“The Great Silent One” – Helmuth Graf von Moltke

“Should a war break out now, its duration and end can not be foreseen. The largest powers of Europe armed as never before would take the field. None could be so completely defeated in one or two campaigns that it would declare itself vanquished and that it would have to accept the hard peace conditions imposed upon it. None would promise not to rise up again, even if only after years to renew the struggle. Such a war could easily become a seven years` or a thirty years` war. Woe to him who applies the torch to Europe, who is the first to throw the match into the powder cask.”  – Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke in a speech to the Reichstag on the 14th of May 1890.

Born October 26, 1800, in Parchim, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Helmuth von Moltke was the son of an aristocratic German family. Moving to Holstein at age five, Moltke’s family became impoverished during the War of the Fourth Coalition (1806-1807) when their properties were burned and plundered by French troops. Sent away to Hohenfelde as a boarder at age nine, Moltke entered the cadet school at Copenhagen two years later with the goal of entering the Danish army. Over the next seven years he received his military education and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1818.

After service with a Danish infantry regiment, Moltke returned to Germany and entered Prussian service. Posted to command a cadet school in Frankfurt an der Oder, he did so for a year before spending three conducting a military survey of Silesia and Posen. Recognized as a brilliant young officer, Moltke was assigned to the Prussian General Staff in 1832. Arriving in Berlin, he stood out from his Prussian contemporaries in that he possessed a love of the arts and music.

A prolific writer and student of history, Moltke authored several works of fiction and in 1832, embarked on a German translation of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Promoted to captain in 1835, he took six months leave to travel through southeastern Europe. While in Constantinople, he was asked by Sultan Mahmud II to aid in modernizing the Ottoman army. Receiving permission from Berlin, he spent two years in this role before accompanying the army on campaign against Muhammad Ali of Egypt. Taking part in the 1839 Battle of Nizib, Moltke (who was in command of the Ottoman artillery) was forced to escape after Ali’s victory.

Returning to Berlin, he published an account of his travels and in 1840, married his sister’s English stepdaughter, Mary Burt. Assigned to the staff of the 4th Army Corps in Berlin, Moltke became fascinated with railroads and began an extensive study of their use. Continuing to write on historical and military topics, he returned to the General Staff before being named Chief of Staff for the 4th Army Corps in 1848. Remaining in this role for seven years, he advanced to the rank of colonel. Transferred in 1855, Moltke became the personal aide to Prince Frederick (later Emperor Frederick III).

In recognition of his military skills, Moltke was promoted to Chief of the General Staff in 1857. A disciple of Clausewitz, Moltke believed that strategy was essentially the quest of seeking the military means to a desired end. Though a detailed planner, he understood and frequently stated that “no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” As a result, he sought to maximize his chances of success by remaining flexible and ensuring that the transportation and logistical networks were in place to allow him to bring decisive force to the key points on the battlefield.

Taking office, Moltke immediately began making sweeping changes in the army’s approach to tactics, strategy, and mobilization. In addition, work began to improve communications, training, and armaments. As an historian, he also implemented a study of European politics to identify Prussia’s future enemies and to begin developing war plans for campaigns against them. In 1859, he mobilized the army for the Austro-Sardinian War. Though Prussia did not enter the conflict, the mobilization was used by Prince Wilhelm as a learning exercise and the army was expanded and reorganized around the lessons obtained.

In 1862, with Prussia and Denmark arguing over the ownership of Schleswig-Holstein, Moltke was asked for a plan in case of war. Concerned that the Danes would be difficult to defeat if allowed to retreat to their island strongholds, he devised a plan which called for Prussian troops to flank them in order to prevent a withdrawal. When hostilities commenced in February 1864, his plan was bungled and the Danes escaped. Dispatched to the front on April 30, Moltke succeeded in bringing the war to a successful conclusion. The victory solidified his influence with King Wilhelm.

As the King and his prime minister, Otto von Bismarck, began attempts to unite Germany, it was Moltke who conceived the plans and directed the army to victory. Having gained considerable clout for his success against Denmark, Moltke’s plans were followed precisely when war with Austria began in 1866. Though outnumbered by Austria and its allies, the Prussian Army was able to make near-perfect use of railroads to ensure that maximum force was delivered at the key moment. In a lightning seven-week war, Moltke’s troops were able to conduct a brilliant campaign which culminated with a stunning victory at Königgrätz.

His reputation further enhanced, Moltke oversaw the writing of a history of the conflict which was published in 1867. In 1870, tensions with France dictated the mobilization of the army on July 5. As the preeminent Prussian general, Moltke was named Chief of Staff of the Army for the duration of the conflict. This position essentially allowed him to issue orders in the name of the King. Having spent years planning for war with France, Moltke assembled his forces south of Mainz. Dividing his men into three armies, he sought to drive into France with the goal of defeating the French army and marching on Paris.

For the advance, several plans were developed for use depending upon where the main French army was found. In all circumstances, the ultimate goal was for his troops was to wheel right to drive the French north and cut them off from Paris. Attacking, the Prussian and German troops met with great success and followed the basic outline of his plans. The campaign came to a stunning climax with the victory at Sedan on September 1, which saw Emperor Napoleon III and most of his army captured. Pressing on, Moltke’s forces invaded Paris which surrendered after a five-month siege. The fall of the capital effectively ended the war and led to the unification of Germany.

Having been made a Graf (Count) in October 1870, Moltke was permanently promoted to field marshal in June 1871, in reward for his services. Entering the Reichstag (German Parliament) in 1871, he remained Chief of Staff until 1888. Stepping down, he was replaced by Graf Alfred von Waldersee. Remaining in the Reichstag, he died at Berlin on April 24, 1891.

MEDALS AND DECORATIONS:

Prussia
Order of the Black Eagle with chain and diamonds
Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, with Oak Leaves and Swords
Order of the Crown (Prussia), 1st class with swords, with enamel band of the Red Eagle and oak leaves
Grand Commander of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, with Swords and Diamonds, and Star with diamonds
Grand Cross of the Pour le Mérite with Star, with oak leaves, with the crown with diamonds
Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts
Grand Cross of the Iron Cross of 1870
Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class of 1870
Honour Commander of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)
Service Award Cross
Lifesaving Medal on ribbon (Prussia)
German states
Grand Cross of the House Order of Albert the Bear (Anhalt)
House Order of Fidelity (Baden)
Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order of Karl Friedrich (Baden)
Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph (Bavaria)
Grand Cross of the Order of Henry the Lion, with Swords (Brunswick)
Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Ludwig Order (Hesse)
Military Merit Cross (Hesse)
Military Merit Medal with Swords (Schaumburg-Lippe)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Wendish Crown, with Gold Crown and Swords (Mecklenburg)
Military Merit Cross, 1st class (Mecklenburg)
Cross for distinction in the war (Mecklenburg-Strelitz)
Grand Cross of the House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis, with Swords (Oldenburg)
Order of the Rue Crown (Saxony)
Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Henry (Saxony)
Grand Cross of the Order of the White Falcon with Swords (Saxe-Weimar)
Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order (Saxon duchies)
Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order (Württemberg)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Württemberg)
Foreign
Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)
Grand Cross Legion of Honour (France)
Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (Italy)
Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy (Italy)
Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary (Austria-Hungary)
Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (Austria-Hungary)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword with chain (Portugal)
Order of St. Andrew (Russia)
Order of St. Alexander Nevsky with diamonds (Russia)
Order of the White Eagle (Russia)
Order of St. Anna, 1st class (Russia)
Order of St. George, 2nd class (Russia)
Royal Order of the Seraphim (Sweden)
Grand Cross of the Order of the White Elephant (Siam)
Imtiyaz Medal with diamonds (Turkey)
Order of the Medjidie, 1st class (Turkey)
Sword of honour (Turkey)

