Prellbock, 3 June 1915
Dear
family,
Only now I
have time to write you. That is not my fault though, but the English’s:
The day
before yesterday they shelled us again with a few mines, and this time they
were lucky to finally hit the target. One landed exactly on the dugout of the
machinegun, our sandbags flew every where and the whole trench was full of
junk. Nobody was injured. So we spent the last two nights and yesterday the
whole day cleaning up and repairing the trench.
And when
you’re busy the whole night and the whole day you can imagine you’d rather use
the few free minutes you have –you really can’t talk of hours- to take forty
and a half winks instead of writing. It just wasn’t possible.
Of course I
always try as much as possible to write on Wednesdays and Sundays. But even
with the best will it’s not always possible.
Since I
wrote you last I received mother’s letter of the 29th together with
the Einjärigeschein, furthermore
several parcels containing preserves, Brennsdorf [Coffee?], chocolate, butter,
cigarettes etc. Most of them didn’t have a number on them. Many thanks for
eveything. Please send me plenty of that hartspiritus
[solid fuel for the fieldstove], it doesn’t last as long as what it says on the
tin.
I hope the
stuff isn’t too expensive.
We’re at
the front again, but go into rest at Douvrin for 4 days tomorrow. It’s always relatively peaceful here. We have
nothing to do with the fighting around Arras. When the Mais’ or the Heede’s ask
you about the attack on the Lorretto Spur [*1], in which we would have
participated, please tell them that is not true. I know from a letter from Frau
Steigleder that one of us mentioned in a letter home that we participated. But
that is not true. So again: it remained peaceful here. Please don’t let other
people tell you lies. If something happens I’ll write that to you.
People have
to be glad they won’t have to attack themselves. Here it won’t come to attacks
though. The positions are expanded in a massive way, we now have 6-8 lines of
trenches behind each other in most places. The English are welcome here, we are
prepared. But they too don’t think of attacking, because night after night we
can observe how they’re reinforcing their barbed wire defences.
This
morning our 8th Kompanie
blew up a large part of their trenches. Some debris rained down close to us,
even though we’re 800-1000 meters away from the blast. But then they filled the
tunnel with 24 Zentner [ 1 Zentner = 50 kgs] of dynamite. All this
blasting is really not good, but we have to defend ourselves with any means
possible, and if we don’t blow thém up they will blow ùs up.
The place
where I am now, the Prellbock, is
safe from undermining because there’s a marsh between the frontlines.
Hans
Heynsche wrote to our Leutnant about
the officer’s course. He wants to accomplish that I get admitted after all to
the course in Douvrin. Ah well, it doesn’t matter much to me. I now know, more
or less, why they didn’t take me on. Most other Aspiranten, like H. Pass etc.,
were universitystudents.
And they
are given preference. I on the other hand am a businessman. And they don’t
quite know what it is I do, whether in civilian life I’m behind the counter
selling herrings, what exactly is it a businessman does. I really think that is
the only reason. It really shouldn’t be like that. It’s a pity Hans didn’t
write sooner. It might be too late now.
With many
warm greetings your Fritz
Yesterday I
received a parcel from the Nettelbecks, please thank them for me! And one from
the Heede’s
[*1] Second
Battle of Artois
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Artois
The original letter:
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