IrishGunner

Martin, not sure how I missed that thread. Thanks for re-directing me... It was great to read about your grandfather.

Martin, I appreciate the comments. Have you done any research on your grandfather and the 26th Brigade RFA?

No worries. Of course, now you see the difference between Irish and Germans... We don't wait. So, confusion is never a problem.

Yes, but the above post card was sent from Landau on 20 March 1917. I think you've confused the Bavarian 12. FAR with the Kgl. Sächs. 1. Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr.12, which had its garrison in Dresden. I'm sure this card is from an Obergefreiter Karl Müller of 4. Batterie, II. Ersatz Abteilung of the Kgl. Bayer. 12. Feldartillerie-Regiment in Landau

First clash between British and German troops in 1914 remembered near Mons

Thanks Andreas for looking. I figured it was a long-shot with that common name.

Our pleasure to help. And welcome to GMIC! Perhaps you already know which British medals CSM Woodward earned (I'll guess 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal), but if you post your ancestor's name and regimental number in the Great Britain part of the forum, perhaps our UK experts can give you more information, including his medal entitlements. Colour Sargent Major William Woodhead, 12th Battalion Durham LI, 15421

This is what the medal looks like...

Late in the War, Britain sent troops to the Isonzo (Italian Front) to help the Italians in their offensive against Austria-Hungary. From the The Wartime Memories Project: 12th Durham Light Infantry 12th DLI was part of 23rd Division: In November 1917 the 23rd Division moved to Italy concentrating between Mantua and Marcaria before taking over the front line at the Montello on the 4th of December. In 1918 they were in action during the fighting on the Asiago Plateau and the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, including the passage of the Piave and the Monticano. At the Italian Armistice at 3pm on the 4th of November, the 23rd Division was midway between the Rivers Livenza and Meduna, east of Sacile. They moved to billets west of Treviso and demobilisation took place in January and February 1919. There is also a book written: John Sheen, "With Bayonets Fixed: The 12th & 13th Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry in the Great War"

Gee Christopher Robin, I thought you would have known that...

Andy, beautiful! Thank you.

Interesting. I wonder if anyone has info on a Karl Mueller with 12. bFAR in any officer Rangliste.

Any information regarding an Oberleutnant Meiler serving with 7. Batt. Kgl. Bayer. 1. Fußartillerie-Regiment in October 1914 appreciated... I got nothing...

Any chance one of you native German speakers can tell me what Frau Anna Mueller's darling husband wrote to her in March 1917 from Landau?

Official German reports for August 1914 set casualty figures for Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern's 6. Armee at 34,598, with the number of dead at 11,476. One of those dead was Kanonier Alois Plinganser of 5. Batt. 12. bFAR, who was killed on 24 August 1914. To read more about the battle in Lorraine where Kanonier Plinganser lost his life 100 years ago today see my Blog: Königlich Bayerisches 12. Feldartillerie-Regiment (12. bFAR) Special thanks to Andy aka The Prussian and Andreas aka spolei for their research assistance.

Mike, thanks for this! I didn't know that "silly old bear" had a WWI connection. Perfect place for the post.

