Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208

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Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208

active September 1, 1914
to January 11, 1919
Country Prussia
Armed forces Prussian Army
Branch of service infantry
Type regiment
Strength 2997
3444
Insinuation See submission
Origin of the soldiers Braunschweig, Celle, Hildesheim later also other areas
Battles and skirmishes See mission history
commander
Commanders See commanders

The Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208 was an infantry regiment in existence from September 1, 1914 to January 11, 1919 , which played a special role in the capture of the city of Belgrade on October 11, 1915 during World War I.

history

Lineup

According to the instructions of the Prussian War Ministry of August 16, 1914, the regiment was set up on September 1, 1914 by the Deputy General Command of the X Army Corps .

The 1st Battalion in Braunschweig was replaced by the replacement battalion of the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 78 and the II. Replacement Battalion of the Braunschweig Infantry Regiment No. 92 ; the II. battalion in Celle by the replacement battalion of the infantry regiments No. 77 and 78. , as well as the III. Battalion in Hildesheim formed by the replacement battalion of infantry regiments No. 78 and 79 .

The association belonged to the newly formed 44th Reserve Infantry Division , the XXII. Reserve Corps under General of the Cavalry Eugen von Falkenhayn was subordinate. The regiment initially consisted of about 60 officers , 250 non-commissioned officers and 2500 men in three battalions , but they initially had to deal with supply bottlenecks in terms of equipment; so there was a lack of field kitchens and other equipment.

Operational activity

After the regiment was mobilized on September 10, 1914, it was moved to the Zossen military training area nine days later for training purposes . From October 20, 1914, combat operations began on the Western Front in Flanders , in which around 1750 soldiers were killed. Further loss-making fights were recorded on July 29, 1915 when the so-called "Höhe 212" was stormed near the Polish village of Wólka Kańska ; furthermore about 1,700 dead on June 4, 1916 in the battle of Verdun and in May 1917 at the Chemin des Dames in northern France, with over 2,000 soldiers killed or missing. In November 1917 the regiment was relocated to Flanders, where the 208 regiment made a decisive contribution in the heavy defensive battle that raged north of Passchendaele on November 10th. The total number of those killed at the end of the war was given as 2,391 soldiers, the number of those missing was 3,664.

Serbian campaign 1915

After numerous missions on the western front in Flanders, in the east and especially in Serbia , his greatest military success was the loss-making crossing over the Sava on the morning of October 7, 1915, the storming of the Banovo mountain on the afternoon of October 8, and the following Capture of Belgrade. The operation was initiated with artillery fire on the opposite east bank of the Save. Early in the morning the infantry set out to cross the river near two islands that provided cover. During the crossing with the help of pontoons and boats, the resistance of Serbian troops began, claiming 330 victims on the German side. On October 11, the future district of Banovo brdo , in the south of Belgrade, was occupied.

The save transition

The crossing over the Sava and the subsequent capture of Belgrade

In the early morning of October 7, 1915, the XXII. Reserve corps with the crossing over the Sava . The regiments of the 43rd Reserve Division were involved in heavy fighting after the start of the attack on the Great and Small Gypsy Island. The "Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208" fighting in the association of the 44th Reserve Division landed on the same morning with parts of the 1st Battalion, past the Great Gypsy Island, on the southern bank of the Sava, which was occupied by Serbian troops. The Serbs were surprised, but they were able to organize their defense quickly and opened fire on the German infantrymen fighting their way up the bank. The parts of the 1st Battalion were now in a dangerous position, further advance was not possible, only the embankment offered some protection. For the time being, the supply of reinforcements was out of the question, the continuous defensive fire from the Serbs made this impossible. However, the supply of ammunition was successful, so the infantrymen could at least hold or defend their position. The following night it was possible to move the remains of the 1st Battalion and the 2nd Battalion across the river. The III. Battalion and an Austrian mountain battery had provided the necessary fire protection. Finally it was possible to secure the landing site and to storm the Serbian position. The remaining Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208 was then able to translate.

