Fighting the Kaiser's War : The Saxons in Flanders, 1914/1918

Personal accounts of the Great War experiences of British soldiers are well known and plentiful, but similar accounts from the German side of no man's land are rare. This highly original book vividly describes the wartime lives and ultimate fates of ten Saxon soldiers facing the British in Flanders, revealed through their intimate diaries and correspondence. The stories of these men, from front-line trench fighters to a brigade commander, are in turn used to illustrate the wider story of thousands more who fought and died in Flanders 'for King and Country, Kaiser and Reich' with the Royal Saxon Army. This ground-breaking work is illustrated with over 300 mostly unseen wartime photographs and other images, recording the German experience of the war in human detail and giving a rounded picture of how the Saxons lived and died in Flanders. [Elib] Cover ; Title Page; Copyright ; Contents ; Chapter 1: Introduction ; Chapter 2: The Royal Saxon Army at war ; Chapter 3: The Year 1914 ; XXVII. Reserve-Korps ; XIX. Armee-Korps ; Infanterie-Regiment ; Chapter 4: The Year 1915 ; XXVII. Reserve-Korps ; XIX. Armee-Korps ; 58. Infanterie-Division ; 123. Infanterie-Division ; Infanterie-Regiment 105 ; Chapter 5: The Year 1916 ; 123. Infanterie-Division ; XXVII. Reserve-Korps ; XIX. Armee-Korps ; 204. Infanterie-Division ; 58. Infanterie-Division ; Chapter 6: The Year 1917 ; 24. Infanterie-Division ; 40. Infanterie-Division. 58. Infanterie-Division 219. Infanterie-Division ; 23. Reserve-Division ; 24. Reserve-Division ; 32. Infanterie-Division ; Chapter 7: The Year 1918 ; 32. Infanterie-Division ; 58. Infanterie-Division ; 53. Reserve-Division ; III. Bataillon/ Infanterie Regiment 354 ; 23. Reserve-Division ; 23. Infanterie-Division; 40. Infanterie-Division ; Chapter 8: Independent units ; Chapter 9: Saxon Lives and Deaths in Flanders ; Erich Kühn, Vizefeldwebel ; Ernst Krippendorf, Hauptmann der Reserve ; Curt Penther, Vizefeldwebel ; Max Conrad, Gefreiter ; Richard Kaden, Generalmajor. The Tragedy of Hans Brückner Three fallen brothers ; Werner Mühle, Gefreiter ; Robert Reichel, Leutnant der Reserve ; Fritz Wittig, Gefreiter ; Chapter 10: The Home Front; Chapter 11: Appendices ; Footnotes ; Index ; Bibliography ; Picture Credits ; Glossary. The German side of the Great War as seen through the eyes of Saxon soldiers which includes first-hand descriptions of major battles fought against the British and the famous Christmas Truce.