tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768259291370607121.post3809025326012797281..comments2023-03-29T23:36:52.482+02:00Comments on The war diaries of Dieter Finzen in both world wars: Das Regiment in BonnDieter Finzenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564917834898528473noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768259291370607121.post-67009382400974207242011-12-07T11:19:45.807+01:002011-12-07T11:19:45.807+01:00The regimental chronicles describe Bonn as very ho...The regimental chronicles describe Bonn as very hospitable, obviously Dieter and his comrades just had a little bad luck.<br /><br />On November 29th, the columns of the regiment descended down into the Rhine valley. Bonn was reached. The reception here was overly cordial and pleasant. The following morning 10:00 a.m., march across the Rhine. In front of the bridge, the divisional commander Freiherr von Wassenbach stopped. The whole division passed him by in an exemplary formation. Bonn's newspapers reported the good impression the 18th had made on the local population. Then the german stream swooshed beneath the 86er's feet. From the right, the iron statue of Ernst Moritz Arndt greeted us, with an inscription on his base: "The Rhine, Germanys river, not Germanys frontier!". But the rhyme "Wacht am Rhein", that once had been sung so eagerly and confidently, did not want to come across our lips, they were closed from all the pain and shame. We knew that this precious country in a few days had to be left to the mercy of an arrogant victor.Thomasnoreply@blogger.com