30 - Oignies, 31 March 1915

Oignies, 31 March 1915

 [Wednesday]

Dear family,

Since I last wrote you I haven’t received any letters from you. I did receive parcels up to #57. Many thanks for that.

Furthermore I received a parcel from the Bonerts, and the Wochenschau from A. Weyerbuschs. Please thank these people for me. I really don’t have time to write.

Please don’t send me Nestor No 6 cigarettes anymore, they really are not worth the money.

However I’d like to have a little stove now. A Heede has a tiny one made out of aluminium, which you can almost carry in your backpocket, and it takes solid fuel. I believe that is Hartspiritus [Solid fuel] .[*1]

I don’t need a messtin ofcourse.

Untill we leave such a little thing will come in very handy. I didn’t know you could get them thát small. A. Heede is always sent preserves, which he then only has to heat. They taste really good.

When we are then in the trenches coffee, tea and stockcubes are ofcourse very welcome.

We’ll be leaving end of the week, so before Easter, and we’ll be going to the Hacketäuern (Inf. Regt 16) not to the 56’ers. But it doesn’t really matter to which Regiment you go. [*2]

So our stop here was really short.

Which is a shame really. On the whole it was very agreeable here. Our officers and sergeants all stay here. They have to train more recrutes. Which is partly fine, partly not so.

Yesterdaymorning we had pre-inspection by the Major. Tomorrow follows the proper inspection.

It all went very smothly, and as a result we had light duties yesterday afternoon and today.

If it all goes just as smoothly tomorrow they promised us Freibier [Free beer]. 

Luckily I am out of the Elitegruppe. I’ve sprained my right foot a little on the assault course. It’s much better now. I still limp a little so that I won’t have to join the Elitegruppe again.

Doch Schluß. It's getting too dark to write and I’m running out of things to write about.

Probably I’ll write again from here on Friday.

With many greetings also to all acquaintances   your  Fritz

Please send the army stove only when you have my new address!

[*1] Could not find a picture of a German army stove from WW1, so do not quite know what they looked like, but here's a "Tommy cooker", a UK army cooker from WW1:

[*2]  “Hacketäuern” was the nickname for Infanterie-Regiment nr 16 :

“On 23 August 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Infantry Regiment Freiherr von Sparr formed part of the Prussian army led by von Bülow, supported by Swedish troops commanded by the ex-French Marshal Jean Bernadotte, which faced a French army headed by Marshal Oudinot at Gross Beeren. The battle was fought in torrential rain, which rendered muskets useless, and the soldiers were urged on in hand-to-hand fighting with their gun butts by cries of 'Hacke tau!', which literally means something like 'Strike out', but might be better rendered (in British English, at least) as 'Get stuck in!' or 'Bash on!' The Prussian/Swedish army won the day and Oudinot retired in disarray. 'Hacke tau!' was then adopted as the official battle cry of the Regiment”


Nestor cigarettes : (This is nr 4, unable to find a picture of Nestor nr 6 ...  )

29 - Oignies, 28 March 1915

Oignies, 28 March 1915

[Sunday]

Dear family,

Since I last wrote you I have received mother’s letter and one from Hanne, furthermore parcel # 51 with sausages, and one from Paul and Aunt Bonert. Many thanks for everything. Please thank the Bonerts for me. I don’t have much time to write, maybe later.

Hanne wrote that mother would like to know what exactly happened during the attack of the English aeroplanes.

That English report is of course a lie. I’ve seen it all very well, and I can judge from own experience what you have to think of that report. The aeroplane flew at high altitude, and dropped 5 or 6 bombs. One fell on a little gas holder which was not working, one fell in the canal where it didn’t do any damage, and the rest fell on the railwaystation. There, as you already wrote, some of our men got wounded and one was killed. Damage to the tracks was only minimal and repaired by the following morning. One railcar was slightly damaged, and with the help of a few planks repaired in no time, and some rails were bent.

Saying that they destroyed a whole train is a lie from A to Z. And by the way the aeroplane flew só high he couldn’t possibly have been able to assess the damage he had caused.[*]

In my last letter I wrote about the guard duty here at the canal, by the bridge to Courrières. It was real fun, those two hours are over before you know it and the 4 hours rest afterwards are more than enough. We drank coffee, and ate a delicious Schweinebraten with fried potatoes.

With a bottle of cognac to keep us warm.