Banovo mountain

After the successful crossing of the Sava on October 8, 1915, the order to storm Banovo Mountain was given that afternoon on the same day. The order should from I. and III. Battalion of the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208, while the 2nd Battalion was held as a reserve. The attack began at 4 p.m., and then a swamp valley had to be crossed. At 6 p.m. the storming of the hill finally began. The Serbian units could not withstand the energetic attack of the two battalions, and so the Banovo mountain fell into the hands of the Braunschweig battalions. The infantrymen immediately occupied the mountain on all sides and took up positions here. A subsequent counterattack by the Serbs on October 9 at around 2 p.m. was successfully repulsed. The 1st and 2nd Battalions immediately counterattacked, during which Zarkovo was taken.

Verdun 1916

Verdun stands for one of the greatest material battles of the First World War. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers lost their lives in this cruel and inhuman battle. One of the most contested points was the height of the "dead man" , where the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208 should also be deployed.

Height "dead man"

Situation map from May 20, 1916

After moving to the Verdun battlefield, the regiment initially took up positions in the "Raven Forest". On May 20, 1916, the attack on the French positions at the “Toten Mann” was to follow. After taking the starting positions, the preparatory fire of the German artillery began on May 20th at 1.30 a.m. This was answered by the enemy with barrage , which should hinder the expected advance of the German infantry. The German preparatory fire lasted until the early afternoon, at 4 p.m. the attack began. The III. The battalion went on to attack , supported by engineers and flamethrowers . The enemy trenches could then be taken. The attack movement ended, however, in front of Chattancourt , there the own artillery put an end to the further advance. The conquered positions were from III. and I. Battalion occupied, the II. Battalion should ensure the establishment of communication routes. In the following hours, however, the occupied position was covered by French artillery fire. So the entire III. Battalion to retreat to its starting position, only parts of the 1st Battalion remained in the positions previously captured. Another attack on May 23rd had to be stopped due to the enemy fire. Even an attack scheduled for May 24th could not be carried out, the enemy fire made a previous deployment impossible. Due to the losses previously suffered, the regiment was replaced on May 25 by the Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 16. In the following days, the regiment was replaced with a replacement to make up for the previous losses. Subsequently, a storm battalion was formed from levies from other associations, which successfully carried out the attack on May 23rd on May 29th.

Flanders 1917

Passendale

In early November 1917, the 44th Reserve Infantry Division positioned itself as the right wing division of Group Ypres . On the morning of November 10, 1917, the Canadian and English units launched a major attack on the right wing of the Ypres group. At 2 p.m., the northern part of Passendale also came under heavy artillery fire, where the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208 was in position at that time. The English then stormed the positions of Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208 in several waves of attack. The German machine gun and artillery fire was able to repel this attack and the waves that followed. However, to the left of the Braunschweig regiment, the German security was pushed back into the main battle line. The standby battalion of the 208s was now destined to carry out the counter-attack, which was to drive the enemy back over the old line. The venture was crowned with success, but the battle was not over. Canadians and British repeatedly attacked the regiment's positions. At 4 p.m. there was the fourth, deeply structured attack, which had previously been initiated by extensive artillery fire. This attack also collapsed in the German defensive fire. The warring parties suffered numerous losses in this battle.

Course of deployment 1914–1918

Contemporary field postcard of the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208.

1914

  • October 10th - departure from Zossen.
  • October 20th - Fights off Dixmuiden .
  • October 25th - Storming of Stuyvekenskerke.
  • 0November 3rd - Attack on Streenstrate.

1915

  • 0May 9 - Unsuccessful attack on Nieuport.
  • 0June 8th - Relocation to the Eastern Front.
  • June 25th - Storming of Woydra.
  • June 26th - Storming of the Kardinalsky Heights.
  • 0July 2nd - taking Wilkie-Chomenciska and Stary-Zamose.
  • July 29th - storming the height 212 and taking Olesniki.
  • 0August 2nd - capture of Russian positions north of Majdan-Stare.
  • August 18th - Storming of Lipnica.
  • August 19th - Storming of Michalki.
  • August 25th - crossing over the bow .
  • August 27th - enforcement of the crossing over the Shabinka.
  • August 29th - Ingestion of Legathy.
  • 0September 5 - start of the retreat to Warsaw .
  • September 15th - arrival in Warsaw.
  • 0October 7th to 8th - Sava crossing
    • October 8th - Storming of the Banovoberges.
  • October 20 - Occupation of the Podvishöhe.
  • October 25th - Battle on Sutica.
  • October 28th - Battle of Rudnik.
  • 0November 3rd - Occupation of the Kaminka-Kosa Heights.

