This year I will be spending the holidays alone so I thought I would keep myself busy by entertaining you guys with a few things from my collection.
I have had this for quite a while and almost forgot about it. It is a really touching letter written by a member of Bayerische Minenwefer Kompagnie 205 by the order of his commander to a Mrs. Benjamin in Breslau. Her son, a field artillery observer, had been killed near Vimy Ridge in September 1915 and had evidently written to the unit to request if her son’s body could be returned to Breslau.
The guy that is writing the first part of the letter said that observer position for Feldartillerie Regiment 6 was near their position in a sunken road, then Bayerische Schwere Minenwerfer Abteilung 9. On the 25th of September the French pushed into the sunken road and pulled back in the night.
On the 26th of September they had to abandon their (Geschütz) gun and when they returned they found evidence of terrible fight. (I have a little trouble reading this part).
Evidently they found a dead field artillery observer private and an engineer lying in the sunken road, near them they found a billfold (I assume belonging to the dead observer), At the same place they found another man, still alive, but buried up to his neck (from a shell explosion). This man told them that the two dead soldiers had been trying to dig him out when they were hit with enemy flank fire.
He goes on to say that one of these dead men was her son. (I am having a little trouble with this part), but he is trying to console the mother by telling her that her son gave his life trying to save another comrade. And that it may comfort her to know that this place flowed again with blood a few days later. He says that the French re-took this place on the 27th of September and it would be impossible to retrieve the body of her son.
At the bottom is a short note from the unit commander – I am having a real rough time trying to read his handwriting.
The letter is accompanied by a map with the location of where her son was killed and the place where the wallet was turned in. I assume they sent the wallet to her.
Several years ago I went to Vimy Ridge to search for the approximate location of where this event took place. I will show a pic or two at the end I took during my visit.
When I scanned this I broke it up into 5 parts so it will be easier to read.
If anyone would like to help get the text of this letter typed up or transcribed into something everyone could read I would be grateful.
.
I have had this for quite a while and almost forgot about it. It is a really touching letter written by a member of Bayerische Minenwefer Kompagnie 205 by the order of his commander to a Mrs. Benjamin in Breslau. Her son, a field artillery observer, had been killed near Vimy Ridge in September 1915 and had evidently written to the unit to request if her son’s body could be returned to Breslau.
The guy that is writing the first part of the letter said that observer position for Feldartillerie Regiment 6 was near their position in a sunken road, then Bayerische Schwere Minenwerfer Abteilung 9. On the 25th of September the French pushed into the sunken road and pulled back in the night.
On the 26th of September they had to abandon their (Geschütz) gun and when they returned they found evidence of terrible fight. (I have a little trouble reading this part).
Evidently they found a dead field artillery observer private and an engineer lying in the sunken road, near them they found a billfold (I assume belonging to the dead observer), At the same place they found another man, still alive, but buried up to his neck (from a shell explosion). This man told them that the two dead soldiers had been trying to dig him out when they were hit with enemy flank fire.
He goes on to say that one of these dead men was her son. (I am having a little trouble with this part), but he is trying to console the mother by telling her that her son gave his life trying to save another comrade. And that it may comfort her to know that this place flowed again with blood a few days later. He says that the French re-took this place on the 27th of September and it would be impossible to retrieve the body of her son.
At the bottom is a short note from the unit commander – I am having a real rough time trying to read his handwriting.
The letter is accompanied by a map with the location of where her son was killed and the place where the wallet was turned in. I assume they sent the wallet to her.
Several years ago I went to Vimy Ridge to search for the approximate location of where this event took place. I will show a pic or two at the end I took during my visit.
When I scanned this I broke it up into 5 parts so it will be easier to read.
If anyone would like to help get the text of this letter typed up or transcribed into something everyone could read I would be grateful.
.
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