Stand To! No 93, the journal of The Western Front Association, is now being distributed to current subscribed members of the WFA.
Stand To! is published three times a year in Dec/Jan, April/May and Aug/Sept.
The Editor is always prepared to consider original articles for publication.
Below you will find the contents list. You can view a sample article from ths edition with this link a sample article from Stand To! 93.
Front cover:
The cover photograph is once again from a postcard in the excellent collection of Ralph Whitehead. Please see detailed description at the foot of the page.
Contents of Edition 93:
Communication Lines 2-5
Charlie: the Mysterious Death and Reburial of Major C. E. Sutcliffe 6-10
Learning Curves and Opportunity Curves on the Western Front 11-14
The Camera Returns (75) 15-16
A Literary Collaboration 17-19
Shipping Losses off the Coast of North East England 1914-1918 20-25
War Art - Walter Percival Starmer (1877-1961) 26-30
‘Obviously All Was Lost' - The Life and Death of Edward Revere Osler 31-34 (website featured article)
The Broadmarsh Crater - Vimy Canadian Memorial Site ‘Then and Now' 35
Walter Fuller's War 36-45
Remembering the Great War at St. Bridget's Church 46-47
The Burial of the German Military War Dead on the Western Front 48-49
Garrison Library 50-56
Front Cover: The cover photograph is of five men of a Bavarian machine gun crew from the 10th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment with their weapon. The postcard is dated 10 September 1917. Normally there would be a six man crew. It is possible the crew was smaller due to recent losses, a shortage of manpower or simply that the sixth man was the one taking the photograph.
The 10th Bavarian RIR was part of the 5th Bavarian Reserve Division formed in the 3rd Bavarian Army Corps District. The regimental depot was located in Straubing, located north-east of Munich, close to the border with the current Czech Republic and Austria. This regiment served much of the first 2 years of the war in various locations in the Artois. It was transferred to the Somme in late 1916, followed by the Aisne and then St Mihiel. A few weeks after the postcard was written the regiment was transferred to Flanders. Late in the war the men fought on the Scarpe, on the Somme again and then in Alsace. Finally, the regiment was involved in action against US troops in the Meuse-Argonne region. Once this fighting was over the regiment returned to Bavaria at the end of the war.
The men are seen here with the standard MG 08 heavy machine gun. It is equipped with the Zeilfenrohr 1912 (ZF12) optical sight allowing for greater accuracy over long distances. The weapon is loaded with a fresh 250 round belt as the tab hanging from the receiver indicates. You can also see the condenser tube which was attached to the front of the water jacket and was placed inside an early pattern MG 08 condenser can. The gun is also placed on a platform often used by machine-gun troops to store the weapon when not in use. It also allowed greater access and ease of use as the weapon could easily be deployed into the firing position. As the weapon weighs 140 pounds fully loaded it would be difficult and tiring to lift it continuously from the ground.
The men are equipped with M1907/1910 Waffenrock tunics with the Brandenburg cuff. The man standing on the left is also an NCO - he has lace on his tunic collar, probably a Gefreiter or Unteroffizier. He is probably the gun commander as he is carrying binoculars (Fernglas 08) around his neck. Of the three men whose hands are visible he is also the only one wearing a wedding ring.
At least one man is wearing puttees (Wickelgamaschen) instead of the more familiar leather boots (M1866 Infanteriestiefel) and has either a reinforced knee on his trousers or simply a patch covering a tear to his uniform! Two of the men are wearing the Iron Cross II Class ribbon attached to the button of their tunics. Three of the men are displaying their Pistolentasche 08 which was used to carry the Pistole 08 (P 08) 9mm Luger normally issued to machine-gun troops. The man sitting lower right is also carrying a Gewehr Karabinier 98K, a shorter version of the standard Gewehr 98. The shorter length made it easier to use inside the trenches and it had a turned down bolt, unlike the straight bolt of the basic infantry rifle, making it easier to use and less likely to snag on an obstruction when carrying it. The Schützen smoking a cigarette on the right appears to have an injury to his right thumb judging from his bandage. The Schützen sitting on the left has either a relative or a friend in the Austrian Army. He is wearing at least three Austrian cap badges, items which were quite common among Austro-Hungarian troops but unusual among German soldiers. An example of the one badge that can be identified can be found at: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=44581&st=25
They all have the look of being veteran soldiers and were very likely experts in the use of their weapon of choice. For clarity see this photograph in full on p.47.
