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Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Canteen/Die Feldflasche, Part 4

As a follow-up to the last installment in this series, I have finally managed to get an accurate reproduction of the cavalry, or more properly artillery, canteen. Below is are pictures of the reproduction which is essentially an infantry pattern canteen with the appropriate straps and harness added afterwards. This canteen also has unit markings appropriate for the 2 Chevauleger. :-) 



Below are pictures of an original for comparison:


Note that in the top example, there is no cross-strap running across the canteen towards the top. In the next examples, the canteen used is the 1915 pattern and it does have a cross-strap at the top. Also, all the straps are ersatz.  



The version I had reproduced follows more of the second pattern. I opted for this since I felt that it would provide a bit more strength and stability for the harness, especially because of the strain caused by the weight of the water and that it would be moving violently on my person in the course of action and it's not unreasonable that 1907 canteens were used with the later 1915 pattern harness.

This is a welcome piece of kit and I hope to have some more made so as to equip the unit.

Horrido! 

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Items for Your Impression - Matches!

On original box of German matches.

Oftentimes the small details are the important ones when putting together an outfit (or impression) for living history and reenactment. One of the most useful and often overlooked is the humble match. The match's utility is self-explanatory but how many times at an event have you seen someone pull out a modern box of matches or worse, a modern disposable lighter (and especially in some garish color such as hot pink or bright green). Nothing destroys an impression quicker that something that's so obviously modern in an otherwise period setting. Not good.

Well, we have created a way to disguise those modern wooden matches and at the same time have a nice little item that will add to your impression. Through the assistance of various people, both in Germany and the United States, images of original matchbox labels were procured and through the use of a photo-editing program were cleaned up and property sized. The resulting product is suitable for use on the modern small packs of Blue Diamond Matches which are available in grocery stores throughout the United States. Basically, the label has to fit a 1.5" x 2" box.

Below is a selection of German matchbox labels of the period. You can save these in jpeg format and work with them in a photo-editing program such as Photoshop or Paint:






Below are complete sheets of labels that I made. These are in jpeg format so you may have to re-work the sizing in a photo-editing program to get the correct dimensions.




If you want a full sheet of labels that I have already sized in pdf formal, you can download it from HERE. Below are some more pictures of the production process:


The start- Blue Diamond Matches and cut labels. A paper cutter proved especially useful.

Here are a few boxes drying. Each box required two labels and I found it easiest to apply the glue with an old paintbrush. I also glued a label onto an empty bottle that I had lying around.

The Finished Product

There you are, your very own German match boxes for living history. Now, I want to point out that the Blue Diamond matchboxes are not the same as original ones both in terms of construction and dimensions (originals came in a variety of sizes and shapes and some were actually made of balsa wood rather than cardboard) but this will give you a practical alternative that's cheap and easy and most of all, looks the part. 

Horrido!

P.S.

Since posting this, I have been made aware of that a more suitable matchbox may be available. My only issue is that at $4.90 a box, it's pretty pricey so you'll have to decide just how hardcore you want to get about something that's a consumable product (by comparison, you can get three packs or 36 boxes of the Blue Diamond for the same price). I know that's not exactly the proper living history answer but there it is.
 Coughlan's Matches

Friday, May 22, 2015

On The Eastern Front

By December 1914, the great movements of the armies in the West had ended and the situation had settled into a stalemate that was more the product of mutual exhaustion than anything else. For the cavalry, the opportunity for large sweeping movements and attempts to out-flank the enemy were over. Up until the last months from August to November 1918, cavalry in the West played a limited role (although there are a few interesting episodes such as at Cambrai in 1917).

However, in the East the situation was dramatically different. With a front extending over a 1000 miles, the stalemate characteristic of the Western Front never set in quite the same way (by way of comparison, the Western Front was roughly 475 miles long). Often fronts formed as a result of mutual exhaustion between movements and with the right amount of concentration of forces, a breakthrough was achievable.

For the cavalry, conditions on the East Front were very conducive to cavalry operations even on the strategic level and there were numerous opportunities to carry out its traditional roles of reconnaissance, screening, and attacks on rear area formations. 

Below are a few pictures of cavalry on the Eastern Front:

Cavalrymen of the Leib-Dragoner-Regiment No. 24 resting near Lyduvėnai, Russia (today, located in Lithuania), 24 May 1915. Image taken by Gustav Victor Lachmann, an officer in the regiment.
From the collection of the Imperial War Museum, © IWM (Q 115279).
  
The recapture of Lemberg. Dragoons (unit unidentified) entering the city.

Uhlans (regiment unidentified) escorting POWs during the Battle of the San River in Galicia/Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive of May,1915, 

Now you are probably wondering how the 2 Chevauleger ties into this. Essentially, the 2 Chevauleger remained in the West during the war except for the 1 Eskadron which was detached from the regiment in April 1915 and sent to the Eastern Front. Specifically, it was assigned as the divisional reconnaissance element for the 11th Bavarian Infantry Division which had be formed in March 1915. The 1 Eskadron served with the 11th on the Eastern Front and later the Serbian Front until the division was transferred back to the West in March 1916 for the Battle of Verdun. The 1 Eskadron rejoined the regiment in March 1916 (the remainder of the 2 Chevauleger was stationed nearby to Verdun).


