Stand To! No 89, the journal of the Western Front Association, is now being distributed to current subscribed members and overseas supporters of the WFA.
Stand To! is published three times a year in Dec/Jan, April/May and Aug/Sept.
The Editor is always prepared to consider original articles for publication.
Below you will find the contents list and an example article from the current edition.
Contents of Edition 89:
1 Communication lines
2 The Southern Tip of the Western Front by Sebastian Laudan
3 Raids and Patrols - What's the Difference? by Mike Senior
4 War Art - Captain Leslie Howard Sacré by David and Judith Cohen
5 ‘The Devonshires Held This Trench - The Devonshires Hold It Still' - Part 2 by Jeremy Archer
6 The Camera Returns (71) - Ribemont-sur-Ancre by Bob Grundy and Steve Wall
7 Ypres and Beyond - The Reminiscences of Sapper H. C. Drury, 3rd London Field Company RE abridged and edited by David Craigen
8 The BEF in the Great War 1914 -18 Part 2 - 1915 by Bob Butcher
9 Rewriting History - An Alternative Account of the Death of Lieutenant George Macpherson of the Heavy Section Machine Gun Corps by Colin Hardy
10 ‘All Means Short of Murder' - British Socialists, ‘Patriotic Labour' and the Politics of Recruitment during the Great War by David Young
11 Remembering the Great War in Borough High Street, Southwark by Ray Westlake
12 Youth on the Western Front - The Experiences of a Nottinghamshire Lad during the Great War by Sue Andrews
13 Rutherford, Geiger, Chadwick, Moseley and Cockroft and Their Role in the Great War - Part 3a Henry Moseley by John Richardson, Russell Egdell, Nick and Harold Hankins
14 Garrison Library
Front Cover
The front cover photograph was taken in the sector held by the German Reserve Infanterie Regiment 121 (RIR 121) on 1 July 1916. The sector included the German strongpoint known as the Heidenkopf (Quadrilateral Redoubt). Judging from the angle of the shadows cast by the men it was probably taken just after noon. The location is probably somewhere in the German front line near the Heidenkopf where a number of British soldiers were captured in the fighting that morning. The five German guards most likely belonged to III Battalion of RIR 121 as this battalion was in reserve, did not bear the brunt of the fighting but could be called upon to assist with prisoners. They are wearing basic combat equipment including M98 Mauser rifles, ammunition pouches, gas masks and Feldmutze in place of the standard Pickelhaube. Many Germans fought in the Feldmutze on this hot, sunny day and the less equipment worn meant they were more agile and less fatigued than their counterparts. That said the men of both armies look hot and tired.
The two prisoners look understandably glum. The man on the right is still wearing most of his equipment, though his ammunition pouches are open, probably from being searched and relieved of ammunition by his captors. He also has a field bandage tied around his right knee. They could be part of a Lewis Gun team as the German standing on the far right is carrying a Lewis with pan attached on his left shoulder.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of this photograph is the condition of the trench. The metal chain link fence material used to hold back the earth is still in place as are the wooden support poles. The German in the foreground is sitting on what appears to be a trench ladder and the German in the centre is standing in the opening of a deep dugout that has large wooden roof supports at the entrance. There is a steel sniper's shield set into the upper parapet with a corresponding niche that a sentry could use to observe the British trenches. The most striking aspect is that the trench is in such excellent condition easily affording good cover to the defenders in spite of the previous week long bombardment by the British. The notion that the German defences were shattered in the bombardment is not borne out in this particular instance.
With kind permission of Ralph Whitehead
Article Extract:
The Southern Tip of the Western Front 1914-1918
The Terminus of the ‘Underground Railway' Oostende-Switzerland
by
Sebastian Laudan
Author's note:
All place names are in contemporary German; today's designations are in brackets. Contemporary photographs and sketches have been taken from the regimental history of Infanterie Regiment 150; the excerpt from the general map of the southern wing of the Western Front in 1914-16 has been taken from Eberhardt's Kriegserinnerungen (all sources see below). Photographs were taken by the author in January 2009. The author is indebted to the editor for his support with the final translation of the article.
Few scholars of the Great War have perhaps heard of the ‘underground railway' Oostende - Switzerland. In fact there was never any such plan and no construction ever took place but at least the ‘existence' of a ‘terminus' of this project, situated near a bulge on the border between Switzerland and the former German Empire - at the very southern tip of the Western Front of 1914/18 - is well documented!
