Imperial Navy Swords Part 3

[Guest Rick Research]

from a local collection (it's been a BUSY morning, folks)

[attachmentid=34824]

[Guest Rick Research]

Band pattern damascus

[attachmentid=34832]

[Guest Rick Research]

Marine insignia on the land pattern naval scabbard

[attachmentid=34834]

those nicks in the blade? MAYBE unsupervised chirruns some time in the last 90 years, but maaaaybe....

[Guest Rick Research]

[attachmentid=34843]

Carl von Rettberg

Pour le Merite winner

born 10 March 1870, died 26 March 1945

served in the Prussian Army 24 March 1890 to 17 October 1911,

transferred to Marine Infantry 18 October 1911 to 22 April 1917,

back to army 23 April 1917 to 1926:

Sekondeleutnant 24.3.90

Premierleutnant 15.6.98 Pp

Hauptmann 15.9.05 Q3q

Major 19.8.14 Zz

Oberstleutnant circa 1920

charakterisiert Oberst 20.3.22

charakterisiert Generalmajor aD 1926

Unsure of his initial posting, since there were no rank dates printed in the Ranglisten for junior officers until 1900?believe he was commissioned initially into Fusilier Regiment 80. By 1899 he was in 1./Baden Leib-Grenadier Regiment 109 (with the Hessian Order of Philip the Generous-Knight 2nd with Swords?all ?military? recipients got swords, even in peacetime, and 1897 Centenary Medal). By 1902, he was in the same company, but had added a Saxe-Weimar Order of the White Falcon-Knight 2nd Class. (He would presumably have received the Baden 1902 Jubilee Medal as a member of the Duchy?s Guard regiment, but does not list one). In 1905 he was commanding the 4th Company of Leib-Gren Rgt 109, with the same awards. Between 1905 and 1907 he transferred to 3rd Company/Garde Grenadier Regiment 1 (adding a Baden Order of the Z?hringen Lion-Knight 2nd with Oakleaves and Siamese Order of the White Elephant-Knight to his awards). In 1909 he was commander of the 6th Company in 1st Guard Regiment of Foot ( GRzF), where he was in 1911. Sometime between 1907 and 1912 he added a Prussian Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class and crown and Russian Order of St Anne 3rd Class to his decorations.

Upon his transfer to 2nd Company/Ist Sea Battalion in 1911, he remained in that company until the outbreak of the war, without adding any further peacetime awards.

He was a Battalion Commander in 1st Marine Infantry Regiment to April 1917, being decorated seven times (list follows)

He received the Pour le Merite 24 November 1917, for his service as Commander of Hessian Leib-Infanterie Regiment 115 (28 April to 19 November 1917). The ?Blue Max? was presumably a cumulative-merit award to him, based on his previous record, since there was nothing of particular note in his regiment?s service for this period. Indeed, he was a Hessian regimental commander so briefly, he only received that state?s Bravery Medal! It is possible that he was wounded, because his next assignment was not until

13 April 1918, when he took over as Commander of Saxe-Weimar Infantry Regiment 94, which he led until December 1918.

After the war, he was assigned as chief of the Heeresfriedenkommission Verbindungsstelle liaison with Allied Armistice Control, in Frankfurt am Main until his retirement.

Apparently he never married, and was a cousin to others of his family name.

WW1 and Post-war Awards:

Pour le Merite 24.11.17, Saxe-Weimar Order of the White Falcon-Commander with Swords 1918 (one of only 71 WW1 bestowals), Prussian Hohenzollern House Order 3rd Class with Swords 23.11.16, Saxon Albert Order-Knight 1st Class with Swords 25.3.15, Baden Order of the Z?hringen Lion-Knight 1st Class with Swords 27.9.16, both classes of the Iron Cross and Mecklenburg-Schwerin Friedrich Franz Crosses while in the Marine Infantry, a Hessian Bravery Medal 1917, army Black Wound Badge, and Prussian XXV Years Service Cross. He thus held two neck Orders, three pinback awards, and a 14 medal bar for 15 awards, upon his discharge. To these he would have added a Hindenburg Cross in 1934/35.

He should have gotten an August 1939 Tannenberg Day "bump" up in retired grade as a PLM winner, but have no information on whether he was, indeed promoted char. Generalleutnant aD at that time.

[Guest Rick Research]

A researcher's lot is not always a happy one, as you will note from the following discrepancies in the OFFICIAL Not Necessarily Proofread Rank Lists:

Navy May 1914

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[Guest Rick Research]

Foreign peacetime awards were never shown again after the peacetime 1914 List.

Navy February 1918 Seniority List (no foreign awards, even wartime ones):

[attachmentid=34887]

That List was often a year or more behind on listing previously awarded decorations, but it is all we have after the gap between the 1914 and 1916 issues, until 1924.

By 1924, von Rettberg was back in the Army and here he is in that year's Reichsheer Rank List:

[attachmentid=34888]

See why looking at any SINGLE issue isn't enough to catch errors, or mentally complete groups with awards which have become "invisible?"

[Bob Rodgers]

Ric,

Do you have anymore hiding

I'm converting my collection towards naval items right now.

[Swordguy]

I can't believe it has been this long. But now that I have a new computer...

here is von Rettberg's entry for the Saxe-Weimar White Falcon Commander with Swords in 1918 from Rick

[Swordguy]

and, from the article listing all German naval Hohenzollern winners in WW1

how he died

75 years old and killed by an American artillery bombardment taking his home town!

[Glenn J]

Herr v. Rettberg's pre-war career

Regards

Glenn

[Glenn J]

And wartime and after.

Rick,

He received his Patent as an Oberst as of 1.12.25 and retired on 31.7.26. Finally promoted to char. Generalleutnant on 27.08.39.

Regards

Glenn

[Guest Rick Research]

Thanks from Swordguy who is here with me now! By an amazing coincidence, given that von Rettberg ALSO had a Kaiserpreis shooting sword... one of those is what we've just been scanning as today's project.

[Guest Rick Research]

And here his face is after long long years:

from--

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=337353

Thanks Christophe!!!

[Deruelle]

Very nice thread

Three years after we can put a photo on this sword.

Christophe