Recruiting: Alsace-Lorraine

G

Glennj

Well-known member
For some time, I have been grappling with the thorny problem of trying to determine how the Prussian units in garrison in Alsace-Lorraine were manned and indeed where the soldiers recruited in those provinces were assigned. I believe it is well known that some men from Alsace-Lorraine served in the Guards Corps but actually tracking down a definitive order has proved elusive. Neither the Militär-Wochenblatt nor the Armee-Verordnungsblatt provides the answer.

Recently I came across a document titled “Beiträge zur Statistik des Reichsheeres” by Freiherr v. Fircks and published in 1881. Amongst the reams of tables and information is a section concerning the allocation of conscripts and I have translated a couple of the relevant passages:

The default position at that time is that Landwehr Battalion Recruiting Districts (Later Landwehr-Bezirke) with the same number provided recruits to the active regiment with the same number. They were some exceptions as detailed below.

“The Battalion recruiting districts within the XV Army Corps area of responsibility (Reserve-Landwehr-Bataillone Nr. 97, 98, 99 and Landwehr-Regimenter Nr. 128, 129, 130 and 131) do not provide recruits for specific regiments; rather, the recruits conscripted in Alsace-Lorraine are assigned to the Guard Corps, X Army Corps and II Bavarian Army Corps to carry out their active service.

…..further, the following regiments receive their recruits from the Army Corps recruiting district enclosed in brackets:*

Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 128 (I. Army Corps)
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 129 (II. Army Corps)
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 98 (III. Army Corps)
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 99 (V. Army Corps)
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 132 (VI. Army Corps)
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 131 (VII. Army Corps)
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 130 (VIII. Army Corps)
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 97 (XI. Army Corps)

The Jäger Battalions, Cavalry, Field and Foot Artillery Regiments and Battalions, Pioneer and Train Battalions receive their recruits from their respective Army Corps District, those belonging to the Guards Corps from the entire State of Prussia and Alsace-Lorraine. The only exceptions are the units of XV Army Corps who receive replacements from the Army Corps District from which they originally belonged”.

* Newly formed Regiments 97, 98, 99, 130, 131 & 132 in 1881 were in time all assigned to the Reichslände to replace Prussian units in garrison there. From the above, I make the assumption that also the original Prussian units in Alsace-Lorraine such as Regiments 25, 42, 45, 60 etc. just continued to receive their replacements from their original Landwehr Battalion recruiting district (Landwehrbezirk) in their original Army Corps.

Further research is needed and of course the situation did change. For instance, according to the regimental history of Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 132, they received the vast majority of their replacements from the Rhineland (VIII. Army Corps) after relocating from Glatz (VI. Army Corps) to Straßburg (XV. Army Corps)!!

What is clear is that regiments with Alsace or Lorraine designations were that in name only, with only a very small percentage of their conscripted manpower being from the local populace. Indeed if one looks at the casualty lists for 7. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 158 (VII) Army Corps and based in Paderborn and Sennelager, it appears that just about all were local Westphalian men from around Höxter, Büren, Soest etc.

Regards
Glenn
 
I have been grappling with the thorny problem
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A mild understatement!

That is wonderfully enlightening and allows for some assumptions from 1881. I have always been stumped as to whether there were any changes at all due to the 1911 political/statehood reorganization. There should not have been but anything to confirm or deny seems incredibly elusive. So for these individuals both ways how did Müsterung work for them? They must have gone through their physical inspection locally. And the local district must've had allotments to send them to other regiments. So there must of been some sort of overall guidance that was reflected in the annual Müsterung direction. One of the better more modern articles I have used is:

Wackes at War: Alsace-Lorraine and the failure of German national mobilization
By:Kramer, Allan
it's part of the book:
State, society and mobilization in Europe during the First World War
1997--pgs.105-121

We do need more research! #-o
 
Hi Joe,

unusually for a regimental history, that of Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 132 published in 1906 actually lists the composition of its recruit allotment. Originally raised in Silesia, it was transfered to Straßburg in 1888, recruited its first conscripts from the Rhineland in 1890 and only on 27 January 1902 was retitled as 1. Unter-Elsäßisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 132. Check out 1904 and 1905. They are from all over the place!

As I understand the process, the War Ministry detailed the Army Corps of the required manpower annually and then they provided as necessary. I have, however, yet to come across a document which actually states which Army Corps was instructed to supply how many and to which Nominal "Alsace-Lorraine" regiments in the Reichslände. Those original Prussian (and indeed Saxon and Bavarian) regiments attached to XV. Army Corps would have received their replacements from the original Landwehr-Bezirk in the "homeland".

Anyway, I am on the scent!!

Regards
Glenn

ir132.jpg
 
Here is an interesting example of the complexity of this issue: Having said above that the default position at that time was that Landwehr Battalion Recruiting Districts (Later Landwehr-Bezirke) with the same number provided recruits to the active regiment with the same number, the story with 2. Niederschleßisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 47 is confounding.

