Stabsbatterie Feldartilerie-Regiment 223

[mietek]

Hi everybody!!

I want to ask for help!!!!

I'm looking for information about "Stabsbatterie Feldartilerie-Regiment 223".
In that regimed served my grand-grandfather.

It's quite interesting story.

He went for a ww1, when my grandmother was just few weeks old. Than family got information that he was missing in action.
My grand-grandfather was German, other part of familly Polish, second war come, all family documents were destroyed. Nobody want to confirm that have Germans ancestors.
Than time changed. Last year I started to search for my missing family member. After few months it was succesfull!!!
Germans didn't have any information, but asked French, after that I got letter. My g-gfather died 08.04.1918, his grave is in Cambrai, France, close to Belgium border. I visited that place laste year, it moved me a lot. After very long time sombody visited his grave.
It was possible to find true after many years after ww1.

So now I'm searching for more info about his Regiment. According to date, he died during second part of Cambrai battle, or he was in hospital, after that die? Possible that he was POW, because in other case Germans will have info about him during ww1.

I'm looking for info about Regiment and Cambrai battle.

best regards

mietek.

[Bob Lembke]

F=A Regt. 223

Dear Mietek;

I do not have the wonderful library that some others have, but I have a copy of Schlachten und Gefechte. This list of battles and the units involved is necessarily very incomplete in this book, and includes few artillery units, but you are in luck, as it lists three engagements for F=A 223, all on the east front.

From 19. 8. 15. to 8. 9. 15. F=A Rgmts. 219 and 223 took part in the Battle of Njemen, as part of the 10th Army.

From 9. 9. 15. to 2. 10. 15. the same two regiments took part in the fighting at Wilna, again with the 10th Army.

From 18. 7. 17. to 25. 7. 17. parts of the Field Artillery Regiments 15, 87, and 223 took part in the Defensive Battle by Duenaberg (The Duena is a river in north Russia near Riga, I think) as part of Army Detachment (Armee= Abteilung) D.

I imagine that "Stabsbatterie Feldartilerie-Regiment 223" is the Headquarters Battery of the regiment.

If he died 8. 4. 18. that was during the beginning of the German Great Spring Offensive of 1918, when the Allies were generally falling back quickly, and probably were taking few prisoners, especially from the German artillery.

Who among the French, what bureau or association, had information on him? That information may tell something. Another possible source is the on-line data base of the German war graves society, unfortunately I have not looked in it for a while and do not have its web-site address at hand, but it should list him and give some information.

Where did your great grand-father live in then-Germany? If the area was German and now Polish I am sure that there are few records left from the German era. Can I ask where you now live?

My own family comes from a village that is now just inside of Poland, across the river from Frankfurt am Oder.

It is great that you got to visit his grave after so many years. Do you know of the German soldier's song "Drei Lilien" ("Three Lilies")? It is sung by a soldier in his grave; he is asking a cavalryman approaching the grave not to pick three lilies planted on the grave by his lover in life, as he fears that if the flowers are picked his lover will not visit the grave again to care for the flowers. Very sad.

The society I mentioned cares for German soldiers' graves in 60 countries, I understand, although the number of countries seems very high. (We did get about!) Several million graves, possibly. They are always moving graves, consolidating them, decorating them; for example, they just created a new one in Ljubljana, Slovenija, where I was a couple of months ago.

It is possible that there is a unit history of his regiment. There are several ways to look for them. Histories for units from areas that became parts of other countries are especially rare, though.

Good luck with your search.

Bob Lembke

[Rick Research]

FAR 223 was in the 88th Infantry Division 1916 and 1917, but I don't know which division the regiment was in for 1918, which is what you need.

[Bob Lembke]

Far 223

Mietek; With Rick's valuable input, we can get more mileage out of Schlachten und Gefechte (S & G). (Rick said "FAR 223 was in the 88th Infantry Division 1916 and 1917, but I don't know which division the regiment was in for 1918, which is what you need.") S & G has about 32 engagements listed for 88. IR. in the war.

