Fritz Limbach - letters from the front

14 March 2015

26 - Don, 14 March 1915

Don, Sunday 14 March 1915

Dear family,

Since Wednesday I received mother’s letter of the 7^th, furthermore parcel nr 36, one with fenneloil and bags of insecticide, which I have no use for yet, and one with the little pillow which already has served me well, and will continue to do so a lot in future. The latest parcels were not numbered. I also believe the porkchops etc will not arrive in eadible condition anymore. But up to now everything, also the sausages, has arrived in perfect condition.

You don’t have to send me clean underwear. There are a lot of women here who are happy to earn a few pfennig with washing. And I don’t have to throw anything away.

I usually go to a women here in the Hindeburgerstrasse. She even darns my socks. The people here are actually very friendly. Every time I go there there’s a nice cup of coffee waiting for me, for which the people will not accept any money.

They always say “C’est la Guerre” When the war is over we’ll come to Germany and have a cup of coffee at your place”

But while thát is impossible at the moment I always thoroughly enjoy the coffee there. I’ve given the people already some darned socks for their son. I could easily do without them.

The ban on buying anything in the village has been lifted again. It was only put in place because everything was getting way too expensive.

A little cooker would come in handy, but I request you not to send me one. I wouldn’t know how to get it all into my backpack, and I don’t really have any use for it here.

A lot has changed here since last Wednesday. We have recaptured Neuve Chapelle.

We also got some of the action, through aeroplanes. On Saturday, yesterday, in the morning one came flying over as usual.

It was, as always, shot at by our artillery and then, with cut engine, it went straight down. We all thought it had been hit. It went down untill it was near the railway station, and threw some bombs which luckily did not cause any damage. In the afternoon the whole history repeated itself, this time though we were not so lucky.

Some guys from our Company were unloading the mail. 2 of them dead, 8 lightly wounded. The main target – destroying the traintracks – again he did not meet.

At the moment all kinds of security measures are in place, to prevent it happening again.

Our Company has been standing guard ["Fliegerwache"] here at the churchyard, where I picked the accompanying flower [*] from 05:30 in the morning to 18:00 at night. We were in the trenches the whole day. It actually was quite pleasant. Only, much to our chagrin, not one aeroplane flew overhead. If one had we would have welcomed it in a nice manner, everyone of us had 70 bullets.

And we were not even quite back yet, or another Company had shot one. I’ve just seen it crash.

But you shouldn’t worry about all this. They are not after us, but after the station.

But end. I’m a little tired at the moment.

With many greetings your Fritz

[*] 100 years later the flower still acompanies the letter

The original letter:

10 March 2015

25 - Don, 10 March 1915

Don, Wednesday 10 March 1915

Dear family,

I received mother’s parcel letter of the 3rd. Furthermore parcels nr 27, 28, 32, one with cheese, and one with sardines and jam. Many thanks for everything.

Furthermore a letter came from Else from sometime ago. I don’t know whether I had acknowledged receipt already. I think so though.

It really is not good grumbling at the Fieldpost. If you see the amount of post for our Company alone, and then the many fieldpost-trucks driving past.

It is not that bad if something gets lost now and then. In the end it will benefit a soldier. Whether that is me or someone else is really the same.

Father should not worry about the coldstores. When Peace is there everything comes together again. Other businessmen suffer even more from the war. It accounts for something that the City and Government have rented part of it, doesn’t it.

What do you the feed the horses now? Here turnips are turned into cattlefeed. The turnips are first ground into small pieces and then dried. Even though it is surrogate cattlefeed, it’s better than nothing. How does it work in Germany? Here there are plenty of turnips to make cattlefeed from.

Very nice of the Benzenbergs to pay you a visit. Let mother pay them a visit sometime. Then they can find comfort with eachother if they need it. I do hope though that is not the case.

When I have a lot of time I’ll write to the Benzenbergs. Maybe they’ll send me a parcel too.

Lately I haven’t had much appetite to write. Service is now particularly heavy every time. I’m always dead-tired.

We were told by two wounded from La Bassée that today a lot is going on at the front.

The English have attacked again. At La Bassée they [the Germans] repelled the attack, causing tremendous losses on the English side. At Neuve-Chapelle however they [the English] gained some ground. They want to drive them back tonight.

I have never heard such a thunder of guns as today. You couldn’t even distinguish between the separate gunshots anymore. It’s more like a constant loud boom, going on uninterruptedly from 9-10 this morning. [*]

Then there was a mass of aeroplanes flying overhead, and they were very lively shot at by our anti-aircraft guns [“Ballonabwehrkanonen”] and fieldhowitzers. The aeroplanes came so close that the shrapnel of the grenades they were being shot with landed inbetween us. That shrapnel ofcourse can’t do any damage.

But I need to stop. Tonight we may have a Grand Alert, and I want to pack my backpack just in case.

Hopefully I can then unpack it again tomorrowmorning.

With many greetings also to all acquaintances I am your Fritz

[*] 10 March 1915 – Start of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Neuve_Chapelle

At the bottom of the last page of this letter there is a little scribble :

Which is presume is the censor ?
This is the only letter that has such a little scribble.

The original letter :

7 March 2015

24 - Don, 7 March 1915

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 28^th 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.

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

[*1]