Marching company of Bonn infantry regiment 160

Transcription

1 From the Rhine to the Somme and to the Bug On the trail of Bonn soldiers during the First World War Special exhibition at Bonn Municipal Museum 27th August to 9th November 2014 Marching company of Bonn infantry regiment 160

2 From the Rhine to the Somme and to the Bug On the trail of Bonn soldiers during the First World War 27th August to 9th November 2014 Special exhibition at Bonn Municipal Museum The exhibition follows the trail of Bonn soldiers who were mostly deployed in Northern France and Belgium or on the Eastern front (Latvia / Eastern Galicia / Romania). First, a look is taken at the first 100 days of the 9th infantry regiment II/160 stationed at the Ermelkeil barracks. At the beginning of August 1914, the battalion marched from Luxembourg to the Marne via Southern Belgium and Champagne in conjunction with other troops. On 11th September 1914, it retreated to a front line in Champagne according to orders. The second part of the exhibition presents photographs and documents collected following an appeal by the Municipal Museum and the Municipal Archives. Individual Bonn soldiers deployed in war are introduced in the form of short biographies. Beginning of 1914: A Bonn company is meant to protect the Rhine Bridge against enemy aircraft

3 Guided tours of the exhibition: Sunday, 31st August 2014, hrs with Dr Horst-Pierre Bothien Sunday, 7th September 2014, hrs with Barbara Wrany Sunday, 2nd November 2014, hrs with Dr Horst-Pierre Bothien News from home also in the Bonn paper General-Anzeiger, Eastern front, 1916 Publication on the exhibition: n vor dem Krieg in husaren-regiment es Infanterie-Regi100 Tage im Krieg r hinaus stellt das n in Kurzbiografien und besondere Überblick ab. 180 bisher unver- Horst-Pierre Bothien Mal die Kriegser Soldaten in den Sie kämpften vor Flandern, an der e an der Ostfront in änien. Vom Rhein an die Somme und an den Bug mme oldaten ) Vom Rhein an die Somme und an den Bug Auf den Spuren Bonner Soldaten im Ersten Weltkrieg ( ) von Horst-Pierre Bothien StadtMuseum Bonn KLARTEXT Price EUR 19.95, ISBN available at the Museum s ticket desk

4 In September 1914, the Bonn battalion II/160 moved forward up to Vitry-le-François at the Marne where fierce fighting with the French ensued. On 11th September 1914, a retreat order arrived and the troops entrenched themselves north of Suippes. The winter battle of Champagne commenced.

5 Events accompanying the exhibition 4th September 2014, hrs, Bonn Municipal Museum The first encounters of the Rhenish troops in the Ardennes with Yvon Barbazon and Dr Franz Eppe (Ardennes, Belgium) In August 1914, the Bonn battalion II/160 moved towards the Marne across Luxembourg and Belgium. On 22nd August, the first fierce encounter with the French took place in Porcheresse and Bièvre, the actual baptism of fire of the battalion. As a result, the two small towns of Porcheresse and Bièvre were almost completely destroyed, and war crimes were committed. The historian Barbazon relates the events from a Belgian point of view with presentation of slides. Dr Eppe, a German living in Porcheresse, will translate and supplement existing views. The destroyed village of Passendale in Belgium, 20th October th September 2014, hrs, Bonn Municipal Museum In the morass of Champagne up until self-sacrifice with Michel Godin (Suippes, Champagne) In August/September 1914, the Bonn battalion II/160 moved to the Marne across the Meuse (Maas). Near Vitry-le-François, fierce skirmishes with the French ensued. On 11th September 1914, a surprising order for retreat from the German army leadership

6 was received. The troops entrenched themselves in Champagne near Souain. Months of trench warfare commenced. Michel Godin, historian and former mayor of the commune of Souain, who helped to build the Marne memorial in Suippes (Centre d Interprétation Marne 14-18) and provides academic support, relates the events from a French point of view with presentation of slides. 21st September 2014, hrs, Bonn Municipal Museum 2014 a World War turns one hundred Concert presented by Burkhart Sondermeier and Ulrich Raue An event organised by Bonn Municipal Museum in cooperation with the Förderverein StadtMuseum Bonn e.v. within the framework of event series Culture with Wine. Admission 8 28th September 2014, hrs and 26th October 2014, hrs, Bonn Municipal Museum Historical role play with Kai-Ingo Weule and Dr Sigrid Lange Hubert Grouven, a simple soldier, experiences the entire course of the war. On the basis of his diary, his experiences are re-enacted in the form of various historical play scenes: From the so-called rah-rah patriotism in August 1914 via the daily struggle for survival in the trenches on the Western and Eastern fronts and the inadequacy of supplies at home through to the eventual realisation of the insanity of war. 2nd October 2014, hrs, Bonn Municipal Museum Ernest Claes: Aus dem Kriege [From the War] Namur 1914 Illustrated reading with Johannes Herzog (translator) Ernest Claes, the Flemish soldier and later writer,

7 is seriously injured near Namur in August 1914 when the Germans march through Belgium, and is taken prisoner by the Germans. He relates his experiences in a most impressive manner in his book Uit den Oorlog Namen 1914, of which a German translation entitled Aus dem Kriege Namur 1914 is now available for the first time. Here, the German atrocities of summer 1914 are reverberated in literature. 23rd October 2014, hrs, Bonn Municipal Archives Historical sources on the First World War from Bonn with Dr Norbert Schloßmacher (Municipal Archives) and Dr Horst-Pierre Bothien (Municipal Museum) The Municipal Archives and the Municipal Museum present original documents (diaries, army postal service, photo albums, posters, small objects ) from private and municipal collections and classify them. Admission free 30th October 2014, hrs, Bonn Municipal Museum A Bonn look at the gruesome battlefield at the Somme with Dr Horst-Pierre Bothien In an area not as large as the Rhine-Sieg district on its right bank, an atrocious war of aggression, defence, and attrition raged between 1914 and Various armies rolled over the area repeatedly, leaving scorched earth behind. The aim of the slide show is to remind of those events and to establish links with Bonn soldiers. Copyright of photographs: Infantry regiment 160 R. Vollmar, Bonn company at the Rhine Bridge Bonn Municipal Archives, News from home and The destroyed village of Passendale A. Hammes, Obituary for Hodann K.-R. Horster

8 Obituary for lieutenant Hodann, not yet 17 years old, from the Bonn infantry regiment 160 Bonn Municipal Museum Franziskanerstraße Bonn Wednesdays 9.30 to hrs Thursdays - Saturdays to hrs Sundays to hrs Telephone: (ticket desk) (office) stadtmuseum@bonn.de Admission EUR 2.50 / with discount EUR Published by: The Lord Mayor of the Federal City of Bonn, Cultural Office / Bonn Municipal Museum / Press Office. Print run 3 500, June 2014