Looking for Quarters, Finding a Tank
Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader (Part 46)
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
17 April 1918
We received a warning order that told us that our division (the 108th Infantry Division) would soon be relieved by the 103rd Infantry Division. So, we would soon head out to another part of the front, where we would encounter a new, and equally uncertain, fate.
18 April 1918
Captain Kittel took a photo of me in front of the command post of the sector commandant (KTK = Kampftruppen Kommandeur). The advance party of III/97 (Third Battalion, 97th Infantry Regiment) arrived in the afternoon. By one (the next morning), the relief had been completed. I remained behind as the leader of the rear party. It was an especially thankless task!
19 April 1918
I met with the new commander of the sector (Abschnittskommandant) and walked through the trenches with his adjutant and his orderly officer. Then I left our old position and walked (four kilometers or so) to Amifontaine, where my groom and Fritz (my horse) were waiting for me. Then I trotted towards the rear (for twelve kilometers or so) to Sissonne. The weather was cold and windy. I arrived at three (in the afternoon). I moved in with the doctor, with whom I shared the upper bunk of the bunk bed. In the evening, we went to the field cinema.
Note
If I am not too badly mistaken, the ‘commander of the sector’ (Abschnittskommandant) was the commanding officer of the infantry regiment that relieved the 97th Infantry Regiment. That said, I’ve seen the word Abschnitt (literally ‘cut out’) used to describe the sectors occupied by units as small as a company and formations as large as divisions.
20 April 1918
I received an order to prepare quarters for our battalion in Dercy (a village some thirty-five kilometers northwest of Sissonne). I set out at ten thirty in the morning and rode through Marchais, Missy, Granlup, and Froidement. I reached Dercy at four thirty or so.
I was given the task of leading the advanced party for ten days. Thus, well before the troops arrived, I and several other officers rode with the quartermasters through towns that had been chosen, from maps read in the gray light of dawn, as likely locations for accommodation.
Each day, I received the quartering order, specifying the location, very early in the morning, in a sealed envelope for secrecy reasons, which I was only allowed to open after I had mounted my horse. Then I marked the route (that the troops would take) on my map. In doing so, I also had to choose suitable roads for the regiment’s horse-drawn vehicles, ammunition wagons, field kitchens, baggage cars, and so on. It was fortunate that I had learned to read maps well and quickly from our headmaster, Herr Schirmer, when I was still a schoolboy. This done, I rode off, with the other quartermasters following me.
Once we arrived in a place allocated to a unit, I gave a detailed map of the route to a mounted officer, asking him to pass it on to the commander of that outfit. While waiting for troops to arrived, I worked with the advance party to prepare the necessary quarters.
After spending so much time in narrow trenches or gloomy, dark, and musty tunnels, I thoroughly enjoyed these morning rides. In Marchais, I visited the magnificent château of Prince Albert of Monaco. Once I got to Dercy, I reported to local commandant.
21 April 1918
I slept well in Dercy. Bergner got water for washing and coffee. I stayed with him in a small villa at the entrance to the village.
At five in the morning, I rode ahead again with Lieutenant Albert with orders to make quarters in Anguilcourt. We rode though Crécy, Mesbrecourt, Nouvion, Catillon, and Nouvion-le-Comte (for a total distance of eighteen kilometers). We arrived in Anguilcourt at nine thirty in the evening.
Note
Now known as Crécy-sur-Serre, the village of Crécy lies one hundred and forty kilometers east of the site of the famous battle of that name.
22 April 1918
At Anguilcourt, I made a plan for the quartering of my battalion.
The battalion arrived at eleven thirty in the morning. The entire battalion staff, consisting of Lieutenant Knösel, Dr. Kanzow (Surgeon), Lieutenant Eule (Supply Officer), First Lieutenant (Reserve) Tieke, Lieutenant Spengler (Adjutant), and I (Orderly and Gas Officer) slept in one bed. However, it was a wide French-style bed. Only Captain Kittel received private sleeping quarters.
The village had been badly shot up. I had difficulty finding accommodations for the troops and, especially, our irreplaceable horses.
23 April 1918
At seven thirty in the morning, the quartermasters rode out. We rode over the River Oise and the Oise-Aisne Canal (where we saw British prisoners-of-war on their way to the rear) to Flavy-le-Martel. There we set up bivouacs, for all of the houses were already occupied by men of other units.
24 April 1918
At six thirty in the morning, the quartermasters rode forward. The rest of the regiment stepped off at seven thirty in the morning. Our battalion marched via Guoy, Ham, Eppeville, and Verlaines.
Three companies set up bivouacs. We put the battalion headquarters in a house at the entrance to the village.
A large wardrobe, deprived of its doors and covered with wire mesh, served as our sleeping quarters.
Lots of cargo trucks passed by. At times, the large numbers of troops on the road blocked traffic entirely.
25 April 1918
At seven thirty in the morning, I rode, as leader of the quartermasters, through Hombleux and Nesle to Kétonvillers. Luckily, I was able to find room in houses for a thousand men.
Of course, one can’t quarter troops without rubbing someone the wrong way. It seemed as if I could never please the company commanders. At the very least, a few of them always had something to complain about.
26 April 1918
We stepped off at eight thirty in the morning, marching with the battalion via Herly, Manicourt, Curchy, and Chaulnes. Shortly before we reached Lihons, we took a long break.
The entire division was marching. Therefore, the road was constantly blocked.
The quartermasters rode forward to Rosières-en-Santerre, where the local commandant assigned I/97 to quarters on Hindenburg Street.
Everyone got assigned to a place with a proper roof. The battalion headquarters enjoyed especially good accommodations.
Heavy traffic – trucks, ambulances, wagons, riders on horseback – fills the roads. The weather was foggy and cool.
Sadly, my horse Fritz went lame. Thus, I performed my duties as leader of the quartermasters with the help of a bicycle.
27 April 1918
We found ourselves in Rosières. It looked as if we would soon enjoy a few days of rest. Our division was classified as a ‘counter-attack division’ (Eingreif-Division).
The weather was good.
We saw, for the first time, German tanks. Each weighed 35 tons, used a 200 horse-power motor, was armed with five heavy machine guns and one light machine gun, and had a crew composed of one officer and fifteen men.
to be continued …
Sources
The text comes from Alwin Lyding Meine Kriegstagbuch (My War Diary), an unpublished manuscript that I found at the Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive) (Folder N 382/1).
Related Reading
Clearly the German Imperial Army created the position of sector commandant because of the periodic rotation of units in any one sector. This must have put quite a strain on the personnel system to ensure coverage by competent personnel and on those personnel selected for those positions as it meant they were there on a permanent basis. I wonder if that accounts for the lower grades of unit commanders noted in other parts of the text (e.g. Lieutenants or lower as company commanders, Captains as battalion commanders, Majors or Lieutenant Colonels in command of regiments, etc.)?
And quartermasters leading quartering parties? Who knew?
Pity about Fritz going lame. Any information from the archives on who provided shoeing and veterinary services in a non horse mobile unit?
And the early appearance of armored units - what a change.