Ian

Hi, Can anyone help me with a name please. I am also looking for career information. Thanks.

I hope I haven’t broken any Forum rules in posting this new book alert, but seeing as this book is rather unique and a specialist book I hope I will be forgiven. I have recently received an e-mail from Jörg Steiner of Vienna in which he informed me that his long expected book on the recipients of the Golden Bravery Medal (Goldene Tapferkeitsmedaille - GTM) during Great War 1914-1918 is finally set to be published in the autumn of 2010. The book will be self-published (Die Träger der Goldenen Tapferkeitsmedaille im 1. Weltkrieg) and unfortunately only about 500 copies will be available for sale. <H3 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left> Jörg’s details are as follows: Jörg C. Steiner Postfach 66 A-1120 Wien or ostarrichi@gmail.com </H3> In addition Jörg asked me to ask you for some help. Until August 2010 when the draft of the book will go into printing he is still looking for some of the biographies of the GTM recipients. He currently has about 80 of them, but they are mostly about Austro-German, Hungarian and a few Slovene GTM recipients. He is therefore still searching for any biographies of GTM recipients, particularly those who were of Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Bosnian, Polish, Italian, Romanian, Serbian, Jewish and Croatian origin. Also more Hungarian would do OK. He is not searching for long essays, but just a short biography with a few basic information (date and place of birth, date and place of death, what did he do after the war etc. and maybe a photo of him if possible). So if you can contribute any biography that would be simply outstanding. Anyway since the book will be self-published and printed in only a limited number (ca. 500 copies) Jörg is already collecting orders and subscriptions for his book. So anyone who is interested in ordering this fascinating book, which I highly recommend, please convey your order by contacting Jörg. He speaks German and English fluently, so the language is no problem. The contents will consist of a Prolog and Epilog. I will do longer parts of the book "Armee im Schatten" the bestseller book of Dr. Bodo Kaltenböck. He was winner of the GTM by himself and Fähnrich, Leutnant and at last Oberleutnant at IR 17. I never read better lines regarding the craziness of the Isonzo-Battles and more impressing pain about those coming back having lost their country and being blamed of murder and war. - short history of Bravery Medal especially during 1914-1918 - GTM to foreigners and exchange of Bravery medals in common - Selected Biographies of GTM and GTM for officers (77 I have now perhaps I will get 100) - winners of more than one GTM - dubious cases of claiming for more than one GTM - winners of a GTM incl. those receiving permission after the war - dubious cases of claiming for a GTM - secret and not secret winners after 1918 - GTM for officers - winners during and after the war - dubious cases of claiming for a GTM - GTM winners during III.Reich - list of all receiving GTM-Zulage 1939 - list of all claiming to have a GTM in Croatian Army 1943 - Plan of creating a Heldenkapitel 1945/46 of GTM winners and MMThO winners against Nazi to recreate Austria under foreign troops (after WW2) new. - rarely known documents regarding the GTM in full text

Hi, You may be right, but I can't see the any braid extending up the front of the collar, so that is why I said Zugsfuhrer. Ian

Enzo, Seasons greetings and a happy and prosperous 2010. A very nice quartet. Ian

Enzo, Seasons greetings and a happy and prosperous 2010. A very nice foursome. Ian

I can make out the majority of the medals being worn and they are definately Austro-Hungarian. However, notice that he is not wearing either an FJI or a K cockade on his cap, but something entirely different. My guess is the 'uniform' is something put together to wear to a reunion/post war get together. He appears to be wearing two badges on his right breast pocket - one larger than the other. Also notice what appears to be some sort of edelwiess badge on his left breast pocket. The kappenabzeichen (cap badges) are nothing that I recognise and may well be post war reunion badges. All this is of course best guess and I stand to be corrected. regards, Ian

I think you will find that the holes are in fact used for measuring. Each hole indicates 1cm and if you look carfeully every fifth is a tripple hole indicating 5cm's.

Gordon, They seem to want a squillion bucks (Euros) for these (Italian) books and none of them are worth the money asked. I have two by different Italian authors and neither add value to the hobby. My tip is: save your money. For what it is worth IMHO the best reference material available is still the kappenabzeichen auction catalogues mostly from Austrian auction houses i.e. H.D. Rauth and Dorotheum. Ian

Rick, There is no definitive work on these badges that I am aware of; although there are several books (some worth having, but the majority aren't worth the effort) that have tried to cover this hobby. A friend of mine has tried to catalogue and record all the known badges and their variations, but so far he hasn't had any luck with getting the concept up and running with a publisher. Another friend has begun working on the Honv?d badges. I still find the best source of information (although even they get it wrong) are the various Auctions catalogues out of either Germany or in particular Austria.