MOLTKES VOICE RECORDED ON THE EDISON PHONOGRAPH

On 15 June 1889, Adelbert Theodor Edward (“Theo”) Wangemann started out aboard the four-master “La Bourgogne” on a trip to Europe on behalf of Thomas Alva Edison that was supposed to last for only a few weeks, but from which he was not in fact to return until 27 February 1890. Wangemann’s assignment during the first two weeks after arrival was to maintain the phonographs on display at the world’s fair in Paris, readjust them, furnish them with improved components, and train the personnel who operated them

On 21 and 22 October, as a stop on the way to Vienna, the Wangemanns and Devrient were guests of the venerable Field Marshall Count Helmuth von Moltke, who enjoyed a legendary reputation in the German Empire on account of his military successes in the three wars of German unification between 1864 and 1871. This visit too is well documented. Wangemann played the cylinder of Prince Bismarck, whose voice Count Moltke recognized only after a correction of the playback speed, and had the roughly twenty relatives of the Count who were present speak into the phonograph one after another. At least four cylinders of Count Moltke’s voice were made on 21 October, of which only two are preserved. These are the only recordings of a person born in the eighteenth century which are still audible today. Wangemann had previously received a new cylinder shipment with blanks of brick-red color without a string core, which he used on this occasion.

On the first cylinder, Count Moltke refers directly to Edison’s groundbreaking invention but has to repeat his statement, having named the “telephone” instead of the “phonograph” the first time around. After that, he recites a few lines from the first part of “Faust,” in which Goethe calls technological progress into question.

• The Franco-German War of 1870-1871 (written by Moltke – english translation)
• Letters of Field-Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke to his mother and his brothers
• Essays, speeches, and memoirs of Field-Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke (Volume 1)
• Essays, speeches, and memoirs of Field-Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke (Volume 2)
• Poland – An historical sketch, by Count Helmuth von Moltke
• Projects for the campaign of 1866 against Austria

Voices from Iron Times 1864-1871, Veterans’ Tales

Just an article I pulled over from one of my old and now obsolete blogs. 

A couple of days ago I bought an old book on a flea market close to where I live. Its title is “Unsere Veteranen” (Our Veterans) and was published by a chapter of the Reichskriegerbund (Reichs Warrior Association) in 1914. Most interestingly for me the chapter was a local one. The veterans that were members of it lived in my town and the towns and villages around it.

The book itself is special. Privately published by an association member it was meant to commemorate the 25^thanniversary of the Kriegerbund and contains the tales of its members which fought in the wars of 1864, 1866 and 1870/71. According to the preface only 524 copies were printed, one for each veteran of these wars still alive in 1914.

It’s not in any library catalogue so I suppose the one I have here might easily be the only one remaining and it’s easy to tell why. It was very cheaply made. The binding has rotted away and the whole thing is falling to pieces.

What astounds me about these stories is their honesty. They lack a lot of the patriotic “With God for King and Fatherland” pathos which can be found in most period reports and writings. It’s clear that no one censored or proof read anything. The language is sometimes crude and the writing style is naive. The veterans wrote for their comrades. There was just no need to change anything. Facettes of the wars which you don’t find in the “popular” histories. Blood, Gore, cowardice, friendly fire, the harsh treatment of civilians, war against partisans.

HERMANN ANHUF  

Hermann Anhuf in 1914 wearing his 1870/71 campaign medal and the 1897 centenary medal.

Unit: 12. Kompanie, Infanterie-Regiment “Graf Barfuß” (4. Westfälisches) Nr. 17

Drawing by Carl Röchling – “Vor Metz” 1870

1870/71 – War against France / Battles and Sieges: (20. Inf.-Div., X. Armeekorps) 16.8.1870: Vionville-Mars la Tour, 18.8.1870: Gravelotte-St.Privat, 19.8.-27.10.1870: Siege of Metz, 23.9.1870 La Maxe, 27.9.1870: Bellevue & Franclonchamp, 7.10.1870: Bellevue, 3. u. 4.12.1870: Orléans (II. Batallion), 11.12.1870: Swequeu Château u. Mortais (II. Batallion), 15.12.1870: Vendôme, 16.12.1870: Vendôme, Tuilleries & Courtiras (II. Batallion), 17.12.1870: Epuisay (I. Batallion), 20.12.1870: Monnaie (I. u. F.), 28.u.29.12.1870 Château Renault, 31.12.1870: Vendôme, 31.12.1870: Danzé (9th and 12th company only), 1.1.1871: Azay (I.), 4.1.1871: Courtiras (II. Batallion), 6.1.1871: Azay-Mazange (I.  and II. Batallion), 6.1.1871: Montoire-Les Roches, 9.1.1871: Chahaignes & Brives, 12.1.1871: Le Mans.

“When the war started I was serving with 12th coy of Infanterie-Regiment 17. We crossed the border into France in August as part of II. Armee, which was commanded by Prince Frederic Karl. On the 8th of August we left our luggage and backpacks behind to able to march faster, each man only keeping his 80 cartridges and the “Iron Ration”. The weather was hot but no one was allowed to drink! All wells were guarded by provosts as there were rumors that the french had poisoned them. On the 16th of August we marched towards the sound of the guns. On the 18th, near the village of St. Privat we were sent into action in support of the Guards. The enemy kept up a murderous fire and the Guards suffered severe losses, dead and maimed guardsmen lying everywhere. It was a ghastly sight.

I heard an officer calling “Forward now men of the 17th! On them! Charge!” and forward we charged towards the French. By then the whole village of St. Privat, including the church, was burning fiercely. Our Sergeant was hoping to get the Iron Cross and tried to lead our section into the attack on the left of the village where there was a huge open field, with no cover at all. When our Hauptmann noticed that he called out “Sergeant Albers, stop at once or I will have the men open fire on you!” So we rejoined the company very shortly afterwards.

On the 19th of August I noticed a small crowd of civilians and soldiers standing in a hollow close to our camp. I went to join them as I was curious about what was happening there. There were two women, about 30 years old and with their hands bound on their backs lying on the ground. Our lads were beating them with rifle butts. They were getting punished as they had been caught in the night after the battle when they were plundering some our wounded that were left lying on the field. One had even cut off the ring finger of a wounded soldier get his marriage ring. The other had mutilated the corpse of one of our officers. A while after the beating we shot them both.

On the 20th we marched through a ravine near Metz which was under siege. On the 27th we took part in the skirmish near La Maxe. During a rest near Les Grandes we were cleaning our rifles when our Hauptmann arrived and ordered us to reassemble them as the enemy was advancing on us. We were encamped in a large farmyard. Two platoons of our company were ordered to take defensive positions behind a wall while the third platoon took position outside the yard. Soon we could clearly see the french soldiers and opened fire. We fired until we had spent all of our ammunition, but luckily an ammunition cart arrived which enabled us to continue the fight. Our rifle barrels were red hot and it was getting hard to hold and aim the rifle at all. There were so many good targets that our Hauptmann ignored the order to leave the position and soon we began to get shelled by our own artillery. I can not put any blame on the gunners as they thought our position abandoned. The first shell missed us by about 50 meters. The next one went into some stables on our right. The third shell detonated right between the men of our platoon, killing two comrades and wounding another twelve.

After the fall of Metz I was ordered to escort a french prisoner, an artilleryman, to the POW camp. On the way there we encountered three stray sheep. I shoved the Frenchman into a ditch told him to bugger off home and herded the three sheep back to my company. The lads were more than happy. A good meat stew was far better than a single French prisoner!  After we had slaughtered the sheep we traded the beasts intestines against some good bottles of wine in a nearby village. Stew and wine made this night the most memorable of the campaign.”

Hermann Anhuf

Major Guido von Gillhaußen (1870-1918) – Soldier, Poet, Composer, Visionary

This article was inspired by and is dedicated to Herr Paul Reed (Twitter @sommecourt), who tweeted images of von Gillhaußens Tomb in Berlin a short while ago. I was intrigued what could be found about the man resting below it.

