Tragic #story of German Prisoner – diary of 2 Battalion Welch Regiment.
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25 August 1916: “Early this morning a figure moving along the parapet of our forward sap in the dawn, having been challenged twice, hesitated and eventually bolted away. He was brought down by rifle fire, after rushing from shell hole to shell hole. As he fell down he was enveloped in flame.
He proved to be a German and besides many luxuries he carried in his equipment and parcels, he bore an expired leave ticket. Presumably, he had come straight from leave to our front line.
His gifts were greatly appreciated. He died of his wounds however, a bomb having been exploded by the bullet that struck him. He belonged to the German 139th Regiment”.
Profile page link for #story https://talk.operationwardiary.org/#/subjects/AWD0003vyh
I have come across so many interesting stories in these WW1 diaries!
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ral104
moderator, scientist
I wonder if he was trying to get himself taken prisoner - seems odd for one man to be up there on his own with all that stuff.
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cyngast
moderator
How could he have come straight from leave and have at least one bomb in his pocket? He must have been through a trench somewhere, whether in his own lines or British lines, to pick it up.
Poor man. I hope he didn't suffer for long from his wounds. They must have been burns, at least in part.
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