Souville badge (Souville oak leaf)
The Souville badge (Souville-Eichenblatt) of the Reserve Infantry Regiment 81, was one of the few decorations in the German Army awarded at troop level and was awarded by the Reserve Infantry Regiment 81 for the honorable participation in the bloody battles at Souville ( Battle of Verdun ), awarded in August 1916.
prehistory
In addition to the general medals and decorations , the desire for special decorations for the specific combat missions of the individual units arose, especially during the First World War , at corps, division and regimental level.
This custom was widespread in Austria and Hungary and corresponded to the needs of the fighting troops. These decorations and badges were in the Imperial Army usually worn on the field cap and therefore were called "cap badge." They were awarded - often with a certificate - for certain campaigns or battles and they usually also showed the name of the unit that awarded the badge and in whose ranks one had participated in the battles.
In contrast to Austria, Germany was much more reluctant to create such decorations at the level of military units and only very few were officially donated or approved. However, there was also a "gray area" in which commanders of troop units simply spent or at least tolerated such decorations - without higher permission. This often happened with those German troops that were deployed together with Austrian associations and had come to know and appreciate the “cap badges”. These troop decorations were usually more highly regarded by the soldiers at the front than certain official ones, which after a certain period of time everyone received who had behaved reasonably well.
During the First World War there were at least three such German decorations at troop level that were officially awarded. These are the Carpathian Corps badge, the Souville badge (Souville button) of the Reserve Infantry Regiment 88, and the Souville badge (Souville oak leaf) of the Reserve Infantry Regiment 81, about which this article is about.
Occasion and foundation
In the Battle of Verdun , the 21st (Hessian) Reserve Division launched an attack on the Souville nose (Nez de Souville) on August 1, 1916, after two days of artillery preparation. The division included u. a. the Reserve Infantry Regiment 81 (from Frankfurt am Main ) and the Reserve Infantry Regiment 88 (from Hanau , Mainz and Worms ). The Souville-Nase is a small ridge bounded by the Souville Gorge (Ravin des Fontaines) to the west and the Lager Gorge (not a French name) to the east. In this small area, no more than 1 km² in size, the last major German efforts as part of the Verdun offensive were to take place in order to straighten a dangerous curve in the frozen front line.
The Hessian regiments stood ready on August 1st on the Fumin Ridge and in the Souville Gorge (eastern slope). The French entrenchments were on the slope of the Souville nose, carved into the stone and thus provided with a natural cover. The storm itself was led by the Reserve Infantry Regiments 81 and 88, the flank cover was taken over by the Fusilier Regiment 80 among others. After barrage fire on the opposing positions, the storm troops of the Reserve Infantry Regiments 81 and 88 left their starting point at 10 a.m. and attacked on. They advanced through the Fumin and Mountain Forest and the Souville Gorge to the Souville Nose. With the help of flamethrowers it was possible to cross the camp gorge and after a total of about 30 minutes the target had already been reached; the gain in terrain was more than 900 m. By the afternoon there were 629 French prisoners. The attack was short but fierce and the regiments had to tenaciously defend their captured positions for more than two days. They suffered higher losses than during the attack itself. After fierce defensive battles in the newly conquered area, especially on August 2nd and 3rd, the 21st Reserve Division remained in combat at Souville until August 28, 1916 and was finally due to complete Exhaustion replaced.
According to their own information, the Hessians had around 1,150 dead and the unbelievable number of around 5,400 wounded and missing, which corresponds to a rate of around 60%. In memory of these fights with many losses - the most terrible and bloodiest to which the troop unit was exposed in the First World War - the Souville badge (also Souville clasp), in the form of an oak leaf, was donated at regimental level of the Reserve Infantry Regiment 81. It was awarded with a certificate and in some cases even entered as an award in the military passport. It was designed to be worn on the left side of the field blouse or field skirt. It is no longer possible to determine the level of the hierarchy in which approval was sought. It is certain, however, that the badge of honor had an official character at regimental level. The sister regiment RIR 88 donated a similar badge, the Souville button .
Appearance
The badge is a clasp made of heavy, silver-colored, patinated, but non-noble metal, in the form of a lying oak leaf. On it, one below the other, slightly curved, the four-line lettering in capital letters (the two lower lines significantly smaller than the two upper ones):
- • SOUVILLE HEIGHTS •
- • R • I • R • 81 •
- •AUGUST•
- • 1916 •
On the reverse, transverse, strong pin, soldered to a rectangular base plate. There are pieces without a manufacturer's name, others have the company label on the back of the needle base plate:
- L. CHR. LAUER NUERNBERG ZWEIGF. BERLIN SW RITTERSTR. 46
Dimensions
The badge has a length of 5 cm and is 2.5 cm high at the widest point.
Carrying method
As a pin badge on the left chest.
literature
- Von Hagens, von Holwede, Veidt: From three years of war of the 21st Reserve Division. Herborn 1918
- Association of the former Res. Inf.-Regt. 88 Hanau: Regimental history of the Reserve Infantry Regiment 88. Hanau 1932.
- von Jordan, von Marcard, Hans Drüner: The Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 81 in the World War. Zeulenroda 1933
- Edgar Stephan: Two unknown commemorative badges from 1916. In: Zeitschrift für Heereskunde. Edition 408, publisher of the German Society for Heereskunde eV, Ingolstadt