1916

  • 0February 1st - Relocation to the Western Front.
  • April 17th to June 4th - Deployment in the Battle of Verdun.
    • May 20 - Assault on the dead man.
  • 0July 2nd to 11th - deployment in the summer battle near Estrées.
  • September 25-29 - Deployment in the Summer Battle of Peronne .
  • October 10th to 29th - Used in the summer battle at Ablaincourt.

1917

  • March 16 - Beginning of the retreat on the Siegfried Front.
  • March 23rd - Attack on Montescourt-Lizerolles .
  • March 28th - Relief from the fighting on the Siegfried Front .
  • April 19 to May 10 - use at the Chemin des Dames .
  • October 26th to November 3rd - Battle of Flanders . Use at Becleare.
  • 0November 8-26 - Battle of Flanders. Use at Paschendale.
    • November 10th - Major attack by British units.

1918

  • 0April 9th ​​- Offensive at Bethune.
  • 0May 8th - Relief from the position at Lacture.
  • May 25th to June 29th - trench warfare at Vieux Berquin.
    • June 15th - “Pantersprung” company.
  • August 24th to September 4th - Battle of Monchy- Bapaume .
    • August 28 - Withdrawal of positions at Beauloncourt.
  • 0October 9th to November 4th - fights in front of and in the Hermann position .
    • October 11-22 - deployment north of Le Cateau.
  • 0November 5th to 11th - fighting in retreat in front of the Antwerp-Maas position.

Whereabouts

With the Armistice of Compiègne , the regiment began to march back home on November 11, 1918. After crossing the Rhine , all those on the left bank of the Rhine and those born between 1896 and 1899 were released from the troops. On November 23, the remnants of the regiment reached Magdeburg , where the men were deloused and horses, wagons and other equipment were handed in. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Leimann, the regiment then moved to Landsberg an der Warthe , where the remainder of the regiment arrived on November 25, 1918. In Landsberg the regiment was initially demobilized by the infantry regiment “von Stülpnagel” (5th Brandenburgisches) No. 48 and disbanded on January 11, 1919.

Parts of the regiment joined the II and VI in December 1918. Department of the Voluntary State Hunters Corps. The Landesjägerkorps was formed on December 14, 1918 from parts of the 214th Infantry Division . In January 1919 the Freikorps was deployed in Berlin to hold down unrest.

Subordination and structure

Insinuation

  • During the operation in Verdun, the regiment was subordinated to the 43rd Reserve Infantry Division from April 23 to 27, 1916. On April 27, the regiment resigned to the division of the 44th Reserve Infantry Division.
  • In early February 1917, the 88th Reserve Infantry Brigade was disbanded, and the regiment subsequently joined the 87th Reserve Infantry Brigade.

October 1914

February 1917

  • 44th Reserve Infantry Division
    • 87th Reserve Infantry Brigade
      • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 205
      • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 206
      • Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208

structure

The company had a military strength of about 250 men and was commanded by a captain. A battalion was formed from four companies with a military strength of about 1,000 men; as battalion commander a major. From the three battalions the regiment with a war strength of approx. 3000 men was formed, commanded by a colonel and a lieutenant colonel as deputy.

Regimental structure 1918
number unit Armament
1 Regimental staff with message train –––––
3 Battalions –––––
1 News train –––––
9 Infantry companies each with 6 light 08/15 machine guns and 2 grenade launchers
3 Machine gun companies with 12 heavy machine guns each
1 Mine thrower company with 3 medium and 9 light mortars each

timeline

  • On September 16, 1916, the association was increased by two machine gun companies.

Armament

The soldier of the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208 was armed with the Gewehr 98 and side gun. As a handgun which was used automatic pistol of the model 08 or model C96 .

The machine gun companies were equipped with the 08/15 machine gun introduced in the summer of 1916 . It was lighter and therefore more agile than its predecessor models, but at the expense of accuracy.

