ArHo

Well, the insanity goes on. There is another pair of these reenactment-pictures up for sale (the beard is so clearly glued to the mans face its ridiculous) and bidding has reached 2900 (!) Euros. I just cannot understand it. If anyone is interested to have a look:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/2-x-Fotos-Leib-Husar-Offizier-Danzig-Pelzmutze-Totenkopf-Leibhusaren/254713135595?hash=item3b4e1601eb:g:mc4AAOSwGQJfV4d3

By the way @Simius Rex - It looks like the arrows painted on all these pictures are very similar, all from one seller who perhaps got a bunch of these and now slowly sells them a piece a time? Just a guess...

@Dave Danner and @Glenn J Thank you both, I really appreciate your input! Very interesting that he served as Head of the Militär-Strafanstalt! @Dave Danner is this entry from the Stammrollen?

I did a little more research and found that he was relieved of this post in march 1917 (Verordnungsblatt p. 884).

But there are more questions I hope to solve with your help:

Plaß wears an Austro-Hungarian Inhaber-Jubiläumsmedaille in silver for foreigners. As far as I understand these medals were - in very low numbers - given in 1901 to active and former members of the Königlich Bayerische 13. Infanterie-Regiment "Kaiser Franz Joseph von Österreich" by the emperor celebrating his 50th jubilee as chef of the Regiment. But I cannot at all find any mention in the few Militär-Handbücher I have available that Plaß ever served in this regiment.

Also in 1897 he received the Zentenarmedaille, which not many other Bavarians of his rank at this time received - so as a non-veteran and a Bavarian, did he around this time serve in the prussian armed forces (commanded?)?                                                                                                                                                                                          Cheers ArHo

Hi to all,

here a recent addition to my collection which some of you may find interesting - enjoy.

Major Karl Plaß, all data according to Militär-Handbuch 1907 (does not mention his Militärverdienstorden, must have received it afterwards - help appreciated!).

In 1907 Major and staff officer in Königlich Bayerisches 18. Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Ludwig Ferdinand, stationed in Landau (picture taken there).

He wears from viewer's point of view left to right:

Ritterkreuz (2nd class?) Bavarian Militärverdienstorden (received post 1907)

Bayerische Rettungs-Medaille (Bavarian lifesaving medal), received as Premierleutnant KB 16. IR for saving a person from drowning in the river Inn on 11.7.1895

Jubiläums-Medaille für die Armee 1905 (Jubilee-medal for the Bavarian Army 1905)

Preußischer Roter Adler Orden 4. Klasse (Prussian red eagle order 4th class)

China-Denkmünze für Nichtkämpfer / in Stahl (Commemorative medal China expedition 1901 for noncombatants / in steel)

Bayerisches Dienstauszeichnungs-Kreuz 2. Klasse (Bavarian long service cross 2nd class)

Preußische Zentenar-Medaille (Prussian centenary medal)

Kaiserlich und Königlich Österreichische silberne Inhaber-Jubiläums-Medaille (Not sure about which regiment he served in when he received this - 13th?)

As always, all corrections or additions are very welcome. Have a nice May Day.

Cheers

ArHo

On 29/04/2020 at 20:46, Simius Rex said:

Well, raspberries to that.  The only other Luftwaffe general I can think of with these facial features such as the sharp, projecting chin and with an extensive artillery and anti-aircraft background is Heino von Rantzau.  Whether or not he was Bavarian, I can't rightly say. Simi.

Simi, look at the shape of the ears, especially the earlobes - I would say it rather is Meister.

Cheers

2 hours ago, ixhs said:

typical Fräulein Feldgrau pics.  Funny .

@ixhs Sounds like you own some too? Feel free to contribute.

Cheers

ArHo

4 hours ago, GreyC said:

I´ll add a gal in the uniform of the Imperial Navy.

GreyC

@GreyC Nice one! ? But what kind of badge does she wear? Never seen this one before?!

Cheers

ArHo

Hi all,

looking through my collection once again I realized that Germans obviously liked to keep up morale in ww1 (and before, and later...) by taking or having taken pictures of their girlfriends or wifes in Uniform. So I thought this might be a nice thread in these bad times we live in today.

