GreyC

The officer´s Litewka was only to be worn out of duty or inside while on duty. During war time combined with fieldgrey trousers. Buttons could be either silver or gold. Two rows of 6 buttons each, 16cm apart. Note the sometimes subtle differences to the Kleiner Rock, esp. w regards to pockets. Best, GreyC

Mindestens 1935 war Zirkler Führer des Pioniersturmbanns der SA der SA Brigade 151 Saarbrücken, früher Brigade 51. Zudem war er mindestens 1939 Wirtschaftsbeauftragter des Landkreises Saarbrücken. 1958 noch unter den Lebenden als Leiter des Vogelschutzbundes dort.

Yes, the two officers in the middle of the 2nd row definitely wear the uniforms of the Friedensheer as prescribed prior to 5th May 1919 whereas the others seem to have uniforms worn in imperial period yet with the Ärmelscheiben (oval unitpatches) of the Vorläufige Reichswehr. Interesting! GreyC

Merci! GreyC

Hi Chris, can you do a high res detail scan of the areas marked in pink in the photo. I suspect they are Armspiegel of the Vorläufige Reichswehr, denoting the unit. The cuff marked in black is the rank designation in the style of Vorläufige Reichswehr, and in yellow the string on the shoulder the corresponding rank insignium. They were not worn over a longer period of time, so (especially in the early phase) not all changed their uniform to new rank insignia at once. If I remember correctly, the Armscheiben were worn on both arms. GreyC

Hi blackcowboy, nice photo. Cn you explain how you can see that he is from the artillery? Best, GreyC

I´d second that! GreyC

Has the medal role survived? If so, should not be too difficult to find Lt Schulz. GreyC

Utgardloki the photo of your Husar was taken in a branch of Germany´s largest department store. And though its flaghip store at Leipziger Strasse was of comparable fame to Harrod´s, the photo-studios of the Wertheim stores was more of a merchandise tool to boost sales and not a studio with royal privilege like Studio Bieber, which was only a few meters away of the Leipzig flagship store of Wertheim, or Selle und Kunze in Potsdam. Here are two photos from my collection with non-aristocratic background and one of the wife of Prinz Oskar, son of KWII, with their two sons at the beach. GreyC

He seems to have been pensioned in 1907/08 and from then on Landwehr Bezirk I Berlin. Until then Major in IR 42. GreyC

HI! It´s not Schückinger, it´s Oberleutnant Hermann Schützinger, born 23rd April 1888 Bayreuth. He is in Bad Tölz, probably in a Vereins-Lazarett, because he was severely wounded while with 11th Bavarian Infantry Regiment. He was slightly wounded again in March of 1917. He started the war as Lieutenant and left the Army before 1926 as Hauptmann. GreyC

I think it´s KOCH with the first letter split. GreyC

It is Lina Schultheiß. GreyC

Well done! GreyC

Nice one. Here is a colleague of the above, taken by the same studio in 1863: https://www.kuvakokoelmat.fi/pictures/view/HK19450220_1 GreyC

I´d go with member of music-corps within a Schützenverein. GreyC

MK=Militärkraftwagen Abbreviation for those military vehicles used within the confines of the Reich. GreyC

Hi, Walther Schnieber got his PlM, as stated above, for the capture of Mount Matajur in Oct. 1917. However, it seems he didn´t really do what he was credited for. Instead it was Erwin Rommel, later GFM in WW2. He was so p*** off about the situation, that he wrote a complaint, supported by his battailon commander. The complaint was acknowledged and he was later awarded the PlM as well. GreyC Es betraf seine Leistungen in der Schlacht und somit auch die Deutungshoheit über die Ereignisse. Durch Falschinformationen war den höheren Kommandobehörden gemeldet worden, die Abteilung Schnieber der 12. Infanterie Division hätte den Monte Matajur als erste eingenommen.70 In Wahrheit aber hatte Oberleutnant Walther Schnieber mit seinen Männern nur einen unbedeutenden Vorgipfel des Matajur erreicht und sich anschließend ergebnislos wieder zurückgezogen. Zweifelsfrei war Rommel mit seiner Abteilung der Erste am Gipfel des Matajur. Sein schneller Durchbruch bei Luico hatte – wie gesehen – die Lage völlig geändert. Bei der Verleihung des Pour le Mérite ging Rommel aber zunächst leer aus; Schnieber erhielt stattdessen den begehrten Orden. Rommel beschwerte sich schriftlich mit Unterstützung seines Bataillonskommandeurs – und bekam Recht. So wurde schließlich auch ihm und Sproesser am 10. Dezember 1917 der Pour le Mérite verliehen.71 https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/mgzs/77/1/article-p78.xml?language=de

Hi, I don´t think that a Red Cross medal was worn in front of the St. Stanislaus. What does make sense, though, is that the least "valuable" Prussian decoration was worn before the ones awarded from other states/countries. GreyC

He has sold 24 items so far. If they all went for that sort of price... GreyC

You can check yourself here: http://digital.wlb-stuttgart.de/sammlungen/sammlungsliste/werksansicht/?no_cache=1&tx_dlf[id]=13560&tx_dlf =1 GreyC

Hi Andreas, maybe you find out more here: HStAD Bestand N 1 in Nr. 113 Identifikation (Fallakte) Laufzeit 1933-1945 Aktenart Stammbuch der NSDAP Angaben zur Person Personenname Waldschmidt, Friedrich Geburtsdatum 1873-11-03 Geburtsort Raboldshausen Wohnort Zeppelinheim Beruf Revierförster Biografische Angaben Eintritt in die Partei: 1.3.1933 1.11.1938: Personalamtsleiter 1.11.1940: Ortsgruppenleiter i.V. Informationen / Notizen Zusatzinformationen siehe auch HStAD Bestand N 1 in Nr. 176 https://arcinsys.hessen.de/arcinsys/detailAction?detailid=v436048 Laufzeit 1934 Aktenart SA-Stammliste Angaben zur Person Personenname Waldschmidt, Friedrich Geburtsdatum 1873-11-03 Geburtsort Raboldshausen, Kreis Homberg, Regierungs-Bezirk Kassel Wohnort Forsthaus Mitteldick, Neu-Isenburg, Kreis Offenbach am Main Beruf Staatsförster Biografische Angaben 05.03.1933: Eintritt in die SA; Dienststellung/-rang: Sturmführer https://arcinsys.hessen.de/arcinsys/detailAction?detailid=v5586197

There it doesn´t say either. It states: "An einer im Felde zugezogenen Krankheit" "died from illness contracted in the field." Have you checked the regimental history? GreyC

Congratulations! What a fine collection! GreyC

Thanks! GreyC