Militärpass; Kanonier Friedrich Johann Steinkemper

[IrishGunner]

I have finished my first translation/study of a Militärpass; a simple soldier.

Forty-one year old Friedrich Johann Steinkemper, married with two children, entered military service on 22 December 1916 as a Landwehr recruit. A machinist from Beckum in Westphalia, Steinkemper was entered into the rolls as a kanonier in Fussartillerie Regiment Nr. 7, garrisoned in nearby Köln. At the beginning of 1917, he was transferred to Landwehr Fussartillerie Battalion 32; spending three months with 6. Batterie before being assigned to the Battalion's 4. Batterie. For unknown reasons, a stamp from Fussartillerie Battatlion 57 appears in his Militärpass on the page assigning him to 4. Batterie Fussartillerie Battalion 32. From April to August 1917, Steinkemper saw his first combat during battles along the Yser River and in Flanders. From August to September 1917, he returned to the Ersatz Battalion, Fussartillerie Regiment Nr. 7. He saw duty at the front for only a week with 2. Batterie Fussartillerie Regiment Nr. 7 before he was re-assigned to 1. Batterie Fussartillerie Battalion 29. Steinkemper spent the remainder of the war with Fussartillerie Battalion 29, seeing action during the final battles of 1917 in Flanders. In 1918, Steinkemper and Fussartillerie Battalion 29 fought with the 9. Reserve Division against the British from the „Große Schlacht in Frankreich“, through battles in Artois and French Flanders, to the Retreat from Antwerp and Maas. Kanonier Steinkemper was a simple soldier; never promoted and never decorated. He survived the war without being wounded, although he spent a week in the hospital in September 1918 with an unknown illness. Steinkemper was demobilized by Fussartillerie Regiment Nr. 7 on 2 December 1918; on 7 December he was given a train pass to return to his family at Grûner Weg 11, Beckum, Westphalia.

Edited January 2, 2010 by IrishGunner

[IrishGunner]

Here's the cover:

[IrishGunner]

Pages with the last year of the war; 1918:

[IrishGunner]

Here's the part about being "krank" for about a week in September 1918. I think it tells which hospital "Lazerett Nr. 20" in which he spent the week. However, I can't make it out for sure. Anyone able to get the full text on this one?

[Minen]

Hi,

I think it's "Augen (eyes) Krank".

Best regards,

Stephan

[bob lembke]

I believe that it was the Bavarian Kriegslazarett xxxxx Nr. 20, but I am not sure of the word "xxxxx". Note that by comparing the letter from above (a "g" - flying from memory here) with a similar letter in the same small sample, one can see that the letter above does extend into the word "xxxxx". If there is more writing in the same hand elsewhere on the page or in the Pass you may be able to have samples to compare. It is a lot easier to decypher this writing if you have a larger sample; there is a lot of variation in this script (or scripts). A lot of this is written in Suetterlin, Kurrent, and Modern all at the same time.

Bob Lembke

PS: We may want to conspire about my grand-father, who started out as a Prussian heavy artillery NCO, probably in III. Armeekorps. In a few days I am getting an important and quite rare book about the Prussian artillery, only about four copies cataloged in the US, 1510 pages of good stuff. He wrote an article in it.

[IrishGunner]

Hi,

I think it's "Augen (eyes) Krank".

Best regards,

Stephan

Quite possible; now with your suggestion - and Bob's hint - I will compare to other words that I know have the same letters.

[IrishGunner]

Bob,

Indeed, comparing letters to other already deciphered words is a great hint.

I was pretty sure the abbreviation was "bayr." for bayerische - Bavarian - as you suggest. But it was exactly the same word that stumped you that has given me the most trouble. In other entries, I can figure out context, but this one has me totally perplexed.

Now that my eyes are rested, I will go attack it once more.

PS: We may want to conspire about my grand-father, who started out as a Prussian heavy artillery NCO, probably in III. Armeekorps. In a few days I am getting an important and quite rare book about the Prussian artillery, only about four copies cataloged in the US, 1510 pages of good stuff. He wrote an article in it.

1500+ pages on the Prussian artillery! Where is the envious drooling smiley face icon? Four copies?

Happy to help with your grand-father in any way I can... :beer:

Edited January 5, 2010 by IrishGunner

[speedytop]

Hi

9.9.18 Augenkrank

d[em] bayr[ischen] Kriegsl[azarett] XXX 20. überw[iesen]

bis 18.9.18

9.9.18 with ohptalmic defect sent into the Bavarian hospital XXX 20 up to 18.9.18.

Uwe

Edited January 5, 2010 by speedytop

[bob lembke]

God bless our native speakers.

Bob

[IrishGunner]

Uwe, vielen dank! Fantastisch!

Only two more pieces to the puzzle. From these excerpts, it appears that Kanonier Steinkemper did some kind of service in the Reichswehr, 29.4.19 to 13.4.20

In this piece he receives a coat, pants, and boots from what seems to be Bekdo. XXX for the year.

Hxx beim Bezkdo XXX Rock, Hose, Stiefel xxxxx vom 29.4.19 X 13.4.20

[IrishGunner]

This hard to read stempl looks like "Kommando Muenster" - Muenster is the district city for Beckum (Steinkemper's town) in Westphalia.

Is Bezkdo XXX somehow related to Muenster?

[IrishGunner]

Now this is the really difficult one. This one seems to tell what unit Steinkemper was assigned to in 1919.

Hxx 165. Batl. Artl. xxx Batl. xxxx xxxxx X. 13.4.20

[bob lembke]

Hat beim Bezkdo (possibly abbreviation for underwear - long shot), Rock, Hose, and Stiefel "umge__auscht" am 29.4.19 X? 13.4.20

Bob

[bob lembke]

Rick;

Way off, I am sad to report. It seems that he received 65 Marks, probably marching-out money. Nothing there to say he was in the Reichswehr, unless I missed something. It seems to be the usual amount that men got when pushed out the door in 1918 or 1919. Certainly not a unit designation. Don't feel bad, I have done these for years, still not good. The story of what I thought my father's Pass said the first time I tried is hilarious, but a bit too long to recount now. These things have patterns and when you get to do a number they fall into a pattern.

I have a great artillery Pass, guy had a rich combat history in the war, then shuffled into a Freikorps, and then into the Reichswehr, all in one document.

Bob

[IrishGunner]

Rick;

Way off, I am sad to report. It seems that he received 65 Marks, probably marching-out money. Nothing there to say he was in the Reichswehr, unless I missed something. It seems to be the usual amount that men got when pushed out the door in 1918 or 1919. Certainly not a unit designation. Don't feel bad, I have done these for years, still not good. The story of what I thought my father's Pass said the first time I tried is hilarious, but a bit too long to recount now. These things have patterns and when you get to do a number they fall into a pattern.

I have a great artillery Pass, guy had a rich combat history in the war, then shuffled into a Freikorps, and then into the Reichswehr, all in one document.

Bob

Hey, I feel great! This is my first Pass translation and this seems to be my only huge error.

I'm glad I posted it because now I've learned something about marching out money - something I didn't know about. Next time I see something similar - I will be smarter.:catjava: