Chris Boonzaier

Must be late war, silver was running out, quality control was down....

Indeed... but until they are accessible to non Russian speakers, they may as well not exist. A Somme fan who only speaks English.... for them all the German language books may as well not exist. Jack's work in translating the german stuff is a tiny tip of the iceberg, but they seem to lap it up... I dont think that there is anyone who is going to start translating the Russian stuff any time soon.... for us it may as well not exist :-( Another thought... How objective do you think it is? I have a translated Russian history of WW2... mentions the Germans marching into Poland, not a word of the Russians marching in.... its a really funny book to read ;-)

What does WAG stand for? I thought the eagle under the ribbon was a cap eagle?

Thats my point, you would have german books and regimental histories.... but you would not have the same from the Russian side. When it comes to Verdun, I think of the German Regiments and french ones as my Homeboys... "My guy in the 4th Zouaves" "My guys in the RIR37".... I work to get the feeling from both sides of the battlefield and it adds to the interest for me... Eastern front would be too one sided.... You would need a good pile of books in English to be able to even begin to stir an interest... Even the most ethnocentric Brit hobby historians are reaching for Jacj Sheldons books on the Somme and Flanders to get the view from the German side.... for anyone interested in the Eastern front that would not be possible, either to learn about the Germans or, more impoertantly, the Russians...

Ahhh... buuuuut..... always for bigger things.... Kursk, Stalingrad, Demjansk Pcket ezc. etc. etc... Try and find info about smaller battles or fights when the panzers were rolling (Either forward or back...) With the millions of men on the eastern front in WW2, most are lost to history... I have had a document to an Knights cross with oakleaf winner, with gold close cbt clasp.... I spent months looking.... nothing to be found as his unit was in the middle of nowhere, fighting like hell, but not in a big battle.... and no info to be found on it. I agree, a REAL WW1 eastern front book would be a supreme labor of love, the writer would probably have to pay to get it published, and although I would snap up a copy or two... for most WW1 buffs it will be passed over for another book on the Somme :-( " I don't buy the war of movement is more complicated theory. WWII Eastern Front campaigns had a hell of a lot of movement but there are scads of books on the subject. Through on a smaller scale the war if movement in France in 1914 takes up 6 of the 14 volumes of the German OH" Thats my point, the 1914 war of movement takes up 6 volumes... BECAUSE it is so complicated.... and because it is so complicated, many folks take something in a more bitesized chunk, like the Somme or Verdun. the 6 volumes are just too much to be in one guys field of interets. BruceG has the frontier battles in the Argonne as his "thing" as such he has plucked a certain part out of the 6 volumes. Would be the same for someone who was crazy abot Le Cateau and mons.... or someone into Noyon 1914.... but the whole 6 volumes? I think on the western front you CAN take a little bit of 1914 and you will be able to study it for years using British/German/french sources...Neufchateau, L?ttich etc. etc... can all be intense areas of interest if you cut out a specific area if interest... Try that with the Eastern front.... if you take a BIG battle you can find some info... take small or mediun sized... and you will find half a page of info, maybe some mentions in German regt histories...... then thats it. On the western front you can read the histories of the Germans, Belgians, British, French Americans.... there is an endless supply of info... In the east just a little bit of german... and thats it.... Best Chris

back

A family piece... the glue on the back is original to the piece and connected the backing cloth to the plate...

Indeed, but for me it is a combination of everything. Take my Verdun Interest... First there was an exciting book... then there was a first visit to the battlefield, then more books and more and more visits. Now when I read I can run the terrain through my head as if I had a camera over the battlefield... My interest and any research I do comes from having turned the abstract into something "REAL". As we have discussed before, you have a more analytical interest, mine is more concentrated in the experiences of the troops. either way, i think we are both helped by covering familiar ground when we are reading. When I read of the beginning of June attacks from Douaumont to Thiaumont, I can play the exact groud through my head as I read how they advances... When I read a list of 15 villages spread over a 300 km trail through featureless Russian steppes... it is 1) all very abstract and b) (for me at least) lacks the salient points I like to pour over in a map. My argument is, the Brits have the Somme and Flanders, areas where you know where start and finish is, with one good map you can follow the movements over 4 years... With Russia you could look at a map and the fighting could have lasted a day before the troops moved into the next map. There are a few major battles that dont capture the imagination of westerners (partially due to lack of materiel) but otherwise there is just too much space and time to keep folks concentrated. I think lack of Russian material in English plays a part... but maintain my theory that nationalities concentrate on their own parts in the war and that static warfare leads to easier Study/Research. Look at the Marne in 1914, I read a book where the Author said it was "A complicated battle" sure it was, as was the fighting from march 1918 onwards... simply because things were moving and grooving all over and it is harder to keep an overview. 4 months of the Somme is easier to study, minimal movement and noone is shooting off unexpectedly... The more movement, the harder it is to follow, add minimal literature in English to a campaign and you have the modern western reader wondering off in confusion. (I realise our Eastern friends are interested in the battles in their sectors, which is great, but as CarolI points out, they to are more interested in Local than in other fronts). If you were to spread

