Leutnant dL Ludwig Weszkalnies (1878-1957)

[webr55]

Gentlemen,

here is a group I have been wanting to post for a long time. This is my wife's great-grandfather, Ludwig Weszkalnies. He was a Prussian reserve NCO before 1914 and ended up as a char. Oberlt. der Landwehr. I will post some pics of him (not all are very clear) and later some documents.

Any comments and observations welcome! I still have difficulties with uniforms and insignia.

Chris

First picture: Ludwig in Grenadier-Regiment 3, Königsberg. Probably before 1900. It seems he is Gefreiter here.

 

Edited November 11, 2017 by webr55

[webr55]

#2: Ludwig as One-Year-Volunteer - Unteroffizier:

Edited November 11, 2017 by webr55

[webr55]

Close-up of his shoulder-strap:

Edited November 11, 2017 by webr55

[webr55]

#3: The way to get commissioned before 1914 was complicated. Ludwig's estate was not small, but, from what has been told, not large enough for becoming an officer before the war. Thus he made Vizefeldwebel der Reserve, and, turning 35, entered the Landwehr in 1913. This pic shows it:

 

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[webr55]

Close-up of Ludwig. He is Vizefeldwebel, right?

Edited November 11, 2017 by webr55

[webr55]

#4: Then came WW1. Ludwig served in Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment 4. I have not been able to find much info on this regiment. There appears to be no regimental history of it.

Apparently, Ludwig started as Offizier-Stellvertreter. This is his "Verwundetenkarte" from 1914, where his rank is given as "Offz. St.". The original writing was "Feldwebelleut", but this has been crossed out.

Edited November 11, 2017 by webr55

[webr55]

#5: Shortly afterwards, he earned the EK2. The following picture shows him with his brother (who apparently served in army postal service - can anyone confirm this?). I am a little confused about this picture: Is Ludwig - with NCO Tresse - an Offizier-Stellvertreter here?

Edited November 11, 2017 by webr55

[webr55]

Closeup Ludwig:

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[webr55]

His brother Franz:

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[webr55]

#6: This is the "official" picture of his EK2 award. I cannot see any NCO Tresse here. So I guess he must be Leutnant here?

Edited November 11, 2017 by webr55

[webr55]

#7: His EK2 document, written in June 1915, shows him as Leutnant der Landwehr. The actual award was on 27.01.1915.

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[webr55]

I have not been able to read the signature of the regimental cdr. Something like Oberstleutnant Kniesing? Kirnsing? Any ideas?

[webr55]

#8: His Soldbuch survived. It was actually issued on the last day of the Battle of the Masurian Lakes.

Here is the first page, the signature is a Zahlmeister Jülich, who in 1914 was assigned to Gren Reg. 1.

 

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[webr55]

#9: Another pic of his Soldbuch:

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[webr55]

#10: This page shows that he became Kompanieführer in 1917:

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[webr55]

He was then transferred to a Wirtschaftskompanie 246. I don't know whether this was part of Landw.Inf.Reg. 4 or a separate unit. Does anyone know?

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[webr55]

Ludwig with some other officers of his regiment:

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[webr55]

He got the Black Wound Badge in 1918 for his early wound:

The document was issued in Riga, where his Wirtschaftskompanie was to my knowledge aiding in the building up of the Baltic states.

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[webr55]

Signature Oberst...?

[webr55]

His BWB:

Edited November 11, 2017 by webr55

[webr55]

His EK2:

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[webr55]

His belt buckle. Is that an officer type?

Edited November 11, 2017 by webr55

[webr55]

Finally, he got the "Charakter als Oberleutnant" in 1921:

 

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[webr55]

This last one is a very interesting piece. He didn't get his Hindenburg Cross until 1940.

Quiztime: Anyone know why?

 

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by webr55

[CRBeery]

I do not know why the award date is so late but this is the first one this late I have ever noticed. Looks like there were quite a few given out that year by the number in lower left unless that is a running count from '36 on. Teach me!

Also, an excellent family grouping! Nice to see it has a good home instead of a market value.

Edited March 7, 2006 by CRBeery