The tomb on the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin (With Bundeswehr Honor Guard), after restoration in 2008

Guido Pankratius Hermann von Gillhaußen was born on the knightly estate of Esbach near Coburg (Thuringia) on the 12th of May 1870. His father was Benno von Gillhaußen (a former company commander in Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 13), his mother Helene von Gillhaußen, a born von Witzleben. Let me start with a basic military “curriculum vitae” up to WW1

Gillhaußen in 1913

After visiting the “Educational Institue for Boys” in Taubold, the Grammar school at Ernestin and the Bensberg Cadet School he joined the army in October 1889.
01/10/1889 Fahnenjunker in Infanterie-Regiment Herwarth von Bittenfeld (1. Westfälisches) Nr. 13 in Münster
14/05/1890 Promotion to Fähnrich
18/01/1891 Promotion to Secondelieutenant
05/06/1900 Promotion to Premierlieutenant
14/09/1900 Inspecting officer in the War Academy in Potsdam
05/06 – 09/07/1901 Infantry shooting school
1902 Garde du Corps
07/04 – 01/07/1903 1. Garde Regiment zu Fuß (1st Regiment of Guards)
16/02/1904 Kaiser Franz Garde Grenadier Regiment Nr. 2
27/01/1905 Military tutor to Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia
01/04 – 13/06/1906 Supervising officer in the Garnisions-Lazarett II (military hospital) Berlin
14/06/1906 Promotion to Hauptmann and Company commander
18/05/1908 Commander of Fortress Küstrin
22/04/1914 Transfered to Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3

Von Gillhaußen was not only an officer, he also spent a lot of time pursuing the arts. He liked to paint, found the time to study music at the private academy of Gottfried Adolf Stierlin in Münster (Westphalia) and wrote patriotic songs and poems.
Because of a chance meeting in the Harz Mountains on the 16th of July 1912, he is even became friends with Franz Kafka, who mentions Gillhaußen in his “Travel Diaries“.

“Clash of Swords” – Book containing Gillhaußens Poems and Songs, 1918

Gillhaussen’s lasting fame was no result of his artistic works or military skills, it originates from a letter he sent to the Crown Prince of Prussia on the 3rd of August 1914, three days after the declaration of war.

Berlin S.O., 3rd of August 1914
Mariannenplatz 20
What I saw in the night of the 3rd of August 1914, written at 2am.
How will the war progress? It will not be over soon. It won’t be against one enemy only. Many enemies pass my vision and I see Belgium inflicting terrible wounds with boundless savagery. In the west I see France, beaten and raped by England, an England that will become our most significant enemy. I see us fighting in Africa, but it’s white people who try to annihilate us. Italy hurries to side with England, Russia and France. On the Balkans it’s Serbia and Romania. I try to struggle against Romania, but it stays. I can not believe it, but it stays. Russia causes trouble, but it will succumb even if aided by Japan. Just like England is aided by America. I see Roosevelt offering bread and wine to England’s King. He is clapping him on the back and presents the King with money, a powder horn, a dagger and lead bullets. Roosevelt seemed to be our friend!?!
The War will be terrible and will last for many years. More enemies appear in countries all over the world and they hurry to join the war on England’s side. All people of the Earth are swallowed by the war. I see war from North-America to Australia, from Serbia to Japan up to the Cape of Good Hope. England is everywhere. It is hiding in the governments of our enemies and rules brutally and egoistically. All bow to England, there is no exception. Is that possible? Germany is breaking, 1918 will be worst.
It seems the war will end in 1920, or is it a ceasefire only? It seems like it. How long will it last? Will the Kaiser live to see 1921?
I see the Kaiser, wearing his crown and ermine cape, sawing off the legs of his throne. His ermine cape looses color, it turns grey and slowly crumbles into dust. His crown shrinks, gets smaller up until the Kaiser himself melts away.
It seems to me as if England receives its death thrust in Egypt and India. Germany is terribly weakened and it will take 30 years until it recovers. Russia awakens and fights America for the possession of the future. God be with us!
Guido von Gillhaußen
Hauptmann, 6. Kompanie, 3. Garde-Grenadier-Regiment

The letter was sealed and handed over to Prince Frederic William of Prussia who opened it in autumn 1915 and then sent it back to Gillhaußen. After Gillhaußens death the letter was rediscovered by the executor of his last will and testament.
In May Gillhaußens elder brother (Oberst Curt von Gillhaußen) published it for the family. By indiscretion copies of the publication found their way to America where they were published in the late 1918.

Further military service

19/08/1914 Skirmishes at Héron (St. Donat)
23/08/1914 Skirmishes at St. Gerard
29/08/1914 Skirmishes at St. Quentin, Colonfay. Severly wounded by Shrapnel (Head and right shoulder), rifle bullet injures four fingers of the right hand.
30/08 to 03/09/1914  Hospital in Wiège
08/10/1914 Promotion to Major
04/09 to 10/12/1914 Further medical treatment in Aachen
11/12/1914 to 16/06/1915 Military Hospital in Wiesbaden
17/06-02/07/1915 Ambulatory treatment in Berlin
02/07/1915 Transfered back to the Front
03/07/1915 to 31/05/1916 Staff of the Gardekorps
01/06/1916 Commander of the Reserve Batallion of the 3. Garde-Grenadier-Regiment
10/06 to 20/06/1917 Excision of the tonsils, Charité in Berlin
21/06 to 03/07/1917 Ambulatory treatment by Geheimrat Prof. Dr. Kilian in Berlin (nervous debility)
04/07 to 15/08/1917 Health resort in Bad Kolberg (anaemia)
17/09 to 22/09/1917 Training course with Sturmbataillon of 1st Army
15/10 to 18/10/1917 Training course “Army Gas School”, Berlin
04/04/1918 Battalion commander (Fusilier-Batallion) of Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5

Most of the above information has been collected by Major a.D. von Eberhardt (Association of Officers of the former 3rd Regiment of Guards).

Von Gillhaußen was not lucky. All together he only spent 33 days on the Western Front. In 1914 he had been wounded after only 19 days of service. In 1918 it took only 14 days.

“On the Morning of the 24th of April 1918, he (von Gillhaußen) was leading an attack near Villers-Brétonneux near Amiens. Leading from the Front and setting an example with his courage he was severly wounded at 1030 in the Morning. A large piece of shrapnel from a high explosive shell smashed his left thighbone, smaller pieces hit his right arm and heel. Even worse than that he was suffering from Gas poisoning (Gelbkreuz = Mustard Gas) and there was the danger that the gas had entered his wounds” (1)

After being wounded, 1914

Another account reads:

“In a stretch of English made trench we find our new Major von Gillhaußen and with him the the other staff officers of the Fusilier-Battalion. At noon we get attacked by English infantry and 8 tanks from the direction of the village of Cachy. Our Major jumps out of the trench, spreads out his arms and bellows “Follow me! 9th company needs our support”. He leads and we follow him. On his breast and round his neck I can see his gleaming medals. Shortly afterwards he goes down, fatally wounded. With him we not only lost a famous Poet, whose song “Wir nahen in Demut. Gott Dir, Du Allmächtiger” (To you we walk humbly, almighty God) our recruits sang after taking their oath, we also lost a real man and a true Prussian guards officer. We loved him for his fairness and his austerity. He loved his fatherland and paid the ultimate price for his love. Loyal unto death, just as it reads in one of his poems. Umbrüllt und dereinstens der Donner der Schlachten und dräuet uns grimmig auch Schrecken und Not: Wir halten den Treueschwur, wills tagen, wills nachten! Ob Sieg oder Sterben: Treu bis zum Tod! (When the Thunder of Battle comes screaming and horror and need awaits us, we will be loyal. In day and at night, in victory and dying. Loyal unto Death! ) (2)”

