Hitler in the First World War        1917

August 2 – October 13 - Elsaze (Alsace)

August 1 and 2 - Replacement

Replacement to Elsaze. The regiment leaves from Linselles and Tourcoing.

Locations batallions in the period after August 1/2:

1st batallion: Landser near Mülhausen

3rd batallion: Habsheim

Regiment staf: first in Schlierbach, later in Golfingen and Hochstadt (Golfingue and Hochstatt)

Other locations batallions:

1st batallion: Brunstatt

2nd batallion: Eschenzweiler (Eschentzwiller), Dietweiler and later on at Hochstatt

3rd batallion: Zillisheim, sometimes at Barmweiler and Oberspechdach

September 17 - Hochstadt, decoration

Hitler receives a Military Service Cross Third Class with Swords, for having been wounded in combat.

September 30 - October 10 - Berlin

Hitler is said to have been on a leave in Spital (Austria) in this and other periods in WW1, but in fact he never went to Austria during the Great War. He went to visit Berlin in this period.

Oberspechdach in World War 1

(Meijer, 1934)

October – November –

Hitler joins his regiment that’s in action at the Chemin des Dames, south and north of Ailette (a river north of the Aisne, France).

October 13 – 26 - Champagne - Chemin des Dames

October 13 -  Rixheim

The regiment goes to Rixheim to leave to the region of Champagne.

October 15 – 19 - Villers

Batallion 1: lager Asfeld la Ville

Batallion 2: Proviseux (Proviseux-et-Plesnoy)

Batallion 3: Villers (Villers devant la Thour)

October 19 - March to the next location

October 20 - Ebouleau

batallion 1: Pierrepont

batallion 2: Goudelancourt (Goudelancourt les Pierrepont)

batallion 3 and regiment staf: Ebouleau

October 23 or 24 - Chemin de Dames

Regiment goes to Vivaise, Besny (Besny-au-Loizy), Aulnois (Aulnois-sous-Laon), Faubourg de la Neuville de Laon (road in Cormicy of village La Neuville?)

October 25 or 26 - Molinchart, Montbavin, Montarcène

Regiment goes to Molinchart. The Regiment Staf is located in a hole in the mountains of Montrtarcène and after that at the Plesnoy-Ferme.

October 25/26 - Anizy and Lizy

The regiment goes to the trenches at Anizy and Lizy, they stay at the Barackenlager at Chateau Rocher (could be east of Anizy-le-Chateau)

November and December - Anizy and Lizy

The regiment is building defense lines.

December 17 - Anizy and Lizy

The regiment takes over the ‘rightflank’ of the division: from the ‘Rudolfbrücke’ to 100 meters west of the ‘Lieschenbrücke’

Winter 1917/1918 - Chemin des Dames

Shelter at: Gercy, Houry, Prisces, Gronard and Burelles. Christmas 1917 was spent on a farm near Laon.

Summer - Ardooie and Koolskamp

Hitlers regiment rests in Flandern. The regiments staf and the 1st and 2nd batallion go to Ardooie. The 3rd batallion goes to Koolskamp.

July 13 – July 23 - Gheluvelt

The regiment returns to Gheluvelt where gasattacks occur on daily basis.

July 26 – August 1 - Hooge

The 1st batallion serves as reserve at Terhand (southeast of Beselaere).

The regiments staf spends the first night at Bretterhüttchen (?).

After that the regiments staf goes to a Sanitätsunterstand at the Polygonwoods. (The post war Polygonwood Cemetery still is in that area).

The messengers, including Hitler, travelled between the front line at Hooge and the regiment building in the Polygon Woods.

The regiment also fights at the location of the ‘Nonneboschen’. (On the other side of the highway (from the Polygonwoods) are about 4 streets with the name ‘Nonnebos’. ‘Bos’ means ‘wood’, so it must be the name for this wooded area.)

The French and British fought side by side in the third batlle of Ieper (July 31 - November 10), but the ambitious plans they had didn’t work out. They conquered the village of Langemark (Belgium), but they couldn’t capture the Geluveld (Belgium) area, where RIR 16 was stationed.

Ardooie (Belgium)

Geluveld region (Belgium)

Hooge (Belgium)

A picture of a so called Meldeläuferposte. Because Hitler delivered messages to the front troops this could be a place where he has been. Where this post was or if he’s been here is unknown.

Douai and region

A map of the region with the German and English lines (1917)

(Solleder, 1932)

Soldiers receiving decorations after the Battle of Arras in the village of  Lallaing (Solleder, 1932)

A windmill at St. Vaast

(Solleder, 1932)

The road between Fresnes and Gavrelle in May 1917. The Germans transport English soldiers away from the front. (Solleder, 1932)

The street to Izel, May 1917

(Solleder, 1932)

Roeux (France)

Station

Location : Rue de la Gare

The regiment staf was located at the staion of Roeux. Hitler and Meyer brought messages from the station to the north and south wing of the regiment. There seem to be some remaining trenches in the area. British cemeteries are still there.

