Post date: 17-Jul-2013 14:58:58
In the trenches, Beaucourt sur Ancre, 9th of September 1916,
My ardently loved and good Elisabeth,
The letter you promised has not arrived yet. But as I have received no mail at all I suppose it’s because it’s hard to get to us out here. The regiment lies quite far away from the rest of the Division. At the moment we are attached to the 26th Infantry Reserve Brigade, but I suppose our mail adress will still be the same. If not I will write at once. All in all it has become a little more quiet. Today there was only a little shellfire. In the last moonlit nights we did a lot of work and I suppose the english would not have allowed this if they intended to attack again. If only we would get some weeks of respite we could make our positions defensible again. There is lots of work to do as everything we build in the night gets shot to pieces during daytime.
Yesterday they attacked in strength. Apparently left of Thiepeval. If the English were successful I can not tell. I hope not. I was on guard this night, which was illuminated by a beautiful moon, which was quite enjoyable when it got quiet again around Thiepeval.
It was the first time I had the chance to visit a section of 12th company which is positioned on our left. They have their left wing close to the Ancre. There this river forms a swamp with lots of little lakes which can not be crossed even in summer, so our trenches end there. 300 meters from the railway line which leads from Achiet le Grand to St. Albert they start again. On the 3rd of September the English attacked where the railway embankment is. They even managed to break through, but fate caught up with them a little further to the rear.
Then I went over to the right wing of my company. A few days ago the men there a noticed a wounded English soldier who was lying inside the wire entanglements and they told me they wanted to help him. First I wanted to deny them this wish as he was lying as close to the English trenches as he was to ours. But then I remembered the Gospel of Luke “”Of these men, who do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the bandits?”. We were the neighbours of this man.
So out they went putting their lives into danger but they did not find him as he was covering himself with his tarpaulin and pretended to be dead. A few hours ago we spotted him again when he was waving to his comrades in the English trenches.
It was then when three of my men volunteered to get him. Very carefully, they brought him in just like one carries a sick child. During the whole recovery operation the English held their fire. For nearly seven days this poor chap had been lying in No-mans Land. He was so afraid of us “Barbarians” that he had not dared to cry for help. Now our regiment’s doctors will take care of his wounds which had already turned gangrenous. German Barbarians!
Two days ago I received a Postcard from Schneiderman who had travelled through the Lüneburg Heath with Junker and Lütchemeier. You know how much I love the Heath and with the same love I am yours eternally.
I greet and kiss you and the boys – God be with us all