Rest and Training (July 1918)
Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader (Part 56)
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 installments in this series in the following guide.
11 July 1918
The company commanders and I rode to the artillery position. Rain fell and the wind blow.
12 July 1918
In the morning, rain fell and thunder boomed. In the afternoon, the battalion commander and I walked through the camp. Then I enjoyed some rest.
13 July 1918
I went to the shooting range and attended a meeting of officers.
14 July 1918 (Sunday)
I had no duties to perform. Clouds filled the sky and rain fell.
15 July 1918
We exercised for two hours and, in the afternoon, went swimming.
I counted fifty aircraft in the air.
I rode to the shooting range with the captain and swam in the Somme.
17 July 1918
In the night, heavy rain fell. The rain continued during the day, which was warm.
Captain Kittel went on leave. First Lieutenant Spengler took command of the battalion.
In the morning, I attended a meeting of company commanders.
Lots of American aircraft flew through the skies above us.
Artillery fire killed three, and wounded seven, men of our battalion.
We sent out reconnaissance patrols.
20 July 1918
In the camp, medium shells killed and wounded many of our horses. The First Battalion of the 97th Infantry (I/97) lost some men as well.
Tommy attacked our old battle battalion headquarters and destroyed the headquarters of the Second Battalion of the 148th Infantry (II/148).
21 July 1918
A Catholic church service took place. Occasional downpours fell.
22 July 1918
Roick and Ibsch and I went to Command Post 35 (Gefechtsstand 35) north of Lamotte.
(Note: I have not been able to discover the unit or formation to which this command post belonged.)
The weather was warm and pretty. The air was full of aircraft.
Tommy made several attacks upon our captive balloons.
23 July 1918
Heavy rain showers fell. The weather was very warm.
24 July 1918
The Third Battalion of the 97th Infantry (III/97) relieved our battalion. It was completed at eleven forty-five.
25 July 1918
Genwo (my groom) and I rode from the Hamburger/Lübecker camp through Chignolles, Froissy, Cappy, Éclusier towards the Ravine Camp (Schluchtenlager), where I slept in the big barracks room.
At nine, I returned to my regiment.
26 July 1918
II/97 conducted a battalion exercise. I/97 provided opposing forces and umpires
27 July 1918
The companies drilled. Lieutenant Bergerhof replaced me as the adjutant of I/97. I became, once again, the orderly officer of I/97.
The battalion practiced counter-attacks.
I spent the afternoon at the shooting range.
30 July 1918
Spengler and some other gentlemen went to the 108th Infantry Division (the parent division of the 97th Infantry.)
The doctor and I visited Infantry Regiment 264 at Frise.
(Note: As there no ‘Infantry Regiment 264’ served in any of the armies of the German Empire during the First World War, I strongly suspect that Lieutenant Lydding meant to write Reserve Infantry Regiment 265, a unit of the 108th Infantry Division then resting in Cappy, some five kilometers away from Frise.)
31 July 1918
Röser, Kappel, and I rode to the headquarters of the 108th Infantry Division at Bray-sur-Somme.
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).
Information about Reserve Infantry Regiment 265 comes from W. Walther Das Reserve Infanterie Regiment 265 in Angriff und Abwehr 1914-1918 (Reserve Infantry Regiment 265 in Attack and Defense, 1914-1918) (Zeulenroda: Bernhard Sporn, 1933) page 290 (Württembergische Landesbibliothek)
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