French losses 1915

[Chris Boonzaier]

A question that requires a bit of supposition.

On the 9th of May 1915 the French 88eme regiment d'Infanterie lost 1500 men in the ill fated attack at ROCLINCOURT. a man of the regiment is listed as having died on the 27th of May.

With losses that heavy... can we assume the regiment was no longer in the line and he died of wounds... or that the regiment had been filled up and was back in action again? 1500 are losses that would have made even Grandmaison stutter....

[uncle bill]

The French regiment would have been quite large so maybe able to absorb these losses. It's not unusual for a regiment to hold a part of a line over an extended period. Unfortunately Grandmaison's doctrine was still in vogue at this time.

[uncle bill]

there would have been 3 battalions with three companies each and one battalion in reserve so a theoretical 3000 man, maybe more muster role ? Horrendous losses by the French in 15, makes you wonder how they weathered the hurricane that hit them on the 21st february the following year. Joffre just threw away men in the Artois and Champagne. Criminal.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi,

the man in Question died in a place called Fismes, which for the life of me I cannot confirm was anywhere near the front line on the date of his death.

Researching men who died BETWEEN the big battles can be frustrating :-(

[uncle bill]

Here is a photo of the 88e R I memorial at Roclincourt. Alain Fournier was in this regiment. They must have made good losses very quickly before their attack at Roclincourt. In february they were involved in the Champagne battles near Souain.

[Pierre]

Hello,

The monument is dedicated to the 88 and 288 IH. In France, classification, 200 constitutes a regiment of reserve of the principal regiment.

he is the heir to two Irish Regiments, "BERWICK" and "CLARE", put at the service of France by the king JACQUES II.

Here is a link about his story, but in French.

http://www.gers.pref.gouv.fr/acvg/documents/Regiment2.htm

Regards.

Pierre

[uncle bill]

thanks Pierre. Any idea of where this regiment was after Roclincourt ?

[Chris Boonzaier]

I am not sure where the regiment was, but a commemorative death certificate I have was to a man killed at Fismes a couple of weeks later. After surviving Roclincourt he was killed way behind the lines...

"Fismes was behind the French lines halfway between Soissons and Reims, it had been occupied by the Germans in 1914 but abandoned during their retreat after the battle of the Marne. It was however still within reach of the German long range artillery and avaiation and the first bombing raid was carried out by an aircraft on the 2nd October 1914. The pilot aimed for the station but missed. On the 1st of November bombs fell near the church, the school and the hospital causing material damage.

In 1915 the village was bombed regularly, the 27th May 1915 being the day where the most losses suffered. Dupont was one of 15 soldiers killed, 15 others were wounded as were a number of civilians. On the 20th June, the day of the first communion a number of bombs fell on the church, luckily just after the villagers had already left. On the 4th of July the last windows of the church were destroyed. On the 13th of July the first 380mm German shell landed in the village, they would continue to land until the end of the war."