This week Sabine’s battlefield Saturday will be following RIR 241.
RIR 241 die geschichte des Königlich Sächsishen reserve infanterie regiments nr. 241
Part one: leaving Germany
RIR 241 was the last regiment to leave Dresden, none followed it, and 241 never returned home, the regiment remained on the field of honor. At 12.30 noon the 1 battalion was loaded at the Neustadt railway station, at 4.30 am the II Battalion and in the evening the III Battalion. After 12 hours, the regimental staff, the machine gun platoon and the large baggage followed from the Friederichstadt railway station. The quantity of gifts was so great that it could not be taken along at all, it had to be brought along later. On the 11th of October 1914, 72 officers and 2717 non-commissioned officers and men left for the field with RIR 241. on the 14th of October, they crossed from Trier via Wasserbillig( Luxemburg) into Belgium. First enemy station Arlon. Everywhere traces of fierce franktireur fighting were to be seen.
After that, we traveled without lights and had to endure hours of interruption. We continued via Namur, Charleroi to Ath. Up to Luxembourg the rations were good, but in Charleroi they were poor, and finally they ran out completely. 15 October at night in enemy territory the men left the trains. Immediately the march of the individual battalions began, partly still in the dark of night. to ‘quatre vents’ . it was bitterly cold, the roads softened, the march went through many bloody unscathed villages and was soon quite exhausting as a result of the heavy luggage and soft soil. The III Battalion marched to Ligny, cooked there and later that night took up quarters in Quaigneon.
Alfred Börtiss : the signal to disembark sounded : completely frozen and weary, we disembarked from the faithful steam engine that had served us well for 86 hours of travel through a wealth of natural beauties and delights. the rifles were put together from the road and the luggage was sorted. The abandoned wagons looked like pigs’ waists, no wonder after such a long journey, but they were crammed so full you could hardly move. The comparison of the clock was remarkable. For us it was an hour later. After the baggage wagons had been unloaded, the horses harnessed and everything else ,food was placed on the vehicles, the departure took place. first, the staff, then the companies, and finally the wagons. No one knew where we were going. In the meantime, the baggage wagons had stayed behind, and slowly it became clear that we were completely lost. this was due to signposts that had been put in the wrong place and everything else. A detachment of 12 company was sent back to find and recover the missing wagons. As it happened, some of the wagons were stuck in the ditch. The men were getting tired and slowed down, the battalion commander decided to stop in a small village.
The following order came at 4 pm
French, English and Belgian troops have been retreating from St Niklaas via Eekloo – Brugge – Oostende since 12 October. on the railway Eekloo – Brugge – oostende traffic. Disembarkations are taking place at the harbors. French infantry in Lille and southwest of Lille. Against them our 13 A R goes in front of us on the left the 54 RD.
The detachment of Criegen holds an open exit near Oudenaarde. The advance guard will leave Cocambre at 6 o’clock on the road to Oudenaarde. The bulk will follow under me to about 1 km west of Oudenaarde.
Signed by V. Criegern
Bitter cold and foggy the march started at 5 o’clock in the morning of the 16th. By noon the detachment von Criegern arrived in Oudenaarde. By 8 o’clock the next morning a new order came. By 11 o’clock the march started again towards Wortegem and then to Anzegem. By 3 pm Vichte was reached, 3 hours later Harelbeke.The first troops to reach Harelbeke were the cyclists of I Battalion. They assembled the bicycles on the market square and arrested the mayor as a hostage. The inhabitants, however, were friendly and accommodating. Shortly after the cyclists, the whole regiment moved in and was accommodated in quarters. The troops were tired and weary and soon went to rest, after all they did march 30 kilometers. Suddenly the alarm sounded, men were send off into the field for their first encounter with the enemy. At the 11th company there were two wounded.
No one, however, has ever been able to find out the real reason for the night-time skullduggery. nevertheless, it was also quite possible that the English troops, who were excellently trained in small-scale warfare, just wanted to test how far the German advance had been carried forward. On the 18th the regiment got a well-deserved rest. However, riffles and equipment had to be cleaned , it would be one of the last days rest for a long time.