ID Leutnant Feldart.Rgt. 43

[The Prussian]

Hello gentlemen!

I bought this wonderful postcard. Unfortunately I ´can´t identify him. Maybe he was a superior of my grandfather, who used to serve in that regiment in 17/18.

Maybe one can identify him by the medal he wears? Which one is it? I think, it´s the "Preußische Rettungsmedaille", isn´t it?

The stamp doesn´t show the number of the Feldpostexpedition, but the date. So we don´t see a year, it must be a stamp from 1914, because at that time, the end of war was expected at the end of 1914...

But the most important thing for me, is to ID this lieutenant.

Thank you very much in advance!

Edited November 21, 2010 by The Prussian

[The Prussian]

Here is the backside

[ph0ebus]

Hi Andy,

I am assuming you already checked around under the name Rühl? I wish I were better at reading and translating the old script, and could make out his signature at the end, if that is in fact what that is.

Looking for KIAs on weltkriegsopfer.de with that last name I see 18 possible candidates.

-Daniel

Edited November 22, 2010 by ph0ebus

[The Prussian]

Hi Dan!

Thanx for your response!

I haven´t checked the name around "Rühl", but only in the Rangliste 1914 and the Ehrenrangliste 14/18. There I couldn´t find name like that in the FAR43.

The lady Else doesn´t have to be i n relationschip with him. I thought I could get his name because of the "Preußische Rettungsmedaille".

[Naxos]

His name is Fred Rühl - Doctor Manfred Rühl

The postcard is addressed to his wife Else living in Beuel near Bonn, Germany. He writes about sitting at a warm chimney fire, his poor horse that has colic and probably will die of it - and that in France the days are getting cooler.

So look for a Dr. Rühl from Beuel near Bonn that lived at on time on Kaiserstrasse (Emperor-Street)

The closest match I found in the 1914 Rangliste is a Leutnant der Reserve Rühl before the war attached to Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr.61

Here is the connection between the stamp and the Man:

The 13. and 14.Reserve-Division were created from surplus of 13th and 14th regular Divisions. Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr.43 was divisional artillery of the 14th Division.

.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Naxos

[Naxos]

The text:

"Liebe Else, bei schönem Kaminfeuer vermache ich Dir ein Bild des eisernen Kriegers.

Noch immer hocken wir hier. Seit einiger Zeit habe ich hier die Molkerei angefangen, heute die Fischerei, wozu ein Kommando los ist, hoffentlich nicht ohne Erfolg. Mein armes gutes Pferd hat Kolik und wird wohl die Heimat nicht wiedersehen trotz aller Sorge. Jetzt fehlt uns eigentlich garnichts mehr, in Frankreich ist gut leben. Leider wird es hier auch schon täglich kühler. Seit herzl. umarmed Dein Fred"

Edited November 22, 2010 by Naxos

[ph0ebus]

Excellent! Seems like we are on the right path. I had a few family postcards like this and figured, hey, if he is writing to family, maybe his name is Rühl. of course, had I been able to read German I might have formed a better theory than that!

-Daniel

[The Prussian]

Hello Naxos

Thank you very much for the infos!!!! That was a brilliant work!!!!!!!!!! I´ll hve a look in the phonebook, maybe there is a Rühl in that street!

I wonder, how americans, or in this case, canadians, do have so much information about the german army. Your help was like xmas and eastern at one day... (german phrase...)

Respect!!!!!!!!:beer:

[Naxos]

Ja, Deutsch-Kanadier :cheers:

[The Prussian]

Ah, all right.... I´m sorry about my late response, but I was off in good old France with my lorry. That´s why I only can use this forum at the weekend. Your knowledge is phantastic.

I have fou d Lt. Rühl i the Rangliste too. He was listed in the FAR61, how you wrote. But I ha´ven´t found something, that he was in the FAR43. Beside him in brackets stands: Naumburg a.S. That is in Thüringen. The regimental history of the FAR43 doesn´t show an officer named Rühl...

Maybe this one is another officer, who had a love-affair to Mrs.Rühl?:whistle:

[Naxos]

Maybe this one is another officer, who had a love-affair to Mrs.Rühl?

Naughty, naughty! :cheeky:

Edited November 25, 2010 by Naxos

[The Prussian]

:rolleyes:

But there´s one question left. If he was attached to the FAR61, why couldn´t I find him in the regimental history? There is every officer listed, served in that regiemnt and those officers, who were attached to other regiments during the mobilisation. Our friend stood in France and the photo shows a 43. Why wasn´t he listed?

[Naxos]

But there´s one question left. If he was attached to the FAR61, why couldn´t I find him in the regimental history? There is every officer listed, served in that regiemnt and those officers, who were attached to other regiments during the mobilisation. Our friend stood in France and the photo shows a 43. Why wasn´t he listed?

Good question

Can you post a very lage scan of this area

[The Prussian]

I´m not a computer specialist, but I try my best...

Here it is

[Naxos]

Yes, Feldartillerie Rgt 43

So we know that his name is Fred (Manfred, Alfred, usw.) but is his last name Rühl?

Or is it perhaps the brother of Frau Doktor Rühl?

Edited November 25, 2010 by Naxos

[The Prussian]

I checked the regimental history again.

Here are the officers with the german letter "ü" in their names:

Müller, Jünger, Hüchtebrock, Krüger, Lütkefels, Kühlwetter, Hüger, Hülsenbeck, Küsters, Florschütz, Hüster.

I don´t assume, that fits with the adress...

The stamp of the photo-studio was marked with "Wesel", that was the garisson of the 43rd.

Strange, strange...

By now, I don´t think, he was "Rühl". Dr.Rühl was perhaps a neighbour?

I also read "Fred", so, how you wrote, it could be Alfred, Manfred.

I think, this problem can only be solved with a list of the owners of the "Rettungsmedaille", isn´t it?

Edited November 25, 2010 by The Prussian

[The Prussian]

By the way. The card must be written in 1914.

The fieldpost-number of the 13.Res.Div. was 997. I don´t read that here, so it must be the date. Maybe 9.10.?

In 1914 the stamps didn´t have a year, because one thought, the war would be over for xmas.

[The Prussian]

Another idea...

In the regimental history are officers listed, who were reserve officers in that regiment including their Bezirkskommandos.

Beuel is a part of Bonn. There was only one Reserve-Oficer with the rank Leutnant from the Bezirkskommando Bonn.

Leutnant Jünger

In 1914 he was in the 5th Batterie of the II.Abteilung. He died 30.8.14 near Mézières. But his first name was Karl...

But our friend here, must not be a reserve-officer