Garrison: Landau (In der Pfalz) Established: 1 October 1901 Brigade: 3. Königlich Bayerische Feldartillerie-Brigade Division: 3. Königlich Bayerische Division Kaserne 12. bFAR Landau One of twelve active field artillery regiments of the Bavarian Army, 12. bFAR was formed in October 1901 from the III. Abteilung and the 6. Fahrenden Batterie of the Königlich Bayerisches 2. Feldartillerie-Regiment „Horn“ as well as two newly organized Fahrenden Batterien at Würzburg, Bayern. Prior to mobilization in August 1914, 12. bFAR, was garrisoned at Landau in der Pfalz, in southwestern Germany. The Regiment was subordinate to the 3. Königlich Bayerische Feldartillerie-Brigade / 3. Königlich Bayerische Division. After mobilization, 12. bFAR remained with the redesignated 3. Bayerische Infanterie-Division throughout the war; thus earning the same campaign credits as the Division. First World War Campaigns 3. Bayerische Infanterie-Division: The I. Abteilung 12. bFAR was armed with the 7.7cm Feldkanone (FK 96 n/A); II. Abteilung was armed with the 10.5cm leichte Feldhaubitze 98/09. In February 1916, two guns from each of the 1., 2., and 3. Batterie, were given up to form the 21. Feldartillerie-Regiment. In January 1917, 12. bFAR was enlarged with a III. Abteilung. The Stab, 7., 8., and 9. Batterie of the III. Abteilung initially fell under the command of the III. Armeekorps for training. Training was completed at the Truppenübungsplatz Thimougies in Belgium in February 1917 and the new battalion joined the Regiment in the field. At mobilization, the 3. Bayerische Infanterie-Division was part of Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern’s 6. Armee. The 6. Armee was central to the bitter fighting in Alsace-Lorraine during the Battle of the Frontiers at the beginning of the war. Official German reports for August 1914 set casualty figures in the 6. Armee at 34,598, with the number of dead at 11,476. (Herwig) One of those dead was Kanonier Alois Plinganser of 5. Batt. 12. bFAR, who was killed on 24 August 1914. After holding off the French offensive in the south, 6. Armee counter-attacked on 20 August with the objective of capturing terrain south of Nancy, known as the Gap of Charmes. After initial success, the 6. Armee’s attack stalled on 24 August just east of Bayon; the French 1st and 2nd Armies counter-attacked, pushing the line back to its 14 August positions. On 24 August 1914, 12. bFAR and Kanonier Plinganser’s 5. Batterie were located at Remenoville, right in the center the brutal back and forth fighting. Early on 24 August, 3. Bayerische Infanterie-Division was given the task to open the route from Mont to Blainville; 12. bFAR was attached to the 5. b. Infantrie Brigade on the right side of the avenue of attack for this task. By early afternoon, 12. bFAR had taken up a position on Hill 251, north of Blainville, but without the 5. Batterie. The 5. Batt 12. bFAR had been fixed in its previous position by enemy artillery fire and was not able to move until the next morning (the morning of 24 August) when it took up a position south of Lamath. Infantry regiments of the 3. Bayerische Infanterie-Division continued a slow advance from Blainville toward Remenoville, supported by its own artillery, but under heavy counter-fire from French artillery. Progress was made kilometer by kilometer and by 6pm on 24 August, elements of the Division were outside Remenoville. However, during this advance, II. Abteilung 12. bFAR came under heavy French artillery fire near Franconville, a few kilometers north of Remenoville. The heaviest casualties were suffered by 5. Batt 12. bFAR. II. Abteilung 12. bFAR finally arrived at Remenoville by 7pm in the evening. Almost immediately, the German troops at Remenoville came under heavy French artillery fire and infantry attacks. By dawn on 25 August, Remenoville was in flames and the front line between German and French forces was just outside the village. Kanonier Plinganser, however, had not lived to see that dawn. The Battle of the Charmes Gap, August 1914 Line of German Attack on 24 August 12. bFAR positions Remenoville, 24 August Line of French Counterattack on 25 August With the end of the war in November 1918, the III. Abteilung was dissolved, with the 7. Batterie being completely disbanded, the 8. Batterie moving to I. Abteilung, and 9. Batterie moving to II. Abteilung. The Regiment was demobilized at Ebermannstadt on 18 December 1918 and dissolved in January 1919. Elements of the Regiment became part of Frei- or Volkswehr-Batterie Zacherl, later Heyl; later these elements became 3. Batterie Reichswehr-Artillerie-Regiment 23. In August 1921, this unit became 3. Batterie des 7. (Bayerisches) Artillerie-Regiments garrisoned in Würzburg. The tradition of 12. bFAR was taken up in the Wehrmacht by the II. Abteilung des Artillerieregiments 33 in Landau und later by Artillerieregiment 69 in Mannheim. Sources: Kraus, Jürgen. Handbuch der Verbände und Truppen des deutschen Heeres 1914-1918. Teil IX: Feldartillerie. Band 1. Vienna: Verlag Militaria, 2007. Web (Wikipedia Deutschland). 24 August 2014 Herwig, Holger H. The Marne, 1914. New York: Random House. 2009. Print. “Les batailles de Lorraine.” n.p. n.d. chtimiste.com/batailles1418/lorraine.htm Web. 24 August 2014 “Pierre’s Photo Impressions of the Western Front.” n.p. n.d. pierreswesternfront.punt.nl/content/2012/10/als-lorraine-gap-of-charmes Web. 24 August 2014 The Prussian and spolei. “Kgl. Bayer. 12. Feldartillerie-Regiment info needed.” GMIC.co.uk Web. 24 August 2014

Thanks to GRA - Jonas, we have the RHA battery allocation per cavalry brigade: According to Anglesey's "A History of the British Cavalry", volume 7, I Battery RHA could well have belonged to 4th Brigade (they were ordered together towards Néry by Allenby). This would give the following brigade-battery allotment: 1 Bde - L Bty 2 Bde - E Bty 3 Bde - D Bty 4 Bde - I Bty 5 Bde - J Bty

I don't think there are any "absolutes" when looking at names and their relationship to religious affiliation or ethnic group. While it may be true that "many" Nierenbergs were Jewish, what makes you think they all had to be Jewish? I know a family - Nierenberger (I know slight difference) who are Catholic. So, it makes sense some families with the name might be Protestant. Or maybe he gave up his Jewish faith and adopted Protestant?

