Paul H2

"...heroic cyber-war operations..." define? Paul

Hello, Only a small correction. The first four Vorschriften für den Stellungskrieg aller Waffen: 1. Stellungsbau 20 Juni 1916 2. Der Minenkrieg 19. April 1916 3. Die Nahkampfmittel 7. Aug. 1916 4. Die Leuchtmittel 31. Mai 1916 .....were published under the 2. OHL during the battle of Verdun. After Verdun there was no Falkenhayn. Paul

Ahh, As Chris said, seems this was discussed here a few years back: Different guy, but same topic: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5135 Paul

...four senators — two Republicans, two Democrats introduced legislation to drop the new medal... Hope they put as much effort into avoding sequestration Paul

Wow--this is new to me. How many black soldiers served in the Kaiser's Army in Europe?

I think this is interesting. My 2 cents worth--22 years US Air Force, 7.5 years deployed in war zones. The US awards system has some interesting issues--and has had so for a long time. In my experience the level of award was usually predicated not by one's proximity to combat, but the proximity of the recepient to the award writers during the deployment. I don't know how many times I saw people in support and admin functions awarded a bronze star when they guys out flying the missions came back with lesser awards. I remember one colonel, a deployed squadron commander--who refused to be written up for his bronze star. He said there was no way he was going to accept a higher level award when his guys flying combat missions were not receiving the same. We all admired him for that. We were always amazed at how many C-17 transport crews won distinguished flying crosses, which were very scarce in the AC-130 community. The Air Force in particular is extremely award heavy. If you fly, and have an active career, you retire with a chest full of medals that would put a Soviet field marshal to shame. These new medals are just a continuation of a system where everyone is to be recognized--which is the problem--decorations should be awarded for actions and performance--not proforma as is mostly the case now (and has been for many years.) Paul

Hey, what are you trying to say?

Chris, I'm going to give you Franz Kosar's artillerie books for Christmas next. Just remember to remind me around November! Pul

I've never heard before that Nachrichten only referred to intelligence in WW2. What is the source of that? I've seen the terms used to mean intelligence in both wartime and even pre-war German documents. Here is an article by Markus Poehlmann on the German Intelligence Service during the Great War: He states that Nachrichtenoffiziere Der OHL were intelligence officers and Nachrichten-Referenten were signals officers. The article: http://www.intelligence-history.org/jih/poehlmann_intro-5-2.html Walter Nicolai was Chef des Nachrichtendienstes der deutschen OHL.. and he wasn't a communications officer Paul

Chris, I've seen a lot of photos of French trenches at Verdun with those types of walls. Mostly in the woods on the north end of the battlefield. Paul

Sounds like an OHL "spy" snooping around an army HQ- An intelligence officer. Can you give some more details Chris--do you have a name? Paul

Chris, I checked my photos for Koblenz--but it doesn't seem to be in the collection there, nor Duxford--not that's too much help. Paul P.S. Now that I think of it is the museum at Koblenz still there?

Here is another image from "Das Gerät der Artillerie vor, in und nach dem Weltkrieg."

Really nice set of photos! Thanks for sharing them. Paul

Interesting photo. The decision to bombard Paris was not taken lightly, and was only initiated after the city had been invested for four months--and after serious wrangling between Bismarck and Moltke. Once the Prussians started using their big guns the city surrendered in a few days. Paul

Hello Andy, No worries! That's a nice picture. I am fascinated by the Fussartillerie and their [dis] organization. It's amazing how some batteries would use Beute-Geschütze for a period of time, and then switch to another type of captured gun, then to another and then finally to a German type over time. I read a story in the "Die Schwere Artillerie" journal about 1./R.Fussa. R. 18 which went into the field with 10-cm K. 04's but was then given French 12cm guns from Maubeuge. The article is hilarious--"One couldn't speak of accuracy," the battery commander wrote. Those 12 cm guns were taken away 6 months later and became Fussa. Battr. 458, then 2./Ld. Fussa. Btl. 34. So was life in the Fussartillerie--"Zu-Gleich!" Paul

Looking at the "Das Ehrenbuch der schweren deutschen Artillerie," this morning I see that under the Fussartillerie units listed in the Champagne battles is HQ III./Fussa. R. 6 with 3. batterie--so I think that (along with what other members have written) would confirm the location and subordination of your man's unit. They way it's written makes me think that the battery was attached to the III. HQ. This is not an unusual situation at all--German Fussa. units were swapped around a lot. The 3./Fussa. R. 6 was armed with the 21-cm Mörser L/12, known simply as "Der Mörser" at mobilization, and that's what it had at Verdun in February 1916. Paul

look here: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=03N9AAAAMAAJ&q=%22M%C3%B6rser+Regiment+6%22&dq=%22M%C3%B6rser+Regiment+6%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rd34UMWPMLL44QSq1YHwCw&redir_esc=y and here: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=03N9AAAAMAAJ&q=%22M%C3%B6rser+Regiment+6%22&dq=%22M%C3%B6rser+Regiment+6%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rd34UMWPMLL44QSq1YHwCw&redir_esc=y Like I wrote--I've seen stranger things!

Hello! You asked about the unit acting as an independent unit. I can tell you that at Verdun (this is what jogged my memory) that the 3./Fussa 6 was independent at Verdun. You might try: Ehemaliges Fußartillerie-Regiment von Dieskau (Schlesisches) Nr.6 20 S Tradition des deutschen Heeres, Heft 491 Kyffhäuser, Berlin (1938) It's one of the "micro" histories, so it might not be of much help. Fussa. 6 didn't produce a full 1914-1918 regimental history. Chris, in 1915 a series of divisions were organized with Fussa. batteries as part of their organic structure--5X series--but they had attached 150 batteries, not 210. I think they were later taken away. I think Chris is spot on about the post office--a small unit attached to a corps or division--that would make sense. It would be good to try and track down with the 3. Armee was doing at this time--you could come across the unit in an OoB even in "Der Weltkrieg" or "Schlacten des...." I would start from the army, then corps and figure out where they were and then go from there. Paul

Hello, The card seems to be from the 3./Fussa. R. 6, yeah? The battalion was armed with the Mörser, so why not? I've seen stranger designations generated in written form from German participants in the war. Paul