Telegram reporting Gillhaußens death

According to von Eberhardt, Gillhaußen was transported to Feldlazarett 16 and from there (on the 28th of April) into the military hospital (Luisenhospital) in Aachen. The mustard gas had indeed infected his wounds, so his left leg had to be amputated. All further treatments were to no avail. Gillhaußen died on the 2nd of May 1918 at 0800 in the morning. His body was brought to Berlin and was buried on the “Invalidenfriedhof“. The highly decorative gravestone survived World War 2 and the construction of the Berlin Wall and was restored by the association “friends of the Invalidenfriedhof” in 2008.
As Gillhaußen was a Knight of the Order of St. John his name is also remembered in the stained windows of the Church of the Holy Mother in Slonsk (Poland), a former Church of the Order of St. John (Window 1, behind the altar).
Gillhaußens medals included:

Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class, Prussian Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class, Prussian Order of the Crown 4th Class, Saxon-Ernestinian House Order (Knights Cross, 1st Class with Swords), Hessian Order of Philip the Magnanimous (Knights Cross 2nd Class), Saxon Arts and Science Medal in Silver, Austrian Order of Franz-Joseph, Romanian Order of the Star, Prussian Order of St. John (Knights Cross), Lippe War Merit Cross for Combatants.

Sidenotes:

Hauptmann Leo von Gillhaußen (Guidos youngest brother), was killed on the 6th of November 1918 south-west of La Croix-Hautrage by shellfire. He is buried at Hautrage near Mons.

Oberst Curt von Gillhaußen (Guidos elder brother), served as adjutant to His Royal Highness Edward, Duke of Sachse-Coburg and Gotha, survived the war and passed away in 1956.

Guido von Gillhaußen, his brothers and their wives

Sources and further reading:

1. Major a. D. von Eberhardt (Schriftleiter der „Mitteilungen des Vereins der Offiziere des ehemaligen 3. Garde Regiments zu Fuß e.V.“) Archiv 3. Garde Regiment z. F.

2. War Diary of Fritz Robert Buschmann,
Mettmann, vom Garde Grenadierregiment  Nr. 5.: Der Heldentod des Majors v. Gillhaußen vom Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3, in: Das Ehrenbuch der Garde, Die preußische Garde im Weltkriege 1914–1919

Albrecht von Stosch, Oberstleutnant a.D.: Das Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5 1897 – 1918. Nach amtlichen Kriegtagebüchern und Mitteilungen von Mitkämpfern bearbeitet (1922)

also used various editions of the Rangliste der königlich preussischen Armee

Post scriptum

Should you ever be able to visit Berlin, make sure you take some time to visit the beautiful memorial of the 5th Guard Grenadier Regiment in the Stabholz Garden in Spandau. When war broke out in 1914, the officers and soldiers of the Regiment vowed that they would erect an appropriate monument for the brothers in arms that would be killed in the battles to come.

In May 1922 the monument was unveiled. The bronze statue is called “Die Wacht” (The Guard) and was designed by August Schreitmüller (1871-1958). It shows a soldier armed with a short sword, wearing only a steel helmet and a loincloth and an eagle sitting at his feet. The memorial is dedicated to the 4122 casualties the Regiment suffered during the Great War.

The inscription reads: Seinen im Weltkriege / gefallenen Kameraden / Das Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5 (To the comrades killed in the Great War)

Gottmituns.net now with own proofreading service. Thanks to the charming Dawn Monks (@DawnMonks) for ironing out inconsistencies and errors. (Follow her on Twitter)

 

Battle of Poznan – Reminiscences Part 1 – Feldwebel W. Schenk

The letter below was written in 1968 by a former Feldwebel of the Fahnenjunkerschule Posen. It’s writing style is unusual and I tried to keep it that way when translating it. Short sentences, dry writing style and written in the present tense it contains some sentences that are quite hair-raising. 

Photos have been taken from the files attached to the collection of letters. Maps have been produced by the Association of Poznan Fighters to accompany this letter. 

On the 18th of January 1945 I was a trainee in training course 18a of the Infantry officers school Poznan (Kurs 18a, Schule V für Fahnenjunker der Infanterie Posen). I had joined the army in autumn 1942 and had been promoted to Unteroffizier, serving in Grenadier-Regiment 401, in June r 1944.

It is on the 18th in the Barracks of Kuhndorf when there is a call for volunteers to form a so-called “counterstrike-reserve” (Gegenstoßreserve).

As I only hear “Reserve” I ignore it and do not react. Many of my comrades volunteer as they think the emphasis lies on the word “Counterstrike”. Now I volunteer aswell. We expect to be deployed in the East soon.
In the Hardenberg school the Battlegroup gets formed. I get transferred to Gegenstoßkompanie Lt. Werner (missing). Later the company was taken over by Leutnant Schierts (missing).

The men we are supposed to lead make a good impression and are all around 30 years of age. Not one youngster among them. Stray soldiers, separated from their units, most with a good amount of combat experience. Arms and equipment get distributed and we march of to Fort Brüneck (Map No. 7). There was a factory inside Fort Brüneck. There was a large machine hall and another large hall for draftsmen which had one wall made of glass. It was there when we heard that Fort Witzleben had fallen.

Our first order is armed reconaissance against Lawica, a village near the airport, into which the enemy had penetrated (Number 2 on the map).
Trucks bring us to the airport where a Leutnant of the Luftwaffe with 20 men is waiting to reinforce our platoon. When we arrive we get told that the Luftwaffe Leutnant is take over command during the operation. Handgrenades get distributed and with surprise we hear that our Luftwaffe comrades do not know how to use them. We need to give them some basic instructions.

Our artillery is firing eight rounds in support. Two shells hit the pile of gravel we are covering behind and explode right in front of our noses. Some Luftwaffe soldiers get sick, a couple start to vomit. Concrete tubes and more piles of gravel line the road and using them as cover we manage to advance quickly and soon come up to an observation tower. Behind it is open field but I spot a foxhole in the ground about 70 meters away. Under the cover of a machine-gun i sprint towards it in the hope of spotting another place where to take cover. Suddenly a soviet machine gun is opening up on me. My machine-gunner comes running up to me and an intense firefight developes with the enemy who is covering in some houses and gardens about 100 meters away. Feldwebel Kemper comes up behind us, it is getting crowded in our foxhole. We come to the conclusion that there is no more cover ahead of us. Kemper sprints back to redirect our attack. The soviets now use an anti-tank gun and mortar shells begin to detonate around us. We have to get back and are lucky to reach the observation tower without getting hit. One man (forgot his name) gets severely wounded by a rifle round to the abdomen. Soviet reinforcements are arriving the Luftwaffe Leutnant gives the order to retreat. We know enough and return to Brüneck.
When we return we find some StuG assault guns waiting in front of the fort and get told that there will be a larger attack soon.

ATTACK ON LENZINGEN (Number 3 on the map)
We organise material to camouflage the helmets and uniforms of the men not wearing camo suits and uniforms. When the attack starts we make good progress. On our left there is a Waffen-SS unit. Assault guns are moving forward in support. Crossing a gloomy brickyard we reach the outskirts of the village. We pass a row of about 30 dead comrades. All show signs of mutilation. Most have their ring fingers cut off. They must have been killed when the village was first attacked by the enemy. A SANKA (ambulance vehicle) is standing close by, it is riddled with bullet holes. The road is covered with bandages and medical instruments.
Suddenly we receive fire from Fabianowo, a village on our right flank. Unteroffizier Ewald Schmidt and his men are sent there while we continue to advance into the village. Soon one of Schmidts men come running up behind us. Schmidt has been ambushed.
I at once report to the company commander requesting to be allowed to rescue Schmidt. Me and Schmidt have known each other for two years.

