Naxos

Thanks Andy! :cheers:

Good eye Chip! :cheers:

Very interesting picture Andy! "Cirkus Breuning" of Sturmbataillon 16 - is what the group calls themselves - perhaps Breuning is the name of the leader, the NCO in the picture. The commander of SB16 was Rittmeister Henke. I will post more info of SB16 tomorrow. Hardy Could you post a close-up of these shoulder-straps

Detail:

The Officers, NCOs and enlisted men from the machine-gun company of Sturmbataillon 16 in the fall of 1917. Unteroffizier Richard Bechlin of MGK S.B.16 sent the postcard in February 1918.

Bob, Gilles quess is right Flamga is a Fliegerabwehrmaschinengewehrabteilung. In August of 1917 existed Flamga. 801 to 803, 901 to 921 and 1925.

The only Kurt Speck I could find at the Volksbund site Kurt Speck born: 02.12.1905 in Podelwitz KIA on: 25.06.1941 in Borki, Ukraine No rank or arm of service given.

Georg, those are very nice examples :cheers:

Infanterie Oberschütze in Sarasani Uniform Chr. L. Lauer in Bronze

You should google and read a little bit! - Here is a start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundeswehr http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_(Bundeswehr)

It looks generic (unless the color of the ribbon means something, it could be any of of Austria's 9 provinces ) Most Landesverbände für Feuerwehr und Rettungswesen were established shortly after WWI.

Eric; It is not German but Austrian Forty year membership in the Austrian Fire and Rescue Service

The material is not like the pre-war bronze nor is it zinc - besides the needle being longer on one, it is the same set-up right down to the pin holding the needle in place. Left: an early post-war Fahrerabzeichen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Right: the Reiterabzeichen from post #4 http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1062-125134071551.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1062-125134073995.jpg

Hi Eric, great to have you here. Regarding the the Reiterabzeichen in #4, it's not the poor details on the back of the badge that bothers me - it's the material it is casted in, as well as the pin set-up that makes me believe it is a post-war production. In that, the badge is identical to early post-war Reiter and Fahrerabzeichen w/o the ®. I do not believe that it is a fake - I believe however, that it may be an early post-war production badge by Steinhauer & Lück (perhaps they made some with and the rest w/o the ®). I will post some comparison shots later.

Oberfeldwebel of Infanterie-Regiment 23

Absolutly ! Thank you for the input. Have a look at this thread as well: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=15277&view=&hl=reiterabzeichen&fromsearch=1

Very nice Bob!

Inf. Ers. Batl. 119 - see links below http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/InfErsBat/InfErsBat119-R.htm http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivisionen/25ID.htm

Perhaps this might help?

Closest I have is from 1909 - hope that helps

I compiled a short Bio of Achim Oster (sorry, I can't help you with his awards) Achim Oster (1914-1983) After graduating Gymnasium in 1933, A chim Oster entered as a cadet the Reichswehr. At the beginning of the Second World War he was an aide (Adjutant) at the Artillerieführer des Armeeoberkommandos II. During 1942 and 1943, Oster completed the general staff training course (Generalstabslehrgang). In 1943 he married Anna Haaser. After the German surrender, Oster went into captivity as a Major After the his release he first worked in the center for homeland service (Zentrale für Heimatdienst) and was director of the information and intelligence service (Nachrichtendienst). In 1957 he worked for the German government agencies Schwerin and Blank, which were restructuring of new German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) . Oster’s assignment was the structuring the military intelligence service. From Mai 1950 until 1957, Oster was in charge of the Sicherheitsgruppe im Amt Blank, the forerunner organization of the German Military Intelligence Service, MAD. After the establishment of the German Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) Lieutenant Colonel Oster became a section chief in the department of armed forces of the Federal Ministry of Defense (Referatsleiter in der Abteilung Streitkräfte des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung). Then he served as a battalion commander in the 2. Field Artillery Regiment. In 1958, Oster was appointed to Militärattaché at the German Embassy in Spain. He returned in 1964 as a Colonel to the Federal Republic and joined in the staff of the 12. Armored Division (12. Panzerdivision). A short time after, he was promoted to Brigadier General and Assistant Chief of Staff at the NATO headquarters in Fontainebleau. In 1968 he became Deputy Commander of the NATO Defence Colleges. Since 1971 he was as a Major General and Commander of the military district IV. in Mainz. In 1973 Oster went into retirement.

Hans Oster's WWI awards: a Bundesarchiv picture of him that shows his TR ribbon bar