German Army units in the field

[toofatfortakeoff]

I have a good book German army in the field 1918 and although it is OK it doesnt say where theunits were positioned is there any other book that will guve you more of a clue | thought the Reichsarchiv ones might be a good idea but not every volume is available and they take up a heck of a lot of room

[Paul Hederer]

I have a good book German army in the field 1918 and although it is OK it doesnt say where theunits  were positioned is there any other book that will guve you more of a clue | thought the Reichsarchiv ones might be a good idea but not every volume is available and they take up a heck of a lot of room

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There is the massive and very expensive, "Deutschlands Heere bis 1918."

Here is a link:

http://www.militaria-biblio.de/Verlagsverz...ml#HEADING481-3

Paul

[toofatfortakeoff]

Danke mein Freund Ich gehe jetzt da! or Something

[Alastair Fraser]

There are a number of people on the forum who can probably help more than I can with this and I may be telling you things you know already.

"Histories of the two hundred and fifty one divisions of the German army which participated in the war 1914-1918" is a start. It is based on British, French and American intelligence documents and must be treated with caution. It is available in reprint from Naval and Military Press ISBN 0948130873.

"Imperial German Army 1914-18. Organisation, structure, orders of battle" by Hermann Cron is also available in a recent English translation. It is full of useful information although does not give exact locations or dates in specific parts of the line.

The Reichsarchiv series are superb and are come up from time to time on e-Bay. They are great for the actions that they cover but are only a fragment of the Great War and you do need pretty functional German to be able to get the best out of them (my German is pretty basic).

The best source I have is "Ruhemeshalle unserer alte Armee" which was published in a number of editions in about 1935 edited by Hermann Cron. I got a copy about 20 years ago in Paderborn having come off a particularly grubby and frustrating exercise. Everybody thought I was mad spending money on old books but it has been a real boon and the best 30 DM I have ever spent. The big difficulty is that I am not aware that any library in the British Isles actually has a copy - but you may not be from GB of course.

The two leading experts in this field are Jack Sheldon and Ralph Whitehead both of whom have much better German than me and may be able to advise you on other sources.

I hope you get what you need

Regards

Alastair Fraser

[David Gregory]

Hi,

Although it will probably take me for ever to complete at this rate, I am putting together an overview of the German divisions showing OOBs for at least two points of time in the Great War, a basic list of commanders and a calendar of battles and engagements.

Much of the information I have put online so far is culled from Ruhmeshalle, but also supplemented with unit histories and other works where appropriate. I agree with Alaistair above, Ruhmeshalle is probably the best single source to place a unit if you want an overview. The only major drawbacks are that minor units such as medical companies and ancillary units are not included in the divisional overviews, and units attached to higher level formations, such as at corps and army level, are not all covered. In addition, temporary attachments to other formations and frequent transfers are not apparent due to the fact that only two OOB snapshots are given in most cases. I find it very hard to place RER4 at any given time during the war as it was swapped between various formations regularly, for example.

While "Histories of the two hundred and fifty one divisions of the German army which participated in the war 1914-1918" is readily available and not expensive, it is at best spotty and contains errors that are unavoidable when wartime intelligence reports are used as the source material. I am not keen on its "class" rating for the various German divisions, either, although they are better than nothing if regarded as a general indicator and also treated with some caution.

As Paul points out, "Deutschlands Heere bis 1918" is also very good, but it only covers the regular units that existed pre-war. Units formed at or following mobilisation are not included at all.

In my view, you will never be able to find out all you want to know. Not every unit has a published history and many archives did not survive WW2. Nevertheless, researching Imperial German soldiers is a challenge, but highly satisfying.

My German divisional overviews can be seen at http://www.militaerpass.net/inf_div.htm More will be added as time permits.

David

[toofatfortakeoff]

Thanks a lo everyone this will vbe a gr4eat help to locate my postcard collections whereabouts

Seanio TFFTO

[Robert Dunlop]

There is the massive and very expensive, "Deutschlands Heere bis 1918."

Paul, I have seen this series advertised. Each volume is expensive, as you say. Can you (or others) comment on the quality of the detail about the First World War? Personally, I would not be interested in information about formation of units nor other time periods.

Thanks

Robert

[gew98]

Paul, I have seen this series advertised.  Each volume is expensive, as you say.  Can you (or others) comment on the quality of the detail about the First World War?  Personally, I would not be interested in information about formation of units nor other time periods.

Thanks

Robert

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gentlemen ; an excellent discussion !. I also recommend a great book " the Imperial German Regimental Marking" By Jeff Noll , Marceline MO , 64658 USA

The book can be had directly from Jeff at his website or via snail mail

Jeff Noll

PO Box 7184

Ventura CA 93006 NOPUBL@EARTHLINK.NET

This book used in conjuction with 251 Div's is a fairly good start. If you are like me and have a pile of german regimental marked equipment , it's a boon !.

[Paul Hederer]

Paul, I have seen this series advertised.  Each volume is expensive, as you say.  Can you (or others) comment on the quality of the detail about the First World War?  Personally, I would not be interested in information about formation of units nor other time periods.

Thanks

Robert

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Robert,

I would say they are too expensive. It is possible to view them in Freiburg (going on what a friend told me) for free, and honestly for the price of a Ryan air trip and hotel you would still come out very much ahead .

Paul

Paul

[toofatfortakeoff]

Lovely site david will peruse it at lemgth later TFFTO