German Uniform postcard and translation help please

[gnr.ktrha]

Hi fellow Forumites,
                               I was shown this photograph by a friend and I was wondering if anyone can spot anything of interest about it as I know very little about German uniforms.
     The postcard was posted in 1915. The man marked with the cross is Adam Schmidt, and he served most of the war with the 94th Infantry Regiment, according to his Military pass. Adam was the holder of the Iron Cross 2nd Class and the wound badge in Black, by the end of the war.
          I cannot make out much of the handwritten message apart from the word Cassel [The post stamp is also from Cassel] and what appears to be Infantry Regiment 167 written at on the right hand edge of the card. This regiment does not appear in his Pass, so wonder how it fits into his service history. I would really like to know anything about the card or what is written on it.
       I will post some close ups of the shoulder straps and of the whole reverse of the card next. I can also post images from his Pass, if of interest?
 
    Many thanks for looking.

[charlie2]

Hi

I have a feeling as though the pass and the photo are of two different Adam Schmidt perhaps Weimar causing the mix up. The card is addressed to Weimar near Cassel which isn‘t to be confused with the town of Weimar in Thüringen.

There is an Adam Schmidt from Weimar recorded as being wounded with IR 94 in early 1915 http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/1909047

There is also an Adam Schmidt recorded as missing on 04.11.1918 while with IR167 

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/9452269 

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/7369681

The photo in my opinion is of Adam Schmidt IR 167 from Weimar near CasseI I certainly cannot see a Cypher on the shoulder straps only what appears to be a 7. IR 167 was garrisoned in Cassel with the 3rd Bn in Mühlhausen. IR 94 had battalions garrisoned in Weimar, Jena and Eisenach, all towns in Thüringen.

As you might have guessed Schmidt is as common as Smith in the UK. Can you post photos of his pass, it might help to clear things up.

Charlie

 

 

Edited 27 March , 2023 by charlie2
IR 94 did not have numbers on the shoulder straps

[gnr.ktrha]

Here are a couple of scans of the Pass.  Interestingly it records that he was born on the 22 November 1891 at  Cassel, Weimar and that his service started from 15th October 1912 in the 94th Regt. This information tallies exactly with the details recorded in his Wehrpass, issued to him in1943. The WP only records that he served between those dates "im allen Heer", but does not record his regiment. The photo in the WP looks similar to the man in the postcard, just a bit older. Also, his father was a Friedrich, and that is what is also recorded in the WP.
      I will try and get some more photographs later

[AOK4]

Hello,

The postcard is not from Adam Schmidt, it is from a brother (he ends the card with "Viele Grüße sendet Euch Euer Sohn..."), but I can't decypher the name .

Jan

[gnr.ktrha]

Hi Jan,
           Ah, that's great. Thanks for having a look. Can you read anything else on the card? He seems to be talking about different sums of money, I think.
             Kind regards,
                    Stewart

[GreyC]

It could be his first name, it could also be read as something pertaining to IR 167.

First name is more likely, though.

GreyC

[charlie2]

52 minutes ago, gnr.ktrha said:

He seems to be talking about different sums of money, I think.

It would seem that he was to meet his parents, as he writes that he has left 130 Mark in the chest of drawers and they are to bring 20 Mark with them.

I have managed to identify 3 of his brothers - Heinrich Jost (born 1894), Wilhelm Friedrich Carl (1888) and Johannes Georg Friedrich (1901). The sender of the card could be Carl but spelt with a K, the first letter is very similar to the K in Kommode.

Charlie

[gnr.ktrha]

Hi Charlie,
               That's great that you have found his brothers, it also explains why the WW1 photograph and the photo in the Wehrpass look like similar men.

I am having a little trouble reading some of what is recorded on pages 8 and 9 of the Military Pass. The first bit seems straight forward enough, I think it reads-
8th August in the field with Infantry Regiment 94, 4th company.
19th November 1914 infantry ?????? Troops ?????.
??? field campaign against Belgium and Russia ???????????
The next line seems to be a list of place names where he served. Namur, ????, Opatow, ?????, Chelmno, ????, ????.
20th of February 1915 something happened, which I just cannot seem to get.
15th December 1915 he is in a Garrison Company.

