On the 21st of February, 105 years ago, started the Battle of Verdun. This Article is dedicated to the first few days of the offensive in February and at the same time, it will be shown here a part of a Reservistenpfeife or Recruit`s Pipe.
In a previous Article (https://german1914.com/antonio-wednesdays-wonders-josef…/), I wrote, that it was a tradition for the recruits, to buy an item (or many) to remember the 2-3 years of the mandatory military service and this time, it is a Pfeife, a pipe. Even been smaller that the Reservistenkrug, it could also be much elaborated, full of colours and details. In this one, we can see the fine details at the back, with the list of Reservisten, who also served in this Regiment at that time. There were also Reservistenflaschen, but we will talk about that in the future.
I normally talk about the person behind the piece, Tambor Hofmann, but as I could not find any records of him, I will be only talking about the “3. Großherzoglich-Hessisches Infanterie-Leibregiment Nr. 117 „Großherzogin“ (Life Guards Regiment) and their part in the Battle of Verdun under the 25th Infantry Division, whose attacks will be situated between two of the main names in the those 10 months of hell: Lieutenant Colonel Driant and Fort Douaumont.
This regiment was almost 220 years old before arriving to the right bank of the Meuse in 1916, and it was a regiment with prestige, tradition and experience in battles, like the times in the Peninsular wars or the one in Gravelotte in 1870 in France. It is a regiment dedicated to the Grand Duchess Alice of Hessen (Traditions of the Imperial Germany Infantry Regiments, Chris Dale).
Now, it was going to be their time to try to end the First World War. What that in mind and with some training in new Stoßtruppen tactics, they stormed on the 21st of February 1916 the east side of the Bois des Caures. The objective of the first day or second, at the latest, was to advance through the forest in direction to the village of Beaumont and take it, as can be seen in the attached Divisional Map from the Reichsarchiv (Die Tragödie von Verdun 1916, 1. Teil).
In the Forest of Caures, one of the legends of the Battle of Verdun is going to arise: The Lieutenant Colonel Driant. He was one of the main voices that criticized the state of the defences around Verdun, already at the end of 1915. In his sector, he made improvements in the trench systems as well organizing a better defence. He complained about the guns being taken from the forts, he also warned, that the Germans were about to attack too, but his complains were always turned down, in part because he used political channels to complain, instead of using military channels, something that enraged Jofre. His unit resisted those attacks on the very first day. What was supposed to be a “walk” for the Hessian Troops (Regiments of the 21st Infantry Division), against all of the odds, he managed to stop the advance for a full day. He died on the 22nd of February, been right about the whole attack. This may be the main reason he became a legend or a martyr.
The French defence caused the German attack to be far too prudent from this moment, making the memento to go slower. The 117th Regiment was given the objective to take Beaumont on the 22nd of February including the forest south of it (Forest de Foses), but instead, the main attack took place on the 24th of February along with the 116th Regiment. The encountered a stubborn defence, especially on the left flank of the 117th Regiment, but between the 2 Regiments, managed to capture the village and push back the French, even south of the forest de Foses.
On the 25th of February, the offensive went on in the south direction with the objective to take Louvemont and the Forest south of it, just a couple of Kilometre on the North West of Fort Douaumont. For this offensive, the 87th Hessian Regiment from the 21st Division joined the attack on the right flank of the 117th Regiment, taking the expected objectives but at a high price. In this moment, the French Army at Verdun may have been in one of the weakest moments in the 10 months of this battle, because it was also in this day, when the Fort Douaumont was lost to the Brandenburgers of the 6th German Infantry Division.
The 25th Hessian Division was considered as an Elite one. It performed really well but suffered tremendous casualties during the war.