Off to the factory!

[Chris Boonzaier]

I have a few Militärpässe where the men were sent off to work in factories in early 1918.

was there an official order for this to happen? it cannot have just been done "comme ca.."

Best

Chris

[Naxos]

I have a few Militärpässe where the men were sent off to work in factories in early 1918.

was there an official order for this to happen? it cannot have just been done "comme ca.."

Best

Chris

Good question. I came across similar entries as well.

[Guest Rick Research]

I never have-- so the obvious question is:

what was their civilian job as listed up front in the book?

FARM laborers being sent to a factory would be highly different than a lathe operator or some sort of machine tool builder being called back.

One of my grandfathers was called back as a steelworker, drafted in violation fo the Exempt Categories regulations.

[Chris Boonzaier]

I am wondering if it was not a way to place guys suffering from shell shock into positions where they could still serve?

One of my guys landed in a hospital, then genesungs Kompagnie without any wound being entered in the Militärpass, then went to work in a factory. He did not seem to be a machine specialist at all.

Must look through my books and dig out the other examples.

[Naxos]

I never have-- so the obvious question is:

what was their civilian job as listed up front in the book?

I will post when I get home

[Naxos]

Here it is:

Pionier Sch.. born in 1895 profession: Schlosser (Mechanic)

May 26, 1915 as Ersatz Rekruit with the Garde Pionier Ersatz Bataillon, III.Rek Depot.

Training received for: Karabiner 98 und Flammenwerfer

May 26, 1915 - into the Army as an Ersatz Rekruit.

October 10, 1915 - III. Garde Pionier Bataillon, Ers. (Ersatz) Kompagnie.

December 13, 1915 - 11. Kompagnie, III. Garde Pionier Bataillon im Feld.

December 14, 1915 - To Rekruten Depot, III Garde=Pionier=Bataillon

December 19, 1915 - To 11. Kompagnie, III. Garde=Pionier=Bataillon

December 20, 1915 - To 11. Kompagnie, III. Garde=Pionier=Regiment, “jetzt (now) 3. Komp. Garde Res. Pion. Regts

Mitgemachte Gefechte (Battles taken part in):

December 21, 1915 to January 9, 1916 - … Kampf um den Hartmannsweilerkopf

February 22, 1916 - Storming of the Bois de Ville.

March 2, 1916 - Battle in Chauffour and Albainwald.

March 2, 1916 - Battle on Village Douaumont.

March 8, 1916 - Battle for Douaumont.

March 18, 1916 - Battle by Fort Douaumont

March 29, 1916 - Wounded

April 2, 1916 - at Field Hospital following burns on the head from flame oil

April 15, 1916 - To the Garrison Company, II. Garde Pionier Ersatz Bataillon.

May 11, 1916 - To the 3rd Ersatz Company, II. Garde Pionier Ersatz Bataillon.

May 11, 1916 - On 11. 5. 16. Transferred to the 3. Ersatz Kompagnie, II. Garde-Pionier-Ersatz-Bataillon,

and on 26. 7. 16. To the Garde-Reserve-Pionier-Regiment in the field.

July 26, 1916 - On 11. 5. 16. Transferred to the 3. Ersatz Kompagnie, II. Garde-Pionier-Ersatz-Bataillon, and on 26. 7. 16. To the Garde-Reserve-Pionier-Regiment

4. 11. 16. Attack in Woods of St. Pierre Vaast with I. R. 116

On 25. 11. 1916 laut( by) regimental order zwecks (for) work performance to District Command Berlin-Schoeneborg in Marsch gesetzt( meaning = sent marching).

November 27, 1916 - Notation of some sort by the Bezirk=Kommando V Berlin.

November 29, 1916 - With the Garrison Company, “2. Garde=Pionier Ersatz Bataillon”; by December 1, 1916 Schubert was to perform work with the firm Paul Marcus, Monumentenstraße in Schoeneberg untill March 31, 1917 vom Waffengebrauch zurückgestellt (from the use of weapons freed).

June 1, 1917. to Ers. Komp. Ers. Pi. Batl. W.(urttemberg)

On 21. 6. 17 to 15. 10. 17. With the 1. Company Wuerttemburg Pioneer Field Recruit Depot 10, Armee Detachment C.”

October 15, 1917 Transferred to Pioneer Company 252.

October 16, 1917 to November 26, 1917 - Fighting for the (Maashöhe) Maas heights by Lomorville, Syede and St. Mihiel.

November 29, 1917 - Tank-battle by Cambrai.

November 30, 1917 to December 12, 1917 - Attack Battle by Cambrai.

December 8, 1917 to January 1, 1918 and February 23 to February 26, 1918 and March 1, 1918 to March 10, 1918 “Fighting in the Siegfried Stellung

February 26 to March 1, 1918 . On account of an ear sickness in Feld-Lazarett 78.

March 11, 1918 - ‘gem. Versg. 208. J. D. II 2053 v. 10. 3. 18' transferred to ‘R.=Flugzeug=Ersatz=Abt.’ Cologne.”