We reach the village and start searching the buildings on both sides of the road when we get attacked by russian ground attack aircraft. We have to retreat. I have never seen Schmidt again. We repel a counterattack. Feldwebel Tattenberger, another old comrade of mine destroys two T34s with Panzerfausts. We have to clear Lenzingen on the evening of the 24th of January and move into position south of Fort Brüneck (Number 4 on the map).

Tattenberger

We can observe endless columns of soviet trucks, infantry, tanks and guns driving from Lenzingen to Dembsen without any encountering any resistance. We know that sooner or later this mass of material will be moving against us. Our artillery stays silent! Flak and Pak would have had countless targets but nothing happens! We have strict orders to conserve ammunition. In Lenzingen I got hold of a russian Schpagin Mpi with which I fire into their ranks. Even if the distance is not ideal some russians dive into cover. An excellent weapon!

With a reinforced group I secure the open pasture between Fort Brüneck and Dembsen against tanks. We secure the gardens and an old, free-standing house. In the night a dual 20mm flak gun (self-propelled) arrives to support us. That day Leutnant Werner fails to return from a combat patrol (missing since then).

On the evening of the following day we get attacked by five tanks coming at us in line abreast. We are ready for them. About 60 meters in front of us they turn right towards the road from Dembsen to Gurtschin which is barely visible under the snow. The ground there is undefended, the only thing visible there are four lonely abandoned artillery pieces of a german battery.

The road is passing the driveway toward to the Fort! I know that the Flak is positioned somewhere close but will the comrades notice the danger approaching them before it is to late? Passing command to one of my men, I and another comrade sprint across the open ground towards a board fence enclosing a property adjacent to the road. We carry five Panzerfausts with us and I hope to able to hit the tanks from there. As soon as the tanks reach the firm ground of the road they increase their speed and before we manage to reach the fence we hear the sound of tank guns followed by a mighty explosion. We are too late and find the burning remains of the Flak and the torn bodies of our comrades.

One of our AT guns manages to destroy two of the T34s. One of them spews a huge jet of flame, its turret rises into the air and hits the ground about 10 meters away. The remaining three turn around and try to escape. I start chasing them but get recalled by Hauptmann Lohse who tells me that we are ordered to regroup all available personnel for a counter attack. We move into our positions close to a railway embankment (Number 5 on the map). Close to the railway crossing lie dozens of bicycles, I remember thinking about how they might have got there.

We receive heavy artillery fire from the direction of Dembsen and take cover below some railway wagons. The gravel on the ground makes every detonation even more lethal. The ground shakes, a comrade in front of me starts screaming like a stuck pig. He is not wounded, he is afraid.

The night of the 27th is freezing cold. Frank, the comrade who carried the Panzerfausts for me asks if he can act as machine gunner in my group. normally he serves in 4. Gruppe (4th group) and is only with us as a reinforcement. Later he will prove himself to be an excellent gunner and soldier.

Tannenbergstrasse

We still have not received an order to attack. A company turns up and I notice that I know some of the faces. Its our company. He report to the commander, who speaks with Hauptmann Lohse who allows us to leave. We move into the Tannenbergstrasse (Number 6 on the map) and take quarters in some of the houses. I remember looking out of a window seeing fires blazing all around me.

On the 28th of January we march towards Hill 104 “Berlin heights” (number 7 on the map). Soon we are targeted by indirect machine-gun fire. Halfway up the slope there is a well-built position, in front an anti-tank ditch. The only defending unit is a 8.8cm Flak gun.

We pass our own defences and develop into formation to attack a large block of houses lining the road. Suddenly when we close with the buildings, a huge mass of russian infantry oozes out between them. At least one full batallion is charging towards us. Fighting this mass on open field and in close combat would be suicidal. We retreat to our position on the hill. When the russians get closer we open fire. The soldiers manning the Flak gun are opening fire aswell and I notice that most of them are boys not older than 16 or 17 years.

The Russians suffer heavy losses, start to retreat but get forced back by officers with raised pistols. Finally even this starts loosing effect and they retreat behind the buildings to regroup before carrying forward another attack. This time the Flak shreds the attackers before they even have a chance to develop. Again the enemy takes heavy losses. I notice that the boys manning the Flak are wearing their white nightshirts over their uniforms making for an effective snow camouflage.

We are able to hold and the russians start using mortars. In the late evening I notice two enemy tanks on our right flank. Leutnant Schiers, Passerath, Heinrich and myself are fetching some Panzerfausts and make our way towards them.
Our camo uniforms do not help us and as soon as we leave our position we are targeted by mortar fire. We manage to reach a depression in the ground and hope to be able to open fire from it, sadly our Panzerfausts are still out of range.

The next day (29th of January) our position is targeted by mortar fire and enemy snipers. I try to locate the enemy snipers with my binoculars when a mortar shell exploded only a couple of meters to my left. I get wounded by a bit of shrapnel in the upper arm.

The Flak receives a direct hit. Its carnage. Most of the boys are dead, one stumbles in my direction. His white nightshirt is had is stained with red and black. His ears bleed and he is crying.

We retreat. We have to. In bright daylight under constant mortar and sniper fire!
Reaching the Tannenbergstrasse I make my way to the First Aid Station inside Fort Grolman. (Number 8 on the map).

The catacombs below it are crowded with the wounded. The air is terrible and I remember the overpowering stench of Valerian. A medic tries to remove the shrapnel in my arm by using a pair of forceps. He fails. I get a tetanus injection, a dressing and a cup of Valerian Tea. I prepare to leave when the medic asks if he can accompany me. The fresh air above is a treat. The medic looks tired and I remember he had very light blue eyes. He smiles and wishes me luck when I leave.

Back at Tannenbergstrasse I have to take over the Platoon. Kemper had been wounded.
On the following day (30th of January) we are still in Tannenbergstrasse. Inside the city we hear the howl of Stalin’s-Organs.

We are ordered to Fort Grolman. There we get to eat hot pea soup, which tastes wonderful. At the evening we get guided into positions in front of the Forst (facing east – number 10 on the map). In line we move along a slightly curved road. Left of us is open field, some gardens can be seen 200 or 300 meters away. On our right there is there is a ditch, a fenced garden with two houses. We come up to a crossing where there is a dug-in 8.8-Flak.

When come closer the, Flak gets fired upon with mortars and receives a direct hit. The crew seems to be ok and tries to find cover in the ditch. An enemy machine-gun now opens up on us with explosive ammunition and the mortars start to switch their fire on us. Enemy riflemen open fire from the gardens. One comrade is hit by explosive rounds. The wounds look terrible. Mortar shells hit the roof of the house on my right. Feathers rain down on us. Someone must have stored bedding there.

I receive the order to occupy the houses and the garden. I yell to the company commander that we will try to crawl up to the fence below the machine-gun fire. He shakes his head, but allows me to try taking only 1st Group with me. It works and we manage to get into the left house without taken any losses. We enter the basement and set up an MG42 in one of the windows. Our gunner manages to silence the enemy fire.

The Russians bring in a “Ratsch-Bumm”* and at once score two direct hits. The shells hitting the walls on the left and right side of our window. The wooden crates on which we set up our machine gun collapse, our eyes and mouths are full of dust and grout. Our ears are ringing. Its hot and impossible to breathe. Before I can order it Frank grabs the MG42 and runs up the stairs setting the gun up in a window of the first floor. The russian gun has ceased firing its crew is not visible, the russians must think they got us. When comrades in the basement open fire with rifles and machine pistols the soviet gun crew comes running up from behind a concrete pillar standing next to the entrance of garden. This was the moment Frank had been waiting for. His salvo is precisely on target. The Russians don’t even manage to reach their gun.

A runner informs me that Passerath, Heinrich and another large part of the Platoon have been wounded. Kronberg and Schaffrath are now Groupleaders. On the evening of the 30 of January we get relieved by another platoon commanded by Leutnant Phillip.

