Chris Boonzaier

Well... seeing 470 hits on the thread before I had posted anything was even more fun than getting the stuff!!!!! :whistle:

Just need the leather one to complete the collection.... Not impossible... but difficult... then I have my Bavarian Jägers complete....

side

Now... the new one... another piece to the puzzle... a Felt one... A 100% Bavarian... but it DOES have issues... liner replaced, crown on the badge was broken off... chin strap not original to piece... etc. etc.... But for Bavarian Felt Tschako you take what you can get...

2

This one I have a name for, and his award documents.... unfortunately he always seemed to be sick when his unit was out fighting....

Another nice one, from one of the most selective collections in germany (before arriving in mine)...

OK.... So far and to date.... I had this one.... From the markings you can place it to be a piece issued in the Argonne forest to the Alpenkorps in the couple of weeks just after they were pulled out of Verdun, refitted in the Argonne then left the Western front...

Very nice pic indeed!!! Any date on it? Best Chris

Ha! Y'all come creeping... whether I feed you or not! Soon baby, soon.....

Well, its been a bit of time since the last update, life gets in the way of the Website ;-) A few things up this time.... Some photos of a recent visit to the place where one of my US Silver Stars was won, just to the north of Verdun. Harry continues campaigning, this time up on the Suez Canal in 1914-15 And a new page added to the Machine Gun Photo Album... http://www.kaiserscross.com/152301.html

I dont know... baby steps... learning by doing etc. etc... I notice that when I try and tell our little terror not to do things as they will end badly... he does not listen... he has to do them himself... and see it fail... and burn his fingers... then he knows... The thought "Our infantry is the best! The enemy wont withstand their elan and force in a direct assault! Heavy Artillery is a waste of time, at the most we need field artillery.... Attack! " Was an error the French made in 1914... then they learned from it... British and French had learned a lot by 1918... Then Pershing came along with ... "Our infantry is the best! The enemy wont withstand their elan and force in a direct assault! Heavy Artillery is a waste of time, at the most we need field artillery.... Attack! " and noone could persuade him otherwise! Learning by doing is a painful reality that every army experiances... it is that bit more painful for the soldiers when the high command spills blood by refusing to accept the lessons learned by the neighbour, especially if it is caused by a superiority complex ala Pershing. Reading a bit on the subject I begin to feel the AEF was a magnificent weapon with lots of potential... but I wonder if they would have done better with a different commander? One who was just as determined as Pershing to have his troops under his own command. But also more willing to work with and listen to allies.

Fantastic group.... what a coup, finding a sudanese group you can put a phot and name to!!!!!! is the sudanese one named? Best Chris

It is a pity. They did fantastic work putting up the unit histories, a mega achievement... it shows they are on the right track. So far the only country to do that. I think the problem is, the pixel amount is too small on the rolls. when you enlarge them to be able to read... they become unreadable. best Chris

Me! A virtuous tease! 300 hits... but nothing posted yet.... I feel like the pretty girl in my History class that always used to waggle her butt... but not let anyone slap it! so..... watch this space...!!

can only get its pics up on monday... an on the move.... patience is a virtue! :whistle:

Nope, good post. Will have to wait until tomorrow to get to answering. Best Chris

And the army was a bit bitter.... The troops that took Vaux An advertising agency is a good thing at times, but when the advertising agency misrepresents its goods there is a possibility of it becoming a detriment to the advertiser. There are a few organisations in France that really do not need an advertising agency- their work has been honourable enough to speak for itself. There are two regiments of Marines in France and they are part of my division and I know their service has been honourable, let us say just as glorious as many other infantry organisations of the United States Army that are now in France. But from time to time, and very often too, certain papers in the United States write as if certain organisations were doing the whole thing alone over here. For example, in your pictorial issue of Aug. 11, 1918, you show a picture of the town of vaux, France, and announce that this town was stormed by the marines. Now, as I am in command of the battalion that actually took vaux and as we are all very, very proud of her reputation and of her high standard as a shock outfit, will you kindly correct this error? Also, out of respect for the high standard of veracity The New York Times has ever maintained, please remember that there are today over 1 750 000 American troops abroad, and about 6 000 of them are marines in the two excellent regiments the Navy Department has sent over. George C Bowen Major, 9th Infantry, HQ 2nd Battalion Sept. 24, 1918

A Jingoistic press seemed to go to town after the fighting for Vaux Cameron Mackenzie- NY Times Precisely twelve hours before the infantry advanced the American guns, firing American shells, manned and directed exclusively by American gunners, unlimbered for the work of preparation. (actually over half the guns and gunners were on loan from French divisions... in fact the rolling barrage was left in the hands of the French 75mms)

Pershings doctrines and beliefs uttered before the AEF had even reached the front were not only insulting in the extreme, but IMHO should have led to him eating a massive plate of crow by mid 1918 at the latest. I am doing a bit of a study on the attack on VAux (not the Verdun Vaux)and came accross the following in "Doctrine under Trial:American Artillery employment in World War 1" by Mark E. Grotelueschen "The different methods utilized in the division’s attacks on Belleau Wood and Vaux are clear. The division and the brigade leadership sent the marines forward into Belleau Wood without sufficient planning and with inadequate or even nonexistent artillery support. They suffered terribly for it. However, when the division leadership made adequate preparations before the attack and employed overwhelming artillery support, as they did from 10 to 12 June and on the final attack of 25 June, the division proved that it could advance, with acceptable casualty rates, even in an environment that was extremely favourable to the defenders. The attack on Vaux was simply the ultimate demonstration of the division’s ability to successfully plan and execute limited, set-piece attacks, making excellent use of those “trench-oriented” skills that had been absorbed during its training period with the French. At Vaux, the officers in the 2nd Division showed that they had learned first-hand at Belleau Wood what the French officers had warned them about: effective artillery support was crucial to any infantry attack. Pershing’s abstract “infantry-based” doctrine had come face to face with the reality of the Western Front, and the reality appeared to win the first battle." So it appears the initial stages of Belleau Wood suffered because of Pershing's belief in the "virile superior qualities of the frontiersman" and the officers of the 2nd Div managed to find their groove by listening to experiance instead of flatulance. Not (yet) having read much on Belleau Wood, from the Grotelueschen viewpoint, it was a heroic fight with unneccessary casualties, the 2nd div learning the hard way. How does this fit in with other descriptions of the battle? Is it sour grapes by an Artillery man? Is it revisionism? or is it a thought that has been around for some time? Best Chris

The SGA has recently put up the rolls for the officers records.... so if you are lucky you can "find your man".... Down side is.... the quality is soooooo bad on some of them... you can barely read the names. It was a mess up with the scanning or photos, not the source material. they might as well not have bothered.... :-(

Hi, The Morrocan ones usually have imported blades from Germany or England or France... There are huuuuge differences in quality, when I was in Morroco last time I saw lots of them. many for tourists, a small number of real ones... but only one really turned my handle. Was too expensive though..... best Chris

You spoilsport! unfortunately the latest addition is not "without issues" but is still a good addition if you ignore the eyesore bits....

She did while I was doing it..... ;-)

OK.... It's a bit late.... see you here on monday...... tune in!