Oberleutnant Franz Alois Welz

Oberleutnant Franz Alois Welz


(19 June 1885 Klostergrab - 18 March 1970 Eichstätt)


- great-grandfather's memories over his album entitled "Bilder aus dem erste weltkrieg" .


Have a nice day.
Let me first briefly introduce myself. Their name is Franz Alois Welz. I was born during the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph, in the year of the Lord 19 June 1885, in the town of Klostergrab, which you will probably be more familiar with as Hrob u Teplice. I belong to a glassmaking family, by which I do not mean that I stood in the glassworks at the furnace, but my family owned the glassworks in my birthplace. It was because of my position that I could afford to enjoy the modern innovations of my time. I fell in love with cars and still remember trips in an Opel 20 PS to see the then popular car races on the mountain tracks in Austria. I took lots of good pictures of the fast cars there as a souvenir. Why are they mentioning all this? The answer is simple, the automobile and the camera played an important role for me even during the Great War, the period you are interested in.


During the war I served in the newly formed (1 Aug 1915) K.u.K Kraftfahrtruppe - or c. and k. automobile units. These units belonged to the still developing type of troops of the Austro-Hungarian army and I had the honour, by commanding car column number 235, to contribute to its development. We used several types of three-ton trucks. With our trucks we carried out the supply of the frontline units and also provided for the movement of heavy artillery in Halych. Until the end of the war, however, the main burden of supply remained on the hipomobile columns. My camera accompanied me on my Halych travels and here are a few pictures of my service for the Kaiser.


To start with, a peaceful photo of a chess game (I'm sitting on the left and moving white) with my friend Dr. Karl in the officers' casino of the Těšín garrison - 1915


On the way to the front I was taking photos of Russian prisoners under Bilgoraj, my driver Simon (on the right in light uniform) ran among them and asked me for a photo to remember... August 1915



And again another column of Russian prisoners, this time on their way to Krakow - October 1915


In the cab of one of the trucks of my motorcade No: 235 in June 1916


I have always been very happy to receive, in addition to a letter from my wife Adele Elisabeth, a print from my home county. In moments of peace I liked to browse through my favourite Teplitz-Schönauer Anzeiger. Halych - Stryj, June 1916


Directly from the cab of the car I captured with my lens the Turkish troops on the Halych front in July 1916


Souvenir photo with ammunition for heavy mortar vz.16 caliber 30,5 cm - July 1916


It was not only in cars that the men spent their service. Preparing firewood - July 1916


Field kitchen near the front - October 1916


Burning potato sprouts, with my motorcade in the background - November 1916


It was not pleasant to ride in open cars in winter. In the picture my kriegskamarads are still relatively happy, after all it is December 1916, the temperatures are around plus five and fortunately it is not snowing


Autokolonne nr.235 - January 1917


Parade of new autocolumn cars. I am sitting in the Praga passenger car on the right, behind it are lined up two N.W trucks, three Fiat trucks, a Gräf & Stift tanker and another Saurer truck - May 1917


I was quite worried whether this Fiat would carry such a log ..., in the background the church in Schodnica - May 1917


Refuelling of the Gräf & Stift tanker which carried 2400 kg of petrol - May 1917


I was really happy with this semi-sport Benz (pity it was lost for the war) - Drohobycz village - June 1917


A picture of the headquarters of a cavalry unit (Kavallerie-Korps Hauer), under the command of Gen. Leopold von Hauer, in which my brother Otto served - June 1917


The personnel of the 30.5 cm Mörser M.11 battery, which we regularly supplied with ammunition, were equally willing to be immortalized. Halič - autumn 1917


One could sit over these albums for a long time, but let's save some for next time. I took a lot of pictures of war-torn towns, I remember Kowel, Brest Litowsk or Tatarów or Krasnik...
After the war, I returned home and the next years of my life were nothing like the war in their busyness. The crises of the 1930s laid waste our glassworks, and fortunately, due to my age, I did not have to experience the next world war up close. The post-war communist regime was not kind to the former factory worker either, so I left my homeland in my old age and travelled to the Federal Republic of Germany, where I wrote the last chapter of my earthly existence in the picturesque Bavarian town of Eichstätt in 1970.


Your Honor, Oberleutnant Franz Alois Welz.


Source: family archive.

I didn't even think it was possible anymore, but it happened... I managed to find in the documents the promotion decree of F.A Welz dated 1 May 1915! I enclose a scan of this document.


Source: family archive

Good day,

dear sir, I am impressed by Your article "Wounded F. And. Welz" on Franz Welzovi. I've been quite interested in the life of F. Welze, but in particular about the time they lived in the town of Grave (Klostergrab), its activity and production in its local glassworks. Therefore, I would like to ask for any information, copy of a photograph of the glass factory and the surrounding area or even products, or on the links , where it would be possible to get this information.
Thank you in advance for Your help.

With best regards coats of arms, erby@seznam.cz.

I like the old monarchista I zaplesal for a nice period pictures,so nicely compiled by mr. gen. Zbycho..

Very nice photostory. On a possible continuation, I look forward.
This would have been nice as in printed form. Let the images of the low prices, scan it and if you Got more it would over consider. Photographic publications mapujicí činost one unit of power is not.
At least me would wonder..

Good evening
if anyone should be interested I can poskytout relevant information about this no doubt interesting personality. F.And.Welz was my vzdsleným relatives, specifically, I think a great great great uncle. I'm the owner of his own memory which he translated from the original my father. this is an extremely interesting read, containing references to events and situations about which all historical sources are silent. the personal experience of the person who is from an elite officer and the owner of the glass works fell into the position of prisoner of the Russian army after the second world war and had to with pain watch the total devastation of your property and the wild expulsion, and he died in relative poverty in the former west GERMANY..

Health Welzi!
Of course, it would me Welzový memories tremendously interested in seeing. In addition to several photo albums great-grandfather of the wife, we have about his life, only the memories which his wife told Welzová daughter – or wife's grandmother, this narrative is already off mrs could be often in a session the grandmother - granddaughter confounded or zidealizovány. If indeed there are some written memories, I would like them met. Article for valka.cz was mainly written as such illustrations of the pictures from the galician queue according to its description on the back sides of the photos.

I'll be glad for the additional information..

Jsemsklo researcher with a great interest for any information of any kind about Francis Welz, his family, or his business. I researched the production of the glass family for the last 7 years. I hope that more information is available from the original author of this article. Thank you.

I am a glass researcher with a great interest in any information of any kind about Franz Welz, his family, or his business. I have researched the glass production of the family for the last 7 years. I am hoping that there is more information of any kind available from the original poster of this article..