When Infanterie-Regiment (1 Ermländisches) Nr 150 (IR 150) of the East Prussian 37th Infantry Division, was transferred to the Western Front in December 1916 after two years of combat on the Eastern Front, it was sent to complete a period of instruction and familiarisation in what was seen as a ‘calm' sector. This was common practice with most combat units, which hadn't previously seen service or had been out of the line for long periods in the west.
Following the murderous battles at Verdun and on the Somme in 1916 the German Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL) had begun to rotate both exhausted and rested divisions between the eastern and western theatres of war. In anticipation of further allied offensives in spring 1917 rested divisions, like the 37th were to be made familiar with the completely different conditions in the west.
Image: the entrance to the front line Schweiz-Otsende, 1917
Formidable panorama
After a four-day rail journey from the east, IR 150 detrained on the Rhine Plains near Banzenheim (Bantzenheim) north-east of Mülhausen (Mulhouse) in Alsace. According to schedule the regiment marched along excellent tree-lined roads - most uncommon for the veteran Russlandkämpfer - to their encampments intended to be their homes for the following three weeks.
While marching due north the East Prussians observed a formidable panorama: to the right, beyond the mighty Rhine, lay the dark-violet mountains of the Black Forest, on the left, wreathed in mist, rose the Vosges, a mountain range also known as the Wasgenwald to the Germans. But the idyllic scenery was deceiving for the front line ran less than 15km to the west, along the eastern edge of this blue-ridged mountain chain.
Near the Ste. Marie pass in the Middle Vosges, the Western Front crossed the Franco-German border of 1871, which itself ran due south along the mountain crest. After heavy fighting in 1914-15 both the Vosges and Sundgau sectors of the front - which lay within the boundaries of German territory - remained almost unchanged. Near Sennheim (Cernay) the front line tumbled down from the eastern edge of the Vosges into the Rhine Plains and ran, not far from the Reichsgrenze and the strategically important ‘Burgunder Pforte' or ‘Trouée de Belfort', further off towards Altkirch. From there it ran along either side of the little river Larg (Largue), until it hit the border of neutral Switzerland near Pfetterhausen (Pfetterhouse) at the so-called ‘Pruntrutrer Zipfel' which, geographically, means a protrusion of territory at Pruntrut - the German name for the nearby Swiss town of Porrentruy.
In August 1914 strong French forces had twice attacked from Belfort towards Mülhausen but had been repulsed. Further south in the Sundgau the French had also organised fierce attacks from late October until mid-December 1914, in an attempt to push the slowly solidifying front line to the east towards the strategically important villages of Altkirch and Pfirt (Ferrette). The attacks had been in vain. By the end of 1914 the front line in the Sundgau had stabilised west of the villages of Burnhaupt, Bernweiler (Bernwiller), Altkirch, Hirzbach (Hirtzbach), Bisel and Moos (Mooslargue).
Despite the fact, that both sides used the strategically important situation at the ‘Burgunder Pforte' during the war in trying to feint the enemy by means of ruses de guerre - the Germans to distract attention away from the imminent attack against Verdun in early 1916 and the French in early spring 1917 to deflect from the upcoming Aisne-Champagne offensive - the front in Southern Alsace remained relatively quiet under the close surveillance of the heavy artillery of the Belfort fortress and the German fortifications around Mülhausen and the menacing Isteiner Klotz.
Map: the Southern flank of the Western Front 1916-18
Fighting on German soil
After the line had stabilised in late 1914, the southern part of the Western Front stood under the command of Armee-Abteilung Gaede - renamed Armee-Abteilung B in September 1916 - a part of the Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg, which consisted mostly of Landwehr regiments, Landsturm battalions and various Ersatz units of mediocre value. The corner pillar of the German front south of Altkirch was held by the Baden-associated 8th Landwehr-Division from August 1914 until the end of January 1917, followed by the 37th Infantry-Division for the short period until May 1917, when the Westphalian 25th Landwehr-Division took over for the remainder of the war. Opposite the German ‘älteren Semester' (a friendly German term for ‘elderly comrades') lay French Territorials, comparable in age and combat value to their German adversaries, although from time to time both sides put battle-weary divisions in the line for rest and replenishment.
