“The Faithful Companion”
The illustration is showing a trooper giving his horse sugar cubes.
This story revolves around Trooper Denkmann’s horse, Zerline, during the war’s initial stages.
“It was on August 23 1914, the crossings over the Sambre had been seized the day before…
Small patrols were dispatched to scout the woods ahead of us in the evening before we moved on to the bivouac. Private Denkmann was tasked with returning to the regiment. As night descended, he became disoriented in the forest. While attempting to find his way, he suddenly came under fire from a considerable distance. He found himself confronted by a Zouave patrol consisting of nine men. His horse stumbled and fell, struck by a bullet that pierced its neck. Denkmann promptly sought cover behind the fallen horse’s body, using the saddle to steady his rifle, and calmly took aim at the advancing Zouaves.
His initial volley felled three adversaries. The remaining foes were momentarily stunned, affording him the opportunity to reload and dispatch the surviving six men with subsequent shots, causing them to flee. On foot, he proceeded to deliver his report, sorrowfully informing of the demise of his loyal horse, ‘Zerline’.
Our amazement was beyond words as we reached the spot where Denkmann had bravely felled the Zouaves on the morning of August 24th. To our astonishment, ‘Zerline’ stood there at the forest’s edge, seemingly unaffected by the events, calmly grazing on a twig. She continued to serve the squadron faithfully, later carrying the regimental adjutant on numerous orderly rides.”
Sources:
- Georg Westermann: Die Braunschweiger Husaren im
Weltkriege 1914-1918. Hier Band 1. 1914 – 1915.
- Illustration: From my private collection.