Claudio

Dulcis in fundo... last but not least... my favourite part! Gebirgsjäger... Generaloberst Dietl original untouched red piped uniform... this was quite frequently worn!

Finnish Jäger...

Russian White army Officer...

Finnish female red cross / medical corps...

A typical Officer field-uniform of a Finn during the struggle for indipendence...

A selection of fine Russian Imperial uniforms...

Finns served, like Mannerheim, in the Russian Imperial Army, since before 1918 Finland was a Russian province (Grand-Duchy)... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Finland

Finnish major, Cavalry, early uniform type...

Order of the German Eagle, 1933-45

Finnish army, Waffen-SS, US-Army (paratrooper), last rank (postumously) major! Respect...

A whole group of decorations and documents of a Finnish Officer who served in two wars in the Finnish army (Winter War 1940 + Continuation War 1941-44) and later served as officer in elite troop with the US Army in Vietnam... missing in action! What a story... and what a great soldier!

SS-Untersturmführer Original uniform... Nordland!

Finnish SS Nordland Standarte!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_SS_Volunteer_Panzergrenadier_Division_Nordland

Another beautiful complete Finnish General uniform...

More beautiful decorations... I love the style and quality of Finnish orders and decorations. They really put a lot of thinking and new design ideas... not like today's Germany "bravery" crosses... for example! BTW Finns and some Baltic states adopted the svastica as their symbol well before the Nazi Party in Germany... very likely AH copied from them, apart from the fact that it's a thousand years old symbol...

Decorations belonging to a Finnish General...

Early style Finnish uniform of named and well decorated General...

A nice picture of the Standarte of the Finnish Jäger... I love this flag! Finnish soldiers have been trained by the Germans in WWI... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Jäger_troops

Brothers in arm: Generaloberst Eduard Dietl and Fieldmarschal Mannerheim... very nice big picture!

Dear forumites, I'd like to show you some interesting pictures of a great miitary museum in Finland: http://www.mpkk.fi/en/museum/. It's very nice to see so much dedication to keep up the history of their own military forces and the struggle against Russian (Zarist and later Communist) imperialism. First image... me in front of the museum... a Finnish Stug with Hakenkreuz! Claudio

Hi Rick! He could have been over-dressed, but many medals on this bar he really deserved to wear, since he participated most of the campaigns. Let's try to identify this court mounted medal bar... 1st attempt... you're more than welcome to fill in the blanks!! 1. Sweden, Order of the Sword, Knight 2. Finland, Order of the White Rose of Finland, Knight’s Cross 2nd class 3. Finland, Civil Guard’s Iron Cross of Merit 4. British Empire, Cape of Good Hope GSM, 1880-97, 1 clasp, Bechuanaland 5. British Empire, Queen's South Africa Medal, 1899-1902 (1899), 4 clasps Wittebergen ???, Natal, Wepener ???, Cape Colony 6. British Empire, King's South Africa Medal, 1901-02 (1902), 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 7. British Empire, Zulu Rising Medal, 1906 (1907) clasp ? 8. British Empire, 1914/1914-15 Star 9. British Empire, British War Medal, 1914-20 10. British Empire, Victory Medal, 1914-18 11. France, Victory Medal, 1914-18 (could also be the Belgian Victory Medal) 12. Russia, Order of Saint Anne, 3rd class (?) 13. Russia, Order of Saint Vladimir, 3rd class (?) 14. Russia, Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd class (?) 15. Finland, Swedish Brigade Medal 1918 16. ??? 17. ??? Good luck with the remaining medals... (just two...). Ciao, Claudio

Hi James, I am pretty convinced that the two last enamelled decoration must be some kind of Mexican or Chinese decorations. I tried to make a search on internet but I couldn't find anything. Maybe our collecting friends from Mexico or Asia can help us with this. Ciao, Claudio

Hi Vinland30, The medal bar is not mine... I just took a picture at the Swedish Army museum in Stockholm: since the complete uniform and the medal bar of this officer is there on a temporary exposition, I guess the group probably came just on loan from the family or from a private collector. Ciao, Claudio

Thanks for your explication and translation! ;)

The badge at the button's hole looks like a Roman Empire kind of eagle... Here's a better picture of it. Ciao, Claudio