93 - Mischnitsche bei Smorgon, 10 October 1915 (Letter from friend Walter Benzenberg)

Mischnitsche bei Smorgon, 10 october 1915

[*1]

Dear mrs Limbach!

After a long time I have finally found the time to reply to the letters.

Then I would like to ask you to please send my warmest congratulations to Fritz on his birthday.

Just as things here are quieting down after 2 months it apparently flares up in the West.

I hope the English and Frenchmen did not get to our Fritz, so that he can spend his birthday in the field cheerful and in good health.

I would like to report in more detail from here, but just as we had settled ourselves here for the winter the order came to move again. As soon as we have gotten ourselves a real home for the winter longer reports on the very tiring but also interesting journey via Kowno [Kaunas/Lithuania] and Wilna [Vilnius/Lithuania] to here will be written.

With warm greetings to the whole household I am,

Your

W. Benzenberg

Walter was stationed on the Eastern front, and Fritz often wrote that the post to and from there did not arrive. So the news of Fritz’s death did not reach Walter before this letter was written.

He was a Gefreiter in Reserve Feld-Artillerie-Regiment nr 66, under the command of 80 Reserve-Division.

http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/80._Reserve-Division_%28WK1%29

[*1]  Smorgon is now Smarhon, Belarus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarhon%E2%80%99

The original letter:

92 - Stammheim [Auchy], 9 October 1915 (Letter from friend Musketier Otto Mertens)

Stammheim [Company HQ], 9 October 1915

Dear family Limbach,

I would like to write you some details about that pointless day the week before last.

A terrible loss has affected your dear family, as it has me and all of his comrades. In Fritz we lost one of the best and our friend.

The only solace is that he did not die in pain, just like Karl Steigleder in his time.  A headshot brought his young life to an untimely end.

It is extremely difficult for me to write to you. I know how close your relationship was to Fritz.

We were always together, and only by coincidence were we seperated from each other in his hour.

We could not help our friends at the Prellbock anymore, as, after the gas cloud had drifted over, disaster had already struck.

Our heroism knew no bounds in the fight against the English, filling the places of our friends.

Please excuse me that I cannot write more extensively, I just can’t.

Please believe me when I say that I fully understand your pain, as I have lost the dearest friend.

I send to you my most heartfelt condolences, and remain

your‘s sincerely

(was signed)  Otto Mertens

The original letter:

91 - France, 3 October 1915 (Letter from Offz.Stellvertreter W. Scheffel)

91 France, 3 October 1915

[In the same envelope as letter nr 90]

Valued family!

You will by now have received from the regiment the deeply sad news about the hero’s death of your dear son “Fritz”.

Please accept my deepest personal condolences.

Please excuse me that I only now have time to write you some more details.

On the 25^th September, in the morning at around 06:30 hrs, the English attacked our “Prellbock” position with great superiority, supported by a preliminary gas-attack.

When the thick clouds had drifted over us, the English, who sneaked up behind it, were in our immediate vicinity. Gunfire commenced! The cunningly concealed English machineguns fired like mad, and our machinegun returned fire, thereby revealing its position which was unknown to the English upto then. Following that the enemy tried to capture the German machinegun.

It came to a handgrenade fight in which there were sadly casualties. Fritz, who was positioned there, was mortally wounded by the explosions, as were many of his comrades. He quietly fell backwards, suffering no pain or discomfort.

The fight went on. We were victorious thanks to the heroism of our weakened platoon. The enemy was thrown back suffering considerable casualties.

In “Fritz” we lose, and miss, an ever faithful, honest and brave friend and comrade.

His “Hero’s grave”, which is adorned with a beautiful white cross, is situated in the “Ehrenfriedhof” in Douvrin, amid those of his fallen comrades.  

When we have the opportunity we will gladly send you a photograph of the grave.

You will have received his personal effects, which were found with him, from the I.R.M., if not they will arrive within the next few days.

Please excuse me that I do not have time to write you more extensively, and can only write you this short message. The last two weeks have been extremely strenuous, and, as you can well imagine, there is much to do.

Please accept my heartfelt “condolences”, and I remain

With warm greetings to your valued family,

Yours sincerely

(was signed)  W. Scheffel

Offz. Stellvertreter

Note: The words in inverted comma’s  “… “ are as they appear in the original.

The original letter:

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.