The Advance from Mons, 1914: The Experiences of a German Infantry OfficerHere is an outstanding personal memoir penned by a German infantry officer recalling his experiences during the initial days and weeks of the war in the West, July-September 1914. Walter Bloem was a Captain in the German 12th Grenadier Regiment (Royal Prussian Grenadier Regiment Prinz Carl von Preußen, 2nd Brandenburg, Nr 12 - to give his unit its full title). His narrative gives a superb insight into the outbreak of war and his regiment's mobilisation, followed by the advance through Belgium and France, including the author's participation at the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, the Marne and the Aisne. His account of what it was like to face Britain's 'Old Contemptibles' at Mons is particularly valuable. Before the war, the author was a novelist, and The Advance from Mons clearly shows this - it is written with a great eye for detail, careful yet vivid descriptions abound and importantly, from a historical perspective, the book was penned whilst Herr Bloem convalesced from a wound he received at the battle of the Aisne. Such was the quality of his writing, that J.E. Edmonds, the British official historian of the Great War commented: "Some of the scenes ... are so truly and vividly depicted that I gave translations of them in the Official History, feeling that they could not be bettered." |
Contents
Leaving Home 4 Joining the Regiment | 4 |
Parading the Regiment | 6 |
To the Front | 7 |
Into Belgium | 8 |
Advancing through Belgium | 9 |
Mons | 10 |
The Advance is resumed | 11 |
At the Aisne | 12 |
The Marne | 13 |
The Fight continues | 14 |
La FertésousJouarre | 15 |
Withdrawal over the Marne | 16 |
The Retreat continues 18 The Battle of the Aisne and after 10 | 17 |
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Common terms and phrases
12th Grenadiers 1st Battalion adjutant advance ahead Ahlert Aisne arms Army artillery attack Attichy battery battle Battle of Lorraine Baudour Belgian Bloem Brandenburg bridges Brigade bullets burst canal captain cavalry Chivres column cookers Corps crossed dark dead enemy enemy's English face fire followed Fort Condé French front Fusilier battalion German Grand Morin Gräser guns halted hands head heard heavy high ground horses houses Hussars III Corps infantry lads Le Cateau Liège Lieutenant looked lying Marne meadow midday morning moved Niestrawski night noise officers once Ourcq Paris passed patrols Petit Morin Pohlenz position regiment rest ridge rifle road round rush Sancy Sauermann Sergeant Schüler shells shot shouted shrapnel side smoke Soissons Spicheren St Ghislain staff stream street suddenly Tergnier Tertre thought told town troops valley Venizel village wood wounded yards