Inside the Fort (Number 11 on the map) we get briefed by Major Reichardt who tells us that we lost radio contact to the citadel. As the sounds of combat coming from the direction have ceased aswell we expect that the citadel has fallen. He talks about an expected german counter attack coming from the north-west. We will break out into this direction to link up with the attacking german troops, there we are supposed rearm and resupply and then to follow the attack to liberate Poznan. As we are lacking the heavy weapons and ammunition to repel the expected Russian attack, the plan sounds reasonable. Reichardt had been our teacher at officers school and we trust him. The breakout is scheduled for the same night (30th to 31st of January 1945). Our Battlegroup is down to about a third of its original strength. We number no more than 100 men.

Soldiers of the Strotha bastion reinforce us. They bring their wounded with them which they transport on sleds. Reichardt orders the wounded to be brought to Fort Grolman where by now huge flags bearing the Red Cross have been installed. The Major expects us to reach the first german troops within two days and we equip ourselves with food accordingly. Soldiers of the Strotha bastion reinforce us. They bring their wounded with them which they transport on sleds. Reichardt orders the wounded to be brought to Fort Grolman where by now huge flags bearing the Red Cross have been installed. The Major expects us to reach the first german troops within two days and we equip ourselves with food accordingly.

When we reach the soviet lines we cross a line of enemy tanks. The Russians point their searchlights into our direction and he have to lie flat in the snow to avoid detection. We wait for the tanks to open fire. Will our Panzerfausts be sufficient to survive whats coming? Not a sound can be heard, the Russians do not shoot. Slowly we crawl into safety.

The next day we hide in bales of straw. A “sewing machine”* circles above our position, it must have followed our tracks in the snow. After a while it disappears. We leave our hiding places and hurry on through deep snow.

Later on we hide in a polish farmhouse near Szczepy. We throw straw on the ground and fall into sleep within seconds.

“DER IVAN!” – The shout tears us out of our sleep. One of the polish farmers must have alerted the Russians.

Enemy fire rips through the walls of the barn. Using some handgrenades we manage to get us enough time to pull on our soaked boots and to gather our equipment. The door desintigrates under the salvo of a machine pistol. A comrade standing next to me collapses when the shots rip into his body. He is still alive and begs us to take him with us. I take his MP-44 assault rifle. It is hard to leave the comrade behind.

Firefights with attacking Russians in which I use my new assault-rifle. A great weapon. Exiting through the windows we manage to reach a nearby forest.

We cross the frozen Warta near a village (Wronki). When searching the houses we run into a Russian officer who draws his pistol and kills Hauptmann Ulrich. We launch an attack on the office of a forest warden which is used by the Russians as a supply point. Close combat with Russian soldiers. I will spare you the details. Many Russians are drunk. They must have behaved like animals. We find a barn filled with dead women and children. Our patrols inform us that all possible crossing points are well guarded by the enemy. Major Reichert makes the decision to dissolve the Battlegroup and orders us to try to reach the german lines in small groups.  The sound of fighting carries over from the south-west, the Russians are assaulting Landsberg.

I move out with a group of three comrades. Near Gottschimm we spend the day resting in an abandoned house, resting and cleaning our weapons Suddenly the door opens and two Russians or Poles wearing heavy fur coats enter the house. Frank threatens them with a half of his P08 until we manage to assemble our guns. We didn’t place a guard as we had watched the house and the surrounding area for quite a while. A mistake. We allow our visitors to leave without doing them any harm, but hurry off soon after they have left. We are lucky and find a fisherman who takes us across the Netze in a small boat. On the other side we meet two comrades who join up with us. Near Zanzthal we have to wait many hours close to a busy road. We watch the endless russian columns until a large enough space makes it possible to cross undetected.

We are lucky and find a fisherman who takes us across the Netze in a small boat. On the other side we meet two comrades who join up with us. Near Zanzthal we have to wait many hours close to a busy road. We watch the endless russian columns until a large enough space makes it possible to cross undetected.

In a Mill near Tankow we meet a group of women and children hiding from the Russians. We hear the tales of Russian cruelties. One of the women, a young teacher, has her body covered with bruises and bite marks. She has been repeatedly raped. The women have flasks of Potato-Schnapps which they distribute among us.

In Farmhouse some kind people attend to my wound which is festering badly.  They tell us that two Waffen-SS soldiers are hiding in a barn nearby, one of them with a severe shot wound. We visit the two comrades who at once want to join us. Taking turns two of us support and carry the wounded comrade and we manage to make good progress, but some hours later the wounded comrade is in so much pain that we have to carry him back.

This cost valuable time which we need to make good. To be faster we march along a road leading through a beech forest. Suddenly a shot rings out.  There is a group soldiers on horseback behind us. The snow must have muffled the sound of the hooves. Using my assault-rifle I manage to empty a couple of saddles. We retreat, continuing to shoot, into dense forest. There we notice that the two comrades we had picked up after crossing the Netze have fled on their own.

Another rest in a farm. The inhabitants beg us not to open fire whatever will happen. The Russians would kill them and torch their farm. 

We are resting in a hayloft above the stables. There is only a small amount of hay left as the Russians have carried most away. A couple of hours later a group of about 30 loudly shouting Russians comes riding into the farmyard. They must be the ones we fought earlier on. They round-up all the women and start raping a girl of about 12 years. We can’t do anything to help. It is terrible.

Later on they leave, taking the women with them. The remaining farmers tell us that the women are taken to do various labour for the Russians and would be returned in the night.

Schaffrath and myself are now covering Frank who is going to search another house close a crossroads for food. While we are watching a car with some Russians pulls up next to the house. Frank, who comes charging out of the house, grabs the coat of the Russian closest to him, presses his pistol into his body and pulls the trigger. The Russian screams and falls down. We open fire aswell. Frank is in close combat with 4 or 5 Russians and takes down another one. The remaining Russians jump into the car and speed away.

When we finally reach the Plöne Lake we try to cross it by boat, but have to return as its partially frozen. In a Fishermans hut we find some pig lard a bag filled with sugar. Provisions urgently needed.

We reach the canal linking the Lake Plöne with Lake Madü. A Russian patrol crosses nearby forcing us to hide in the water until it has passed. By dawn we have reached another barn; we rest and take turns acting as guards. Later we get woken by Schaffrath, there are Russians digging trenches nearby. Our situation is getting critical. German artillery is starting to fire, Russian patrols walk past our barn!

There is a village nearby, north of the canal. There is a little bridge, but our hopes are shattered when we spot Russian pioneers mining it. North of the canal the ground is swampy and it is there that we are going to cross now. During the night we place some wooden planks across the canal and manage to crawl across.

We continue crawling through swamp and come across a Russian machine-gun position. It is facing west and fires towards a railway embankment . We crawl towards it and are shocked when suddenly signal flares rise into the sky and Russian machine guns open up on us firing from the railway embankment. That does not make sense. Each movement is answered by a long stream of machine gun fire. We retreat and spend the night in a stack of hay close by.

North of us there is a Russian artillery position and some AT-guns. They are facing west aswell, towards the railway embankment! One AT-gun fires upon a chimney between the canal and the railway line. They score a direct hit and send bricks flying. The german lines must run along the railway embankment, we are sure of it. We have no idea how to place the Russian machine-guns that fired on us during the night.

In the following night we try it again. Using a furrow in the ground we rob towards the embankment. Each of us carries a handgrenade in case we encounter opposition. Coming closer we stop and listen into the night hoping to hear voices. It is when we see the familiar shape of a german Stahlhelm that we rise and run towards it – nearly getting shot by the Waffen-SS soldier wearing it.

We reached the german lines. Faces of grinning Waffen-SS soldiers all around us. We get cigarettes and Schnapps…we made it.

