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RIR 236 end of October / start of November 1914: rain, mud and more casualties
Gefreiter Bilschoff 2/236 reported on a patrol he had led with the kriegsfreiwilliger Adam I and Strahl: “At 3 o’clock in the afternoon we went forward. We wanted to see the direction of the enemy firing line from there. All along the way we received fire from the shot-up houses. But they were only single shots and not, as we first assumed, volleys. We were able to determine that the enemy line extended roughly parallel to our trench, which adjoined the 2/236 on the right. In some places the lines seem to be masked with branches. They run along the left edge of the destroyed village; it seemed to us that in some places, if not in all, there were even three trenches in a row. There seemed to be a particularly large number of trenches in or around the shot-up houses. We could tell from the shots that hit us that we were being shot at by the French. We also noticed that the enemy trench was almost at 90 ° to the trench of the 2/236. We could not proceed beyond the trench, as we would then be uncovered. We moved to the right until we came into uncovered terrain about 20 metres from our trench. We simply walked through it, pursued by bullets.
The regiment’s firepower had been increased. Three captured French machine guns from the fortress of Maubeuge, under the command of Lieutenant Lorenz, raced in and were entrenched in the first line. The attack, which was best prepared in the time available with the means at hand, did not take place, however, because the fighting on the left wing did not achieve the goals that had been set and the expectations were not fulfilled. And yet the German attacks could have been successful.( The British commander had had field fortifications built near the town of Ieper and wanted to withdraw his troops to this line. Only the strong influence of the French general Foch had prevented this retreat.) The arduous entrenchment work in the feeling of being out of control and the inadequate and irregular rations had not been without consequences for the young soldiers. Intestinal diseases became more and more frequent, so that the relieving of the tired and sick companies became more and more urgent.
The enemy had also stepped up his artillery activity. The shells howled into Poelkapelle, causing not only destruction and alarm, but also increasing losses of food and rations. the work of the catering staff must be remembered here. Despite the continuous shelling and the loss of men, horses and field kitchens, they were always ready in the evening at the church of Poelkapelle at the appointed time to supply the fighting troops. The higher command authorities tried to deal with the difficult situation of the troops through recognition and encouragement.
A message was written on the 31 of October 1914 to the men with moral boosting phrases, that they had to be proud on what they had achieved so far and had to do all they could to keep the trenches and not to give up since they had made progress and good news came from other areas. they had to do they duty and more and more. Signed by Oberst und Brigadekommandant Von Busse
At the start of November the trenches got fired at even more, the losses got higher, Fresh troops were brought forward on the second , 312 men from the ersatz battalion 95, and then it started to rain really hard and to make it complete the French shell the frontline trenches all day. The 8th and 7th companies suffered the most. The enemy had located the machine gun displayed in the 8th company’s section. Again and again the bullets hit it. The entire gun crew was wounded and the machine gun was destroyed. Due to death and wounded, all sanitary personnel of the II/236 were lost. This was a sign above all of the loyalty and self-sacrifice of the sanitary personnel. This day costed the II Battalion 30 casualties. Among them were 4 dead and 7 wounded from the fresh replacements that had arrived the day before.
The regimental staff and I Battalion were relieved on the morning of the 3rd of November. In Spriet, the departing regimental staff was received by the general staff officer of the division, Major Reim. The III Battalion was relieved by noon. The II Battalion was not able to leave until about 10.30 pm. The battalions reached Westrozebeke without losses. The II Battalion took shelter in the church, the tower had already been demolished , as it was a good target for enemy artillery due to the high position of the village. But the rest for the weary troops was not to last long.
the rest of November 4 and all of November 5 were filled with repairing and replenishing the water, clothing and other equipment. There was hardly any time to look through and answer the large amount of field mail that arrived. Finally, the losses could be determined with some certainty: the regiment had lost 23 officers, of whom 11 and 1 doctor had died . 341 non-commissioned officers and men were killed and 994 wounded. On the evening of the 5th of November, the regiment moved into the front line to relieve RIR 234.
the regiment’s new fighting section was southwest of Poelkapelle between the Haenebeek and Wallemolen.
Source : das reserve infanterie regiment 236 Mayor Arthur