From the Swiss border to the English channel, in the heat of summer and through the icy winters the Trenches were manned. In this section I will introduce some of the men who fought in them, including their awards and certificates.
Spalte 2
Men of the 37th Reserve Infantry Regiment in a newly captured trench
The Private Anton Langheinrich served in the 13th Bavarian Reserve regiment On the Styr, in a sector where ghosts called out from no mans land....
A Verdun Bavarian Silver Bravery Medal award to Pionier Max Stark for braving a barrage in the Albain Schlucht (Ravine) to save a comrades life.
Thiaumont and Fleury were hot spots during and between the Verdun offensives. A selection of documents and awards to men who fought there.
The Jägers
of the Alpenkorps were ordered to retake the strongpoint of Thiaumont on the 8th
of August 1916. With heavy hearts they prepared to refight a battle they had
already fought the month before. Click HERE
A quintessential trench fighter's group is that of Sebastian Herrling of the 12. b.I.R., awarded to holding back part of a French attack by engaging the enemy in a duel of hand grenades.
A furious assault on Height 185 ( Höhe 185 ), "The devil on the mountain" describes the fighting done by the 51. Reserve Division and shows items belonging to Leutnant Karl Lüttgen of the 236. Reserve Infanterie Regiment
The Reichsackerkopf in Alsace is one of the small but bloody battles that manages to slip through the cracks of history. Ersatz Reservist Silakowsky of the 92. R.I.R. participated.
The Hartmannsweilerkopf, intense fighting flared up here on numerous occasions during the war. Many men were killed but little was achieved by either side.
A commendation certificate to Major Richard Sartor, Divisions Adjutant of the 15th Bavarian Division. Also the document to one of his opponents.
The confusion in front of Thiaumont Farm in the second week of June 1916. The Documents to men who took part in the fighting and in the patrols, including a Croix de Guerre to Henri Hequette click HERE
The 12th Bavarian Infantry Regiment suffered heavy losses between Douaumont and Thiaumont in Mid 1916. A story of one mans agony and an Iron Cross document won a few hundred meters away.
While the British suffered the most on the first day of the Somme, German losses mounted in many counter attacks. The 84th and 86th Reserve Infantry Regiments of the 18th Reserve Division lost heavily.
The 10. Reserve Division fought in the opening stages of the Nivelle offensive but were soon pulled out of the line due to heavy losses. An article describing some of the action and picturing some documents to the units of the division can be found HERE
Gefreiter
Heinrich Müller, a machine gunner in the 77. Infanterie
Regiment, was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class after being wounded in the
Brussilow offensive. He later took part in the Battle
on the Aisne. In 1939 he was awarded a rare
GOLD wound badge for wounds suffered 1914-18.
The Field Artillery stood close to the front line, sometimes in the front line. Hauptmann Jonkheer de
Casembroot was in action with the 6. Feldartillerie Regiment on the Somme and at Passchendaele