* RATSCH-BUMM = “Whizz-Bang” , German slang for Russian 76mm  SiS-3 field gun
* SEWING-MACHINE / NÄHMASCHINE = Polikarpow Po-2

After the Battle – Death at Herenthage Park, 23rd of August 1917

This fantastic photograph was taken by an officer of Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 145. The original caption reads:

“English Tank, destroyed on the 23rd of August 1917 by the assault company of 34th Infantry-Division. Herenthage Park”

On 23 August at 4:00 a.m. a German attack by the 34. Infanterie-Division, in the 14th Division (II corps) area, from Inverness Copse to Glencorse Wood with bombers (handgrenades) and flame-thrower units, pushed the British back to the line of 22 August between Inverness Copse and Glencorse Wood. Despite a German bombardment falling short on German troops in Inverness Copse, the infantry advanced, reached the western edge, then fell back still under fire from German artillery. Another attempt in the afternoon, under a hail of fire from both artilleries, pushed the British out of the Copse to the western fringe, from the Menin road to the junction of Jargon Drive and a sunken road.

It must have been during this fighting, shortly after the Battle of Langemarck, that this tank was taken out of action.

Sadly I have no details about tank losses in that area, I would love to know what happened to its crew.

Details are horrible and fascinating, its intriguing that the dead soldiers lying in the mud in front of the tank seem to be german. Lots of the equipment scattered around are german aswell, a Gewehr 98, lots of Stick grenades, a steel helmet. On the right there seems to be an Enfield rifle and someone placed a German bayonet and its scabbard at the rear of the tank. One can only guess what horrible scenes took place some hours before this image was taken.

According to the “Landships Forum” the tank above should be either B3 “Bystander” or B5 “Bluebird”.

4 Company, B Battalion with 43^rd Brigade, 14th Div,  II Corps, 5^th Army, 23 August 1917The Tanks at 3rd Ypres. 23rd August 1917

4 Company, B Battalion with 43rd Brigade, 14th Div, II Corps, 5th Army

4 Company had 4 fighting tanks in action on 23rd August 1917 (W22):

1 Section – Capt Groves HBM

B3, 2520, “Blue Bird”, Lt Goodhall AH

B4, 2043, “Bulwark”, 2Lt Chambers PC

B5, 2511, “Bystander”, 2Lt Colley EV

B33, 2707, f, “Bushranger”, 2Lt Lane WI

Notes:

Tank names and commanders from the report on action of tanks (W2a)

B3 and B5 Crew numbers from the summary of battle history sheets. (W22)

2043 is missing from the summary of battle history sheets, presumably because it failed to start.

2707 is not given a crew number in the summary of battle history sheets, it has the crew number B33 in the list in the war diary (W2) , it was possibly with a different crew on this date.

Orders (158/839)

Starting point: J13d.6.8.

Tanks to advance ahead of infantry and deal with strong points in Fitzeclarence Farm and L Shaped Farm ((J.14.b.25.30).

B3 and B4 to start at 4:40am and proceed to L shaped farm, J14b.25.30, demolish it and then turn south and return via the north end of Inverness Copse, dealing with Fitzeclarence Farm if necessary. (158/839)(W1a)

B5 and B33 to start at 4:35am and proceed directly to Fitzeclarence Farm, demolish it then turn north towards L shaped Farm J14b.25.30 (158/839)(W1a)

Account of Operations

B4 broke down, (W1a) was repaired and went forward to the starting point but was then hit and burnt out (158/839).

B3 started at 4.30 am (158/839) and possibly proceeded towards Fitzeclarence Farm. It must have run into the German counter attack which started at 4.30 am (s35.p60). It engaged the enemy near Inverness Copse, inflicting severe casualties on them as they retired. It then suffered a direct hit (W22)(158/839).

B5 and B33 also set off at 4.30 (158/839) as the German counter attack started s35.p60). Both tanks helped drive the enemy back, with heavy loss, into Jap Trench. B5 suffered 3 Direct hits and was abandoned (W22). 2nd Lt Colley was probably wounded as he died of his wounds in August (W2). B33 rallied (W22).

Note: Chris McCarthy appears to date this action to the 24th August. (s35.p60)

The Official History incorrectly states 3 tanks ditched on the way forward and only one came into action and supported the infantry. (OH)

Summary

Intended: 4

At start: 4

Failed to Start: 1

Engaged enemy: 3

Ditched / Broke Down:

Hit and Knocked out: 3

Rallied: 1

Aftermath

2520 – no further record.

2043 – no further record, probably one of the tanks at the tank graveyard near Clapham Junction.

2511 – no further record

2707 – Fought with crew B13 at Cambrai. may have been renamed.

Note:

According to “Following the Tanks” 2511 was in action at Cambrai.

4 Companies OB in ‘Following the Tanks, Cambrai’ is based on the list in the War diary which is incorrectly dated to Cambrai. “Black Prince”, 2005 was hit and burnt out at Messines on 7th June 1917 the list must therefore have been written prior to this date.

5 Companies OB is accurate for the 20th November according to the notes. A “Bushranger II” is listed with crew B37; presumably “Bushranger” did not therefore survive 3rd Ypres in operable condition.

Sources

W2 – War Diary No2 / B Battalion Tank Corps / B Coy HBMGC 1916 – 1919 Transcript from Bovington Tank Museum

W2a – War Diary No2 / B Battalion Tank Corps / B Coy HBMGC 1916 – 1919 Appendices.

Report on action of tanks on the morning of 23rd August – PRO WO 95 – 113

W22 – War Diary 2nd Tank Brigade – Relevant Appendices and Battlegraphs

OH – Official History, 1917, Vol 2, Pg.204

158/839 – PRO WO158 /839

S35 – Chris McCarthy (1995) Passchendaele. The Day by Day Account

S37 – Jean-Luc Gibot and Phillippe Gorczynski (1999) Following the Tanks, Cambrai. OOB excerpt.

Saxon Warrior – Today 97 years ago. KIA 27th of June 1916

My last blog entry in 2012! This fantastic photograph is in the collection of a friend of mine. He bought it with a lot of other WW1 photographs on a boot fair in Dresden a while ago. It was taken on the 31st of December 1915. Today – 97 years ago.

Karl Heinrich Berthold Schönert

It shows a heavily armed soldier of Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 133 on the Eastern Front clad in full winter gear. The soldiers name, which is noted on the backside is : Karl Heinrich Berthold Schönert

Karl is mentioned in the book:

Erinnerung an die Gefallenen und Vermissten des LIR 133: Zusammengestellt Anfang August 1914 in Leipzig, Döbeln und Wurzen.*** (before anyone else asks, compiled 1914 but each year a new chapter was added)

From that we know that he was born on the 22nd of January 1885 in Dresden where he had worked as a industrial machine operator before the war started.
Serving in 12th coy of LIR133, he was killed in the Battles at Styr-Stochod by a headshot on the 27th of June 1916, about half a year after this photo was taken. Stochod and Styr are two of the four major rivers of Ukraine, Russia.

He was married to Gertrud Pfefferkorn with whom he had three children. After recieving in military training in Posen he was was transfered to the front on the 15th of October 1915. From the 28th of October to 1st of May 1916 he took part in the fighting on the upper Schtschara-Serwetsch and from the 7th of June 1916 up to his death he fought in the area Styr-Stochod. On the day of his death he was hit by a rifle bullet that pierced his helmet and killed him instantly. He was buried (with other comrades) “below three oaktrees next to the road to Linievka”. His brother Karl Peter, was killed on the same day.