So yes, while we have a tenuous relationship with the Eastern Front as a unit, it is still relevant in that it presents a contrast in the way cavalry was used.



Horrido!  


Sunday, May 17, 2015

The Official 2 Chevauleger Official History - Part Five - The Battle for France

And now the fifth installment of the history of the 3rd Eskadron/2 Chevauleger Regiment. This covers the German 1918 Spring Offensive from March 21, 1918 through April 6, 1918 and this is just the first part, more will follow. What is interesting is that the 3 Eskadron's primary mission was communications, most principally acting as dispatch riders. Other tasks were assisting with telephones and carrier pigeons. Unfortunately, not much hard information about the 3rd Eskadron is given so one really has to search for those occasional "nuggets" of useful information.

From a living history/reenactment perspective, the most useful tasks that could be performed during an event would be acting as messengers, manning field telephones, and perhaps acting as Feldgendarmerie. As the unit grows and develops, one or several of these activities will be incorporated in to what we do as a unit. Naturally, as more information is discovered, this is subject to change. For now, enjoy an interesting piece of history- it is doubtful that this has ever been previously translated into English and it's highly unlikely that this history has been actually read by anyone in the past 50 to 70 years (or at least I'd like to think so). It's truly a find.

Horrido!

********************************************************************************************
The Battle for France: March 21, 1918 - April 6, 1918  

During January and February the command authorities and staffs began to feverishly prepare for the great attack with the strictest secrecy under the code name “Michael”. As with mobilization in peacetime, the battle had been prepared with German thoroughness and conscientiousness. Equally, the assault divisions were eagerly training to operate in this greatest of all battles. From February 25, 1918 on, the commands proceeded with organizing the accommodations and preparations for the attack in the deployment area. On 14 March, the assault divisions were ordered into their assembly areas. In order to avoid detection from the air, all the troop movements were performed at night. So moved the 6th Bavarian Infantry Division and the 3rd Squadron in night marches through Mir (?), Waziers, Sin le Noble and went into a bivouac at Hamel, where it arrived during the night of March 19/March 20.

During the time that diversionary attacks were being made on other fronts, the 17, 2, and 18 Armies attacked along the general line of Bullecourt (west Cambrai) – La Fere to break through at Amiens and attack the enemy force at Abbeville. The 6th Bavarian Infantry Division assigned now to the 17th Army, Group Lewarde (General Command, XVIII Army Corps) and was in the second attack behind the 234th and 221st Infantry Divisions at Agincourt. After a successful breakthrough, the 6th Bavarian Infantry Division was inserted into the gap between the two aforementioned divisions that had characterized arise that had the group recoil Lewarde north to bring the east Arras standing enemy front light for shrouds. (?)

During the night of March 21, the dense fog that had fallen broke at 3:30 am in the front. On the entire front, the tremendous fire of the German artillery went first, the enemy was fighting back with gas and explosive ammunition, and the lines of communication were occupied with gunfire. By 4:00 am, the fire spread to the enemy infantry positions. Thousands of minenwerfers now joined this artillery fire at 9:40 am in front, supporting the infantry in the attack, while the artillery "rolling fire" was time-controlled, rolling forward precisely. The enemy artillery answered reluctantly and at the first onset of the enemy was to be followed across the board over the rough field funnel through enemy obstacles of their own infantry. Countless pioneer companies were burdened and they succeeded only with great delay to pave the way so that the infantry could move forward.

At 12:40 pm, after the 6th Bavarian Infantry Division with the 6th and 10th Infantry Regiments was inserted between the 234th and 221th Infantry Divisions, and had taken Ecourt (?) to be advancing against Groifilles. Another advance was impossible because our artillery could only follow each attack stage slowly.

The 3rd Squadron had to provide the infantry and artillery headquarters staffs with sufficient dispatch riders reporting and to provide a number of police patrols, who had the hugely important task of taking care of the accumulation of forces ordered on the route of advance. In addition, the squadron led by Captain Meyer initially [reporting to head had am Kocher dig spell](?) to extend south to the extent of Bullecourt and Ecourt which had to follow, depending on the progression of the infantry by leaps and bounds. The connection with the reporting of division staff chiefs had the Division telephone detachment, the connection of signaling head with the regiments and the artillery make the subject ends troops. The connection with the reporting of the division staff chiefs was through the Division telephone detachment, connecting the signaling chief with the regiments and the artillery and in the end, the troops. Since the wire, which could not be set high (i.e., on poles) in a short time, failed even in this attack as a result of enemy action and the inevitable damage caused by our own vehicles, especially Raupenlaftkraft cars. The burden of messaging rested on the entourage of all the technical equipment (blinkers, radio operators, telephones, alarm dogs, pigeons) and finally ended on the shoulders of our brave dispatch riders.