To start, here is my absolutely favourite one. Though she is not a "perfect" beauty, the quality of the picture, the detail of the EK2 and the Uniform ("Goslarer" Hannoversches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 10, I think - it was taken there) and the Grabendolch (though not fully visible) always strike me when I see it.

Would love to see any other pictures like this from you other guys.

Greetings from Germany

ArHo

Very interesting - I never knew that they used the helmet of Skanderbeg as model for a badge (I was for a long time fascinated by this masterpiece of late medieval armour!)! Thanks for showing!

Picture from Wikipedia, User Zenit, CC BY-SA 3.0

Hi! Just a question to understand:

Were these medals produced - before - approval (which didn't happen later) in anticipation that they would be approved - or - were, and are, they (being) produced - after and even in spite of - their approval had been turned down?

Cheers

2 hours ago, Trooper_D said:

I don't know how Graham did it, ArHo, but if you upload your image to Google image search (https://www.google.com/imghp then click the camera icon and, after that, the Upload an Image tab) you will see your man about the fourth result down. (I used the URL of your image.)

@Trooper_D Wow, that is a useful tip to try in future research - thanks!

Cheers

8 hours ago, graham said:

ArHo,

Nikolay Mikhailovich Chagin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Chagin

 

@graham Wow, that same unexpected - and is just great! I say: Thank you very much!

Chagins short bio on Wiki sounds very interesting - I will definitely try to find out more about him.

I would love to hear how you tracked this man. Did you already know his face from some research for example?

Cheers and thanks again!

ArHo

Very nice! I just love these old pulications! But "Silver has a lasting value" - well I guess we see that a little different today?

Thanks for showing, both of you.

Cheers

ArHo

On 20/03/2020 at 20:59, David M said:

The photo does not strike me as a38 y.o. guy. I sure hope I will look better at that age

Yep, many people aged "faster" back then, life was not as easy as today, disease, bad food, imperfect medicine, alcohol, it all took its toll (especially true for the bearded ones, I guess?) - and today most good looking men never were on campaign let alone had already lost a war at this age, did they? ?

Cheers

Nice! As an only - and light - point of "critique", if it were for me, I would strongly insist on darkening the very white foot of the uniform stand. But again: nice! 

Cheers

@GreyC not absolutely sure about this (will have to look it up) but I think the contingents of EKs given to the units after battles were fixed portions of royal gratitude based on actual achievement and "lobby work" of commanders in the after action reports (anyone please correct if I am wrong). So there was no way to inflate the numbers afterwards - you had to take what you got and so they  invented the way to reaward the crosses of deceased bearers - quite innovative if you ask me! ?

3 hours ago, laurentius said:

Dear Arb,

How peculiar, I bought it from the family (who also supplied the diary excerpt and the documents) and they said it was painted around 1830, they could have been mistaken ofcourse. I always thought it weird because without the fringes it would be just a Sec.Lt. for which he seems too old in the picture. If the painting was made after 1841 that would mean he would atleast be 53 which is much more believable in my opinion. In the painting he is wearing 4 decorations (EKII, Medal for 1813 I presume (?), PDA, RG5). Since he was still alive in 1863 I would assume he also received the Erinnerungs-Kriegsdenkmünze für 1813-1815? Ofcourse this being a commemorative medal it doesn't show up in the ranklists.

I'd like to thank all of you who have contributed to this thread.

Kind regards, Laurentius

Laurentius - he did, here you go (List 1863)

4 hours ago, laurentius said:

Dear Arho,

the excerpt, only three pages, covers a few days in 1812, where he recounts his promotion, and a few of his men. It is more than a collection of notes. 

He did get his EK early on, in the first year of awarding (autumn 1813), was there already then a shortage, or was he given the EKII for bravery from a retrospective point of view?