It is very rare to get so much detail about a private soldier. Today I remember, Karl Heinrich Berthold Schönert

Prussian Warhorse – Generalfeldmarschall Friedrich Heinrich Ernst Graf von Wrangel 1784-1877

When one hears that Kaiser Wilhelm did not appear when the Goethe Memorial in Berlin was unveiled, but turned up when the Wrangel Memorial was first presented to the public it might seem shocking, but it’s logical looking from the perspective of the German military monarchy. Wrangel, the old Puss in Boots, who always carried sweets in his pockets which he distributed to the children of Berlin, a crowd of which always “marched” behind him when he was walking the streets of the city. In Wrangel, the “old sabre”, with his babarian grammar and thick Prussian accent, lives the spirit of the old Prussian monarchy. When his son came into debt by gambling and faked his fathers signature on a certificate of debt he came to him and asked for his help. Old Wrangel answered: “You acted without honor, you are not my son anymore”. When his son asked what he was to do now, Wrangels answer was short: ” You own a pair of pistols”. The son shot himself.
Looking at the Prussian Monarchy the spirit of old Wrangel did indeed more than Goethes to bond it together and to give it its peculiar atmosphere. – Georg Brandes

Frederick Count von Wrangel was born into an old baltic German, Swedish-Pommeranian officers family on the 13th of April 1784. In 1796, at the age of only 12 years, he joined the Prussian army as Fahnen-Junker (ensign) in Dragoner-Regiment “von Werther” Nr. 6 (Dragoons) getting promoted to the rank of Seconde-Lieutenant in 1798.

Graf von Wrangel in 1875 in full war regalia and carrying his heavy cavalry sword

During the campaign of 1806/1807 we find Wrangel and his regiment in the Battle of Eylau (7th & 8th of February 1807), subordinated to the Corps led by General l’Estocq. Leading the last operational unit in the Prussian army, L’Estocq was only able to bring eight battalions, twenty-eight squadrons, and two horse artillery batteries (estimated at 7,000-9,000 men) to the battle in which Wrangel distinguished himself as being a courageous and dashing Dragoon officer. Getting badly wounded by a sabre cut during the Battle of Heilsberg in June 1807, Wrangel was taken out of action for more than six months during which he was awarded the coveted Pour le Merite and the Russian Order of St. Vladimir 4th Class.

Battle of Eylau

In 1813/1814 Wrangel, now a major, was serving in the East Prussian Cuirassier Regiment (Ostpreussisches Kürrasier-Regiment, formerly Dragonerregiment „von Zieten“). With this regiment he participated in the Blockade of Luxemburg, the Battles of Groß-Gröschen, Bautzen, Dresden, Kulm, Leipzig, Laon and Paris and a lot of smaller engagements i.e. Haynaut, Montmirail, Etoges, Champaubert, Gue a Trenne, La Ferte-Milon, Oulchy le Chateau, Sezanne and Claye. For his bravery in this impressive list of battles and skirmishes Wrangel was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class. On the 2nd of June 1814 he finally got his first regimental command, taking over the 2. Westpreussisches Dragoner Regiment (2nd West-Prussian Dragoons), and his rise through the ranks was continuing still.

In 1837 we find Wrangel, now a General-Major in command of 13th Cavalry Division, suppressing civil risings in Münster, something he, as a stout conservative and fanatic royalist, most probably enjoyed. In 1839 he was serving as commanding General of I. Armee-Korps in Königsberg (Prussia) and in 1842 of II. Armee-Korps in Stettin.

In 1848, the year of the German Revolution, Wrangel moved against revolutionary Berlin (10th of November). The Revolutionaries had threatened to hang Wrangels wife if he would lead his troops into the capital, but Wrangel was not the person to be unsettled by such threats. When passing the Brandenburg Gate (in those days marking the western boundaries of Berlin) at the head of his troops he is said to have remarked in thick Prussian dialect “I wonder if they have hanged her by now“.
What followed was a short and harsh dispute with the commander of the civil militia Major Otto Rimpler in which both sides agreed that there was no need to shed blood. The militia was demobilized and disarmed, the assembly of the civil representatives in the Schauspielhaus was dissolved. On the 14th Wrangel declared the city to be under Martial Law. The Revolution was over and Frau von Wrangel was left unhanged and unharmed.

In 1849, now a favourite of the Kaiser and a full General der Kavallerie, Wrangel was put in command of a Prussian corps fighting in the First Schleswig War. There he fought in the Battles of Schleswig, Oversee and Düppel (being awarded the Order of the Black Eagle for his services).

Having been promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall in 1856, during the Second Schleswig War in 1864 Wrangel was appointed Commander in Chief of the allied Prussian and Austrian Armies. The problem was that the now eighty year old Wrangel was old for his years and, though popular with the conservatives at court, at best a mediocre general. All his recent combat experiences had been acquired in against civilian insurgents in the revolutions of 1848 and the short war of 1849. He never visited a war academy and all his fighting experiences were gained in the saddle, carrying a sword against the soldiers of Napoleon. While Wrangel lurched from blunder to blunder in Denmark, the Austrian units acquitted themselves with courage and skill. On 2 February 1864, one Austrian brigade charged and took the Danish positions at Ober-Selk with such panache that old Wrangel rushed to embrace and kiss the Austrian commander on the cheeks, much to the embarrassment of his Prussian brother officers. In mid-February, Wrangel sent an advance detachment of Guards north of the Jutland border despite instructions to the contrary. But Bismarck persuaded the war minister to send a sharp reprimand to the elderly general, and Wrangel was relieved of his command at Bismarck’s insistence in mid-May. The enraged Wrangel sent a dispatch to Berlin complaining about “certain Diplomats playing soldiers, who should be hanged at the gallows“. A deed for which he apologised to Bismarck after the wars end in October 1864.

During the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 Wrangel joined his former regiment the Ostpreussisches Kürassier-Regiment Nr. 3 as an honorary officer and observer. He had become too old to join the actual fighting. The same happened in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 in which he was given an honorary staff and was allowed to follow the Prussian Army in an observing role. After both wars and the victory parades that followed Wrangel was allowed to ride at the head of the victorious Prussian Army and in front of officers like Bismarck, Roon and Moltke which is a potent example of the popularity Wrangel enjoyed in Prussia.

Wrangel and his honorary staff in France, 1870

Wrangel died in Berlin in the year 1877, aged 93 years.

Died 120 years ago, General Hellmuth von Gordon 1811-1892, a Scot in the Prussian Army

This impressive old gentleman is General Hellmuth von Gordon, General of the Prussian and later Imperial German Army and it is because of his family name I chose him to feature in this post. Hellmuth von Gordon was a direct descendant of the Scot John Gordon (the Gordons of Coldwells) who went to Poland as a merchant in 1716 as proved in a birth brieve dated to the 27th of June 1718 (a copy of which is found in the Aberdeen City Archives). One of his sons Joseph Gordon (later von Gordon), served as an officer in the army of Frederick the Great, rising to the rank of Oberstleutnant before getting raised into the Prussian nobility in Stargard in Oktober 1760.

Hellmuth von Gordon was born in Kolberg on the 30th of July 1811 and joined the army after finishing his military education as a cadet in 1828. During the German Revolution in 1849 he fought in Breslau holding the rank of Lieutenant in the 6th Prussian Jäger Bataillon (Jäger Batallion Nr. 6). In 1866, in the Austro-Prussian War, we find him in command of the advance guard of the Prussian 7th Division fighting in the Battles of Blumenau, Münchengrätz and Königgrätz (in which he participated in a cavalry charge at the head of the Mecklenburg Cavalry Brigade) for which he received the Pour-le-Merite on the 30th of October 1866.

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, now a Lieutenant-General in command of 11th Division, he took part in the Bombardment of Pfalzburg and Thoul, the siege of    the Fortress of Ivry and Moulin-Saquet, finally entering Paris on the 3rd of March 1871. For his services in this war he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class and Star of the Order of the Red Eagle with Oakleaves and Swords aswell as getting promoted to the rank of General der Infanterie

Hellmuth von Gordon died on this day, 120 years ago, the 24th of December 1892.

Gordons feature prominently in the military history of Prussia and Germany – further information can be found in the pdf “The Scots in Prussia” which you will find below