-
Posts
29,251 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
84
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Store
Everything posted by Chris Boonzaier
-
EK 1914 An excited telegram!
Chris Boonzaier replied to Chris Boonzaier's topic in Germany: All Eras: The Iron Cross
2. Posensches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr.56 – Hauptmann der Landwehr Mensch The Combres Heights (Les Eparges) are situated on the northern hinge of the St Mihiel salient and were one of "hotspots" on the Western Front in early 1915 when the Germans repulsed attack after attack. The 10. Infanterie Division arrived in the Sector in late 1914 and stayed there until it left for Verdun in October 1916. An eye witness on the heights described the effects of the German Artillery on the French attackers in front of the 10th I.D. “The French have suffered very heavy losses. They throw the bodies out of their positions to form a protective wall. They seem unable to bury them. They also seem unable or unwilling to remove their wounded. No Man’s Land is covered with bodies. Our losses are also heavy but in no proportion to theirs. Our artillery does excellent work. They fire on the reserves preventing them from reaching the front line where they would be able to enter the fray. The attacking troops are met with a terrible storm of shot and shell.” The Iron Cross 1st Class award document to Hauptmann d.L. Franz Mensch was issued by the deputy commander of the V Armeekorps in January 1916. The award had been made in April 1915 for fighting on the Combres Heights. The document implies that the award had been approved by the Kaiser himself and Generalleutnant Eduard v. Below was simply documenting this fact with his signature. The Regiment was part of the 10th Infantry Division. The Iron Cross 2nd Class award document to Mensch as Batterie Führer was issued on the 26th of February 1916, a month after the 1st Class document. From the wording it also implies that the award was made by the Kaiser. The award itself was made on the 24th of December 1914 and the document was issued after an order in 1916 asked units to supply recipients with a written proof of entitlement. The document was signed by Oberstleutnant Hugo Weichsel, Regiments Kommandeur. here is the group..... -
Sorting out my stuff I stumbled across this.... Unfortunately not Bavarian, so not long for this world.... but a fantastic group nevertheless.... notice, 2 field issued EK docs.... then later 2 large docs from the battalion. On the battalion docs the battles are filled in by hand and the entries corresponds to his actions up until the time for that award... another thing, often overlooked..... an EK1 for a Gefreiter is rarer than a PLM for an officer.... they are really very, very, very scarce.....
-
The Ausmarch photo was often meant to be the photo your family would remember you by if you died in action.... Sometimes I wonder if the girlfriend had the say her - here, lets put some flowers on him - actually... I prefer it without... her - but the spike is so butch looking... c'mon, just a few flowers him - what if someone laughs?? her - please honey bunch... don't you want to please your widdle, widdle wabbit? Him - okay, just hope I don't get killed and this is the last pic of me!!!!
-
Maaannn... I was so tempted to buy this.... it is for the 59th Inf Regt... a pretty large badge... I can only assume it is pre WW1 or during the war? I dont think they were big on Veteran associations there after the war.... I cannot find another example anywhere.... Pity it is not bavarian... https://www.ebay.de/itm/unbekanntes-Abzeichen-Auszeichnung/202400544226?hash=item2f200335e2:g:bCUAAOSwPyBZtXu5
-
Vietnam time capsule! eBay snag !
Chris Boonzaier replied to scottplen's topic in United States of America
Very nice indeed! Was the seller one of the kids mentioned? -
This is from a family stash (not found by me) The guy served before the war, I am guessing he was a reservist at the outbreak, then continued in the Verein after the war. i have no idea where he served during the war. We see the typical Leib Regt Rosette top right, then a variation with a starbust rosette... some crown removed from shoulderboards, at the bottom a row of medaillon for participating in fiels excersises 1905-1910... in the miiddle a rosette with its crown loose, and a harp in its place, I am thinking maybe for members of the regt band... all in all a nice "stash"... I wih I had the guys name....