent elements of RIR 244.

 

Re. the composition of the Sturmbrigade, the idea seems to have been to continue to occupy the usual sectors of 105. and 106. Res. Inf. Brigade each with battalions from all of their usual regiments, thus disguising the transfer of forces from XXVII. Reserve-Korps to the attack front on its right; hence the creation of composite regiments. Both brigades even made (quite bloody) diversionary attacks on their usual front on 25th April with the skeleton forces that remained to them.

 

 

[Acknown]

Bierast,

Thank you very much for this. I follow your description (but got a little confused by the regimental designations), however the sketch map is unclear. If the crossroads in the centre is on the junction of Keerzelaarstrat/ Schipstraat/ Roeselarestraat/ s' Graventafelstraat (today's road names), where the NZ Memorial is, Boetleer's Farm is about 800m to its west; about on the western end of the western of the two horizontal, bold objective lines, where I think I read '8' and '26'. I think I can see a building on the sketch map at that point, which might be BF. So, whichever unit was given that objective is probably the one which entered the farm. 'Hill 32' is immediately to the west of BF.

Do you agree? If so, does that confirm your analysis?

Acknown

[The Prussian]

Hello!

I didn´t forget you. My friend is still on holidays. I wait for his answer according to Matr.Rgt.5

[bierast]

2 hours ago, Acknown said:

Bierast,

Thank you very much for this. I follow your description (but got a little confused by the regimental designations), however the sketch map is unclear. If the crossroads in the centre is on the junction of Keerzelaarstrat/ Schipstraat/ Roeselarestraat/ s' Graventafelstraat (today's road names), where the NZ Memorial is, Boetleer's Farm is about 800m to its west; about on the western end of the western of the two horizontal, bold objective lines, where I think I read '8' and '26'. I think I can see a building on the sketch map at that point, which might be BF. So, whichever unit was given that objective is probably the one which entered the farm. 'Hill 32' is immediately to the west of BF.

Do you agree? If so, does that confirm your analysis?

 

I'm hoping the map below will eliminate any confusion caused by the one I posted before. This new one is based on a German map from 1917 - please ignore the thick black lines, which are not relevant for 1915.

 

1 = summit of Hill 32

2 = Boetleer Farm

3 = crossroads shown on the RIR 247 map (on the Mühlenhügel = windmill hill)

4 = Bombarded Crossroads

 

 

 

[Acknown]

Agreed!

Acknown

[The Prussian]

Hello!

I just recieved the pages of that period of the Matrosen-Regiment 5

The are not too much infos.

April 25., II.Btl/Matr.Rgt.5 took hill 32. No farm mentioned

[Acknown]

Many thanks to both Andy and Bierast for all this fascinating detail. We appear to have two views as to which formation took Hill 32: Matr,Rgt.5 or Bde Schmieden. Perhaps we'll never know which took Boetleer's Farm. 

My query was to inform a book I am preparing that contains the WW1 memoir of my source (see above), who was wounded and captured at BF  on 26th April (see above).  He writes,

'There were a lot of Germans entrenched at the other side of the ruined building next to us and more on the road beyond. They got us all together and marched us off ... There were some unwounded among us including two officers ... The unwounded were helping the worst wounded. The rest of us paired off and got on as best we could. I had as a mate a man who had a slight wound in his leg and we clung to each other. We went very slow with frequent halts. Our guards were marine and some of them gave us a drink of coffee from their water bottles’. 

I think I'll put the following as a comment:

'The German infantry that approached the Gravenstafel Ridge were from the 2nd Reserve Ersatz Brigade of the 51st Reserve Division to the west, and the 38th Landwehr Brigade of the 1st Landwehr Division to the east. However, the Saxon ‘Brigade Schmieden’, a composite formation organized from battalions of the 27th Reserve Corps for the purpose of exploiting any progress on the left wing of the 26th Corps, was pushed through the 2nd Reserve Ersatz Brigade on 24th April and on towards Gravenstafel. The marines were probably from Matrosen-Regiment Nr. 5, a reserve naval infantry regiment, of the 4th Marine Brigade, another exploitation formation, which similarly advanced into the area on 25th April to the west of Brigade Schmieden. It is possible that either Brigade Schmieden or the marines actually captured Boetleer's Farm, but the marines provided the prisoner guards to the rear'.

Do either of you disagree?

Acknown

Edited 11 January , 2018 by Acknown
new information

[AOK4]

Matrosen-Regiment 5 was not a naval infantry regiment, it was an infantry regiment made out of reservist seamen.

[Acknown]

A0K4 - Many thanks. I will correct my script. 

Acknown

[bierast]

I would say that Sturmbrigade von Schmieden definitely took Hill 32 (as it was squarely directed against Hill 32, and clearly comprised the majority of German troops in that immediate area) but it had elements of the Matrosen-Regiment attached to it. According to the regimental history of RIR 241, the II. Bataillon and Radfahrer-Kompagnie (cyclist company) of Matrosen-Regiment Nr.5 were inserted on the brigade's right on the evening of 24th April to close the gap between the Saxons and the left flank of 51. Reserve-Division, which was 300m behind the Saxon right flank.

 

To clarify re. the naval troops, the German navy had two types of infantry. Marine-Infanterie were the direct equivalent of the Royal Marines (i.e. they were pre-war trained, regular infantry belonging to the navy); Matrosen-Infanterie were surplus naval reservists converted into infantry in wartime (i.e. they were sailors without pre-war training or experience in this role). The infantry of the naval Marinekorps Flandern comprised a mixture of these two types of regiment; its infantry brigades were designated as Marine-Infanterie-Brigade or simply Marine-Brigade, regardless of their exact composition.

[Acknown]

After a PM from Andy, I now think that Bde Schmieden actually took Hill 32 and the farm on the morning of the 25th, with the 'marines' relieving them the next night (whilst providing PW guards somewhere in the rear). I'll adjust my text accordingly.

This has been a detailed but absorbing conversation and I am very grateful to all contributors, not only for solving the problem, but also for teaching me something about German infantry designations!

Best wishes,

Acknown