The men of IR 150 were unfamiliar with fighting on German soil, as opposed to the seemingly endless Polish and Russian wastelands. The picturesque Sundgau landscape was undulating; dotted with forests and old timber-framed villages and on clear, bright days the Swiss Alps were clearly visible in the distance.
Accommodation in private quarters and farms was much more comfortable when compared to the Eastern Front. Being back in the Reich, the men had to become accustomed once again to the ever-present German bureaucracy: cutting firewood in the vast forests of occupied Russia was free as a matter of course, but had to be paid for in Alsace after having first received written permission from the local authorities. That aside the scenic region and mostly polite population went down well with the soldiers.
Map: the Southern tip of the Western Front in 1917
On 8 January 1917 the 37th Division was ordered to board southbound trains, in order to take over the front line near the Swiss border from the 8th Landwehr Division. According to plan the division was transferred via Mülhausen and Altkirch, detrained at Waldighofen and then marched through the medieval German county town of Pfirt (Ferrette) - crowned by the ruins of its magnificent castle - to the almost untouched villages of Niederlarg, Moos and Dürlinsdorf (Durlinsdorf) just behind the front. On 12 January 1917 Oberstleutnant Bürkner, the regimental commander of IR 150 formally took over from the Landwehr Regiment 109, which had been in the area since 1914. Three days later, the whole of the 37th Division was in line, with IR 150 on the left flank, IR 147 in the middle sector and IR 151 further north within reach of Altkirch. After the relief was completed, the 8th Landwehr Division left the area on 23 January, and never returned to where it had fought for so long. The honour of providing the extreme left wing of the entire Western Front for the next three months fell to the 9th Kompanie, III. Bataillon, IR 150. The French on the other side of the River Larg, actually representing the extreme right flank of the allied forces, welcomed their new adversaries with some light artillery fire.
‘Final stop'
The German front line ended at the eastern edge of the Pruntruter Zipfel, opposite the Swiss border which was guarded by a simple fence of barbed wire. Along the border Swiss guards patrolled up and down at irregular intervals by day and night, always clearly visible and completely relaxed; a strange sight for any combat veteran of trench warfare, used to years of shelling and sniping. In 1916-17 near the very end of the German position, beside a wide forest road, stood a 4m tall arch made of birch wood, which bore a visible signboard with the legend: ‘Eingang zur Stellung Schweiz-Ostende' (Entrance to the Front line Switzerland-Oostende).
Image: the 'Final Stop' of the 'underground' Ostende-Schweiz 1917
Beside stood a solid wooden post for a German sentry, with its own small signboard on the front indicating ‘Endstation der Untergrundbahn Ostende-Schweiz' (Final Stop of the Underground Train Oostende - Switzerland) and the sign ‘145' for the sector description. Many soldiers reading those pieces of dry humour must have been well aware of the fact that the man-eating Western Front began - or ended - right there, its northern tip being approximately 750km further northwest at the end of the Nieuport Mole on the coast of the North Sea.
Image: Swiss border stone 109
Most peculiar were the conditions in the hinterland due south and east of the Zipfel. As it was strictly forbidden for both adversaries to violate Swiss neutrality, either by entering Swiss territory or shooting over it, the Germans were able to march to and from the frontline in broad daylight, as long as they kept themselves well behind the lee-side of the Zipfelstellung. Accommodation in the village of Dürlinsdorf was very much coveted by the troops, because it couldn't be shelled, at least not by low trajectory artillery.
The German side of the Western Front came to an end exactly opposite the Swiss border marker No. 109, on the far side of the narrow River Larg at the south-eastern corner of the Zipfel. The southernmost German bunker position, consisting of a square concrete pillbox and an advanced triangular concrete machine-gun position, adjusted to the northwest, lies close to Swiss border marker No 110 at the north-eastern corner of the Zipfel. These structures exist to this day.
When IR 150 took over in early 1917, the position had existed for a long time and was obviously designed for defence. Without difficulty one could observe the various changes in trench warfare engineering since 1914. Most trenches were still narrow with steep walls, covered with wooden planks or even flammable pine logs under wire mesh. Others were constructed of more flexible wattlework. The second line was built much too close to the first and was poorly converted, lacking a sufficient number of obstacles, flanking machine-gun positions and bullet-proof observation posts. There were few shell-proof concrete dugouts whilst others were dug deeply but provided with just one steep and narrow exit; a death trap to a garrison under attack. Power and telephone lines ran above ground. Approaching the front line was possible by the use of broad forest paths. One kilometre to the east the rear positions consisted merely of simple breast-high trenches. Across the border in the Zipfel Swiss guards walked up and down the fence. On Sundays the church bells of nearby Swiss villages could be heard, pealing just like peacetime - which of course it was - for the Swiss!
