Holzberg (February 1918)
Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader (Part 32)
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.
2 February 1918
In the afternoon, Dr. Kanzow and I went for a ride.
3 February 1918
I attended a church service in the courtyard of a castle.
5 February 1918
The battalion took part in an aviation exercise.
6 February 1918
We held a party to say ‘farewell’ to Captain Mesek.
I audited the accounts of the canteen, took a bath, and, at three, went with Offizierstellvertretter Bergener to visit the command post of the commander of the reaction force.
At five fifteen in the evening, I/97 relieved II/97 in the Lutter sector. I bunked with Spengler. The captain (who commanded the battalion) slept alone. The level of combat was moderate. Our deep shelters were not so good as they had been in Corbeny.
9 February 1918
Early in the morning, I visited the forward fighting trench (K1) and the security zone. (The latter was made up of listening posts and guard posts occupied during the day.) Movement was only possible at night, for the enemy can see everything from the Winterberg.
The garrison is organized into field watches, each armed with rifles, hand-grenades, and light machine guns, which we didn’t have in Russia. Some of the rifles have been fitted with long magazines, which, rather than the usual five rounds, hold twenty-five cartridges.
10 February 1918
Between five thirty and seven thirty, the captain and I visit the forward positions, to review the location of sentry posts, inspect the positions covered with corrugated iron, and walk down the sandy road to Bouconville.
The French dropped a surprise concentration of artillery fire on the right corner of our position. A gas alarm sounds on the right. We set up gas alarm signs. At ten at night, another gas alarm sounds, this time in the left corner of our position.
13 February 1918
An artillery liaison officer (AVO = Artillerie Verbindungs Offizier) reported to our battalion. The commander of the division artillery would like to establish an observation post on the Holzberg, a hill that sits between our position and the Winterberg.
The battalion commander decided to send out some officers to reconnoitre the hill, so he called a meeting of his company commanders. I was the only officer to volunteer, so the battalion commander gave me the mission.
As soon as darkness fell, an officer named Wüstner and two men, one of whom was Gefreiter Anton of 3/97, (and I) moved along the Pioneer Ravine (Pionier Schlucht), the East Line, and the Twelfth Path (12er Schlucht) in the direction of the Winterberg, a route that took us through uncut forests and partially intact barbed wire obstacles, and past forgotten sentry posts and dugout exits boobytrapped with hand grenades.
After spending an hour moving towards the Holzberg, we found ourselves in a ravine. There were woods to the left and woods to the right. We knew nothing of the proximity of the enemy or the behavior of his sentries.
As our fighting strength consisted of four men, I searched the ravine, told the two enlisted men to provide security, and, together with Wüstner, crept towards the Holzberg. There I found empty sentry posts, clearly occupied in the recent past, but no enemy garrison. What we did find, however, were obstacles made with wire that had been fitted with sharp blades.
Finally, I managed to get free. I told Wüstner to bring up the two guards we had left behind. I took a second look at the Holzberg. I saw no signs of enemy occupation. Fresh tracks, however, indicated recent visits.
15 February 1918
I did a great deal of writing, preparing reports and sketches for the regimental headquarters.
16 February 1918
I led another patrol.
We penetrated the enemy trench on the left flank at Point X (not shown on map).
The moon shone brightly.
As this ground and its routes was entirely new to us, we feared that a hidden sentry would fire at us at any moment. However, it seems that the French had withdrawn quietly, perhaps to get reinforcements.
We found a well-fortified machine gun position, where we captured seventeen French hand grenades and one spade.
17 June 1918
From five until seven forty-five in the morning, Hinnenthal, Gefreiter Anton, and I went conducted a reconnaissance.
During a raid conducted against Ravine Number 12 (not marked on map), men from 4/97 had captured a number of French hand grenades. In a dugout, one of them rolled off a table and exploded, killing one man and wounding eight.
18 February 1918
While on the Holzberg, I discovered a French artillery observation post. I had a line man discretely tap the line and lay a line to our outpost line, where he connected it to the network of Arendt (the German listening service).
In the afternoon, I went to Dora I (not marked on map) to use binoculars to orient myself on the location for a new night patrol.
The patrols that I conduct were often mentioned in the divisional plan of the day or regimental orders. As a result, I gradually gained a reputation throughout the division.
I depend heavily upon a small number of absolutely reliable men, especially Gefreiter Anton and Vizefeldwebel Rixecker.
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).
I found the map in Folder PH 3-KART/2378 on the website of the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv).
Related Reading
Does this map depict the German positions in blue and the French in red (which was standard practice if I recall correctly) or am I mistaken?