Captain,

On hearing that the nearby village of Grunvalti was under attack by red insurgents I led my men there with all speed. Arriving at the outskirts I split our forces in two: one group, led by myself, approached the village while the other under corporal Liebowitz advanced to cover the road into the village. [1]  Unknown to us the reds had already occupied the village and lay in wait [2 & 3]. Receiving fire from a barn on the edge of the village Hoffmann, Schäfer and Koch without hesitation stormed the building, despatching the shooter while the others worked their way round the back of the building [4, 5 & 6].  Meanwhile corporal Liebowitz - who as you recall lost his right arm at Beaumont Hamel - had led his men, now also under fire from unseen insurgents, across the field to a wall very close to where the enemy positions were. Our old comrade Walter fell here [7].   We consolidated our position at the barn, under fire from reds behind the barn and in the next building [8, 9 & 10].  As Liebowitz's group exchanged fire with the enemy [11] and we prepared to assault the next building Zimmermann was hit by fire from that building [12]; on rounding the corner of the barn we encountered a single red [13]. Liebowitz kept the enemy from reinforcing the house we were about to attack [14].  The red fought like a cornered rat, and fire from him and from the house wounded Lange and Schmitt [15].  Liebowitz's group came under heavy fire, and Keller and Vogel were both seriously wounded [16]. Volunteer Lehmann pistolled one red at point-blank range through the window of the house, but shouts from further into the village informed us that more reds were approaching. A grenade thrown round the corner severely wounded Hoffmann, Schäfer and Koch [17, 18 & 19] and as a large group of reds burst upon us I was obliged to offer our surrender. At the other side of the village every one of Liebowitz's men had been hit by fire from numerous enemies; as you would expect Liebowitz himself strode fearlessly about behind the wall, not deigning to seek cover, returning fire with his pistol until killed [20].

I am glad to be able to report on the fate of our men, having been exchanged for some prominent red activists, but regret  that the outcome was not better. 

Signed,
​
Holzmann J (sgt)