Chris Boonzaier

fff

the 4 rivets in the bottom...

Notice the wide flat loops for the straps above...

Just got a nice mask today, with a tin I cannot identify..... it is not the standard one.... but IS German... Maybe early?

What/where is Ormuz?

Nice indeed... I remember those pistols from a youth filled with Sven Hassel books ;-)

The gemans in Japanese captivity were treated very well?

Thanks for the info.... Ralf von Rango.... sounds like a cheap German western hero

More like a Govt official. Taxmen, Policemen, teachers, etc. basically anyone working for the Govt.

From my wifes grandfathers album....

As seen by the artists of the day....

Was able to pick up the death doc this week on Ebay :-))

tt

After the German defeat at the first battle of the Marne, the German high command realised it would have to save its right flank by extending as rapidly as possible to the English Channel. Many Reserve units were rushed to the front and were put under the command of the AOK4 to plug the line between Lille and Antwerp. The still green troops were tasked to occupy the coast between Dunkirk and Calais. The Allies were aware of the weak German flank and were rushing troops up to Belgian in order to exploit this weakness. It was the start of the ?Race for the sea? (Wettlauf zum Meer). The German 6th Army managed to stabalise the front to the North-North east of Lille, and the III Reservekorps managed to do the same in the ostende region. Marching towards Ypres was the AOK4 with the XXVII., XXVI., XXIII. And XXII. Reservekorps was taking very heavy casaulties. The units formed with young half trained volunteers was marching forward with no Artillery support and encountering bitter resistance from well trained regular army British units. By the 20. Oktober 1914 when the first battle of Ypres began they had already suffered heavy losses. Ypres was an important hub of Road, Rail and canal transportation and was to become one of the bloodiest battlegrounds of the war. A pincer movement was to be carried out by the XXVI R.K. from the North with the 51. reservedivision (Generalleutnant von Dankenschweil) and the 52. reservedivision (Generalleutnant Waldorf). The Divisions were to advance through Paschendaele, Poelkappelle and Langemarck and were to achieve the dubious distinction of being the main victims in the "slaughter of the innocents". It was to be known as the slaughter of the innocents to the Germans as it was the mass destruction of the flower of German youth. In complete Regiments, half trained young volunteers advanced waving their flags, only to be cut down?. The British army regulars had been trained to fire 15 aimed shots a minute with their Lee Enfields and the Germans suffered accordingly. Below is the death certificate to a soldier killed during "the slaughter"

Private H.J. Milton, (probably of the Highland Light infantry) ?22nd Oct 1914 The enemy charged about 7 or 8 p.m. ? they charged within 50 yards of our firing line and we simply mowed them down, our fire was terrific during this time, the enemy were simply running into death, they gave great yells after they started, but very few got back as far as we could make out. The screams were terrible.? Captain Harry Dillon 2nd Oxford and Bucks light infantry ?It came with a suddenness that was the most startling thing I have ever known. A great grey mass of humanity was charging, running for all God would let them, straight on to us not 50 yards off. Everybody?s nerves were pretty well on edge as I had warned them what to expect, and as I fired my rifle the rest all went off almost simultaneously. One saw the great mass of Germans quiver. In reality some fell, some fell over them, and others came on. I havenever shot so much in such a short time, could not have been more than a few seconds and they were down. Then the whole lot came on again and it was the most critical moment of my life. Twenty yards more and they would have been over us in thousands, but our fire must have been fearful, and at the very last moment they did the most foolish thing they possibly could have done. Some of the leading people turned to the left for some reason, and they all followed like a great flock of sheep. I don?t think one could have missed at that distance and just for one short minute or two we poured the ammunition into them in boxfuls. My rifles were red hot at the finish. The firing died down and out of the darkness a great moan came. People with their arms and legs off trying to crawl away; others who could not move gasping out their last moments with the cold night wind biting into their brken bodies and the lurid red glare of a burning farm house showing up clumps of grey devils killed by the men on my left, further down. A weird awful scene; some of them would raise themselves on one arm or crawl a little distance, silhouetted as black as ink against the red glow of the fire. The British defence annihalated whole companies, in many other units all the officers were killed, leaving NCOs in charge as in the case of Offizier-stellvertreter (Proxy Officer)Heuschmidt. On the 23rd of October the British pushed the Germans back, but in the first days of November it was the Germans turn again. Army High Command reported on the 11th of November that the regiments had stormed to their deaths singing the ?Deutschlandlied?.

Are you kidding me here !!! Thats my Hometown battalion, the one I comb shows looking for documents to.... Not much in the way of promotion in a J?ger battalion.... Garbe commanded the 4th Company, will see is anything can be found ....

Nothing sexier than a WW1 18 pounder shell :-)

...if noone can see anything wrong with this? http://cgi.ebay.de/Tschako-Bayern-mit-Schu...1QQcmdZViewItem

PM sent, thanks, you are the man

If I was to mount a single Bavarian wartime medal for display...... what would the best way to mount it be?

An ebay buy... nice shot.... I wonder what medals are under those coats ???

He was a Butcher... there we have a baker.... whats next ????

Thats what all the girls say ;-) Thanks guys, it takes a lot of effort to dig out the details, sometimes I have the feeling it does not interest a lot of us

12 Inf Regt. I have the smaller Regt <History for 14-18... does anyone know if there is anything else out there?

Oooops, forgot I had his EK1 doc as well.....