Can you ID this Officer?

[Stogieman]

This should be interesting! Can this fellow be ID'd? If so, why? How? Where? Show us HWSNBN'd!

[Stogieman]

Here's the scrawl on the back:

[Guest Rick Research]

No

[Guest Rick Research]

Not a chance

[Guest Rick Research]

Nope, no way

[Guest Rick Research]

Post #3 shows the entry in the 1908/09 German Orders Almanach for then Hauptmann in Infantry Regiment 172 BONSACK, who obligingly tells us he was born in Gotha 28 December 1864 but neglects to mention his FIRST NAME.

He shows Prussian Red Eagle 4 with Crown (apparently an early over achiever who burned out young), the Prussian Lifesaving Medal on Ribbon, and the never shown in Rank Lists (assumed by seniorities) Wilhelm I Centenary Medal. These are the 4th and 3rd (invisible to RLs 6th) awards on his 1917 medal bar.

Yes folks, despite the good times in Neubreisach and Offenberg in August 1927, THIS Eckernf?rde studio photo was taken in 1917. Because I can tell, that's why.

Post #4 shows the 1914 Prussian Rank List entry for him, transferred as a Major in Infantry Regiment 65.

Notice the same two decorations as his 1908/09 DtOrdAlm entry, as Cryptically Glyph-ed and NOT abbreviated (? is Lifesaving Medal on Ribbon) by the ARMY. No (invisible) 1897. The Speckled Cross is the emblem for XXV Years Service Cross.

And just so you realize how incredibly twisted these sources are, not that for "reasons" never justified-- awards were not shown in the precedence they were worn!!!!!

THAT means that when looking at a Real Group (he is wearing his correctly in "Full Prussian" style, native awards before "foreign" war awards of Hamburg Hanseatic, Mecklenburg-Schwerin Friedrich Franz Cross 2nd and L?beck Hanseatic) a weary Reference Hunter must mentally unhitch his (or theoretically her) brain to slide back and forth from what is PRINTED and what is WORN. Scramble the leetters of this sentence into random gibberish and attempt to get the actual meaning back out, and you get some idea of what is involved. Sane? I think so. Thank you for asking!

Post #5 shows the 1 January 1918 Prussian/W?rttemberg Seniority List (Dienstaltersliste). Here he is among the Oberstleutnants. For unspecified reasons (for which we are grateful, if perplexed) in addition to CURRENT rank, original LEUTNANT rank is show for all regular officers.

Unnamed Bonsack was commissioned thusly:

Sekondelieutenant 13.9.84

Premierleutnant ca early 1890s

Hauptmann 18.3.99 Gg

Major 17.9.09 Oo

Oberstleutnant 24.12.14 U

Oberst 6.11.17 B

still in service on 1.1.1919 and SHOULD have gotten a courtesy bump to char. Generalmajor aD but did not-- so must have resigned in 1919 rather than stretching his being on the payroll until spring of 1920 as most officers did.

but wait! There is MORE!

[Guest Rick Research]

The 1926 Honor Rank List shows, listed by 1914 units, the final (literally, either when retired/killed or as of 11.11.18-- even if the entire war in another unit up to then) commands from independent Battalion up or Staff, as well as actual unit and place/date if killed.

Here we see that Unnamed Bonsack ended the war as Commander of Reserve Infantry Brigade 9:

[attachmentid=5925]

And HOW, you ask, did I know that 1927 photo was taken in

1917?

Because oft times will be mentioned here the WW1 award rolls published in the 1990s by Michael Autengruber-- the laboriously painstaking efforts of Erhard Roth and Willi Geile (God Bless Them Wherever They Are).

This from a Geile volume, transcribing awards shown as GAZETTED (dates are when published, not actual award date, ranging from days to months earlier) in the Milit?r-Wochenblatt (MWB for short)--

Prussian Crown Order 2nd Class with Swords to Oberst (so AFTER his 6 November 1917 promotion) Bonsack:

[attachmentid=5926]

These Autengruber Roth/Geile volumes are a godsend-- either in alphabetical order by specific awards over the volumes (the best way to look people up), or with indices for chronological ones as the above.

Unfortunately, ALL PRUSSIAN SOURCES ARE HORRIBLE. There was no more data in the original MWB entries than that is shown above. Award documents born actual unit, first name, and real award date-- but not the haphazardly printed recipients in the "space available" MWB.

Last, I went through the 1937 Directory of members of the Asociation of Lifesaving Award Recipients (1/3 of ? holders-- arranged by Ortsgruppen in Nazi Gaue, non-alphabetical, unindexed ) but no joy there.

Unnamed Bonsack still has No First Name.

[Glenn J]

Hi Rick,

Unnamed Bonsack still has No First Name.

he has now

Oberst Alfred Bonsack. Commander of 9. Rheinisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 160 in December 1918/Jan 1919 and allegedly of the 9. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade (no mention in the Stellenbesetzung).

Died 13 October 1933.

Regards

Glenn

[Guest Rick Research]

Thanks Glenn!

And now I know why he wasn't in the 1937 Lifesaving Awards Recipients Association Directory!

[luftguy]

This is really cool how the pieces all came together. Impressive!

Bill

[Glenn J]

Just for the record, Alfred Bonsack was promoted to Premier-Lieutenant on the 15.7.93. He was originally commissioned in the 1. Magdeburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 26.

Regards

Glenn

[Stogieman]

I love it when the pieces just fall into place!!