Practice (13 March 1918)
Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader (Part 41)
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
13 March 1918
At four twenty am we march to Montaigu. There we use an aerial photo to create a full-scale replica of the enemy position in the Twelfth Regiment Ravine.
We used this mock-up to practice breaking into the enemy position. Needless to say, we used live hand grenades.
Unfortunately, a fragment from one of his own hand grenades inflicted a serious wound upon one of the men. I took this as a bad omen. It’s strange how superstitious one becomes on active service.
Here is the task organization for the raid:
Assault Section (Stosstrupp) A, with Vizefeldwebel Rixecker, two sergeants, sixteen men, and two light machine gun teams moves breaks into the Twelfth Regiment Ravine at the place where it meets the Twelfth Regiment Road.
Assault Section B, with myself, thirty-two men, and two light machine gun teams breaks into the Twelfth Regiment Ravine in the direction of the Holzberg and Blue Dot Z.
Security Squad C, with eight men and a light machine gun team, secures the road towards Chevreux near Blue Dot Z.
Pioneer Team, with one pioneer sergeant and four pioneers, equipped with Bangalore torpedoes for blowing up barbed wire obstacles.
The commanders of our regiment (97th Infantry Regiment) and our brigade (5th Infantry Brigade) observed the practice sessions on the mockup. In their critique, they told us that, if we attacked in this manner, no Frenchman would survive, because our hand grenades would tear up everything.
Three (artillery) batteries were to support (our attack), starting with three minutes of rapid fire, a short pause, and then slow fire.
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The text comes from Alwin Lyding Meine Kriegstagbuch (My War Diary), an unpublished manuscript that I found at the Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive) (Folder N 382/1).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 cut the map out of a larger map that I found in Folder PH 3-KART/5807, on the website of the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv). Please note that this particular map, which dates from 6 March 1917, fails to show the Holzberg as a distinct hill. I used it, nonetheless, because it is easier to read than the other maps I found.
Please also note that I added the markings in blue. These reflect information I found in the map, dated 8 May 1918, kept in Folder PH 3-KART/2378.
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