Rick, I believe this is for Sturm Battalion 32. Ian

Rick, Another set of very nice badges. You are correct in the Honved Infantry Regiment 22 badge. Bottom right belongs to Dragoon regiment 15. The AEIOU is the initials for the official Austrian state motto (Latin). Unfortuantely I don't know what the motto is. Anyone ? Ian

Rick, Exactly right; mules horses and a few camels. The diary, whilst only short, does lists the pack animal death toll amongst other things. The first lot of enamelled badges are: VI Korps - Artur Arz von Straussenburg 8 Kavallerie Truppe Division (the truppe disignation was drop some time around late 1916 early 1917 and so it would have become 8KD in lieu 8KTD) Reitende Artllerie Division 8, Batterie No. 4 (Horse Artillery Division) The remaining three are for Infantry Regiments; IR 68, IR 78 and IR 85 I hope that answers your question. Ian

Rick, You are right on the money with your 'guess' about the k.u.k. G.H.D. v M. (Kaiserlich und Konigliche Gebirgshaubitzdivision von Marno) This particular badge is associated with von Marno and the mountain artillery group he led. I have a translated copy of a diary associated with this group during their time in Palestine. I believe that the 'X' in the X/59 stands for the 10th March (or replacement) battalion of the 59 Infantry Regiment. Great badges by the way and I am envious of a couple that you have and I don't Ian

Artan, You have nothing too apologise for, I found your response to be both enlightning and polite. To your questions: 1. He is wearing the rank insignia of a Hauptmann. Do you know who he is and if so can you give us a name? 2. Perhaps an Albanien gendarmerie? He is wearing the rank of 'Zugsf?hrer', but I am not certain of the local Albanian rank structure but I assume it was the standard A-H ranks one. As for his fez I think he may be wearing the red and black ALBANIEN cockade, but the photo is too dark to be certain. As for the badge on his chest it could be a unit, a town or even a commemorative pin; once again the photo isn't clear enough. The belt buckle is quite interesting. My first thought was ah! a Turkish belt buckle, but on second thoughts I am thinking a German buckle - by why either? Unfortuantely I can be off no help with the uniforms. My knowledge base is way to shallow. 3. You wrote, 'Why his fez is nonmilitary one and w/o any cocard or distinctive on it?' my understanding was that a variety of fez were worn and I have seen one or two photo of Albaniens wearing this white type of fez without and without a cockade. Regards, Ian

Artan, Thank you for posting the very interesting (and educational) additional photos of the various fez being worn. Obvisously, my earlier statement about the wearing of the Serbian style cap is incorrect. Regards, Ian

Hi, The first lot of photos are definately of a bosn. herzegovinian machine gun bataillon. The letters on the fez are BJ 2 (not very clear, but this is definately what it is), and this indicates a bosn. herzegovinian j?ger bataillon (BJ). The other photo showing the variation of (Albainian) uniforms could be post 1918. Notice the lack of distinguishing insignia on the Officer (if that's what he is) on the left; not medals that I can see. I am not certain that the second man is wearing a fez, it looks like a version of the Serbian cap (can't remember the proper name ), pulled down to his ears thus flattening it out. If you look carefully you can see what appears to be a crease down the centre and the raised edges. Regards, Ian

Looking at the photo I would say the that the Zugf?hrer is from a k.u.k./k.k. machine gun unit as opposed to a Hungarian or Honved unit. Regards, Ian

Hi, The soldier shown in post #32 is a Zugsf?hrer.

