buried far from the battlefield ?

[veklee]

while revisiting a koyli killed at le cateau this came up , I used google translate and it says I think that this is where the germans buried them if so why was it approx. 17 km from the battle and not where they fell ? would they have transported the bodies ? look forward to your replies

thanks barry

[AOK4]

It says "verstorben", meaning that the men may have been evacuated from the battlefield and died in medical posts.

 

Jan

[veklee]

thanks jan

[BullerTurner]

Yes, it is very highly likely that they were evacuated to an advanced dressing station where they then succumbed to their wounds.  For future reference killed would be getötet?

[charlie2]

I agree with Jan, but what strikes me as odd is that the dead are all either KOYLI or RFA, there are more on the next page. If they died at a hospital wouldn‘t it be normal to have a greater mix of regiments? 

 

29 minutes ago, BullerTurner said:

For future reference killed would be getötet?

 

No, „gefallen“ = KiA

 

Charlie

[AOK4]

48 minutes ago, charlie2 said:

I agree with Jan, but what strikes me as odd is that the dead are all either KOYLI or RFA, there are more on the next page. If they died at a hospital wouldn‘t it be normal to have a greater mix of regiments? 

 

Charlie

 

Not necessarily, depending on the circumstances. Perhaps men from one or two battalions that had gotten into the German trenches (April 1917, so probably from the Battle of Arras) and were then captured in a counter attack?

 

Jan

[charlie2]

2 hours ago, AOK4 said:

 

Not necessarily, depending on the circumstances. Perhaps men from one or two battalions that had gotten into the German trenches (April 1917, so probably from the Battle of Arras) and were then captured in a counter attack?

 

Jan

 

Only the list is dated 1917, all the KOYLI on PA10135 and all the RFA including those on the following two pages, died on 26 August 1914 with the exception of 9062 Harpham who died on the 30th and 23605 Giles who was discharged to commission on 9.4.1916. The RFA are all from 122, 123 & 124 Batteries, 28 Brigade RFA. 

 

Charlie

[AOK4]

Okay, then it's from a rearguard action by the KOYLI with RFA support then.

[BullerTurner]

On 07/08/2019 at 13:56, charlie2 said:

I agree with Jan, but what strikes me as odd is that the dead are all either KOYLI or RFA, there are more on the next page. If they died at a hospital wouldn‘t it be normal to have a greater mix of regiments? 

 

 

No, „gefallen“ = KiA

 

Charlie

I agree that gefallen is killed in action but there are about a dozen abbreviation or keys in Verlustlisten?  There is, for example 'An seinem schweren wunden" for DOW and "tot", sometimes abbreviated as the little cross/sword for killed.  I imagine, with the German bureaucracy in mind, that a list used at one end of the casualty chain would draw on a list produced at the front end?

 

Also, might there not be a tendency to use "gefallen" for "echte Deutsches Helde"? While allied flotsam and jetsam might not merit that?  Just offering a theory but I have only looked through tens of Verlustenliste and not seen the codes applied to allied POWs, died in captivity...has anyone else?