I love the citations for these as well :-)

Given the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of EK ones we see on the forums.... say this piece is one in a thousand? One in 10 000? Given the tiny handful of tunics we see.... I would say chances of finding a tunic with the hole are zero, unless you found the tunic and cross together when it came out of the woodwork. best Chris

A one piece silver plated brass? Its like Janis Joplin man.... can sing like an angel... but still butt ugly :-)

Indeed, prewar J?gers were often foresters and civilian "J?ger" Best Chris

Eric... you do know we have a thread running about the ugliest EKs ? :-))

What a fantastic group of docs that would be !!!!

Probably between Douaumont and Thiaumont... http://www.kaiserscross.com/40047/132001.html

You don't say.... ;-)

As a pipe smoker I often wonder if these are fun to smoke or if it is mainly for show :-)

The 8th of August 1918 was considered by many to be the "Black Day" of the German army, the day the Germans lost the war. The 12th Saxon Heavy Artillery Battalion was swamped and swept away by troops of the 1st Canadian Army. For an account and award documents to a member of the battalion, one of a few to survive and fight another day (or in his case, maybe push paper another day) see here... http://www.kaiserscross.com/41815/164301.html

A black day at Demuin... http://www.kaiserscross.com/41815/164301.html

I love the bolt on the Enfield, I also find it has a nicer, more solid feel in the hand. But I think you will seldom find a German who preferes the Enfield over the Maiser or a Brit that prefers the Mauser over an Enfield (I am talking about shooters, not guys who love Mausers because they collect German stuff).

And a challenge......... I have asked before... I don't need experts... If anyone feels like writing something, does not have to be a doctorate, even a simple 1-3 page summary of anything (Battles, tactics whatever) they read on the Eastern front... how about sending it to me for the Kaiserscross project... WE the imperial collectors are responsible for generating interest in our field of interest. A short summary of Tannenberg, fall of Warsaw... ANYTHING... will help add to the site... Thanks Chris

Another thought.... Maybe the very nature of the Western front makes it easier to research? The lines stay static and you cam pour over maps and documents that you can commit to memory. See how much more complicated when you try and follow the western front from March to september-October 1918.... a lot more movement and a lot harder to follow. Now... take this to the Eastern front, mobile warfare, great distances to cover, places that all sound the same and you cannot even begin to pronounce.... Visit the Somme and everything is "There".... years of fighting in a contained space means looking for things of military interest is like shooting fish in a barrel..... visit the eastern front and you can cover hundreds of miles looking for anything of remote interest... and even when you reach a town where they fought for 2-3 days... there is nothing to see, no trace of the war....

I have to agree with Rick... Flanders and the Somme are a jump from the English channel.... they are wiiiidely visited and covered by the British WW1 Buffs. Americans can make it to France in one jump.... The Argonne and St Mihiel are easily reachable.... Another point comes in here... people are Usually interested in the sectors their countries fought in.... The Brits in Flanders and Somme, the Yanks in Meuse-Argonne, the French in Verdun, Champagne, Alsace, etc. Few if any western nations have an interest in the east as few (other than the Germans and Austrians) had anyone who fought there. The Eastern front is and will always remain a "side show" as there is just not the interest to see/read about it :-(

A liitle bit of Eastern Front as the Njemen Armee attacks, gets attacked, and counter attacks... http://www.kaiserscross.com/41815/162901.html

A tiny start to the subject :-) http://www.kaiserscross.com/41815/162901.html