Chemin des Dames (France)

Chemin des Dames

Location: region between Soissons and Reims, just above the river Aisne

Hitler was stationed here in 1917. Hitlers Führerhauptquartier (FHQ) Wolfsschlucht 2 was in the same area. A litlle north of Soissons.

Montbavin and Montarcène

April 9 – May 16 - Battle of Arras

Hitlers regiment fights in the Battle of Arras, near Arras (France) and in the Arras-region Artois (France).

The Battle of Arras was an offensive of British and Canadian troups on a front that was about 23 kilometers wide. The Canadian army took the Vimy Ridge. After the Great War a Canadian monument was build there. Hitler visited the monument in 1940.

April 25 - Douai

The regiment is replaced. It goes to Beavin-Provin and then by train to Douai.

April 26/27 - Douai

The regiment stands reserve at Douai.

April 28 -  Douai region

The regiment is placed behind the ‘Motan 1 Stellung’, as reserve troops. At different, changing locations.

April 30 - Corbehem and Douai

Hitlers regiment went to Corbehem for bivouac. In the morning they went back to Douai.

May 3 - Klein Vitry and Roeux

The regiment is located at Klein Vitry (probably Vitry-en-Artois) and in Roeux near the front. The 1st batallion in the second line.

May 5/6 - Douai

Replacement. The regiment goes to Doai to serve as reserve troops. On some ocassions they go to L’Homme (southwest of Douai) (?).

May 11/12 - Vitry and Roeux

The regiment replaces troops at the front. The first batallion is at the frontline, 1500 meters north of the railroad track between Vitry and Roeux. Shelter in Vitry-en Artois, in a castle-like building. After WW1 only 5 buildings were still standing in the village, so the castle must be gone.

May 19 - Lallaing and Anhiers

The regiment rests at Lallaing and Anhiers.

First days of June - Oppy

The troops of RIR 16 are south of Oppy in the trenches. The ‘Regimentsgefechtsstand’ is south of Izel (Izel-les-Equerchin) and later in Quiéry-la-Motte.On the leftflank near a windmill (?) are the English troops.

After June 12 - Montigny and Pecquencourt

The regiment is replaced. It travels to Montigny and Pecquencourt. There they rest for ten days.

La Bassée (France)

For maps of the region scroll back to 1915.

According to Adolf Meyer Hitler had to bring messages to the regiments staf that was located west of La Basee. He had to take the very dangerous road between La Bassee and Canteleux, what must be the Rue de Canteleux now. The front line was west of it: at Givenchy les la Bassee and Chuinchy. Meyer met Hitler here, at the Canteleux Untestand, when he was on his way to the front line. The Rue de Canteleux can be found back at the map mentioned above.

While Hitler was in Germany in the beginning of 1917, his regiment was located at:

The Vimy Höhe, 1st batallion: Aniche, 2nd + 3rd batallion: Somain, Biache (1st batallion: shelter at Mancourt and Hendecourt; 2nd batallion: shelter at Fampoux and Gavrelle; 3rd batallion: shelter at Fampoux and Roeux), Aniche.

March 4 - La Bassee

1st and 3rd batallion go to Beauvin-Provin by train and by foot to Groß-Hantay.

Hitler returns to his regiment in this period.

March 5 - La Bassee

The 1st batallion goes to the ‘right flank’, the 3rd batallion goes to the left one.

March 6 – April - La Bassee

Regiment commander at Abschnitt E, near La Bassee. The 2nd batallion is located at Groß Hantay.

Both pictures: Soldiers of the regiment at rest in Hantay. Hitler is the first man from the left (with hat) on the left picture.

1917  Belgium-France-Austria-Germany

In 1917 Hitler’s regiment was in Vlaanderen and French-Vlaanderen  and in the Oberelsass (Alsace). The end of 1916 and the beginning of 1917 Hitler spent in Germany, because he got woonded at Le Bargue. In September and October 1917 Hitler is said to have been in Spital but Wolfgang Zdral states in his book ‘Die Hitlers’ that he went to Berlin to stay with the parents of a fellow soldier. After that Hitler joined his regiment in the south and north of Ailette. Hitler  was also stationed in Ardooie (Belgium) for a while.

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

  1914               1915               1916               1917               1918

Montarcène Mountain Hole

Location: unknown

A Kreidehöhle must be a hole in a mountain of pretty soft stone. The surroundings of Montarcène and Montbavin are full of this kind of holes inside the small mountains. The picture below was taken near Mons en Laonnois, near the Fort de Laniscourt.   

This picture showing an exemple of a small hole in the mountain was not taken in Montarcène, but in the same region, near Mons en Laonnois.

Fort de Laniscourt

Location: Between Molinchart and Montbavin, near the villages of Laniscourt and Mons en Laonnois.

Hitlers regiment was located in both Molinchart and Montbavin in 1917. The fortress near Laniscourt is in between those two places. As far as I know there´s no source that says that Hitler was here, but he visited the Fort de Laniscourt in June 1940. That could mean that he had memories of it from the First World War. But there´s no proof of that. Klick here to go to the June 1940 page for pictures of Hitler at the Fort de Laniscourt.