The guard post was at a lady’s who spoke almost fluent German.

On Thursday we’ll have inspection. We’ve been practising for that all the time, because high and highest gentlemen will be present. Like Generalmajor von Ditfurth, commander of the 14^th Division; General von Klaer, commander of the 7^th Artillery; and Crownprince Rupprecht von Bayern., who now is commander of the 6^th Armee.

This afternoon we have another practice, so that on the day everything runs smoothly.

I also have the doubtful honour to be part of an “Elitegruppe” that has to show something.

After the inspection we then go to the trenches. I’m fine with that. It all gets a little boring here anyway. Danger to one’s life is always there of course, but not so much that it becomes unpleasant.

Hope with me that we go to the 56’ers, that’s something we all want very much. In any case we won’t end up far from here. Nobody knows for sure yet.

Of those I was in Kevelaer with some have already been wounded. They’re here in the Lazarett [hospital]. So it has been for the best that we came to French then [?  “Es ist also doch gut gewesen, daß wir damals nach Frankreich kamen”]

Try to get Benzenberg’s new address, and send it to me.

Many greetings also to all acquaintances

Your Fritz

[*] Presumably Fritz writes here about a bombing of the railwaystation at Don, not at Oignies.

He has only been in Oignies for 4 days at this time. 

Position of the bridge which Fritz guarded for a day: 

28 - Oignies, 24 March 1915

Oignies,  24 March 1915

[Wednesday]

Dear Family,

I only now have time to write to you, because we have moved from Don to here, and the postal service only started working again yesterday. My address will stay the same, but of course with Oignies instead of Don.

We’ve had a tough week since I last wrote you. The last nights of last week we built barbed wire defences at Illies, as I probably already wrote you. It was very interesting and we’ve learned a lot.

I can now build such a defence quite easily. The defences we build there are ofcourse not as stable and neat as the ones you’ve seen in Borkum, but nevertheless the English will have problems getting through them.

The last few nights work progressed quicker than in the beginning. We worked platoon-wise, and the first platoon to finish got to go home first. Our platoon was always the first to finish, and our Leutnant enjoyed that very much of course.

But I’m glad this job is over. It’s not nice when your sleep rhythm get disturbed. It was especially no fun anymore saturdaynight. Coming home at 3 in the morning, and then getting up again on Sundaymorning at 6, pack up, and then in full marchinggear a 3 hour march to where we are now.

I was really happy when we finally arrived.

Billets here are better than in Don. On the whole Oignies is a better village. It’s near Carvin and Courrières, where they had that mining accident a few years ago, and where we then sent oxygen.[*1]

You can see on the enclosed postcard what it looks like here. Don looked the same, only poorer[*2]

We are billeted in a theatre, spacious and light. [*3] Especially the washingfacilities are much better, so now we can wash regularly again. You won’t believe how much we value that now.

Close by is a large garden and park, and it’s lovely Spring-weather.

Duty is getting a little sombre and boring. We don’t learn anything new anymore. So our training will be over shortly I think. Which is good on the one hand, but on the other hand not so good.

Whether we will be attached to Regiment 56 or Regiment 16 has not been decided yet. Both are stationed around here actually. The 56’ers near La Bassée and the 16’ers near Illies, both opposite the English.

We’ll just have to wait for the outcome, and let’s not grow any grey hairs over it.

At the moment I’m on guardduty at a bridge over the canal, from 1 o’clock this afternoon untill tomorrowafternoon 1 o’clock. There are six of us, and we’re relieved every 2 hours. During the day there’s always one person on duty, at night it’s two. We have to check the passes of the civilians to see whether they are allowed to cross the bridge, that’s all.

Parcel-wise I have received nrs 45 – 49 if I recall correctly. With all the goings on here I don’t quite know it anymore. Furthermore I received a parcel from Aunt Jülchers, the Bonerts, Aunt Lise, A Weyerbuschs, Emmi Heun, and Clara Guthmann and the Nettelbecks. Will you please thank them all for me. I don’t have time or inclination to write to them all. I’m usually very tired in the evening.

For the rest I’m doing fine. The cold has gone completely. I hope father is doing well too.

It serves no purpose to worry so much. It won’t change anything and he only hurts himself. Now that the coldstores are rented out completely, and there being enough feed for the horses, everything is in good health isn’t it?