[Chip]

Chris,

Wasn't this the case with our friend from the Rohr battalion? I seem to remember that after he recovered from his wounds he was sent to Rheinmetall and never went back to the field.

Chip

Edited August 15, 2009 by Chip

[joerookery]

Sorry I just got to this. Actually it was quite common.

As early as mid-1915, skilled workers left the military to work in industries vital to the war effort. Of the 56,000 employees working for Krupp in June 1915, 22,000 of them were men excused from military service. By early 1916, 1.2 million men were exempted. By the beginning of 1918, 2.1 million were exempted workers. The number of women working in traditionally male roles exploded, and by some estimates, women operated roughly 80 percent of farms.

[Guest Rick Research]

Hardy's former flamethrower WAS a previously trained mechanic, so his civilian skills made sense for exemptions-- even though he went back and forth, back and forth which doesn't seem very efficient.

I'm just wondering about the OTHER observed examples, and whether they--logically-- WERE industrial workers, or were medical discharge cases. If somebody was a farm laborer and ends up in a factory... that's another situation than skilled machinists being called back to vital jobs.

I've got a photo around somewhere in my files of a bunch of uniformed soldiers outside the signed side door of a motor works... so many sublevels of archive I can't even find things myself any more....

[Chris Boonzaier]

Chris,

Wasn't this the case with our friend from the Rohr battalion? I seem to remember that after he recovered from his wounds he was sent to Rheinmetall and never went back to the field.

Chip

Indeed... but from what I see, there is no mention of a physical wound in 1917. he was just sent to hospital, then genesungs company, then to the factory.

he does not seem to have been a skilled worker.

I get the feeling that he was sent to the factory because they figured he would not be fit for combat anytime soon.

I am wondering how many of these factory worker soldiers were sent to factories as they were no longer able to serve at the front?

Often it seems they were pretty experienced soldiers. Why take your experianced guys and send them to the factory, when you could send a recruit?

I am wondering if guys had obvious "combat fatigue" that they were then quietly sent off to a factory.

[Guest Rick Research]

Here we go. "Royal Motor Works" (no such establishment on any pre-war military table of organization)-- Landsturm guard (remarkably well kitted out in first rate gear so possibly in one of the major cities where Looking Good was more important than these guys usually were on the supply chain) and most of the soldiers in grubby work fatigues and military caps:

I'd say early in the war from the boots and the Landsturm guys snappy appearance. The sign says "Barracks" but one wonders whether some CIVILIAN establishment wasn't simply taken over For The Duration and staffed by soldier-workers?

Nothing but "for my beloved" written on it as a clue. :banger:

[Guest Rick Research]

Then there must have been more places like this. Stamped railway expess mail at Vohwinkel-Hagen in Westfalen 2 January 1916-- EXTREMELY nattily dressed civilian (?) workers in matching corporate peaked caps--most also wearing shirts and ties ( ) with artillery NCOs (note 3 in lab coats matching the worker standing far left) and an officer who must have been assigned as on site quality control inspectors to make sure those boys polished the shells just right--

Aside from the teens, these workers don't look like combed-out overaged near-pensioners-- so I wonder whether these are the types of soldier call backs you are talking about?

[joerookery]

I know these guys made helmets and supplied them to Army Corps XIV and XV.

[bob lembke]

I have at least one Militaer=Pass from a soldier who seemed to be in medical difficulties and then ended up at a engine factory, Maybach, possibly. But he still seemed to be under military discipline, not released from service. Will poke about for it.

Bob Lembke

[sef1962]

Helo I have this militarpass to Oskar Hauser born 1872 pre war 1 Feld-Art Reg 9 batterie Training:Operation for the Field art, Gun pointer and with the Reichs revolver M83. 3/9/14-15/9/15 with

L.Mun.Kol 2 Abt Res-Feld-Art-Reg Nr53. then as shown on page 12 and 13.The entry for 6/12/15 says something about an Iron Foundry, then the entry on 23/2/17 is the same factory mentioned on inside of the pass.Unfortunatley for me I translate these with a German English Dicionary and struggle with some words and writing.

Edited August 31, 2009 by sef1962

[sef1962]

last page

[Guest Rick Research]

Excellent to see examples of such essential industry recalls. Also remarkably inefficient to keep moving "cannon fodder" back and forth away from essential indistrial jobs.

[Les]

Excellent to see examples of such essential industry recalls. Also remarkably inefficient to keep moving "cannon fodder" back and forth away from essential industrial jobs.

Joe is correct, men were often sent home for short periods of time for critical factory work, or during peak agricultural work periods to work on farms. A man did not have to be wounded to be sent home, although being used as part of the labor force while on convalescent leave was not uncommon.

Karl Liebknecht, an elected Reichstag (SDP) member was conscripted, sent to the front, and was intermittently recalled to Berlin whenever the Reichstag was in session.

[sef1962]

Sent back from the front to factorys full of women ? is this so bad?

[Chris Boonzaier]

Just wondering if anyone has any new docs related to this?