Don, 7 March 1915
[Sunday]
Dear family,
Since Wednesday I have received the
following parcels: nrs 21, 22, 23, 25, one with soap and towel, and one with
butter. Furthermore Else’s letter of the 28th Febr. Many thanks for everything.
I was expecially happy to receive
Else’s letter. Helene is too busy with her work at the clinic, But Hanne surely
has time to write me now and then. Or is she helping mother?
I have read the Luther booklet, and
will return it to you today, as I assume Else would like to keep it.
Post arrives regularly, also the Kölnische Zeitung always arrives. It’s a much desired object here, for completely different reasons.
Post arrives regularly, also the Kölnische Zeitung always arrives. It’s a much desired object here, for completely different reasons.
I also received parcels from Aunt
Bonert, Aunt Vollmer and Henno. Please thank them for me.
I have already written to everybody.
It is very nice if people, of whom you don’t think often, still send you
something.
Not much to tell about this week. We
had another lenghty march again. We went to the neighbourhood of Herlies, where there was heavy fighting
end of October. Our Oberleutnant, who was in this fighting, showed us how it all
developed then. It was very instructive, and you got a good idea of how it was
back then. Trenches and bombcraters were still there.
We then walked through the larger
village of Fournes[-en-Weppes] which I’m sure you can locate on the map. Only
a few windows had still glass in them, and the church and all the higher
buildings were completely destroyed.
We then marched on to Santes, where the defences of Lille start, even though Lille is still 10 kms away.[*1]
Beautiful trenches there, with
movable trench shields and every possible luxury (Wooden planks on the floor, carved
out seating in the dug-outs which are very comfortable. In front of it barbed wire
defences, tripwires etc making you feel reasonably safe in the trenches.
Why these fortifications were built
I don’t know, they look like some precaution, but they must have cost a lot.
Not much further to write about this
week. Friday a transport of 53’ers from Cologne and 39’ers from Düsseldorf
arrived. [*2] I went to the station and had hoped to meet Hermann Dicke. I didn’t
see him but it is very well possible he was there.
What is the foodsituation like back home? Is it getting tight already? Too bad you had to get rid of the pigeons.
What do you feed the horses now?
From what I have seen people here are
wasteful when it concerns oats and also bread.
It is good news the city and
government want to rent out the coldstores. Hopefully that goes through. With
the shortage in butter and eggs a large part will be empty I suppose.
H. Mais left today on leave to
Lille. Please ask around if anybody knows someone there, or in Douai, whom I
can go and visit some time. He took my watch with him to Lille, the glass and
hands were broken.
But end. Hope to hear something very
soon from Hanne, and am, with best greetings also to all acquaintances, your
Fritz
[*2]
53’ers = Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment
nr. 53
39’ers = Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment nr. 39
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI’m not an expert on Armies and how they work etc., but what I found is that e.g. an Infanterie-Regiment is an integral part of the army, in peace- and in war-time.
DeleteReserve-Infanterie-Regiments go through the same training etc. as the “normal” regiments, but after the training is done the soldiers go home, and go about their daily business. They come back once in a while for some more training.
In war-time these Reserve Regiments are then called up, and become part of the regular army.