Thanks to the geographical bulge of Swiss territory, movement was possible at any time of the day, but even so, on Easter Sunday, 1917 an unpleasant incident took place: a Swiss military band was playing live music on the other side of the border fence, much to the pleasure of the German trench garrison which began to dance and sing in the open. Suddenly a shot rang out, fired from the other side of and thus across neutral Swiss territory, which hit a German soldier in the stomach and proved fatal. According to rumours, Portuguese units, not accustomed to the very special rules of this sector, had fired the fatal shot. The soldier was buried in the military cemetery of nearby Moos, which was subsequently closed down after the war; the graves being transferred to the now southernmost German Great War cemetery in France at Illfurth, northeast of Altkirch.
Image: the southernmost German position on the Western Front
Every time a new unit came into the line - no matter on which side - it meant trouble. Artillery had to be zeroed in, vigorous patrols had to be undertaken as often as possible to reconnoitre the enemy, keep the soldiers alert and practise the skills of modern warfare due to the experiences of the Somme in 1916.
Gasthof
Opposite border marker No 109 at the tip of the Zipfel, and barely 100m away on Swiss territory, stood a country inn, called the ‘Schweizer Höfle' by the Germans. Music and song were to be heard almost constantly at night. A German patrol which once attacked the furthermost French position in the so-called ‘Stiefelwäldchen' (Boot Copse) at the very end of the French front line revealed the astonishing detail, that a telephone wire ran straight from the tavern to the French lines. Prisoners confirmed what the Germans had long suspected, that French soldiers went to visit the Gasthof frequently by night, thereby formally violating Swiss neutrality and sovereignty and thus facing internment. Yet nobody seemed to care; German sources do not mention the way they handled the situation, if at all, or made the best of it for themselves.
Image: the Schweizer Höfle 1917
Image: the Schweizer Höfle - the same scene 2009
The front remained quiet until March 1917. Even at night there was no nervous shooting or the firing of signal-rockets like everywhere else along the front. The rules of engagement for the French artillery seemed inexplicable to the Germans: sometimes not a single shot was fired for a couple of days, followed by long periods of vicious pounding of the rear areas further east. On these occasions their own field artillery answered the call at once in retaliation. At the beginning of 1917 the OHL did not rule out an allied attack from Belfort through the Burgunder Pforte into the Rhine Plains with the aim of outflanking the German front from the south in the spring of that year. The violation of Swiss neutrality by French and Italian forces, pushing through the Pruntruter Zipfel, suggested just such an opportunity might be taken. To counter this possible threat, German divisions south of Mülhausen were ordered to draw back their left flank to half-completed rear lines in front of Altkirch. Despite the unusually harsh winter of 1916-17 and the penetrating ground frost the deficient rear positions were ordered to be upgraded as soon as possible.
The unique nature of the situation at the Swiss border was made manifest by two incidents that led to a sharp protest note by the Swiss government: first, a probable German shell had allegedly struck Swiss soil adjacent to a nearby farm, second, a whole salvo of thirteen shells was said to have been fired from a German battery, scaring the inhabitants of a nearby Swiss village half to death. The complaint passed through all levels of the political and military hierarchy and went through every link in the chain of command until it finally reached Oberstleutnant Bürkner, in charge of the sector. He received orders to verify the legitimacy of the complaint and settle things face-to-face with the commander-in-charge of the Swiss border guard. Consequently the Swiss demanded that the German batteries be relocated further to the east. The claim was rejected diplomatically, but the Armeegruppe conceded to issue unambiguous orders to the German artillery to prevent similar confrontations.
Image: German and Swiss officers on either side of the frontier in relaxed mood for the camera
In March 1917 activities on the French side of the line increased significantly. German air reconnaissance noticed large concentrations of French units around Belfort. Like the Germans in early 1916 prior to the Battle of Verdun, the French tried to divert the enemy from their April attack against the Chemin des Dames. Fearing possible shelling and aerial bombing of rear areas and villages local residents were finally forced to move beyond the Rhine.
