RIR 120 In Beselare
We have been in Beselare before in other blogs, for some reason I ended up in the regimental history of RIR 120 and saw a picture of the church, and since I do have some Beselare blood in my vains I had to read that part. Not mutch about fighting but food and accommodations is something important too, It was the only time they were in Beslare
30 September to 27 October 1916
As early as 29 September, the regimental commander had gone ahead to a new position to reconnoitre the area west of Beselare. It was a calm area, it had been occupied by the Berlin Landwehr for a very long time. We noticed at once that there was little leadership here. The buildings had been laid out by active Württemberg regiments at the time, and were well built and equipped with all the facilities of the modern age, such as electric light and glass. The Flanders groundwater level completely closed off any construction in wood and soil and limited it to concrete. in already moderately deep trenches and blasting funnels, at the edges of which shelters had been built, the water poured out of the soil everywhere. The enemy RIR 120 was facing for the first time here , behaved quite peacefully, apparently suffering from the same conditions as us. Once we received the news that the plague had broken out amongst them. It was forbidden to shoot rats with service rifles because of the danger it posed to people. But since the plague is transmissible through rats, the extermination of rats was also ordered in this way!!! The regiment had one battalion in the front line, one on standby and one in reserve at rest in Beselare, the two battalions lived partly in houses and partly in barracks. The regimental staff was located in a lonely farm belonging to the municipality of Molenhof.
the accommodation was overall good , with bathrooms and utilities provided. Plenty of food, much more in Belgium than in France, it was very pleasant. The fight with the groundwater was soon taken up, the presence of electric power in the vicinity was much needed, a drainage system was set up with pumps . Hauptmann Wider and his very capable Lieutenant Glaser did an excellent job. As is often the case, very little was seen of the troops in front and behind. Almost every night, the English were firing heavily with machineguns on individual parts of the frontline. Our predecessors, on the other hand, had kept quiet. But the regiment knew that this roadside fire was preventing German patrols. However, this leaves the enemy open to their own patrol opportunities in the fire-free sections. so we scatter these sections with our machine gun fire. This had a significant effect right from the first night, we heard cries of pain from the wounded, but before daybreak they were brought back by the British. The jubilee of the reign of his majesty our King was celebrated by a church service at which Lieutenant Fischötter, in his civil profession an opera singer, performed a vocal solo . Accompanied by the thunder of the guns above it, it had a great effect, and thanks to the Belgian food situation, a battalion of the regiment, for example, had cooked roasted pig on this day and 3 beers a man.
On 21, 22 and 23 october the regiment was pulled out of the position battalion by battalion and relieved by the Berlin Landwehr. Shortly afterwards we arrived by train and foot march to Baralle ( Between Cambrai and Arras) and the area west of Cambrai, but the accommodation there was cramped and poor, which was even more noticeable in the cold autumn weather. The regiment had belonged to Hertog Albrecht’s army at Beselare. As he was unable to greet us himself, he found one of his sons to say good bye tho them .By the 28th of Oktober they were already in Miraumont
Source : Das Württembergische Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 120 im Weltkrieg 1914 – 1918