Arcane & Obscure Reference Sources: Auszug aus der Kriegsrangliste

[Rick Research]

An "Extract from the War Rank List" (Auszug aus der Kriegsrangliste) was an Imperial officer's personal duplication of his military records, retained for his own records and kept at the relevant State military archive. The equivalent for enlisted ranks was an Extract from their Kriegsstammrolle.

Both sorts of records-- essentially what is found in locked-down "privacy protected" German archives to this very day-- are quite scarce. Those for enlisted men much more so than for officers, since "other ranks" apparently had little need for this sort of record, while probably virtually every officer had them after discharge, but most have been lost or thrown away.

They are longer than legal size four page documents.

Here's a shortened version of a cover, for Dr.med. Max Bachem, whose various nice things can be found in the back pages by a search on his name.

He stamped his home medical practice address and phone on here, apparently when this was sent in to some authority or other, and it was returned to him as his private copy.

[Rick Research]

Here is the officer's personal data page. This is a particularly good educational example, since atypically it is all TYPED and not handwritten.

From this we have in standard form order:

1) Running number on the unit's roll

2) Rank and seniority

3) Names

4) Religion (so here we see he was "Freireligiös" or a "free thinker!"

5) birth data

6) civilian occupation and residence

7) name of wife. So here we see noted that he and Anni Seidl were divorced (!) 27.3.13 and that he was remarried (for the moment!) to Annemarie Maseck-- having three daughters and a son unspecified between the Two Mommies.

8) parents names and father's occupation (social, sniff, status, donchaknow)

9) troop unit making out the Extract.

Below this is the fun stuff-- under "remarks" can be found virtually anything!

In Dr. Bachem's case, it is noted that

On 22 August 1914 he was wounded by a shot through his left thigh at Neufchâteau, requiring hospitalizatuion at War Hospital I of the XVIIIth Army Corps (at Neufchâteau, taken that day after severe fighting) until returning to his unit 20 September 1914.

From 18 March to 7 April 1916 he was treated for the flu, and from 14 to 24 December 1917 he was admitted to the Field Hospital at Obersteinbruen for "light (!!!) headache" and accelerated pulse.

Training courses and leaves are also usually noted here.

[Rick Research]

Page two shows us, in marvelous day by day detail

10) date of initially joining the military and final rank date

11) battles and campaigns

12) awards a) Prussian b) other (for the independent Kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg, their OWN awards were a) and "other" was ... other.

13) pre-war service under a) and wartime (this IS a "Kriegsrangliste" extract!) under b.

Thus here we see every single assignment and action the doctor was in for the entire war, by specific date. No need worrying if he was home on leave at the precise time when Such-and-such happened, or whether he had transferred at this time or that-- it is ALL here.

Including that this Extract was typed up on the steamer "Asgard" in the English Channel, bringing troops home from Turkey!