Memorial culture

Immediately after the capture of Belgrade, the construction of a “German Heroes Cemetery” on Banovo brdo began for the fallen soldiers . Around 2600 fallen German soldiers from the First World War and some Serbs were buried there.

Furthermore, the use of the regiment in the battles during the transition over the Sava and the capture of Belgrade in 1915 was artistically represented in a three-part oil painting in the style of an altarpiece, a triptych , by the painter Elmar von Eschwege (1856-1935). The large-format commissioned work depicts a dramatic night scene during the river crossing on the left panel, in which not only the soldiers fighting in boats are shown, but also corpses floating in the water in the foreground. The middle panel shows soldiers fighting on the riverbank in front of a landscape illuminated by fire, and the right panel shows a night view of the city of Belgrade, which is burning in places.

The names of all fallen soldiers of Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208 were later recorded in three splendidly designed books of the dead, which are visually reminiscent of evangelists . These were kept in a specially made drawer (similar to a guild chest ). This chest is decorated with images from Germanic mythology . The inside of the lid shows a scene with a Valkyrie accompanying the dead to Valhalla , and the lower flap shows the three Norns Urd , Verdandi and Skuld . The marble monument in the memorial cemetery in Banovo Brdo is dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Battle of Belgrade. This is in the form of a replica model together with the chest of the dead of the regiment in the possession of the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum , where it is exhibited in the exhibition 1914 ... terribly warlike times , on the occasion of the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

In the 1920s, former members of the regiment founded several veterans' associations and joined an association of the “Associations of former 208ers e. V. “together.

Known members of the regiment

  • Willi Clahes (1895–1948), lawyer, politician (DVP, DNVP, NSDAP), Vice-President of the agency for the redesign of the Reich capital , as the latter responsible for the “dementing” of Berlin's Jews. With the rank of lieutenant Clahes took over the leadership of the 2nd Battalion from May 5th to 16th, 1916, he subsequently resigned to the 6th Company.
  • Carl Heimbs (1878–1972), businessman, politician (DVP), jointly responsible for the naturalization of Adolf Hitler . Heimbs held the rank of deputy officer , he served in the 1st company and was seriously wounded in November 1914.
  • Duke Heinrich Borwin zu Mecklenburg , as first lieutenant he led the III. Battalion of the Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208.
  • Ernst Zörner (1895–1945 missing and declared dead), politician (NSDAP), Lord Mayor of Dresden, President of the agency for the redesign of the Reich capital , accomplice of the Holocaust in the General Government . Zörner served in the 2nd Company of Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208, and was lightly wounded twice in 1915.

Commanders

Rank Surname date
Colonel from Linstow 0September 1 to October 24, 1914
Lieutenant colonel from Cettritz October 25-30, 1914
Lieutenant colonel from Quast 0November 1st to 14th, 1914
Colonel from Normann November 15-29, 1914
Colonel Buck November 30, 1914 to May 24, 1915
Lieutenant colonel Bloch von Blottnitz May 25, 1915 to June 3, 1916
Captain Wiegand 0June 4-9, 1916
Lieutenant colonel Bretano June 10 to October 2, 1916
major Bensberg 03rd to 5th October 1916
major from king 0October 7, 1916 to May 6, 1917
Captain from Detten 0May 7-16, 1917
Captain Wiegand May 17-23, 1917
major from Wedelstädt May 24-27, 1917
Colonel Stachow May 28, 1917 to November 2, 1918
Captain Lauterbach 0November 2nd to 13th, 1918
Lieutenant colonel Meyer November 14th to December 11th, 1918
Captain Guthknecht December 12-23, 1918
lieutenant Leimann December 24, 1918 to January 11, 1919

literature

  • Reinhard Cunze: The first days of combat of the 208s. in: The Brunswick in the World War 1914–1918. Fatherland war memorial book on behalf of the State Association for Homeland Security in the Duchy of Braunschweig. Volume 2. E. Appelhans, Braunschweig 1920, OCLC 493276727 , p. 100 f. (Entries from the diary).
  • Richard L. DiNardo: Invasion: The Conquest of Serbia, 1915 . Preager, Santa Barbara 2015, p. 65, p. 97, p. 119, ISBN 978-1-440800-92-4 .
  • Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208. Processed according to the official war diaries ... With 10 cards. (= Memorial sheets of German regiments. Formerly Prussian troops. Issue. 59.) Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg i. O./Berlin 1922 OCLC 559706119
  • Jürgen Kraus : Handbook of the associations and troops of the German army 1914-1918. Part VI: Infantry. Volume 2: Reserve and Landwehr Regiments. Verlag Militaria, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-902526-52-6 , p. 146.

