Orders are Orders (March 1918)
Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader (Part 40)
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
9 March 1918
Rixecker and I led a ten-man patrol towards the Holzberg. At Blue Dot Z we took fire.
Thanks to an increase in the number of volunteers, my assault unit (Sturmtruppe) achieved a strength of one hundred men. In our division (the 108th Infantry Division), people called it ‘the Company of Death’ (Todeskompagnie).
I organized the company into two assault sections (Sturmtrupps). I took direct charge of Sturmtrupp I, which had sixty men, while Rixecker served as the leader for the other forty men.
Each volunteer was free to choose the Sturmtrupp he wished to join.
12 March 1918
We stopped conducting reconnaissance patrols.
Every night, once before midnight and again afterwards, Rixecker and I would lead patrols, each composed of various men, to explore enemy territory and fight the foes we encountered there.
The weather, which toggled between rain and frost, made these especially difficult. The ice-covered puddles made noise whenever we stepped on them, threatening to betray our presence to the enemy.
The experience of these many reconnaissances convinced us that the large-scale raid against the enemy position that had been planned would not end well for us. The enemy posted too many sentries and listening posts. The terrain offered too many difficulties.
When I told the regimental commander that I could not guarantee a successful outcome or low casualties, he told me, ‘the commanding general of the division insists that we do this’.
Well, if that was how the command had been given, I was relieved of responsibility, at least moral responsibility (for the outcome). Of course, I remained responsible for the conduct of the overall enterprise.
Needless to say, didn’t share my doubts with anyone who asked me for my opinion about the outcome (of the raid). Doing that would only increase the chances of failure.
Orders are orders, and must be carried out without reservation.
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The text comes from Alwin Lyding Meine Kriegstagbuch (My War Diary), an unpublished manuscript that I found at the Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive) (Folder N 382/1).
I found the map in Folder PH 3-KART/2378, on the website of the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv).
The photo at the top of this page, which comes from the US National Archives, shows the staff of the 1st Infantry Division in 1917 or 1918.
Related Reading
I suppose this is the German version of cheerful and willing obedience to orders?