1st Rhenish Pioneer Battalion No. 8
The 1st Rhenish Pioneer Battalion No. 8 was an association of the Prussian Army .
history
Set up as the 8th pioneer division on March 27, 1816 in Saarlouis , the unit was relocated to Koblenz on August 10, 1824 and moved into accommodation in the Löhrtor barracks . The battalion stayed there until the Löhrtor kasematten was demolished in 1889 and then moved to the newly built Falckenstein barracks on the banks of the Moselle . (It is not the current Falckenstein barracks used by the former army command; the barracks of the 8 pioneers, sometimes called the "old Falckenstein barracks", is on the banks of the Moselle - the two blocks next to the city-side exit from the Europe Bridge.) In it are today authorities of the city of Koblenz and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . Up until the Second World War, a pioneer memorial stone created by Carl Burger in Koblenz's Rhine grounds commemorated the battalion.
In terms of troops, the battalion was subordinate to the 2nd engineer inspection before the outbreak of the First World War.
The crew quarters of the barracks were badly damaged and burned out in bombing raids during World War II . They were later rebuilt in a simplified form (roofs and roof decorations) and are now used by authorities. The parade house on what would later become Saarplatz was not rebuilt, and the officers' mess was only demolished for the new construction of the police headquarters in the 1980s.
First World War
Division of war on August 1, 1914
The battalion was brought up to war (regimental) strength and divided:
- 1st Battalion / Pioneer Battalion No. 8
- 2nd Battalion / Pioneer Battalion No. 8
I. Battalion
- consisting of:
- Staff, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Company, Headlight Train, Divisions Bridge Train 15, Divisions Bridge Train 16, Bridge Train VIII. Army Corps - assigned to the newly established 5th Company from April 3, 1915.
| date | Operations / battles | |
|---|---|---|
| 22./23. August 1914 | Battle of Neufchateau / Porcheresse | |
| August 24-29, 1914 | Battle of the Meuse | |
| August 30 to September 5, 1914 | Persecution from the Meuse to the Marne | |
| September 6-12, 1914 | Battle of the Marne | |
| September 13 to December 19, 1914 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| December 20-30, 1914 | Battle of Perthes-lès-Hurlus | |
| December 31, 1914 to January 7, 1915 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| January 8-13, 1915 | 2. Battle of Perthes-lès-Hurlus | |
| January 14th to 31st, 1915 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| February 1-5, 1915 | 3. Battle of Perthes-lès-Hurlus | |
| February 6-15, 1915 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| February 16-19, 1915 | 4. Battle of Perthes-lès-Hurlus | |
| February 21 to March 20, 1915 | Winter battle in Champagne | |
| March 21 to April 2, 1915 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| May 12 to June 30, 1915 | Battle of the Loretto Heights | |
| July 1, 1915 to November 20, 1916 | Fight on the Aisne | |
| October 6-26, 1916 | Battle of the Somme | only 1st and 5th kp, with mine thrower kp 169 |
| November 16, 1916 to February 11, 1917 | Trench warfare on the Upper Styr - Stochod (Eastern Front) |
Units allocated up to then:
| date | unit | unit |
|---|---|---|
| May 19 to October 10, 1915 | Mortar division 126 | Mine gun division 242 |
| June 20 to October 10, 1915 | heavy mortar division 21 | |
| February to October 10, 1915 | heavy mortar division VIII | |
| from October 10, 1915 | Mine thrower company 15 | |
| January 16 to September 3, 1916 | Mine thrower company 16 |
On February 11, 1917, the 1st Battalion / Pioneer Battalion No. 8 was split up and received the following names:
- Engineer Battalion No. 8
- Engineer Battalion No. 125
Engineer Battalion No. 8
- consisting of:
- Staff, 2nd and 3rd Company, Mine Thrower Company 169 - Headlight Platoon 293
| date | Operations / battles |
|---|---|
| February 12 to May 10, 1917 | Trench warfare on the upper Styr-Stochod |
| June 27 to September 2, 1917 | Battle of Flanders |
| December 4, 1917 to March 31, 1918 | Trench warfare in Flanders |
| April 1-8, 1918 | Trench warfare in French Flanders |
| 5th to 25th August 1918 | Fight off Ypres - La Bassée |
| August 27 to September 2, 1918 | Battle of Monchy - Bapaume |
| September 22 to October 14, 1918 | Fight at Armentières - Lens |
| October 15-19, 1918 | Fight between the Deule Canal and the Scheldt |
| October 26 to November 4, 1918 | Fight at the Hermann position |
| November 5-11, 1918 | Retreat fighting in front of the Antwerp-Maas position |
| Mine thrower company 169 only until September 9, 1918 | |
| Headlight train 293 only until February 26, 1918 |
The Pioneer Battalion No. 8 was disbanded in Bramsche near Osnabrück after the end of the war in January 1919 .