More information regarding the Royal Field Artillery at the Battle of Mons can be found now at my Blog: Artillery in the First World War Artillery in the First World War: Special Issue – The Royal Artillery at Mons, 23 August 1914

My intention was to publish this entry yesterday on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Mons. However, as Robert Burns wrote, "The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, Gang aft agley." That applies to combat operations plans as well. No plan survives enemy contact. This special issue of Artillery in the First World War will also further delay publishing "Artillery in the First World War: Russia – The Tsar’s Cannons." In the meantime, another special issue has already been submitted for publication, "Artillery in the First World War: Special Issue – Belgium’s Artillery and the Battle of Liege, 1914." Hopefully, you will be reading that entry very soon. In the meantime, here is a short piece on Britian's Royal Artillery and the Battle of Mons. So, much has already been discussed and published regarding the British Army during the First World War, especially the British Expeditionary Force’s first battle at Mons in August 1914, that any short article about the Royal Artillery during the First World War would be profoundly superficial. Nevertheless, a modest purpose of this GMIC article series on Artillery in the First World War is to encourage further reading and discussion on the topic; thus, a short refresher on the Royal Artillery’s role at Mons seems to be in order on this 100th anniversary. Royal Artillery Gunner The British Expeditionary Force first landed in France on 9 August 1914 and by the Battle of Mons numbered four infantry divisions and five cavalry brigades. (Two additional divisions would arrive by the end of August.) Each infantry division had three field artillery brigades equipped with 54 18-pounder guns, one field howitzer brigade with 18 4.5 in howitzers, and one heavy artillery battery with 4 60-pounder guns. Each cavalry brigade had one battery of Royal Horse Artillery; each battery being equipped with 6 13-pounder field guns, for a total of 30 13-pounders. 18-pounder QF Field Gun (Wikipedia) 1st Division: 25th Artillery Brigade: 113th Battery, 114th Battery, 115th Battery, RFA 26th Artillery Brigade: 116th Battery, 117th Battery, 118th Battery, RFA 39th Artillery Brigade: 46th Battery, 51st Battery, 54th Battery, RFA 53rd (Howitzer) Artillery Brigade: 30th Battery, 40th Battery, 57th Battery, RFA 2nd Division: 34th Artillery Brigade: 22nd Battery, 50th Battery, 70th Battery, RFA 36th Artillery Brigade: 15th Battery, 48th Battery, 71st Battery, RFA 41st Artillery Brigade: 9th Battery, 16th Battery, 17th Battery, RFA Howitzer Brigade: 47th Battery, 56th Battery, 60th Battery, RFA General Support: 35th Battery, RGA 3rd Division: 23rd Artillery Brigade: 107th Battery, 108th Battery, 109th Battery, RFA 40th Artillery Brigade: 6th Battery, 23rd Battery, 49th Battery, RFA 42nd Artillery Brigade: 29th Battery, 41st Battery, 48th Battery, RFA 30th (Howitzer) Artillery Brigade: 128th Battery, 129th Battery, 130th Battery, RFA General Support: 48th Battery, RGA 5th Division: 15th Artillery Brigade: 11th Battery, 52nd Battery, 80th Battery, RFA 27th Artillery Brigade: 119th Battery, 120th Battery, 121st Battery, RFA 28th Artillery Brigade: 122nd Battery, 123rd Battery, 124th Battery, RFA 8th (Howitzer) Brigade: 37th Battery, 61st Battery, 65th Battery, RFA General Support:: 108th Battery, RGA 1st Cavalry Division (4 brigades): D Battery, E Battery, I Battery, J Battery, RHA 5th Cavalry Brigade (independent): L Battery, RHA The Battle of Mons was part of a larger campaign later called the Battle of the Frontiers, the result of France implementing its Plan XVII and Britain deploying the BEF in response to Germany’s violation of Belgian neutrality. After conquering the fortresses of Liege and Namur, the German Army continued its advance toward France in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan. Generaloberst Alexander von Kluck’s 1. Armee advanced toward the French border and encountered the BEF near the Belgian town of Mons. The BEF had taken up positions along the Mons–Condé Canal in order to delay the advance of the 1. Armee and protect the left flank of the French Army as it prepared to meet the oncoming German assault. While the canal provided a useful obstacle for defensive positions, some British accounts after the war related that the surrounding terrain was difficult from an artillery perspective. There were some good locations for siting batteries on the high ground south of the canal, but for the most part along the line, artillery officers had difficulty in finding suitable positions for batteries or even for single guns, as well as in finding proper positions for observation posts. At the time, artillery tactics dictated pushing the field batteries or gun sections as close as possible to the infantry positions