The slight set-back is nothing compared to the factories that have been destroyed by the war. I’ve seen here, just behind the front, how the villages suffer from the war. There is hardly anything left of Illies, Herlies etc (I’m sure you will be able to find those places on the map). Nobody lives there anymore.

If you realise that then you should be very pleased with your current life. It could have gone the other way, although that is not really possible or likely. Those villages really look horrific.

In Illies a perfume factory has been completely destroyed. The big bottles scattered on the streets, and the whole village smelled of it. But that smell is way better than that of the dead and half-buried Englishmen in the village square, where we dug trenches for the second time.

I didn’t really want to write you that, but one gets a bit indifferent towards these things.

At the moment we’re having a great time and a coffee at a lady’s house, who already speaks very good German.

But enough for today.

With many greetings also to all acquaintances  I am  your Fritz

[*1] The Courrières mine disaster, Europe's worst mining accident, 10 March 1906. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courrières_mine_disaster 

[*2] The postcard Fritz sent with this letter has been lost over the years unfortunately.

Here’s a typical postcard of Oignies from that time:

[*3]  Perhaps the white Art Nouveau building on the left is the "Varieté saal" Fritz writes about as being his billets? 

The legend on the façade reads "Cinema Parlant Alcazar" ("Talking cinema Alcazar"), so this is a post-war picture.

Cityhall is on the right.

and the situation in August 2012 (thanks to Google Streetview)

27 - Don, 18 March 1915

Don, 18 March 1915

[Thursday]

Dear family,

I only now have time to write to you. And here’s why : yesterday, Wednesday, we had exercises as usual. Then in the afternoon we suddenly got the order to prepare to go and dig trenches. So yesterdayafternoon we travelled in the direction of the front. First by train to Salomé, and from there a 1,5 hour march. Apparently this concerns reserve-trenches about 500-600 mtrs behind the frontline trenches.

Such work can only be done at night of course, during the day the English can see us and will start shooting. Our task was to build barbed wire defences. Of course the sappers were on hand to show us how it is done. It is not as easy as it sounds. You have to dig holes some 50-75 cms deep to put iron poles in. Each two of us dug in 9 poles. And then you know you did do something. Especially in this warm springweather.

Then ofcourse the wire had to be pulled through, barbed wire and blank copperwire for the high voltage current. In complete darkness – it was forbidden to use flashlights - work progressed slowly, and at 02:00 hrs work was done.

2,5 hours later we were home, and at 05:00 hrs we went to bed finally.

This afternoon we go again, this time to dig the trenches.  Today we had the day off of course.

But on the whole it is pretty tiring, and we have to do this for another 4 days.

Today I slept untill midday, almost as good as back home.

When you get so close to the front like we did, you realise how much has been destroyed by the war. In Illies, a medium sized village, almost no house is left standing. The fields are as they were when they were abandoned last autumn. Large tobaccofields completely rotted. [*1]

There were several factories there. All destroyed, the machines rusting in the streets.  If you could only see this then you would keep quiet about the offers you have to bring, and you can only be thankful for your circumstances.

Back home at the most the yearly income is under pressure, but here everything is destroyed, nothing is left standing.

Near Illies there also was a battery of our 21cm howitzers. And while the guns are enormous they were hidden so perfectly it was really hard to find them. At night they fired some grenades.

First you see the fire, then the boom and then the whistling of the grenade.

That sound really reminded me of the overhead railway [*2]

The aeroplanes did not bother us anymore. We now have anti-aircraft defences here, and they’re afraid of that.

I received the parcels upto nr 43, and mother’s letter of the 12^th which I will reply to coming Sunday.

I also received a parcel from Aunt Lise and Aunt Jülchen. Please thank them for me.  I will write to them when I have the opportunity. A. Weyerbusch sent me the Wochenschau.

But enough for today. I’m still waiting for Hanne’s letter.

With many greetings also to all who ask after me    your Fritz

[*1] Illies

(Pictures courtesy of Chris Bailey)

Platoon of 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th Company of IR16 in front of Illies church, early March 1915  

(This is not Fritz’s company, he was in the 1^st Company)

Church of Illies, early March 1915

[*2] overhead railway = Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, which ran not far from Fritz’s home.

 Wuppertaler Schwebebahn in 1913

http://www.schwebebahn-in-wuppertal.de/indexe.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuppertal_Suspension_Railway