Been Spanish myself and also really interested in the Bavarian Army, is a good combination that results in…. reading and putting my hands in a couple of things from the Royal Bavarian 5thField Artillery Regiment, King Alfons XIII from Spain. This Regiment was created in 1890 and stationed in the
Alte Kaserne in Landau am Pfalz. It was part of the 3rd Artillery Brigade, Royal Bavarian 3rd Division. The Regiment Holder was the King of Spain in that moment, Alfonso XIII, giving his name to the Regiment in 1904 after a visit to Germany. You can see attached also a picture of the officers of the 2 Artillery Regiments from Spain and Bavaria with that name.
Alte Kaserne in Landau am Pfalz. It was part of the 3rd Artillery Brigade, Royal Bavarian 3rd Division. The Regiment Holder was the King of Spain in that moment, Alfonso XIII, giving his name to the Regiment in 1904 after a visit to Germany. You can see attached also a picture of the officers of the 2 Artillery Regiments from Spain and Bavaria with that name.
The following Beer Stein belonged to a soldier, who served in that regiment, as Reit-Kanonier. As a photo is worth a 1.000 words, we see the riders in the front of the Bierkrug. Compared with the Beer Steins shown before, this one has just one thematic… Artillery. Also, just to comment, that (Philipp) Knickel served in this this Field Artillery Regiment between 1907 and 1910.
Philipp was called to arms in August 1914 to a Leicht Munitionskolonne or Light Munition Column. I haven’t been able to find out, which one was, but I assume he was still under his old regiment in the Royal Bavarian 3rdDivision under the 6th Army. He started the war in the Nancy Area, later to be moved to the north in Belgium (Ypres), in the fights that took place there in autumn 1914. I believe he was in the 3rd Division, when it was moved to the 2nd Army, later to join again the 6thArmy.
There is a break in his records, between November 1914 and April 1915. In that period, there is just one thing to be mention, and that is, that Philipp was awarded with the Military Merit Cross, 3rdClass with Swords. In 1915, Philipp will be again in action, but this time far away from Belgium and France. He will say Tschüssto the 6th Army, to appear in Kurland and Lithuania, right on time for the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive. But it wasn’t part of the 11thArmy, where the Royal Bavarian 11th Division was placed (South of Poland), instead, it was sent to the Royal Bavarian Cavalry Division to fight in the Battle of Schaulen (from 27th April on). Looking at the Orden of Battle of that Division, we find there the Mounted Artillery Section (Reitende Abteilung) of the Royal Bavarian 5th Field Artillery.
Right after it and still in Lithuania, it took place the great Russian Retreat, as the Russian Army left completely Poland and moved east. Philipp remained in that division until the end of 1915. During this time, the Division participated in many offensives in both Lithuania and Belorussia, for example, in May in the Battle of Beisagola or the Combats in the river Dubissa. But always in the area of Schaulen, moving also, at some point, in direction of Minsk. Philipp was involved and would get to know the fights in Dünaburg or Wilna. Until June 1916, Philipp can be found in the Stellungskämpfe between the Lake, Narotschsee in Belorussia.
In July 1916, the Unit from Philipp will be moved to Gallize, in the Ukraine. There he will participate in the battle of Kowel, where the Russian Army will make an offensive, the Brussilow-Offensive, which will end in advances, but not with the expected results at very high casualties. This will be the last major Russian offensive and will end up with the End of Russia in the War.
But there will be another country to be fought, a tough one, Romania, where he will remain longer as expected. In fairness, the Russian army also has to be mentioned for its help to the Romanian Army, which started a series of offensives in Transylvania, after signing a treaty with the allies in August 1916. In this moment, Philipp participated in some battles in the north of Romania, more specifically, the area of Bukowina and along the river Sereth or Siret.
The Romanians expected, that the Russian offensive was a success and that not many German Troops would be mobilized for their theatre of operations, so the first Romanian offensives brought some advances, but they had to be stopped because the Central Powers troops were starting to arrive. The offensive was stopped and the Romanian Troops went into more defensive roles. During 1916 and 1917, the Russians supported the Kingdom of Romania, but in some occasions, that army was already demoralized and lacking of the right equipment. Still, and after a series of defeats, the Romanian will recover themselves in the year 1917, with a more modern und better equipped army. But their luck will stop, and on the top of that, the Russians left the Romanian alone, when their involvement in the First War World coming to an End.
When Romania surrender at the beginning of 1918, the German Army supervised the demonization of their army, as well as the confiscation of grain and repairs of the Romanian Oil Fields for their own use.
Romania re-joined the war in November 1918, keeping it against Hungary well after the end of the war in Europe. In this moment, Philipp Knickel was still in the north of Romania during this late Romanian Offensive and was taken prisoner by the Romanian Army.
For Philipp, the war did not end in 1918, but a year later, in 1919 when he returned to Germany after his captivity.
It was a long war for any soldier that participated in that conflict, but it took a bit longer for Philipp, from Belgium to Lithuania, Poland, Belorussia, Ukraine and, finally, Romania. A long Time, a Long Way.