Headstone in the German Cemetery at Cerny-en-Laonnois for the graves of the Landsturm infantrymen Paul Fischer and Hermann Lamprecht, both died April 19, 1917 during the Second Battle of the Aisne. The grave contains the remains of 'Polinske', dead with no further information. The Landsturm were reserve units, typically of older men. © 2014 by John M. Shea
Paul Fischer Landsturmmann +19.4.1917Hermann Lamprecht Landsturmmann +19.4.1917Polinske
"19th April [1917]The great French offensive carried out by the Third Army on the 11th, by the Fifth and Sixth Armies on the 16th and the Fourth Army on the 17th, has produced only insignificant results in comparison with the goals aimed at and the assurances expressed by the High Command.The newspapers will naturally celebrate the capture of 14,000 men and twelve guns; they will proclaim that this is the beginning of an uninterrupted train of successes destined to carry us to the Rhine.The losses will not be mentioned. Why should they be mentioned?"
Diary entry by Albert, King of the Belgians, for April 1, 1917, writing of French commander-in-chief Robert Nivelle's offensive, the Second Battle of the Aisne, which from its beginning on April 16, 1917 looked to be a failure. The attack to move beyond the Aisne River and seize the heights of Chemin des Dames above it, then move past the ridge to Laon and beyond was the French component of Nivelle's spring offensive, one that began with the April 9 British attack at Arras.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, page 164, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
1917-04-19, 1917, April, Second Battle of the Aisne, Nivelle Offensive, Paul Fischer
