Cutting Wire (February 1918)

Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader (Part 35)

(US National Archives)

This post continues the translation of the diary of a German soldier who fought in the First World War. Readers can find links to other posts in this series in the following guide.

Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader

20 February 1918

Stosstrupp II (led by Vizefeldwebel) Rixecker infiltrates into the area behind the (French) sentry posts and throws hand grenades. The sentries run away. A French machine gun opens fire.

21 February 1918

I prepare Stosstrupp I and Stosstrupp II for a raid.

22 February 1918

We finished preparations. Everything had been discussed to the smallest detail and, as far as possible, practiced. Each man knew his particular task. The men were well armed. In particular, each of us was well supplied with hand grenades, the main weapon of every Stosstrupp. Each man wore two grenade sacks, with five or six grenades in each.

The men had also learned how to handle French hand grenades. We had captured a lot of these in the patrols we conducted, just about every night, into enemy positions.