UNIT RECORD KEEPING, SYSTEM, RESEARCHING
Today’s blog will be on Imperial German Army Unit records, and with this topic, I hope to give you a better understanding of the system in which these soldiers were transferred around, how records were kept, and the structure of a basic Infantry Regiment. Most importantly, I would also like to help people who would like to search for their own ancestors unit record’s in order for them to sometimes learn much more to the story than they thought. This was the case in researching my own Grandfather’s records. We learned which battles he was in, and that he never told anyone that he was wounded 3 times.
Of course the Germans kept very good records, and we are lucky that these documents in some parts of Germany are still kept safe in very good condition. The great thing today is that many of these WWI records are open source (Free) online through the Individual German State Archives. https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/c.php?g=423238&p=2890905(Link to all State Archives)
As an example I will be using my Grand Father’s records and WW1 history to illustrate what sort of process these soldiers followed to go from civilians, to front line fighters, and back to civilians. Soldiers who were in the Reserves prior to the war would have a different timeline and process. My Grandfather was born in Switzerland (Lived his whole life there), but his father came from the State of Baden. With ties to Baden, he was in Baden Units, and as such my only research has been in the Baden Archives.
In 1945 a US Bombing destroyed “Most” of the Prussian Unit records, however the Baden, Bavarian, Württemberg are maintained in Karlsruhe, Munchen, and Stuttgart. This is the direct link for Baden War Formations. https://www2.landesarchiv-bw.de/ofs21/olf/struktur.php?bestand=13908&klassi=001.007.010&anzeigeKlassi=
There are a few challenges with searching for German ancestor WWI records. The first, is that all these records are handwritten, and some clerks had the worst handwriting. The second, is that many of these documents are written in old German Fractur writing, which makes it difficult for even modern day Germans to read. The third thing is that some of these documents are shown online to exist in the Archives, but have yet to be scanned online. Most of the Baden Infantry Regiments are online. The fourth thing is that it will take some time to hunt people down. The most helpful information is Name, Birthdate, Any Unit Known, and time of service. If you can get a hit with one known, that stamrolle will lead you to more!
“Typical” Basics to Know
– The standard Infantry Regiment had 3 Battalions (I, II,III), with 4 Kompanies each (1-12). 1stBattalion had Kompanies 1-4, 2nd Battalion had Kompanies 5-9, 3rdBattalion had Kompanies 9-12). Battalions are written in Roman numerals, and rarely Kompanies were written with Roman numerals. Mostly ie. 10 Komp. http://www.worldwar1.com/sfgermreorg.htm
– Each frontline Infantry Regiment had Ersatz (Replacement) Battalions in their home bases. IR111 for example had 2 Ersatz Battalions. These unit are written with a squiggle “E” before 111 ie. 5 Komp (E) 111. These Ersatz battalions contained the following type of Kompanies.
– Command Kompanie
– Recruit Depot Kompanie (Induction)
– Replacement Kompanies (Basic Training)
– Convalescent Kompanies (Recovering Soldiers)
– Dismissal Kompanies (Out Processing)
– Field Recruit Depots – Starting in February of 1915, after 3-4 months of “basic” training, soldiers would be sent to their Division’s Field Recruit Battalions which were located in France behind the front. There, soldiers learned the latest tactics, and skills by experienced soldiers before being sent to a Frontline Kompanie. Soldiers who returning to the front after being wounded for an extended period might also spend some refresher time in these units. I have not been able to find any Stamrolle records yet for these Divisional Field Recruit Depots.
– Wounded Soldiers – Were 1st brought by comrades and medics to the Truppenverbandplatz (Aid Post) at Battalion or Regiment level. Lifesaving procedures, Triage, and prep for transport to higher Medical care. The Feldlazarette (Field Hospital) was normally 15km behind the front where Surgical Procedures were preformed along with stationary care for soldiers being transported back to hospitals in Germany. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6066386/
– Convalescing Soldiers – Wounded soldiers who were expected to be able to return to duty would be sent to a Regimental Ersatz Battalion’s Convalescent Kompanie, and then a Replacement Kompanie. They were given light duties, and medically evaluated for return to duty.
Record Keeping System
All Unit records were maintained (Handwritten) in books by clerks. At the Company level a “Stamrolle” was maintained on each soldier who came to the Company. The soldier was given a number in precedence to the unit.
– Stamrolle Register – The Soldiers name was put into a Unit Register which was normally maintained by Alphabetical Order. However I have seen them maintained by Officers, NCO, and Soldier first, then by alphabet. I have also seen some listed just by number and date of joining the unit. Depended on the Clerk. This register was sometimes a separate book, or sometimes put in the front of the Stamrolle book.
– Stamrolle Book – The Stamrolle book is the sequential entry of soldier’s info as they are coming to the unit. See photos for the Legend. This entry also listed if the soldier was KIA. They would sometimes just put a line thru his entry for KIA. This entry also would list the gaining unit. With this you can trace a soldier forward or back in time.
– Militarpass – This book had normally one copy for the soldier, and one copy with the clerk. It has a lot of basic info for coming into the Army, and Outprocessing the Army. However, most all of Grandfather’s wartime service was not mentioned in this document. The only real entry that helped me was that it said he was sent to the 52ndDivision in the Field, and one pencil unit entry for 2 Komp IR169.