Web links

Commons : Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Food supply from October 1, 1914. cf. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 208. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p. 110.
  2. Food supply from August 1, 1916
  3. The regimental history of Fritz Haleck: . The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208th publisher Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg i. O./Berlin 1922 indicates the start of the installation on September 10, 1914.
  4. a b c Jürgen Kraus : Handbook of the associations and troops of the German army 1914-1918. Part VI: Infantry. Volume 2: Reserve and Landwehr Regiments. Publishing house Militaria. Vienna 2012. ISBN 978-3-902526-52-6 . P. 146.
  5. Markus Klauer: The "Höhe Toter Mann" during the fighting for Verdun in 1916/17. Society for Printing and Publishing Velbert, Osnabrück 2001, pp. 76–117, ISBN 978-3-980764-80-3 .
  6. a b c d Jack Sheldon: The German Army at Passchendaele. Pen & Sword Books Ltd., South Yorkshire 2007, p. 303, p. 305, p. 307, p. 319, p. 332, ISBN 978-1-844155-64-4 .
  7. a b c d e Werner Beumelburg: Battles of the World War: Flanders 1917. Verlag Gerhard Stalling (reprint Melchior Verlag), Wolfenbüttel 2006, p. 154 ff, p. 167, ISBN 978-3-939102-55-7 .
  8. Fritz Haleck: . The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208th publisher Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p.109.
  9. Franz Zach: History of the World War. War year 1915. Volume 2, Verlag der St.Josef-Bücherbruderschaft, pp. 148–155.
  10. ^ Leutnant Tolle: From the theater of war in Serbia. in: The Brunswick in the World War 1914–1918. Patriotic war memorial book on behalf of the State Association for Homeland Security in the Duchy of Braunschweig. Issue 11. E. Appelhans, Braunschweig 1920, OCLC 493276727 , p. 412.
  11. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p 34f.
  12. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p 34ff.
  13. ^ Richard L. DiNardo: Invasion: The Conquest of Serbia, 1915 . Preager, Santa Barbara 2015, pp. 59-78.
  14. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p 36f.
  15. Markus Klauer: The height of the "dead man" during the fighting for Verdun in 1916/17. Society for Printing and Publishing Velbert, Osnabrück 2001, pp. 83-88.
  16. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, pp 44-48.
  17. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p.106.
  18. ^ Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker: From the Imperial Army to the Reichswehr: History of the voluntary Landesjägerkorps: a contribution to the history of the German revolution. KF Koehler, Leipzig 1921, p. 45 ff, p. 55.
  19. ^ Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker: From the Imperial Army to the Reichswehr: History of the voluntary Landesjägerkorps: a contribution to the history of the German revolution. KF Koehler, Leipzig 1921, pp. 60–87.
  20. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208th . Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p. 44f.
  21. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208th . Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p. 62.
  22. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208th . Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p. 54.
  23. The World War 1914 to 1918, Military Operations on Land . Volume XII. (edited in the Reichsarchiv), ES Mittler & Sohn Berlin 1939, p. 13.
  24. Belgrade / Beograd on volksbund.de (war cemetery with memorial)
  25. Jörg-Michael Schiefer: Speers executor - Willy Clahes. MatrixMedia, Göttingen 2015, ISBN 978-393231366-0 .
  26. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p.46, p.112.
  27. ^ Prussia loss list: No. 86.
  28. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p.113.
  29. ↑ Lists of losses in Prussia: No. 119, No. 245 and No. 281.
  30. Fritz Haleck: The Reserve Infantry Regiment 208. Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg / Berlin 1922, p.111.