to provide supporting defensive fire, and to keep the mass of the artillery, including the heavy battery, on the flanks, where the guns could cover all the open ground and prevent a turning movement. The BEF first engaged the 1. Armee on 22 August in a cavalry skirmish that also included an exchange of artillery fire. The 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, along with E Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, exchanged fire with the German Kürassier-Regiment Königin (Pommersches) Nr.2. No. 4 Gun, E Btry, RHA earned the honor of firing the first British artillery round of the First World War in the vicinity of Bray, along the Mons- Charleroi road. Additionally, on 22 August, two RFA batteries of the British I. Corps came under fire from German batteries of the 17. Infantrie Division, causing some of the first British casualties of the war. Ordnance QF 13-pounder Light Gun; No. 4 Gun, E Btry, RHA – Imperial War Museum (Wikipedia) On 23 August shortly before 9a.m., German field guns took up positions on the high ground north of the canal and began heavy shelling of the British line. Battery after battery from from 1. Armee moved forward and joined the barrage; the Germans gradually achieved almost a 2:1 advantage in artillery during the battle. Throughout the day, German infantry regiments attacked the British line with direct support from their own field artillery. The British infantry stubbornly resisted the attacks with equally effective close support from its Royal Field Artillery batteries. At one point during the battle, Grenadier-Regiment Prinz Karl von Preußen (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 12 from the 5. Infantrie Division, supported by up to five batteries of field artillery, pushed hard against positions of the 1st West Kent and 2nd King’s Own Scottish Borderers Regiments. The 120th Battery, RFA, had significant effect in support; however, the battery was eventually forced to withdraw with the loss of two guns, abandoned in their exposed position on the canal at St. Ghislain. Further along the line, 107th Battery, RFA, provided equally effective fire in support of a company of 4th Royal Fusiliers defending the Nimy Bridge, largely due to the accuracy of artillery observers entrenched with the infantry. Eventually, the BEF was forced to withdraw from its positions; Royal Artillery batteries up and down the line gallantly covered the deliberate withdrawal of their infantry brothers. Supporting the rearguard action of the 2nd South Lancashire and 1st Lincolnshire Regiments near Ciply/Frameries, 109th Battery, RFA provided devastating fire which helped break the assault of three German regiments of the 6. Infantrie Division. Reportedly, 37th Battery, RFA, fired its howitzers “as if they were machine guns.” (Lomas) Despite giving up terrain, Mons can be considered a tactical success for the BEF, especially in terms of artillery support to the infantry. Up and down the British line in the defense, as well as during the withdrawal, the action of the Royal Artillery at Mons provided a text book study of field artillery in close support of infantry. Works Cited: The vignettes and histories related in these articles have been compiled from various sources found on the internet, as well as many published references. They are meant only to provide a snapshot and encourage further research of artillery in the First World War. Any inaccuracies, misquotes, or dropped citations are unintentional and if brought to my attention, will be corrected immediately. Chandler, David and Ian Beckett. Ed. The Oxford History of the British Army. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. Web. 23 August 2014. Doyle, Arthur Conan. The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1914. New York: George H. Doran, Co., 1918. Web (CGSC.edu). 23 August 2014. Edmonds, James E. The Battle of Mons: Military Operations France and Belgium 1914. New York: Macmillan, 1933. Web. 23 August 2014. Hamilton, Ernest W. The First Seven Divisions: Being a Detailed Account of the Fighting from Mons to Ypres. Toronto: McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart, 1916. eBook. 24 August 2014. Lomas, David. Mons 1914: The BEF’s Tactical Triumph. London: Osprey, 2014. Web. 24 August 2014.

My only 1914 "Mons" Star. Gunner D. Thornton, 65793, RFA

Jonas, thanks for the info on the books!

Chris, I believe you are correct; No. 4 Gun, E Btry, RHA was in the IWM as of 2010. I don't see any reason why it isn't still there...

As many know, today is the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Mons, the first engagement between the British Expeditionary Force and the German Army. Of course, the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, along with E Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, exchanged fire with the German Kürassier-Regiment Königin (Pommersches) Nr.2 on 22 August. So, here's to those old cavalrymen and horse gunners...