This Lower Silesian regiment was one of the Prussian regiments initially assigned to the Reichslände in 1871 to provide the garrison. According to the regimental history, the first replacements in Straßburg in 1872 came from the Landwehr-Regiment Nr. 47 Bezirke in Hirschberg and Lauban which is as it should be with some assistance from the Rhineland from Elberfeld, Barmen and Mettmann. This remained the situation until 1875 when all replacements were drawn from VIII Army Corps. The regiment was then almost completely manned by Rhinelanders when in 1878 the recruits were drawn from the 14th Infantry Brigade District (IV Army Corps), that is Torgau, Bitterfeld, Halle and Aschersleben and from 1882 also from the 15th Brigade District – Mühlhausen and Erfurt. From 1884 again from the Rhineland (Aachen, Jülich, Trier and Saarlouis) and then in 1886 from Bonn, Deutz and Neuß on the Middle Rhine. Added to the mix were some local Alsatian three year volunteers.

Probably more bizarre still is the situation when the regiment moved to Posen in 1888. Already from 1887 recruits had been received from III, IV & V Army Corps but in 1888-1890 the regiment received recruits from Schleswig-Holstein (IX Army Corps) and again in 1899 -1901 and 1907 with a yearly batch in 1902 from Hannover (X Army Corps). In between the replacements were provided by III (many Berliners), Lower Silesians from the V and Silesians from the VI Army Corps not to mention also some Westphalians from VII Army Corps between 1900 and 1907!

Although the Wehrordnung did provide for the assistance to other Army Corps in necessity it is not clear to me how common the practice detailed above was.

Regards
Glenn
 
You have done this in much more detail than me! Most of your data must come from unit histories??? Kramer does not offer much relief however he does a good job in footnoting his sources. While he is concerned with the war years primarily he does give a hint about XV Army Corps recruits during the early war where he says 25.5% came from Alsace-Lorraine the details 40.9% coming from Prussia and then lumps the rest of the recruits from “other federal states.” He lists his source from the archive in Freiburg. "Das Verhalen die Elsass-Lothringer in drei Kriegsjahren" 1917-pg59.

Maybe there is some clarification there but I doubt if it tracks the regiments over 40 years. You called it thorny but it certainly will make your head hurt.
 
Joe,

Most of your data must come from unit histories???
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Yes, I am ploughing through some histories of both Prussian regiments serving in Alsace-Lorraine and those that were given the designation in their title after formation. What is becoming apparent that this is a minefield. Just looked at the history of Pomeranian Infantry Regiment Nr. 42 which was posted to Metz in 1871. I have attached a screenshot of the particular piece which is of interest but the salient points are that once in Metz it received its replacements from VII Army Corps (Westphalia) and the telling quote "With this recruit allotment, the last relationship to Pomerania ceased and the regiment was Pomeranian in name only"

I have yet to read the situation when they later returned to Pomerania.

Regards
Glenn

ir42_2.jpg
 
Your last image reminded me of JR 31. I guess the issue is much much larger than Alsace Lorrain. The regiments in the East did not have enough local population to fill their requirements. Therefore they also took drafts from other locations. We do not know which regiments got their recruits from exactly where. The entire general understanding of local recruiting is brought to question. This has huge implications for the ancestry folks. :-k :-k
 
Joe,

Your last image reminded me of JR 31. I guess the issue is much much larger than Alsace Lorraine
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I agree. The asumption that just because an individual came from place A presupposes that he must have have served in regiment B is not tenable. Although the the replacement situation for the coming year was promulgated in general terms in the Armee-Verordnungsblatt, one can only assume that follow-up instructions from the War Ministry went down into the weeds and actually detailed actual numbers...and that is the information that is yet to be discovered.

Unfortunately the regimental history of Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 31 does not discuss the regional makeup of its replacements. But judging from what we have discussed in this thread, I think it highly unlikely that many of its replacements would be "Thüringian" after its move to Altona. This is not scientific, but the few individuals who I have seen listed as casualties in WW1 in this regiment were from Altona, Hamburg and Stade.

As for Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 42, the situation appears to have normalized with all its replacements coming from within the II Army Corps District when it returned to Pomerania in 1886, albeit from two different brigade areas.

Regards
Glenn
 
I was looking toward Rekrutierung Musterung WK1 Jahrgang 1871 Nürnberg as some sort of possible explanation.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390375451938?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_4522wt_922" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But I do not know there will be anything of value there, it is terribly old at 1871, and the shipping cost more than the item!
 
Joe,

But I do not know there will be anything of value there
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I think you are right, probably not a great deal in there of much use (even if you can decipher the Sütterlin script!!) In any case, just one Gemeinde from Bavaria.

Its certainly a theme I will look out for on my next trip to Berlin/Potsdam in March.

Regards
Glenn
 
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