Tafelmeier Sebastian

 (1. April 1896 - 9. September 1917)

Gedenkstätte Pörndorf / Landshut

                                   S. Tafelmeier  - Gedenkstein Pörndorf / Landshut

Nantillois

                                                Nantillois

                                                  Nantillois

Sebastian Tafelmeier

(April 1, 1896 - September 9, 1917)

His story:

Sebastian Tafelmeier was born on April 1, 1896 in Pörndorf, a small Bavarian farming community.

He was drafted into the army in December 1916 and completed his initial training in Nuremberg↗️ Together with returning wounded, sick and men taken from units at the front, they formed the newly created 15th Bavarian Infantry Division.

In February, they received instructions from mountain troops near the Austrian border.

Shortly before his arrival, Tafelmeier was involved in a training accident and was hospitalized there from February 4th to 14th.

After his release from the military hospital, he continued his military training.

In March, Tafelmeier and his friends from the 12th Company were sent to Charleroi↗️ transferred to Belgium, where they were trained in mobile warfare.

At the end of March, the division was deployed to the region Lorraine ↗️transferred to France. After almost three months of training, they were thrown into battle as part of the 7th Army and saw action in several engagements in Lorraine and later in the area of Laon↗️heavily involved.

By the end of July, the division was exhausted and withdrawn from its line to regroup in the city. Sedan to recover.

During their period of rest, however, the French launched an attack on the notorious Côte 304↗️ , Hill 304↗️ and the Mort Homme ↗️,Dead Man's Hilll↗️ .

Last year during the Battle of Verdun↗️These important and commanding heights were partially occupied and fortified by the Germans. And now the French wanted them back.

On August 20th, the French launched a massive attack to remove the Germans from these hills.

The German High Command reacted quickly; all reserves in the area were to be immediately moved to the Meuse-Argonne. Thus, Tafelmeier and his company were deployed on August 21st to Sedan ↗️ and between August 22nd and 24th in Stenay↗️ and Dun-sur-Meuse ↗️ They were brought from there. From there they had to march about 20 kilometers to the front line, where they were stationed north of the Hill 304↗️ They walked in a line near the Forges stream.

Just a few hours after occupying their designated trenches, the 15th Bavarian Infantry Division came under heavy shelling and attack. The French attack caused heavy losses, but they held their ground.

In the days that followed, French pressure increased and the Germans were pushed back.

On the last day of the French offensive, later known as the Third Battle of Verdun, Tafelmeier was seriously wounded.

In the early morning of September 9, 1917, his leg was completely shattered by a French artillery shell. He bled profusely, and what remained of his right leg was nothing more than a bloody mess. He was evacuated to the rear by stretcher bearers from his company.

Constantly under shelling, through shell holes, barbed wire, and the terrible swamp where Forges Creek once flowed, they finally reached the relative safety of an improvised field hospital near... Bethincourt ↗️. Because his situation was very serious and he had lost a lot of blood, he was immediately transported to the back in a truck.

However, after years of shelling, the roads were almost nonexistent. And as if the suffering of the wounded wasn't enough, being transported across the devastated terrain in a truck with virtually no suspension must have been hell.

Tafelmeier was after Nantillois ↗️ brought to a village completely destroyed in 1916. One kilometer north of the village, a large, isolated farm had miraculously survived the shelling. This was the Madeleine farm, which had been converted into a German hospital and had painted huge red crosses on its roof tiles.

For Sebastian Tafelmeier, the help came too late.

Farm de Madeleine

According to the 25th Bavarian Medical Association, he died at 10:00 a.m. from blood loss. He was taken outside to the farmyard, where long rows of dead soldiers lay waiting to be buried.

Tafelmeier was born on September 11, 1917 at the German cemetery of Nantillois ↗️ buried in the immediate vicinity of the hospital.