Aussie special forces crush Taliban leaders in Afghanistan AUSTRALIAN special forces operating deep inside Taliban territory in southern Afghanistan have inflicted severe damage on the insurgency's leadership, the army's head of special operations said yesterday. In a rare briefing summarising 524 days of combat since the special forces returned to fight in Oruzgan province, Major General Tim McOwan pledged no let-up in the assault, despite the onset of the Afghan winter. And he had this message for the Taliban: "We will find you. We will hunt you down. Your time is limited." Elite SAS operatives and commandos operating in gruelling conditions had killed four Taliban leaders and captured seven others, he said. A further 180 lower-ranking insurgents had been captured and handed over to the Afghan authorities, Major General McOwan said. "These are successes not just for the SOTG (special operations task group) but for the hard-working poor civilians of Afghanistan and for the fledgling democracy itself," he said. Major General McOwan revealed that in early October the special forces killed a high-level Taliban commander, Mullah Korsullah Shakir, who was implicated in manufacturing bombs and attacks on Afghan civilian and coalition troops. "We know the loss of these individuals has had a dramatic impact on the resilience of the Taliban networks," he said. His upbeat appraisal of military success in Oruzgan stands in contrast to the overall security picture in Afghanistan. Faced with the resurgent Taliban, the Afghan conflict has got bloodier every year since 2005, with the death toll for coalition troops at 273 for this year alone, compared with 232 last year. The cost has been high among the SOTG forces, which sustained six of the seven Australian combat fatalities since 2001. Not so well known is the number of Australian special forces soldiers wounded -- about 50, including some with life-threatening injuries. Major General McOwan detailed the heroism of Australians in Afghanistan. One SAS trooper deliberately drew enemy fire to save wounded comrades before dashing 80m over open ground raked by machinegun fire. The display of heroism came on September 2, during the ambush of a joint US, Australian and Afghan Humvee convoy that was returning to base after inflicting 13 Taliban kills a day earlier. "In order to regain the initiative several SAS soldiers reacted to the ambush without regard to their own safety," Major General McOwan said. "One soldier, whom I shall refer to as Trooper F (Trooper Mark Donaldson), moved between positions of cover to engage the enemy, using anti-armour weapons as well as his personal weapon. "The soldier deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire on several occasions in order to draw fire away from those soldiers who were already wounded in the initial heavy fire." During an attempt to move the convoy away from the heavy enemy fire, a severely wounded Afghan interpreter fell from a truck. "Trooper F saw he had fallen and was lying to the rear in the open in ground being raked by machinegun fire," Major General McOwan said. "Without prompting and without regard to his own safety, Trooper F went back to recover the wounded Afghan. He ran across about 80m of fire-swept and exposed ground, drawing intense and accurate machinegun fire from the entrenched enemy positions." Trooper F lifted the wounded man on to his shoulders and carried him back to the vehicles before applying first aid and then returning to the firefight. The Taliban ambush resulted in nine Australian soldiers being wounded, the most in a single action since the Vietnam War.

If as Rick has suggested it was the Austro-Hungarian's who denied their men the EK 2, why then did they allow the promulgation of such awards in the PVBL when they could simply have put a stop to it and announced the award of the Kriegsverdientmedaille (no one would have been any wiser), and secondly If Saschaw is correct and it was the Germans who did not allow the awarding of EK's to foreign enlisted, then who, within the German awards section notified the Austro-Hungarian 's that their men had been awarded the EK 2 and on what authority was the announcement made? I would think unless we can locate a specific order (Austrian or German) that states the policy for the non award or non acceptance of EK's, by allied troops then we may never know. However, it remains possible, however unlikely, that EK 2's may have been awarded (either by design or in error) to the Bulgarian, Ottoman or Austro-Hungarian soldiers. Regards, Ian

Josef, Thanks for the informative reply. It seems strange that the Austrians would anounce the award of the EK2 in the Marine PVBL and then withdraw or cancel the award, substituting the Kriegsverdienstmedaille in its place. As for Rick's comments I guess when you realise that the Austrians never permitted the promotion of common soldiers to the rank of Officer (one very notable exceptions) it does tend to support the strange 'rule' that soldiers could not be awarded an EK. One hopes that the soldiers took some 'comfort' from the fact that their kreigsverdientsmedaille was awarded fro bravery, unlike those EK's awarded to the senior officers and their staffs as some sort of payment for the butcher's bill! Regards, Ian

Gents, I have read a couple of threads in this forum that state the Prussian Eisernkreuz could not be awarded to enlsited perosnnel in the Austro-Hungarian Army (unless I have misread the previous topics). My understanding was that only the Kriegs Verdienst Medaille was awarded to foreign troops in lieu of the Eisern Kreuz. I recently read a small booklet by J?rg Steiner (Die Tr?ger des Eiseren Kreuzes 1914/1918 in der k.u.k. Kriegsmarine) in which he gives several examples, by year, of awards of the EK 2 (no Ek 1's) to sailors and higher unteroffizers. He lists the authority for the award i.e. Marine PVBl (Personal Verordnungsblatt) Nr. 8 vom 3. Februar 1917 etc. To name two examples: Fliegermaat Heinrich Roschitz and Matrose 2 Klasse Peter Kopric. Surely, if the Germans saw fit to award the EK 2 to sailors then to my way of thinking it is not such a long bow to see them awarded to soldiers and senior NCO's of the Austro-Hungarian Army; especially those serving under the direct control/authority of a German General. I welcome your comments (good and bad) on this fasinating subject. Regards, Ian

I have ben in contact with Stefan Rest, the publisher, and he informs me that the 2 volumes on the Munitionskolonnen will be published in Feb 09 with the single volume on the Reserve Infantry Regiments being available in late 2009. Regards, Ian

Hi, If any one has access to a 1940's era Kriegsmarine Rank list (or an appropriate publication) could you please have a look and see if a Franz Dueller is listed. If so what information is available on him. Franz Dueller was a Oberstabsmaschinwarter in the k.u.k. Kriegsmarine and won a Gold Bravery Medal in for his service aboard SMS Szent Istvan in 1918. I believe he was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine (1938/39?) and served as an officer in the Naval Courier Service. Regards, Ian