80 –
Douvrin, 12 September 1915
[Sunday]
Prellbock,
15 September 1915 . Forgot to post this letter!
Dear
family,
I received
mother’s letter of the 5th, and parcels nr 311, 314, 315. Many
thanks for eveything.
I believe I
already replied to that letter, so I don’t have much to write about today.
One thing:
Mais would like a print from every photograph, can you bring those to them
please.
Heiny Mais
sent for a roll of film, and used it all up. The Mais’s will have it developed
and printed themselves, and they will bring you a print of every photograph.
This
morning we had Bataillonsexerzieren
[Batallion-drill]. Nowadays a whole batallion is at rest, it used to be only 3
companies at a time. It was fun and interesting this morning, not at all as bad
as I thought it would be. Bit by bit we are trained again for mobile warfare.
But I believe that that is to be much preferred over this boring trench warfare,
but it will also be a lot more demanding.
Tomorrow we’re
going on a pleasure trip. I won’t write you where to yet. You’ll be getting a
postcard from there tomorrow. It will amaze you, because there is still a war
going on?
Unofrtunately
I don’t have much money left. When we come into rest the next time we’ll
probably move on. Please take that into account. You need a lot of money here
if you want to get something extra. Everything is so expensive, and there are
days that you don’t receive any parcels so that you háve to buy something. You’ve
got to know that, when parcels arrive, this poor soul will not rest untill he
ate everything.
In the
trenches the mail always arrives at around 11 at night, and when I then get
back from guardduty I can’t help myself to heat up and exterminate all the
vegetables and meat, or whatever it was you sent me.
Everybody
does that. We dó get something to put on our bread here, cheese, ham, sausage,
tinned meat, everything really nice and tasty, and also, and that will amaze
you, marmelade almost every day. It
gets you through the day, but it’s not quite enough really.
Furthermore
we get something to smoke every day, Horchpostenzigarren
[= not very good cigars] and Cycle
cigarettes, made in America, and as strong as two horses. [*1] Where they found thóse…… We’re getting the same for months already. Work
it out: 3 cigarettes per person just about every day, and that’s not just óur
Company.
I have a
little job now, for one night only, when we’re in the trenches: making two signs
with “Stennes Graben”on it. For that
I need the whole night of course. And I rustled up a candle from the Feldwebel, and 20 cigarettes from the Leutnant.
I’ll draw
it for you, so you see which genial font I’ve used:
Much better
in real life of course. Now, don’t my artistic skills leave you breathless?
Yeah, the skills you need to have when you’re with the Prussians.
I can hear
father now: “All those big letters, surely you can’t read those”
With many
warm greetings
Your Fritz
I tensely
await Hanne’s letter.
[*1] Cycle cigarettes
The original letter:
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