On 2 April 1917, forty-eight men of IR 150 under the command of a junior officer conducted a well-prepared patrol against the ‘Stiefelwäldchen' just north of the Zipfel and beyond the River Larg. For several days the area was reconnoitred, the clash with the enemy rehearsed to the final detail. Despite the effort, the patrol did not succeed as planned because the very small French garrison was able to get back to their own lines just in time. The next day Swiss officers confirmed the presence of an active French division on site but a few days later another patrol proved the existence of Territorial units, unsuitable for any attack on a large scale. Nevertheless, on 14 and 15 April, just before the beginning of the attack against the Chemin des Dames, the French carried out two larger patrols which were repulsed by the Germans with only minor losses. French activities remained at a high level; the shelling sharper than ever, but a major attack, let alone an offensive against the German south flank in Alsace, never took place.
Map: sketch of the patrol of the Stiefelwäldchen, April 1917
On 30 April 1917 the East Prussians of IR 150 were ordered to prepare for relief beginning the next day and to hand over their positions to Landwehr Regiment 13 of the Westphalian 25th Landwehr Division. The relief lasted until 3 May, when Oberstleutnant Bürkner finally passed the baton to his successor before taking his regiment to the Aisne. Although IR 150 had not seen important action during its stay in Sundgau, it was proud of the fact that it had been, for some time at least, the very left-flank regiment of the entire German Army.
Visiting the location today (the use of TOP 25 IGN map ‘Altkirch/Sundgau' 3621 ET is suggested):
Visitors to the southern tip of the Western Front 1914-1918 will drive down from Altkirch following the D 432 in the direction to Ferrette until reaching the village of Feldbach. Following the D 463 to Seppois-le-Haut, turn left into the D 7 b to Mooslargue, then turn right on the D 24, heading to Pfetterhouse. After approximately 2km STOP at the bridge over the River Largue. Park the car there. Standing on the bridge looking south over the pond you will be in the former no man's land; the French line to the right, the German line to the left. Take the forest road to the right of the pond and walk southward straight ahead below the former French positions for approximately 1,500m, until you reach a clearing with a little pond and the very last French position in the ‘Stiefelwäldchen' is in front of you, a little to the left. Take the left-hand path (belonging to European long-distance walking trail No. 5) for about 200m and cross no man's land and the River Largue again by a little bridge, then walk straight ahead until you reach a junction above the eastern bank. Walk to the right (south) for about 150m and you will see on the right the last German bunker position of the Western Front, just opposite the north-eastern corner of the Swiss Zipfel. A small track runs parallel with the bunker further south for approximately 300m to the south-eastern corner of the bulge. On the other bank of the narrow Largue you can see close-by Swiss border marker 109 and in the distance the original ‘Schweizer Höfle' (Le Largin on the IGN map). To return to your car turn around and walk the same way in reverse until you reach the junction again from where you walk straight on (north) this time, below the German front line until you reach the D 24 road again. Turn left and you will be back to the Largue bridge. No hiking equipment is necessary but in wet weather strong, water-proof shoes and outdoor clothing are recommended. In spring and summer beware of ticks; dress with boots and long trousers and check yourself after returning.
Sources
Geschichte des 1. Ermländischen Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 150, II. Teil, 1935 Verlag Bernhard Sporn, Zeulenroda (Thüringen).
Das Grenadier-Regiment Prinz Carl von Preußen (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 12, 1940 Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin.
Das Infanterie-Regiment von Alvensleben (6. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 52 im Weltkriege 1914/1918, 1923 Verlag Gerhard Stalling Oldenburg i.O./Berlin.
C.H.Baer, Der Völkerkrieg, Zweiter Band, Dritter Band, Zehnter Band 1914-1916 Verlag Julius Hoffmann, Stuttgart.
Hermann Stegemann, Geschichte des Krieges, Zweiter Band, 1917 Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt Berlin und Stuttgart.
Magnus von Eberhardt, Kriegserinnerungen, 1938 Verlag J. Neumann-Neudamm.
Der Weltkrieg 1914-1918, Zwölfter Band, Oberkommando des Heeres, Berlin 1939.
Ruhmeshalle unserer Alten Armee, Erster Band, Verlag für Militärgeschichte und deutsches Schrifttum, 1927 Berlin.
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