Rixecker Returns (15 March 1918)

Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader (Part 43)

(US National Archives)

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

Diary of a Stosstrupp Leader

15 March 1918 (Continued)

The assault detachment of Vizefeldwebel Rixecker took machine gun fire from three directions. As a result, it suffered heavy losses. In addition, several of Rixecker’s men went missing, and none of their comrades could provide any information about their fate.

So ended the raid against the Ravine of the Twelfth Regiment, for which we had worked so hard to prepare.

Despite the many difficulties we had faced, we still might have captured some prisoners, if only the French had not fled from the parts of their trenches we had entered. Alas, when faced with the possibility of an honest fight, they preferred to retreat.

Things would have been different if our artillery had fired as planned, and we had rolled up the defenders of the trench from both sides. Still, I doubt we would have captured any prisoners. As our brigade commander had predicted, all that would have been left in the wake of our hand grenades would have been ‘mush’.

I should add that, those of us who died or went missing did not go unavenged. In accordance with our orders, we threw several grenades into the entrance of each dugout that we passed.

In one case, a number of Frenchmen had taken shelter in one dugout. Sergeant Kade threw several hand grenades, but proved unable to exploit their effects.

The division order for the day for 24 March 1918 contained the following:

Division Order of the Day Number 75

On the morning of 15 March 1918, assault detachments of the 97th Infantry Regiment, reinforced by combat engineers of the 1st Company of 1st Reserve Pioneer Battalion broke into the Ravine of the Twelfth Regiment. Only a hasty retreat preserved the enemy from capture. I commend all of those who took part, and especially the leaders, for their valor and their dash.

Signed von Campe, Brigadier General and Division Commander

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The text comes from Alwin Lyding Meine Kriegstagbuch (My War Diary), an unpublished manuscript that I found at the Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive) (Folder N 382/1).