90 - 2 October 1915 (Letter from Company Commander Ltn Breunig)

The letters received by the Limbach family following Fritz's death will be published on this blog one letter at a time in the following days.
As these letters were received over several months the posting-date will be before they were written 100 years ago.

[No place] 2 October 1915

Dear family Limbach.

As you already know, the English attempted to break through our lines again. At our Regiment’s positions they tried to break through the iron wall of our brave Hacketäuer [Nickname for IR16].

One platoon of 6^th Company manned an extremely important foreward position. Amongst the troops at this position, called the “Prellbock Stellung”, was your valued son.

After heavily bombarding us for a few days, thereby heavily damaging our positions, the enemy commenced with the ground attack on 25 September at 07.45 hrs.

The attack on our positions, which was preceded by a gas attack, was repelled succesfully thanks to the brave soldiers at the heavily fortified Prellbock Stellung.

Sadly this victory was not without sacrifices on our side. The Company mourns the loss of 9 fallen comrades. Amongst those heroes was your son, der Einjährige Fritz Limbach. [*1]

Your son, who in battle proved himself to be a true Hacketäuer, sadly had to sacrifise his life for our treasured Fatherland. He was killed by a shot to the head, and died without regaining consciousness.

The whole Company, and also I, very much mourn the loss of such a capable soldier, who through his high sense of comradeship was liked by all.

Please accept his comrades’ deepest condolences on your terrible loss.

Your son was buried on 27.9.15 with full military honours. He was laid to rest, together with the other heroes of the Company, in a common grave at the Ehrenfriedhof in Douvrin.

The grave was marked with a cross with inscription.

Be it a consolation for you that your beloved son gave his young life as a hero for his beloved Fatherland. Being aware of this may, I hope, ease the pain of this terrible loss.

With fond memories of our dear comrade I am,

Respectfully

(was signed)  Breunig

Leutnant der Reserve and Company commander

PS: The personal effects of the deceased are enclosed.[*2]

[*1] Curiously the Regimental History of IR 16 (Published in 1927) puts Fritz’s (and some of the others’) date of death at 24 September 1915, the day befóre the Battle of loos.

Their gravestones also bear that date.

The above letter of Ltn Breunig mentions 9 casualties in 6th Company, apparently all in that one action on the morning of the 25^th.

The Regimental History however mentions 10 men from 6^th Company dying on differing dates between 24 September and 2 October (the date of Breunig’s letter):

Dates are as per said Regimental History

Reservist Wilhelm Altenbach, from Opladen/Solingen

Died 24^th September 1915. Buried in Lens-Sallaumines, Block 4, grave 537

Musketier Paul Budde, from Hillegossen/Bielefeld

Died 24^th September 1915. Buried in Lens-Sallaumines, Block 4, grave 539

Musketier Emil Emde, from Langerfeld/Schwelm

Died of wounds 24^th September 1915. Buried in Bauvin, Block 3, grave 48

(Maybe Emil died of wounds sustained befóre 24^th September?)

Musketier Richard Emmler, from Biedenkopf/Hessen-Nassau

Died 25^th September 1915. Buried in Lens-Sallaumines, Block 4, grave 538

Gefreiter Hermann Gumpertz, from Duisburg

Died of wounds 29^th September 1915. Buried in Seclin, Block 3, grave 54

Musketier Wilhelm Hundertmark, from Adorf/Waldeck

Died of wounds 28^th September 1915. Buried in Bauvin, Block 3, grave 5.

Einjährige Freiwilliger Fritz Limbach, from Barmen

Died 24^th September 1915. Buried in Lens-Sallaumines, Block 4, grave 536

Musketier Karl Romberg, from Barmen

Died 24^th September 1915. Buried in Lens-Sallaumines, Block 4, grave 508

Musketier Eduard Siesskind, from Busendorf/Elsass-Lotharingen

Died 24^th September 1915. Buried in Lens-Sallaumines, Block 4, grave 507



[*2] Included in the batch of letters were these two booklets which I presume were (part of) the "Personal effects of the deceased":

1) "From the Word of God"excerpts from the Bible:

Do note the "Sollte ich fallen, bitte Ich diesses mein Büchlein zu senden an...": "In case I'm killed please send this booklet to..."

2) and a "Feldgesangbuch" ("Field hymnbook") "for the Evangelical men in our Army" (Fritz was Evangelical Christian  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism )

No inscriptions in this one.