GreyC

Hello,

I came across a German document detailing execution procedures for Serbia. This document seems to have gotten into the hands of British intelligence, copied and given to the Russians in 1943. The British "address" was M.I.R.S., The War Office, Victoria Hotel, London. As far as I know this hotel was requisitioned from 1940 on by the War Office to house part of the SOE. So given the nature of the document the M.I.R.S. seems to be an intelligence gathering or producing agency. Can anybody of you tell me what the abbreviation stands for Military Intelligence... something? And what did it do?

Thank you,

GreyC

Hi,

see here, too:

http://feldgrau.pytalhost.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?35648-Afro-Husar-welches-Regiment&highlight=farbiger

http://feldgrau.pytalhost.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?34524-farbiger-Freikorpsk%E4mpfer&highlight=farbiger

GreyC

Good morning,

SMS Endeavour was a survey vessel.

1,280t, launched 1912, armed with 1-3pdr, 13kts. Served in WW2, sold 1946. (British Warships 1914-1919)

While your guy was on board it was commanded by Sidney Arthur Geary Hill, D.S.O., R.N. (5 August, 1881 – 18 March, 1953) (http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/H.M.S._Endeavour_(1912))

GreyC

Good evening Gentlemen,

having had a lot of fun watching you post cap tallies of the Kriegsmarine I have decided to join in, though my focus is on Imperial Forces / Navy.

Here are some from the Befehshaber der Sicherung der Nordsee.

As the unit and the boat might not generally be known here a few informations:

Built 1915 as trawler ESTEBURG for Pickenpack, taken over by Imperial Navy Dec. 1915. 13th January 1917: 4. Minenflottillle 12. Halbflottille. 16th June1919 back to owners. 1936 bought by Kriegsmarine. 14th March 1937 named SIGFRID. 3rd July 1937 Hilfsminensuchboot. 1st. April 1939 BSN Schulflottille (Befehlshaber der Sicherung der Nordsee). Survived war after short British ownership back into German hands as trawler broken up 1952.  (Gröner)

GreyC

Hi,

Text translates as: Franz und Heinz/Heinz sails on the steamer in the background now for the last weeks.

Auf dem Dampfer im Hintergrund fährt Heinz jetzt die letzten Wochen.

There are till today a Scharnhorstbrücke in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. By the looks of it, and because the Schiffsartillerieschule was in Kiel, I guess the photo was taken there. Actually, they both function more as a pier than a bridge.

GreyC

Hello,

here another trench image, this near Höhe 304. It was a very contested point on the western side of the Maas on the battlefield of Verdun. Won by the German troops almost 101 years ago today (29th May 1916), it remained contested till the allied forces won it back on 22nd August 1917.

GreyC

Good morning Bayern,

thank you for the interesting details!

GreyC

Merci beaucoup, monsieur!

GreyC

Hello or better bonjour!

I was able to buy some WW1 photos recently, among them these soldiers from what appears to be French cavalry before WW1?

I am absolutely in the dark when it comes to French military, so I´d appreciate if anybody could enlighten my with regards to the unit and its garison, if different from town the photos were taken in. I believe the photos were taken in the 1890s or early 1900s?

Thanks a lot!

GreyC

Hi Fritzel,

with regard to the Verlustlisten: not all wounded or dead were listed during the afore mentioned timespan. Especially navy casualties, but also army were sometimes reported with delay or not at all, so not to inform the enemy in instances of classified actions (like losses of submarines etc.).

GreyC

Hi,

I read it not as a name but as "Meine" - "my" Gastgeber / hosts.

Beneath the names Franz Jonas ,Frau Jonas, Klaus Jonas

GreyC

Hi,

he is not in the Kürschners Deutscher Literatur-Kalender 1930.

GreyC

Hi Cilli1902,

you could send an inquiry to the Vienna City Archive asking them to find his entry in the Gewerberegister, where the founding date and other information of the factory are written down in. In some instances the archives also kept a file with additional data. Another option is the Handelsregister with varying amounts of information, dependend on the legal type of the business (OHG, GmbH, AG)

GreyC

Hi,

for those not familiar with German photo A4: Gunposition point 148 Connay (Geschützstellung Höhe 148 Connay)

GreyC

Hi there seems to have been a commemorative medal with the profil of his in 1917 and 1918:

https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=922&lot=32119

and

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?similar=1304766

and he seems to hae been promoted to SA Brigadeführer in 1942 (or someone with the same name).

http://www.linkfang.de/wiki/Liste_der_SA-Brigadeführer

GreyC

Good evening gentlemen,

the photo was taken between 1930 the earliest and prior to Aug 1939 but at that time still recent, as the General mailed a copy of it to the State Archiv then. The Generalleutnant a.D. was first listed a citizen of Weimar in 1931, however there is no address-book of 1930. So theoretically he could have lived there from late 1929/1930 onwards.

See: https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/NPJFZIAVBVJSUZERB64TU22YYVAEATHJ

GreyC

Hi,

can´t say anything about the general, but the photographer seems to have been Louis Held, a nationally renkown photographer from Weimar. The first word in 2nd line is, I think,  either "Gau" or "Bau"

GreyC

Hi Chip,

if I remember correctly it´s from the unit´s history.

L. Knies: Das württembergische Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 13 im Weltkrieg 1914-1918 (H. Flaischlen: Die württembergischen Regimenter im Weltkrieg 1914-1918 , Band 41), Chr. Belser AG, Verlagsbuchhandlung Stuttgart 1927

GreyC

Thanks for pointing that out, Chris. Didn´t know the Prince Alfons Commemorative Badge. 

GreyC

On 16.4.2017 at 16:44, webr55 said:

The Major at the center can probably not be identified, but he is wearing a number of 1920s unofficial awards like the Kyffhäuser Medal - and he also has the Hungarian War Remembrance Medal. This actually means that the photo must have been taken between 1929, when this Medal was first handed out, and 1934, when the Hindenburg Cross replaced all the unofficial awards. 

Hi,

I also see a Schlesischer Adler 2nd class  (2. Stufe) (4th from right), and 1st class (1. Stufe) beneath EKI which means he was active in a Freikorps for a while. Besides that Generalleutnant Eduard Lang, Generalmajor Otto Staubwasser and the yet to be identified Major all seem to share the same badge/emblem/medal, which is the highly reflecting rectangular one. Whereas the Generals wear it beneath their medalbars, the Major wears it next to his pinned on crosses above the belt.

GreyC

Hi,

to me he is not Hessian but Württembergisch. See cockade and shoulder strap. It sports the "13" and is piped in red. That makes it Württembergisches Pionierbataillon 13. As this bataillon was also responsible to set up other units, which would therefore show same straps as "motherunit", he could also be in one of those different units. He himself is a Vizefeldwebel (Sergeantenknopf) or Feldwebel (book in cuffs). The medal could be the Silberne Militärverdienstmedaille von 1892.

GreyC

Hi,

may I jump in?

No further infos available, but I think interesting enough with rifle-stand and some kind of thrower? Also metal blends with loops.

GreyC

Hi,

unfortunately not the best quality: The Musik Korps of the Airfield in Prenzlau, photo taken in 1934 on the occassion of a burial of a crashed pilot.

GreyC

Great, thanks a lot Bayern!

GreyC

Hi,

can anybody help ID this uniform of the Hauptmann and maybe even the branch, this soldier was assigned to?

Unfortunately the shoulderboards are not that sharp.

Thank you, gentlemen!

GreyC