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  My Favorite Imperial Award!

  By landsknechte · Posted 4 hours ago

  Yep.  That's just the product of years of squinting at old German handwriting.   I was able to track down a copy of an old book ("Verleihungen von militärischen Orden und Ehrenzeichen des Grossherzogtums Baden im Ersten Weltkrieg 1914-1918" by Erhard Roth) that listed the recipients of that award.  The date isn't tied to his commission, it's the date of the award.  I'm not enough of a Baden specialist to help out much beyond that.
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  PR Bulgaria: Order of the Red Banner

  By steveBobby · Posted 4 hours ago

  It seems to me that the founders of the order system of the Bulgarian People's Republic at that time were only considering how to quickly establish a order system that was different from the kingdom or republic period, so fully imitating the Soviet system was a very convenient choice. So it was unnecessary to consider the rationality at that time, because no one would have thought that it would be abolished in 1958. Let’s look at another example： The Bulgarian General and Professional Workers Association proposed to reward workers who have provided many years of service and high-quality work results in the industry, as follows: A. Those who have worked in the same enterprise for 5 years should be awarded the Bronze People's Order of Labor; B. Those who have worked in the same enterprise for 10 years should be awarded the Silver People's Order of Labor; C. Those who have worked in the same enterprise for 15 years should be awarded the Gold People's Order of Labor; D. Those who have worked in the same enterprise for 20 years should be awarded the Red Banner of Labor Order; There is no doubt that this is another very Soviet policy，and the workers involved will also include those in the Tsarist period. Back to the topic of service time：Of course, there is a second possibility. Many of the early officers or senior soldiers in the Bulgarian People's Army were members who were sent to the Soviet Union for military training as political refugees by the Bulgarian Communist Party in the 1920s and 1930s. They joined the Soviet army very early and did not return to Bulgaria until September 9, 1944 or later and served as officers or senior soldiers of the Bulgarian People's Army. For them, the years of service can be re-satisfied, which also meets the needs of the new government to reward their past contributions.  Another group of people were old partisans who had been engaged in the fascist guerrilla war in Bulgaria since 1941. They were directly admitted to the army with low or high ranks after September 9, 1944. In this way, a considerable number of them could meet the requirements for the minimum service reward after 1950. I also think that in reality, some officers' service years were counted as part of their service in Tsar Boris' army. Although there are not many such people.  
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  Unofficial Clasps To The War Medal 1914-1918 (Miniature).

  By ChrisKelly · Posted 5 hours ago

  The clasps were on the verge of becoming official, until changes and reductions in the regulations were completed.  Nonetheless, they were produced, distributed/sold from/by commercial sources, and in many cases, mounted and worn.    Unofficial or not, they're still neat.  Some favorite images from the source I cited previously:  
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  A Golden Kite 3rd Class - Meiji Late - Taisho Early 2.2

  By TracA · Posted 6 hours ago

  Greetings,   The opportunity arose, I was able to make the price work, and so I brought a wonderful Order of the Golden Kite 3rd Class into my collection. I never really thought that I would obtain one, but lucky I am.   For a history of the Golden Kite, see the excellent “Story of the Golden Kite” by Nick Komiya on the WRF at https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/japanese-militaria/story-golden-kite-671453/. For outstanding classification and statistical work, of course see JapanX’s four Golden Kite threads pinned here at GMIC on the Japan forum. For my purposes I relied on the thread related to the 3rd and 2nd class Kites.   After quickly reading over JapanX’s thread I simply assumed that this was a Showa Kite, and that my only work would be to determine if it was a Showa 3.1 or 3.2. I did not think that I might possess a rarer Kite variation than the “often encountered” Showa variation. However, I read JapanX’s thread closer, several times, and came to the conclusion that my Kite is a Meiji Late - Taisho Early 2.2.   The shape of the Kite on my 3rd Class matches that of the Meiji Late - Taisho Early 2.2, and the color of the enamel on the sword scabbard and lower part of the harnesses matches that of the Meiji Late - Taisho Early 2.2 as opposed to the 2.1. On my Kite the 12h ray is part of the ring through which the cravat loop is threaded, which holds true for all of the Kites discussed in the above referenced thread, with the exception of the Showa 3.1. The clincher, however, is the fact that on my Kite the 12h beam at the top is recurved, a characteristic per JapanX that only Meiji Late - Taisho Early 2.2s have.    I note one difference related to my 3rd Class versus all of the examples that JapanX displays in his thread: each of his examples have two flag fasteners on the left side flag but mine only has one. I really do not know if this would be enough to qualify for a sub-variation, but I mention it nonetheless.   It is a beautiful 3rd Class Kite and is a centerpiece of my collection.   Enjoy,   Tracy   Obverse:     Close-up of the Kite. Notice how the 12h ray is part of the ring through which the cravat loop is  threaded. Also notice the flag fasteners. Both sides have only a single fastener.     Scabbard and harness close up:     Notice that the 12h beam at the top is recurved:     Reverse:     The case lid, with seven gold kanji and the Showa stylization of 勲 (kun). I would expect the case lid to have only six kanji, so I assume that the Kite and the case could be a put together.  
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  France: 3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment

  By No one · Posted 7 hours ago

  Dear Gentlemen,   Read Y Delsart 89100 Sens, not Y Delsart 89011 Sens.   Yours sincerely, No one