The Kaiser's Reluctant Conscript

by Dominik Richert

As a conscript from Alsace, Dominik Richert realized from the outset of the First World War that his family was likely to be at or near the front line. He was a reluctant soldier who was willing to stand up to authority and to avoid risks in order to survive. His honest account of his part in the conflict, which saw him serving on both the Western and Eastern Front over the duration of the War, gives a lively picture of major events. He took part in fighting French and Indian troops in 1914, in the battle on Mount Zwinin in the Carpartians in 1915 and in the subsequent invasion of the western parts of the Ukraine and Poland. Later he was involved in the capture of Riga in 1917, before returning to the Western Front in 1918, where he witnessed German tanks in action at the Battle of Villers-Brettoneux.As he could see no point in the war, he subsequently crossed no-man s-land and surrendered to the French, becoming a deserteur Alsacienne . The book ends with Richert s return home early in 1919.A fascinating aspect of the book is the character author himself. He is increasingly willing to act independently as the narrative progresses, and he refuses to accept the propaganda that he encounters. He fights to survive, but feels little respect for his own army or the society that sent him to war."

Genres: World War I, History

449 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theses were the memoirs of Dominik Richert, born in Alsace, who joined the German army in 1913 (Alsace and Lorraine were definitely a serious sore spot for probably every French politician after 1871 until 1918). It appears that joining the army at that time was a right of passage for males - leaving your childhood and entering manhood. And doing so occurred around age 17. In most cases it was a reason for celebration.

Nevertheless Private Richert took to heart what his father told him before leaving for the army - don't volunteer. And this, perhaps, saved Richert's life numerous times as he was initially sent to the front in northern France, just across the border from Lorraine. He described his experiences and thoughts from Northern France to Galicia to the Baltics and elsewhere on the Eastern Front - and then back to the Western Front after the Russians quit the war. The food was horrible, and perhaps unbeknownst to him the British had blockaded Germany causing the country itself to literally starve - food riots in Germany began as early as 1915. Even the army had to deal with rations. Food, if you insisted on calling it that, was generally army bread (it'd have been a stretch to call it bread) and imitation coffee. There were days Richert had nothing to eat. Lice were a common problem and not even soldiers were permitted to enter Germany without being deloused.

The book just flows. The translator has a website to go along with the book - it's well worth the effort to use the website as it provides maps of most of the areas described in the book. There have been many name changes since that time and a table is inserted in the back listing the old and new names of the towns and cities. I used additional Google maps to find towns named in the book but not in the translator's website (note: the author, Dominick Richert, passed away sometime in the 1970s. His memoirs were found sometime afterwards and verified as accurate).

It's a very interesting book and well worth the read. Mr Richert had no use for most officers (over paid and generally cowards themselves). Most of the time he behaved as a gentleman though there were times his anti Semitism came out of the closet. In at least one instance he threatened to shoot a fellow German soldier because his comrade wanted to murder an unarmed, wounded soldier from one the Triple Entente countries. Other times he offered to pay for available food with the few reich marks he had rather than just pilfering it as most other soldiers did. Remember, the lowly infantry soldier, depending on rank, was paid a few cents per day, even those with several years of battle experience. This was peanuts versus a new lieutenant, with no field experience, who made several marks per day and sometimes at lot more. Not only was the pay horrible, but the officers had far superior food most of the time until later on in the war when food shortages did not distinguish rank.

While I'm not positive, I'd almost bet Mr. Richert's experience was far more common among the ordinary German soldier at the front over that of Ernst Junger (Storm of Steel).

5 Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and anything else you can come up with.

[Robert M. Roth MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hell of war

This is one soldier’s perspective of life in the German army during World War I. He entered service well before the war began out of necessity and did not suffer from patriotism. He recounts countless battles and deaths, without describing any of the lives he took. The tales of battles on the Eastern Front are particularly interesting as I had not read of such personal stories before. Towards the end of the war, he defected to the French and was treated well by his captors. This is a long tale with endless stories of death and suffering. It does provide a unique perspective of life during war.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story about a life of a german soldier

There aren’t too many books from individual german perspectives and this one is well written. Puts many of the dry stats in perspective

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic read

[Chris Dumont · Rating 4 out of 5]

clear and informative