Kind regards, and thanks in advance, Laurentius

@Laurentius - it may be that he did not get the Iron Cross immediately but that with his performance he earned the "right" to get the Iron Cross at a later time after one of those who got it immediately had died. This was done when there were not enough crosses to distribute (as far as I remember units got a fixed number of crosses that could be distributed - this meant that not necessarily the bravest got the medals. It was done in the 1870/71 war, too, which is the reason for most Prussian officers having earned the EK2 after the war but a far lower percentage of ordinary men). This is in short what may (!) have happened to Herr Leber (anybody please correct me when I am wrong), so I think he would have received his EK2 some time after 1817 but before 1824 when he is mentioned to have it, already as a captain. Compare S. 136: https://opacplus.bsb-muenchen.de/title/6235182

Cheers

1 hour ago, laurentius said:

Dear Arb,

thank you, that's the man I was looking for, I bought a painting last year of him and I wanted to see if there was any more information on him. With the painting also came an excerpt of his diary and some information on himself. I also received a document containing all the recipients of the EK 1813 still alive in 1863 at the 50th anniversary of the decoration. Here is the painting, as you can see he is still a Sec.Lt. here, in his diary he describes being given this rank in 1812.

 

Kind regards, Laurentius

Most interesting, thanks for showing! If I may ask: Is his diary detailed or "just" a collection of notes? And what timeframe does he cover? Background: My interest in the wars 1813-15 :-)

Cheers

Well,

I think I may have something to add to this old but interesting thread ?

@Glenn J: Thanks for the Militärhandbücher!

A bearded man - Hauptmann, Nürnberg, shortly after 1866 - I strongly believe to be Carl Harrach.

Third from left is the "Denkzeichen für das Jahr 1849".

Cheers

Hi all,

I know this is not ww1- sorry, sorry, if not wanted mods please erase and I will start a separate thread!, but I would nonetheless appreciate any help on this signature (This one bothered me for some time now).

Picture taken in Stuttgart ca. 1885, french officer, veteran of the mexican campaign.

All in all an obviously valiant soldier - but, boy, what a messy handwriting! Looking forward tor reading from you.

Cheers

ArHo

Glad you like it too, Prussian! I almost overlooked it on first sight - but now I like it all the better :-)

I had never heard about the Reihenbildzüge before, there seems to be almost no literature available...

Cheers

Hi all,

being a little sick and bored at home I decided to search through my pictures and found one I'd like to share with you - it is a Feldflieger from the Reihenbildzug 3, dated 25.3.1918. There are no medals, no weapons, no helmets and no death heads, but I like the not too common cloth arm Badge and the overall good quality of the image (a post card to a befriended family, sent with easter greetings). Hope you like it too.

Cheers

ArHo

Thank you so much - to all of you who participated in this and especially Alex for identifying the badges! This  has reached an absolutely new and - for me - unexpected Level as I would never have guessed / searched in this direction! I will give it a try and sift through all the professors / well known artists of the academy (many of them are to be found online with pictures) and perhaps I will find the man...

Cheers!

The shoulder board is "Feldflieger" if I remember correctly? So it needn't necessarily be a pilot?

I think the text reads "Weihnachten im Felde 1916 Hans Haberstumpf (?)" = Christmas in the field 1916 [name] Hans Haberstumpf" [No idea if H. H. was the - quite talented! - painter or the painted man]

Besides that: Very nice portrait - like it!

Cheers

15 hours ago, Solomon said:

Just to complete the picture I would like to show you what else was coming with this group:

It´s the medalbar and the epaulettes of Ferdinand Metze´s father:

Oberstleutnant Adolf Metze, Infanterie-Regiment 22

The medalbar shows

- Red Eagle Eagle Order 4th class (returned after death)
- Order of the crown 3rd class Prussia (returned after death)
- Long service cross Prussia 25 years
- Order of the Zähringer lion, knight-cross 2nd class
- war memorial medal 1870/71
- war memorial cross 1866 Königgrätz
- Century medal Prussia

The identification was pretty easy, Adolf Metze was the only one with the surname "Metze" in the Almanach 1904/05
and the medalbar fits exactly to the entry.

Best regards

Roman

Very, very nice - thanks for sharing!

On 09/02/2020 at 10:07, Glenn J said:

This is von Gaza. I would not think it was him.

Regards

Glenn

Glenn, I think you are right - this is definitely not him.

I have searched for other pictures of the men you named but was, this time, unsuccessful. I am afraid that despite all the input from forum members - thanks again! - for now this man must remain anonymous, like so many others where no one wrote a name on the picture. Anyway, it was very nice and hey: perhaps sometime in the future someone who reads this post will say: This is X, I own a picture of him!

Cheers