            On pages 14 and 15 I think I can read that he returns to Cassel on 14th Dec 1918 for discharge. He undertakes some Machine Gun Training, August to October 1916 he serves as a Pioneer, I think. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class in 1917 and the Wound Badge in Black in 1918 and he took part in the field campaign in France 1916-18. The Battle calendar is straight forward enough, even the hand written entries as they match what is recorded in the book-     Histories of the 251 Divisions of the German Army.
     If you can see any corrections or additions to the above, I would greatly appreciate it. My knowledge of German as limited, google translate helps a lot, but often I cannot even begin to read the handwriting!

     Very many thanks for your time and efforts

 

[AOK4]

19. Novbr. (November) 1914 inf. (infolge) Inf. (Infanterie) Schusses durch Becken Truppe verlassen.

hat im Feldzuge gegen Belgien und Rußland an folg. (folgende) Gefechte teilgenommen:

Namur, Sechserben, Opatow, ?, Chelmno, Janowice, Zytowice

War von 20. Febr. 1915 bis Dezbr. 1915 bei nebensteh. Truppenteil eingestellt (he was attached in the mentioned unit (1. Genes. Kompanie...)

Am 15. Dezbr. 1915 zur Gran. Komp. I. Ers. Bat. 94 versetzt.

 

[charlie2]

Above the entries for his EKII etc is the following 

„Gem(äss) Verfügung der 38. I.D. von 6.5.17 wegen Blutopfer in der Familie dauernd hinter der Front zu verwenden“

Due to fatalities in the family he was only to be employed behind the front lines

[gnr.ktrha]

Hi AOK4 and Charlie2,
                                  Thanks for taking a second look at the document. AOK4 does the November 1914 entry translate as being shot in the pelvis?
Charlie2, it looks like one of his brothers was probably killed during the war. According to his Wehrpass, his father died in 1941.
            Many thanks once again for your time a patience.

[charlie2]

Becken is the pelvis so yes, shot in the pelvic area. The missing battle is Strykow but looks to be spelled Strikow.

Charlie

Edited 28 March , 2023 by charlie2

[charlie2]

40 minutes ago, gnr.ktrha said:

looks like one of his brothers was probably killed during the war

He lost 2 brothers, Heinrich Jost (mentioned above) with 11./IR 82 http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/3366636

and another brother, probably the sender of the card - Karl Heinrich 3./IR 167 http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/4965356

Father - Friedrich Georg, Mother - Sophie neé Möller

DCs courtesy of Ancestry

Charlie

[AOK4]

1 hour ago, charlie2 said:

Above the entries for his EKII etc is the following 

„Gem(äss) Verfügung der 38. I.D. von 6.5.17 wegen Blutopfer in der Familie dauernd hinter der Front zu verwenden“

Due to fatalities in the family he was only to be employed behind the front lines

That is something remarkable. I hadn't heard of a similar general order before.

The only time I encountered a similar thing was in the case of the brothers von Bülow-Bothkamp when first Conrad (after his two elder brothers had been killed in the war) and later Harry (after Conrad was killed in an accident in Finland) were discharged from active service allegedly on orders of the German Emperor as they were destined to run the family estate after their brothers were killed.

(I didn't know until now that there would have been a general rule in cases of only one brother surviving in the German Army of WW1 like in "Saving Private Ryan".)

Jan

[gnr.ktrha]

That is an amazing amount of information you have all been able to compile from this one pass. I particularly like the Battle Calendar, I have seen similar examples in WW2 German documents. It is a pity that similar lists were not included in British paperwork, but then again that is all part of doing the research. I wonder how far behind the Front Line he would have been? Would it be in reserve trenches, or regimental base behind the lines.
          I will check the German War Graves site to see if either brother has a grave. Adam served in Landesschützen-Bataillon 602 during WW2, but was discharged in December 1944.