2nd Battalion / Pioneer Battalion No. 8
- consisting of:
- Staff, 4th Company, 1st and 2nd Reserve Company, Reserve Divisionsbrückentrain 15 and 16, assigned to the newly established 6th Company from March 17, 1915
| date | Operations / battles | |
|---|---|---|
| 22./23. August 1914 | Battle of Neufchâteau / Palireul | |
| August 24-29, 1914 | Battle of the Meuse | |
| August 30 to September 5, 1914 | Persecution from the Meuse to the Marne | |
| September 6-12, 1914 | Battle of the Marne | |
| September 13 to December 19, 1914 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| December 20-30, 1914 | Battle of Perthes les Hurlus | |
| December 31, 1914 to January 7, 1915 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| January 8-13, 1915 | 2. Battle of Perthes les Hurlus | |
| January 14th to 31st, 1915 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| February 1-5, 1915 | 3. Battle of Perthes les Hurlus | |
| February 6-15, 1915 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| February 16-19, 1915 | 4. Battle of Perthes les Hurlus | |
| February 21 to March 20, 1915 | Winter battle in Champagne | |
| March 21 to September 21, 1915 | Trench warfare in Champagne | |
| April 9 to May 20, 1915 | Fight between Meuse and Moselle | 4th company only |
| September 22 to October 18, 1915 | Autumn battle in Champagne | |
| October 20, 1915 to October 19, 1916 | Fight on the Aisne | |
| April 3 to October 19, 1916 | without | Staff, 4th and 6th Company, 1st Reserve Company |
| April 6 to September 9, 1916 | Battle for Verdun | Staff, 4th and 6th Company, 1st Reserve Company |
| April 7-12, 1916 | Fight for Mort Homme and Béthincourt | Staff, 4th and 6th Company, 1st Reserve Company |
| May 19-20, 1916 | Fight for Mort Homme | 1st reserve company only |
| May 24-29, 1916 | Storming of Cumières and the Caurettes height | 4th company only |
| September 9 to November 20, 1916 | Trench warfare before Verdun | 4th and 6th companies until October 25th, 1st reserve company until October 2nd |
| October 21 to November 23, 1916 | Battle of the Somme | 2nd Reserve Company, Mine Thrower Company 216, Reserve Headlight Platoon 8 |
| from November 5, 1916 | 1. Reserve Compensation | |
| September 21 to November 26, 1916 | with mine throwerKp 215 / headlamp. Zg 257 / ResBrTrn 15 | |
| November 27, 1916 to January 25, 1917 | Trench warfare on the Somme | 4th and 6th Company, Mine ThrowerKp 215 / Scheinw. Zg 257 / ResBrTrn 15 |
| November 28, 1916 to February 25, 1917 | Fight on the Aisne | 1st and 2nd Reserve Company, Mine ThrowerKp 216 / ResScheinw. Fig 8 |
On February 25, 1917, the 2nd Battalion / Pioneer Battalion No. 8 was disbanded. With the personnel and the equipment, two new engineer battalions were established:
- Engineer Battalion No. 315
- Engineer Battalion No. 316
literature
- Günther Rückbeil: The 1st Rhenish Pioneer Battalion No. 8 and its war organizations in the World War 1914/18 (= memorial sheets of German regiments. Troops of the former Prussian contingent . Volume 163 ). Stalling, Oldenburg iO / Berlin 1926 ( digitized version of the Württemberg State Library ).
- Kurt von Salm: Rhenish Pioneer Battalion No. 8. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg 1929.
- Rüdiger Wischemann: The Koblenz Fortress. Rhenania Verlag, 1978.
Web links
- 1. Rhenish Pioneer Battalion No. 8. In: GenWiki. Retrieved April 14, 2020 .
- Loss list: 1st Rhenish Pioneer Battalion No. 8. In: Online project fallen memorials. Retrieved April 14, 2020 .