STURMGRENADIERE – History of SturmBataillon No. 7 1916–1918

This assault battalion of the German 7th Army, composed of elite soldiers, was stationed at Bosmont-sur-Serre, Tavaux and St Pierremont (canton of Marle, département of the Aisne) from November 1916 to October 1918. In 1917 and 1918, the battalion fought across the entire front of the 7th Army, notably on the Chemin des Dames, then on the Marne and in Champagne. All aspects of the history of this assault battalion are traced in this book: from its origins, through the description of the vast training camp at Bosmont and its annexes, the training of the soldiers of this elite unit, their daily life, visits from the general staff or from Wilhelm II, as well as the recollections of direct witnesses and participants in this war. The raids and numerous attacks in which these soldiers took part on the Chemin des Dames in 1917, or during the offensives on the Aisne, the Marne and in Champagne in 1918, are covered in a dedicated chapter. German and French sources are confronted and placed in parallel. The arrival of reinforcements from Sturmbataillon No. 5 "Rohr" and the presence at Bosmont in 1918 of the Württembergisches-Gebirgs-Regiment, another elite unit of mountain troops, are also recounted in this book. In parallel, the book addresses various aspects of the German occupation of Bosmont-sur-Serre, a small village in the Serre valley, as well as Tavaux — notably the daily life of civilians under occupation, the harassment, the punishments, the forced labour — along with the traces and remnants of the Great War still clearly visible today, a century on, notably at Bosmont: the "Abri du Kaiser" (the first Great War relic to be listed as a Historic Monument in the Aisne département, in 1921), the remains of the training camp of Sturmbataillon No. 7, the ammunition depot…