Chris Boonzaier

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Seldom a clean shaven Vet back then.....

Hi, try Glenn for the CD... http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/user/162-glenn-j/

Here is a nice Pic....

Wow... the guy was a "collector"... nice bar!

I am guessing it is an aluminium Parade Helmet?

As far as WW1 literature goes I think Jack Sheldon is producing some of the best works for those interested in the german side at lower levels. His books on Ypres, the Somme, etc are not only really interesting, but also concentrate on the German side with many first hand accounts from Generals all the way down to company level. Of course, you can go about tracking down all the Regimental histories, but his books allow you to choose a battle and have translated accounts of the fighting... Anyone else a fan? Best Chris

A French battalion Commander...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondrag%C3%B3n_rifle Interesting... I had never heard of these...

Nice hat ! I am still trying to understand this... you promise to leave them alone if they buy you militaria??

Very possible... amazing what taring a road can do ;-)

Indeed... and I think Sheldon does a fantastic service... i am really suprised he is not more well known amonst collectors... its one of the few authors who brings the war from the german side with lots of impressions from german soldiers to the English world. I have His Ypres, Passchandaele, Somme and one other book that escapes me...

I just recieved a bavarian EK Doc.. the man in question spent 4 spells of a couple of months in hospital with Malaria.... how comman was that for bavarian farmers?? Thanks Chris

I once asked someone to shill bid for me... foolish me... It was not with the intent of raising the price... but simply to get some movement... I had a Victorian medal on EBAY... I had put in up with a starting price of EUR600.... day after day... no bid.... 1 day before the end i thought "Bloody hell... this wont do... have to wake the people up"... and with some misguided logic asked a friend to bid EUR600... just so a first bid was in.... Well... he won it for EUR600 as only bid, I kept the medal, paid the Ebay fees for a EUR600 euro sale... and was wiser the next day.... ;-)

Hi, I hope this is of interest. Courtesy of Jack Sheldon, from his book “The German Army at Passchendaele”, which is now coming out in paperback. It is an account by a member of the G.R. 9, which was reinforcing the R.I.R. 94 in the period the Certificate was made out for. If you want a better understanding of the “bravery and tenacity” please read the article below…. Elements of Grenadier Regiment 9, which was part of 3rd Guards Division, had been forwarded to the Keiberg area to reinforce the front line of the Reserve Infanterie Regiment 94 from the evening of 12 October. The conditions were simply appalling. They occupied a random series of water filled craters. There were no trees to be seen, not a patch of green, no sign of a trench just rain, rain and more rain. The grenadiers stretched their groundsheets over the craters in an effort to keep dry, but it was hopeless. They were up to their waists in filthy water and mud. Some men tried vainly to bale out the holes using mess tins or steel helmets, but soon gave up on the unequal task. Shells continued to rain down and the casualties went on mounting. One of the platoon commanders of the 1st Battalion wrote up his impressions of the conditions and the state of the fighting as the First battle of Passchendaele died away. He could have been acting as a spokesman for the forward troops. Vizefeldwebel Zaske 1st Battalion Grenadier Regiment 9 “If you wished to find one single sentence to encapsulate what it meant to endure the worst drumfire imaginable, to hang on in ploughed-up terrain which made a mockery of every attempt at orientation, where there was a lack of food, where life was lived out in shell holes and mine craters, where it was impossible to distinguish the clay from the water, where all appeared to have been reduced once more to the primeval swamp from which our planet developed millions of years ago, this was the best attempt that could be made. Yes, we were in the Carpathians and took part in the breakthrough in Galicia; we were there on the Somme, we have got to know the worst of the Eastern and Western Fronts, but here…. And words failed everyone. When we emerged from our holes, we looked like animals whose natural camouflage made them indistinguishable from the surrounding earth, even for the sharpest eye. Our grey uniforms were coated with mud and earth and it appeared as though every man was encased in terracotta from his steel helmet to the nails of his boots. Here we endured to the uttermost limit of that which was humanely possible; our daily entertainment an endless stream of shells, most of them heavy calibre, which crashed down everywhere that the enemy suspected we earthworms were lurking. Over there is the crew of a light machine gun, in their “Dugout”, which comprises a medium sized shell hole, featuring a sheet of corrugated iron spread across the portion nearest the enemy as protection against the endless Flanders drizzle for the weapon that the five man crew treat as sacred. The wet conditions gradually turn outer and underclothes into an unpleasant leathery substance sticking to the limbs. A shell impacts two meters in front of this austere shelter. The corrugated iron sheet flies up in a great arc, to land more than 10 meters away. One member of the crew is killed and two other seriously wounded. The remaining pair clean the fallen mud and clay off their gun, mount it on the lip of their crater once more and soon it is chattering away at lines of enemy infantrymen who have been careless enough to expose themselves to it. That is a typical example of defence when the enemy acts as though all life has been extinguished and our men demonstrate that they are still there. Yes, they stick it out in their thin, wavy defensive lines; on their own or in twos and threes. Self-absorbed, their voices barely able to make themselves understood t their neighbour above the hellish racket. They are fully aware that in Flanders they are right at the focus of the fighting throughout the full length of the Western Front, of the war itself and that the outcome is entirely up to them. Suddenly all falls silent… does it mean an attack all along the line? Hands grip rifle butts tighter, the security screws on grenades are checked. Yes, it is an attack! It is the moment of liberating relief! Rifle and machine gun fire is poured into the enemy and our artillery brings down violent concentrations. Over-keen Tommies, who have already pushed forward in front of the crater, are dealt with using grenades. It lasts half an hour then the attack is beaten off, with casualties amongst both the courageous Pomeranian soldiers and the enemy, whose losses are even higher. The attack is renewed after two or three hours. The images and the result are the same. The next day the official Army Communiqué reports that the Pomeranian Grenadier Regiment has smashed every enemy assault”

I was just reading an article... the Regt was in the treeline the day the Marines arrived on the outskirts of the woods... and were the main defenders... they lost 85% of their men during the battle.... I gues there were none left to write the regt history.....

I wish i did... its always after the event..."We shot 20 Rifle rounds last week, all worked fine, in the 80s we shot boxes of them yadayadayada..."

Thats insane... some guys still shoot original WW1 ammo....

16 rounds as that fills 2 magazines... with no leftovers.... german efficency....

For ages I missed the connection as to why there were 16 in a box and not 20....

Nice!! Have a couple here... http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/58117-9mm-ammo-boxes/

Hi Jock, Really like tat WW1 EK !!

I dont think there will be any agreement on a "Best Book"... but would be interested to hear what your favourite general history of the war is? One book I really love is an American officer, Col. Rod Paschall. I find his book "The defeat of Imperial Germany 1917-1918" to be an absolute pleasure to read, and a very balanced book. Readily availible, It is a book I have tossed into my travel bag many times in the past... I can heartily recommend it...