16 - Don, 12 February 1915

Don, 12 February 1915

[Friday]

Dear family,

I found myself a little piece of paper so I can write you a letter. I haven’t received anything from you. I hope though to receive something before Sunday. The rumour goes that something has arrived today, let’s hope the best!

Life here is actually easier than in Kevelaer, and also much more interesting.

There are a lot of old trenches here in the surrounding countryside, German and French, from which we can learn a lot. Training here is in any case better than in Kevelaer, because almost all sergeants and officers have served at the front already and thus have much more experience.

The 56’ers [*] are at La Bassée opposite the English, who give them a hard time it seems, because the English have put a price of 20 Shillings on every [captured] unwounded 56’er.

Something must be going on somewhere around here. The guns boom continuously, it started yesterday morning and went on all through the night. You get used to it very quickly, and you only notice it when they stop.  We also heard rifle- and machinegun fire.

There are almost more aeroplanes in the sky than cars on the road. If we are outside then almost every minute one flies overhead, and not only German, but also French and English.

Not so long ago we could see how two of them fired at each other with machineguns. They didn’t hit eachother apparently, because, contented, they both went their seperate ways.

There is a lot to see here by the way. Today the streets are full of ammunitiontrucks etc. one after the other. And in the fields the cavalry are harvesting the sugarbeets and plowing the ground. Not very nice in this terrible soil.

Well, schluß. Hope to hear from you soon.  With many greetings  Fritz

Please send me wicks for my lighter.

[*]  Infanterie-Regiment Vogel von Falckenstein (7. Westfälisches) Nr . 56


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