The last engagement listed for FAR 223 itself was the "Defensive Battle at Duenaberg", and the 88. ID was also listed as in the same engagement and also in Armeeabteilung D. This was 18. to 25. 7. 17.

The next engagement listed for 88. ID was in the West, 27. 12. 17. to 20. 3. 18. (The Great Spring Offensive of 1918, of course, started 21. 3. 18.) Here 88. ID was in the 18th Army and was described as "Positional Fighting by St. Quentin and on the Oise".

Following this there are 13 engagements listed for the 88. ID in 1918.

At the time of your great grand-father's death, the 88. ID was listed as, on
7. 4. 18. through 11. 4. 18., as in "Fighting on the Avre (River) and by Montdidier and Noyon."

Of course, as Rick pointed out, FAR 223 might not have been attached to 88. ID in 1918. You should check how close to Cambrai the above engagement was. Also consider that the German graves have been moved a good deal, generally being consolidated into larger grave-yards maintained by the German war grave society. So the present grave site may be some distance from where he originally fell.

Again, I urge you to find his listing in the on-line database of fallen German soldiers. The couple of times I used it I had some problems, but it finally did work. It should give you more information.

Good Luck,

Bob Lembke

[mietek]

Bob, Rick thank you very much!!!

All start to look clear....

As I know from my father. My G-Gfather went for a war 1914-15, probably to East Front, to fight in Russia. Information from Bob could confirm it.
During, or after fighting in Russia my g-gfather spend few days home, he brought from front gold, or some valuable stuff, but my g-gmother refuse to have something like this and donate all to church.

Places what you mentioned (St. Quentin, Montdidier and Noyon) are south from Cambrai and not so far (50 and more km.)
http://www.beyond.fr/map/fr02d.html - Cambrai is north on the second map.
So it is possible that FAR 223 was still attached to 88.

Do you know what artilery did they use 75mm or heavier? What goals Headquarters Battery of the regiment had? To provide artlilery support on some special situations, on headquarters order?

Graveyard in Cambrai is quite big, I think bodies were collected from other places - dates of death are different, even in soldiers buried in same grave. (One grave contain 2 bodies, also there are mass graves).

I got info from organisation what you mentioned "Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge". I was surprise when I saw cementary in Cambrai, very nice located, clean and was easy to see that somebody care about it.

Is that fallen German soldiers database in English? What is name if it?

My g-gfather is from Bromberg (after ww1 and ww2 - Bydgoszcz), than they lived near Posen, Poznan. Now it's Poland, before I think Prussia.
Do you know where FAR 223 and 88th Infantry Division were created, soldiers from what part of Gemany serve there?

I live in Danzig, Gdansk. Most of my family lived before ww2 in present Lithuania or Ukrain (Vilnius and Lviv), they had to moved to Gdansk 1946/47.

Thans again for your help

mietek

[Bob Lembke]

mietek;

Each German infantry division had its own field artillery regiment. In late 1914 it had 12 10.5 cm howitzers and 36 77 mm field pieces. By 1917, when the division had less infantry, the division's artillery regiment had 12 10.5 cm howitzers and 24 77 mm field-pieces. However, the division usually had several batteries of heavier howitzers and guns detailed to it, although not part of the artillery regiment, and the division had a good number of mine-throwers of various calibers in its ranks. In addition, by 1917, the German Army had a much greater number of heavier artillery batteries that would be available when needed, such as 15, 21, and 28 cm howitzers.

I am no artillery authority, but I think that the Staff Battery did not have cannon, but supplied command and control staff, such as signalers.

The graves data-base is at volksbund.de/graebersuche . It only seems to be in German. It now seems to cover 3.6 million graves!

Bob Lembke

[mietek]

Dear Bob.

Thank you again!!!
I looked at volksbund page, but my german is too bad to understand all. I'll ask my friend for some help. Unfortunately I learned German at school and I forgot nearly all . Only my grandparents spoke fluent German.

As you wrote Staff Baterie didn't have artilery, but signalers and other supported staff. My g-gfather was a musician (piano teacher?), so difficoult to say what he could do in the army? On the gravestone is written simply "Franz Schope, Kanonier" (Schoepe) and date of death.

Best Regards

mietek