Dear Forum members,
A am sorry for my question in English. I read German well, but I cannot write it sufficiently correct.
As in other European countries, we have organised several
Europeana 1914-1918 collection days in Belgium. We would like to draw upon your knowledge of German (Imperial) military units and their action during the First World War.
One family brought material from their grandfather, a Belgian veteran at the Yser front. At the conclusion of the war he captured a German soldier in the trenches. The German surrendered and was carried a prisoner to the back of the front. De Belgian however, kept some posessions of the German soldier. Amongst them, his personal photographs and correspondance.
From this material
we have managed to give the German soldier a name; 'Wilhelm Bogner'. We also managed to find out that Wilhelm was possibly from 'Sachsen'. (On one family picture we found a stamp with the locations 'Tannenberg / Schöppenstedt'.)
We have pictures and some fieldpost cards that he received. The written text is generally difficult to read. But we managed to find some indications in the photograps and stamps.
We like to find out more about Wilhelm and his 'Feldpost'-contacts.SEE BOGNER's FIELDPOST AND PHOTOGRAPHS AT:
http://s975.photobucket.com/user/bartbosmans/library/Wilhelm%20Bogner(or as slideshow)
http://s975.photobucket.com/user/bartbosmans/slideshow/Wilhelm%20Bogner(1.) indications on the fieldpost cards:a. card 501D.23: stamps mentioning 'Armierungsbatl.88,2.Komp / Feldpoststation 406' and '... der 18.Infaterie-Div.' with date 12th May 1916
b. cards 501D.03: insignia '6' on shoulder-strap uniform, Breslau August 14th 1915, with '9 AM' handwritten in blue pencil
c. card 501D.22: insignia '6' on shoulder-strap uniform, location unknown, date June 25th 1916
d. card 501D.16: insignia '266' on shoulder-strap uniforms, with a stamp from the '10.K.R.J.R. 226' (or '10e Kompagnie Reserve Infanterie Regiment 226') with the date June 16th 1916
e. card 501D.05: stamp 'Feldrekrutendepot der Armee Abteilung Scholtz / 10 Kompagnie', stamp 'K.D.Feldpoststation nr.209' and dated August 20th 1916, with '9 AM' handwritten in blue pencil
(2.) We also have the following questions:a. photo (grave) 501D.01: Where were the '3e Battalion Fuss. 89' and the '12e Kompagnie J.R. 188' on May 5th 1917? (Could this be Reims?)
b. photo (grave) 501D.02: Where were the '2e kompagnie Arm. Batl. 88' on May 20th 1918?
Do you reckognise an insignia? Uniform? A decoration? Stamp indication? Handwritten elements? Can you put a unit on a (front)location at the given date?
As written above, answers can be written in German. Reading texts in German is no problem for me.We would be very gratefull for any help.
Bart Bosmans
Provinciaal Centrum voor Cultureel Erfgoed (PCCE, Belgien, provinz Limburg)
Limburg 1914-1918 on Erfgoedplus.beLimburg 1914-1918 on Europeana 1914-1918