Archive Hunting Tips
With a name, unit and time period you should be able to locate records online. If you have more info, like a birthdate, that would also help.
Soldiers period of service, or Unit can also sometimes be found on the German WW1 KIA, MIA, WIA database. http://des.genealogy.net/eingabe-verlustlisten/search/index
First look for the register of other stamrolle books. The Archive will also list if the register is part of the Stamrolle book, but sometimes one Register book covers a few Stamrolle books. Once you have found their Stamrolle number, you can go to the Stamrolle book to search for their entry.
Awards from the Specifc State (Baden, Bavaria, etc) can also be found online. I found a great Uncle who was awarded two medals by the King of Baden. They even have the Original recommendation for the award physically in the Archives. Many of these awards came with money, or stipulations ie. Return after Death.
I took a trip to the Baden Archives in Karlsruhe to find some records that were not online. They were pretty helpful. You will first have to sign up for a type of free membership, and then give them your request for records. They have certain times/intervals of the day were they will pull the records and get them for you to look at. Maybe every two hours it was. They won’t let you photograph any documents, but will let you scan them in a complicated machine that they have, BUT ONLY IF YOU BRING A THUMB DRIVE!!
Soldier Service Example
An example of how many records can be found for one person. This is my Grandfathers service timeline, and all the units he was passed around to. Each unit equals a Stamrolle entry to be found. I have been able to locate most of them.
Josef Glanzmann
WW1 Military Service Records and Timeline
15 Mar 1917 – Enters Army, 3 Komp II Battalion Ersatz 111 IR Rastatt (#783)
29 Mar 1917 – 2 Komp 111IR, Basic Training (#2124)
28 May 1917 – Advanced Training (#2030)
20 Jun 1917 – Transferred to 3 Komp Field Recruit Training, 52 nd Inf Div
7 Jul 1917 – Transferred to 4 Komp Field Recruit Training, 52 nd Inf Div
26 Aug 1917 – Transferred to 5 Komp Field Recruit Training, 52 nd Inf Div
8 Sep 1917 – 2 Komp IR169 Infantry Regiment (#1325)
25 Oct 1917 – Light Wounded in leg – Artillery, Vic Lizy France. Battle of La Maison
4 Nov 1917 – Transferred to 10 Komp 111 Infantry Regiment (#1095)
30 May 1918 – Wounded Left – Hand – Grenade. Vic Vandeuil (Spring Offensive)
30 May 1918 – Treated in Field Hospital
8 Jun 1918 – Evacuated to Army Hospital in Riedlingen, Germany
25 June 1918 – Transferred to Convalescent Komp 2 Ersatz 111 IR (#8338)
11 July 1918 – Transferred to 2 Komp 2 Ersatz 111 IR (#2235)
19 Sep 1918 – Transferred to 10 Komp 111 IR (#1095), Meuse Argonne Offensive, Battle for
Exermont, Montrebeau Woods
1 Nov 1918 – Wounded Left Hand – Grenade. Massive Artillery Barrage. Vic Landres et St Georges
4 Nov 1918 – Transferred to Army Hospital in Biberach, Germany
15 Nov 1918 – Transferred to Convalescent Komp Ersatz 110 IR (Location?) (#9508)
23 Nov 1918 – Transferred to Landstrum Infantrie Battalion XIV/30 Komp 3, Mosbach
1 Jan 1919 – Transferred to 2 Komp 110IR
6 Jan 1919 – Transferred to 10 Komp 110IR (#1364)
17 Mar 1919 – Transferred to 9 Komp 110IR
26 Mar 1919 – Transferred to Dismissal Company Ersatz 110 IR (#1376)
17 Apr 1919 – Departs Army to St Gallen, Switzerland
My Grandfather’s Militarpass. This kept a soldiers basic information. It mostly has entry and exit unit information. June 1917 Entry saying 52nd Division in the Field. No other frontline information. Does list what uniform items he was allowed to keep upon discharge
Basic info, and at the bottom his induction Unit. 3rd Replacement Kompanie 2nd Ersatz Batallion IR111
Discharge info and Uniform Items he could take with him.
You can also find a soldiers unit listed on the Gerhttp://
This is a Stamrolle Register. Found as a separate book or in the front of the Stamrolle books. Normally listed by alphabetical order. Every solder had a unit number
Stamrolle Legend. The form changed slightly at times but same info.
This is a record from my Grandfather’s unit right after the war in 1919. As you can see they get loaded up with info and bad handwriting. Wounding incidents on the lower left, a lot of unit changes, and battles.
This is a record from my Grandfather’s unit right after the war in 1919. As you can see they get loaded up with info and bad handwriting. Wounding incidents on the lower left, a lot of unit changes, and battles.
Some unit clerks would get lazy. In this example they just wrote Flanders, Marne, Argonne in the battle section.
Wound Info Translations
From Convalescent Company. Medical shorthand on the lower left. I believe 4 wks light duty perhaps.
Certain King of Baden Awards are in the Archives. Searchable by name online. My Great Grandfather’s Brother is on this Award List, and I actually saw the Award Recommendation at the Archives.