Gas Chambers (November 1917)
Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader (Part 27)
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.
4 November 1917 (Continued)
I was on my feet from three in the morning until midnight. I bunked in a shelter opposite Bergner. The battalion commander was Captain (Reserve) Kittel, the adjutant Lieutenant Spengler, the battalion surgeon Doctor Kanzow. I messed with those gentlemen.
Note
While not marked on the maps I consulted, Bergner seems to be a landmark of some sort.
5 November 1917
I went looking for quarters for the rescue squad (Selbstrettertrupp).
6 November 1917
Sergeant Öhler set up a gas chamber in the camp of II/97 (2nd Battalion, 97th Infantry)
7 November 1917
We built a gas chamber for III/97 (3rd Battalion, 97th Infantry).
In the afternoon, Captain Kittel and I visited the Siegfried position.
Rain and frightful mud!
10 November 1917
Today was my twentieth birthday. There was a party of sorts at the battalion headquarters. We played records that someone had received from home.
11 - 17 November 1917
Terrible weather. We set up a hut for testing gas masks in the area occupied by the baggage train. Because of my duties as orderly officer of I/97 (1st Battalion, 97th Infantry), I spent a lot of time in the forward trenches.
18 November 1917
The first snow fell today. In those days, I felt great unease in the trenches held by the companies of my battalion. The Russian dropped mighty concentrations of trench mortar shells. I spent the afternoon in the forward trenches.
19 November 1917
From eight to eleven I instructed the men of the rescue squad and practiced with them.
In Sector B I b, a hundred Russians surrendered.
For the sake of propaganda, our artillery should refrain from shooting.
20 November 1917
From eight until nine fifteen, I took the machine gun company and trench mortar crews through the gas chambers. In the afternoon, I inventoried the ammunition stored in the frontline trenches.
21 - 24 November 1917
Every day, we tested our gas masks in the gas chambers.
25 November 1917
The enlisted men of the battalion headquarters did close-order drill.
Captain Kittel went to Kowel. Rittmeister (Cavalry Captain) Prince von Bentheim took command of I/97.
26 November 1917
The weather was clear and cool. I negotiated with the Russians who came up to our trenches.
27 November 1917
In the afternoon, six Russian officers and several dozen men assembled in (a gorge called the) Korallenschlucht. We agreed to meet again at nine the following morning.
28 November 1917
Snow and rain … a winter storm.
At nine thirty, two Russian officers - a captain and a first lieutenant - showed up in the Korallenschlucht. We agreed to an informal ceasefire.
29 November 1917
I instructed the men of the rescue squad.
To be continued …
Sources
The text comes from Alwin Lydding Meine Kriegstagbuch (My War Diary), an unpublished manuscript that I found at the Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive) (Folder N 382/1).
The photo, which I found on the website of the Library of Congress, shows German soldiers experimenting with a Draeger pulmotor, a device for pumping oxygen into the lungs of a victim of gas poisoning.
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