I just realised why I was drawn to the 116th...

awesome,thanks for sharing

Really awesome, cool story.

the The 116th Reserve Infantry Regiment was from the Grand Duchy of Hesse. and was formed from men in the hesse, waldeck area and from men in the northrmine-westphala area's.

they where disbanded in 1918 when the Grand Duchy of Hesse became the Volksstaat Hessen when the last duke was forced from his throne.

Good stuff

Both Wilhelm and Ludwig were Hessian- Wilhelm was from a tiny village called Dreieichenhain (most which was about where Frankfurts international airport is now, what's left of it is part of the larger combined township of Dreieich) and Ludwig was from the next major town over (to the southwest), Langen, where some of my relatives still live in the same house he grew up in. I know nothing of Wilhelm's family.

Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm (2. Großherzoglich Hessisches) Nr. 116 was a traditionally Hessian regiment (Second Ducal Hessian) that was absorbed into the Prussian OOB after the unification of 1871. At the start of WWI, they were part of the 49. Infanterie-Brigade (1. Großherzoglich Hessische) of the 25th Infanterie Division, which was descended from the Grand Ducal Hessian Infantry Division (which had been formed in 1842. It was also known as Großherzoglich Hessische (25.) Division. During the Franco-Prussian War, the Grand Ducal Hesse (25th) Division was subordinated to the Prussian IX Army Corps, along with the 18th Infantry Division. The Hessians fought in the battles of Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte, and then participated in the Metz. It then fought in the Noiseville and the Second Battle of Orléans. They were garrisoned in Darmstadt when they were mobilized for war in 1914.

During World War I, the Grand Ducal Hesse (25th) Infantry Division served on the Western Front. It fought in the opening campaigns, including the Allied Great Retreat which culminated in the First Battle of the Marne, and the subsequent Race to the Sea. After a period in the trenches, the division was heavily engaged in 1916 in the Battle of Verdun (where Ludwig was killed) and the Battle of the Somme. In 1917, it fought in the battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. In 1918 it participated in the German Spring Offensive and ended the war resisting the subsequent Allied counteroffensives. Allied intelligence rated the division as first class.

In 1918, the organization of 25. Division was-
49. Infanterie-Brigade (1. Großherzoglich Hessische)
Leibgarde-Infanterie-Regiment (1. Großherzoglich Hessisches) Nr. 115
Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm (2. Großherzoglich Hessisches) Nr. 116
Infanterie-Leibregiment Großherzogin (3. Großherzoglich Hessisches) Nr. 117
Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilung Nr. 49
1.Eskadron/Magdeburgisches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 6
Artillerie-Kommandeur 25:
Großherzogliches Artilleriekorps, 1. Großherzoglich Hessisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 25
I.Bataillon/Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 24
Stab Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 129:
3.Kompanie/1. Nassauisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 21
Reserve-Pionier-Kompanie Nr. 89
Minenwerfer-Kompanie Nr. 25
Divisions-Nachrichten-Kommandeur 25

The Division and all subordinate units were all disbanded after the war.

Funny, I worked in Dreieich for some time ;)

As they say in Germany "Die Welt ist ein Dorf" (The world is a village)