What regiment(s)?

[Michael Johnson]

My wife's grandfather served 1914-1919 in the 15th London Regiment, and was wounded several times. His father was an immigrant, who came to England from kr. Frankenstein in Lower Silesia, and became a British citizen.

My question for the Imperial German experts is what regiments recruited in Lower Silesia, and did they serve on the Western Front? In simpler terms, was Bill shoooting at his cousins?

[Dave Danner]

Lots of units recruited in Lower Silesia. First question is were the cousins infantry? Just sticking to infantry units, and just focusing on the general recruiting area near Landkreis Frankenstein, I see:

• Grenadier-Regiment K?nig Friedrich Wilhelm II (1. Schlesisches) Nr. 10 (GR 10) - Schweidnitz
• F?silier-Regiment General-Feldmarschall Graf Moltke (Schlesisches) Nr. 38 (FR 38) - Glatz
• Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 456 (IR 456) - raised throughout VI. Corps area, but its Ersatz unit was from GR 10 in Schweidnitz
• Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 11 (RIR 11) - Stab, I.Btl. from Glatz, II.Btl. from Schweidnitz, III.Btl. from M?nsterberg
• Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 228 (RIR 228) - Stab, I. and III.Btl. from Ersatz battalion of GR 10 in Schweidnitz
• Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 271 (RIR 271) - one of its battalions was from a field battalion raised by GR 10
• Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 38 (LIR 38) - Stab, I., II. Btl. from Schweidnitz, III. Btl. from Glatz
• Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 51 (LIR 51) - the regiment was raised in other parts of Silesia, but after the Battle of Tarnawka, the remnants of the regiment were combined into one battalion, and the unit was filled out with replacements, including Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 21, which was the brigade replacement battalion formed from GR 10's and FR 38's replacement battalions.

You also have in the Schweidnitz area an artillery unit: 2. Schlesisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 42 (FAR 42).

• GR 10, FR 38 and FAR 42 were all part of the 11. Infanterie-Division, which spent the entire war on the Western Front, though I think mainly against the French and Americans. I think it was on the Somme front, though.
• RIR 11 was initially part of the 11. Reserve-Division, and in 1915 became part of the 117.Infanterie-Division. RIR 11 was thus on the Western Front until August 1916, when it went to the Romanian front and Italy, returning in April 1918. RIR 11 was decimated and disbanded that May.
• RIR 228 was part of 49. Reserve-Division. It was on the Russian and Romanian fronts until spring 1917, when it entered the line in France.
• RIR 271 was part of 82. Reserve-Division. It went into the line in the West in early 1918, first against the Americans and then in the 1918 Battle of the Somme.
• LIR 38 was part of 14. Landwehr-Division. It was on the Russian Front until early 1918 when it went to Alsace. It was broken up, though, and apparently LIR 38 ended up in 4. Kavallerie-Division.
• LIR 51 was part of 4. Landwehr-Division. That division was only on the Russian Front.

Somebody could probably look more closely and see if those divisions' records of battles and engagements match up with any for the 15th London Regiment.

[Michael Johnson]

Thanks. Actually, we have no information (yet) about the family that stayed behind. All that area is now Poland, and I haven't followed up there.