The command had secure internal reporting channels and in important cases, the orderly officers of the Division were usually using the officers of our regiment. Lieutenant D. R. Wirth earned the Iron Cross First Class. The message center acted as an advanced element, moving up in accordance with the progression of the attack instead of the Division Headquarters (?).

In crossing over the shelled area, especially with horses, it could only be correctly termed as difficult as the entire field strength had to ride this ordeal. First, our own deep trenches had to be overcome, then the terrain between the two positions with a tangled mess of mutual wire obstacles and then the enemy first position that was crisscrossed by deep trenches and churned thoroughly with shell holes by the hour-long barrage [sat at shell hole](?).

In addition, there was heavy enemy fire on the crossing points! Well the Pioneer Companies struggled to put bridges over the trenches and corduroy roads to provide with prepared material. However, it succeeded in doing so after a few days; in just the first few hours, a movable way would have been crucial. By the evening of 21 March only a few Feldgeschüke (artillery piece of some type?) had come slowly and with unspeakable exertions over the shelled area. The first heavy Geschüke (?) could be pulled on March 23 only gradually. Undaunted and unceasingly, our dispatch riders had to cross this desert with its snares. When it was no longer possible to ride, they ran on foot with their messages.

On the first day (March 21, 1918), Chevauleger Auernhammer[1] was killed while acting as a dispatch rider at the 10th Infantry Regiment when his horse was wounded in the leg by a grenade. On March 24, Chevauleger Donauer[2] was wounded by shrapnel in the shoulder. The fallen and the divisional staff and their baggage were located in Ecourt and Lt. Schmid was in command of the division headquarters. At night, there was gas throughout the bivouac area. Frequently these bivouac areas had to be changed due to enemy fire. 

Food, especially for the horses, was extremely difficult to obtain; roughage did not exist. Water was supplied by specific cars. In the enemy's position itself, there was little to be found. The whole supply of munitions and food moved along the only route of advance for the two divisions, which was only passable at long intervals and with great difficulty. Ammunition was more important than the food.

Page from the Official 2 Chevauleger Stammrolle for Chevauleger Auernhammer. 

Page from the Official 2 Chevauleger Stammroll for Chevauleger Donauer







[1] Johan Karl Auernhammer, b. January 1, 1891; Home of Record: Niederhofen; Stammrolle No. 19
[2] Joseph Donauer, b. March 25, 1893; Home of Record: Langenthonhausen, Obpf.; Stammrolle No. 267.

Friday, May 15, 2015

König Ludwig III. von Bayern-Marsch

During the Kaiserzeit, there seemed to be a march for everything and everyone and the King of Bavaria was no exception. Here is the official "King Ludwig III march":


Enjoy!!

Monday, May 11, 2015

The West Coast Military Collectors Show

Here is an after-action report on the 2 Chevauleger's attendance at the West Coast Historical Military Collectors Show that was held last weekend on May 8 and 9. Every year, the Great War Historical Society sets up a number of displays in an effort to reach out to the public. The GWHS' member units contribute towards these displays, including the 2 Chevauleger; naturally our display was cavalry-oriented. The GWHS was out at the event on Saturday, May 9; this is usually the busiest day of the two-day event.
 
We arrived about 8:30 am and began setting up our display, primarily consisting of a saddle and various accessories. We also brought a complete set of equipment and a Kar 98az carbine. The event was fairly well-attended and we spent most of the day handing out business cards and answering questions from passers-by. 
 
I took this event as the perfect opportunity to model my newly-constructed private purchase brown corduroy breeches. These are made of a chocolate-brown corduroy and are lined with black leather in the seat- essetially, these follow the same pattern for the 1916 Reihosen, only in corduroy. While this is a speculative design, it's very possible that this method was used since these were private purchase. Of course, it's also possible that they could have been made based on a civilian riding breeches pattern. In any event, these are perfectly plausible and fit in perfectly with my impression as a Gefreiter of the 2 Chevauleger.
 
Below are some pictures from the event:
 
Here I am wearing my private purchase 1909 Chevauleger tunic with provate purchase corduroy riding breeches. The boots are the 1915 Universal Pattern Bavarian Cavalry Boots and the belt is the 1911 sword belt. I have removed the straps for the sword and replaced it with a bayonet (Seitengewehr) with attached sword know or Faustrieman. The machine gun is the model MG08.

A close-up view.

Saddle and other mounted items to include pommel bags, rifle scabbard, and mess kit case.

Hanging out with some of my Central Powers kommeraden...

 
Overall, it was a fun experience and this was the third time that the unit has attended. We hope to see you here one day!
Horrido!!


Friday, May 8, 2015

Cavalry Operating on Horseback

This picture often makes the rounds online, Unfortunately, not a lot is known about it and the specific unit not identified. It is most likely that this picture was taken on the Western Front sometime from 1917 on. Note that the sword has been dispensed with (in 1915, an order issued by the high command directed that swords were not be carried anymore). Also, the soldiers' carbines are now being carried slung over their shoulders rather than on scabbards.