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Could this be him (TROTHA, Friedrich Lebrecht von)? The picture reads: "von Trotha. 1864 Leutnant der 2. Kompanie des 4. Garderegimentes zu Fuß" ... and he was Sekonde-Lieutenant in that year.

This must be him (Oberstleutnant): MAIER, Karl. (DOB: 31.01.90). 01.07.42 in Stab/Luftflotte 1, promo to Obstlt. 05.08.42 trf from Stab/Luftflotte 1 to Ob.d.L. pool with temporary duty to 04.12.42 at Flieger-Waffentechn.Schule 2. 05.12.42 reassigned to Flieger-Waffentechn.Schule 2. 24.04.43 (f.n. not given) Obstlt. with Koflug 2/VI Cagliari.

So nice, and the k. u. k. Feldpilotenabzeichen correctly worn on the right side.

That is true, of course, but the Verlustlisten are not complete ... many times I have not found a wounded soldier, even though he had been awarded a wound badge. Being wounded with the Royal Saxon 5th Field Artillery Regiment No. 64 in 1915 does make sense, so many members of the Fliegertruppe transferred there after being wounded in their Stamm-Regiment. Greeting. Andreas

Thank you, Uwe! 22 WWI decorations for Fritz? Wow, could you please upload a picture? I have the same problem with old German script, but maybe we can decipher a few of them. I also tried Daniel Krause's Verleihungen von Preußischen Kriegs-Orden und Ehrenzeichen im Ersten Weltkrieg ... but he had nothing for Fritz (mostly for Otto von Below). Greetings, Andreas

That was fast, thanks so much!

Gentlemen, this is what I have for Fritz Theodor Carl/Karl von Below. Any additions or corrections welcome. Would he have received the Erinnerungszeichen zur Silbernen Hochzeit 1906? He did belong to the 1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß, but not the 2nd Company. I am sure I am missing several WWI decorations (swords to any of his pre-war decorations?), I would be thankful, if anyone could help. 19.4.1873 Seconde-Lieutenant (2nd Lieutenant) 18.4.1882 Premier-Lieutenant (1st Lieutenant) 22.3.1887 Hauptmann (Captain) 31.5.1892 Major 27.1.1899 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) 18.4.1901 Oberst (Colonel) 27.1.1905 Generalmajor (Major General) 18.2.1908 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) 13.9.1912 General der Infanterie (General of the Infantry) Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (PRAO4/PrA4) Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 3rd Class Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille) Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz) Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion (Orden vom Zähringer Löwen), Knight's Cross I. Class (BZL3a/BZ3a) Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow (mit der Schleife) Order of the Iron Crown (Austria), 2nd Class (ÖEK2) Italian Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Commander (JM3) Imperial Persien Order of the Lion and the Sun, Grand Officer's Cross (PL2) Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class Order of the Redeemer (Greece), Grand Commander (GE2a) Spanish Cross of Military Merit, 4th Class or Grand Cross (SpMV4/SMV4) Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves Star to his Prussian Order of the Crown 2nd Class Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis (Oldenburgischer Haus- und Verdienstorden des Herzogs Peter Friedrich Ludwig), Grand Cross of Honour (Ehren-Großkreuz; OV1) Royal Victorian Order, Honorary Grand Cross (GV1) Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st Class (JZ1) Swedish Order of the Sword (Schwertorden), Grand Cross (SS1) Star to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves Order of the Crown (Belgium), Grand Cross (BKO1) Prussian Order of the Crown, 1st Class Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, Cross of Honour 1st Class (HEK1) Schaumburg Lippe House Order, Cross of Honour 1st Class (SLH.EK1/SLHK1/SLH1) Saxon Albert Order (Albrechts-Orden), Grand Cross (SA1) Bulgarian Order of Saint Alexander, Grand Cross (BA1) Red Eagle Order, 1st Class with Oak Leaves WWI (excerpt) Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves ... Pour le Mérite on 14 March 1915 ... Oak Leaves on 11 August 1916 Saxon Military Order of St. Henry, Knight's Cross (SH3) on 28 August 1916 Honours The new Wehrmacht barracks, built in 1936/37 in the Saarbrücken city forest and occupied in November 1938, bore the name Below-Kaserne in honor of General Fritz von Below until the end of the Second World War.

This is really great, thank you! Wikipedia even has an article, claiming he was Oberleutnant in WWII (I just changed that and added some infos). Now we know he was Lieutenant Colonel. He was severly wounded on 10 January 1943 and died on 12 January 1943 at the Reserve-Kriegslazarett 15/VI Proskurow. Between the wars he was Gutspächter (Tilleda). Maybe someone has a picture?

Thank you, David!

Thank you, Daniel. Then his son was Edel-Heinrich Theodor Wolfhart Zachariae von Lingenthal, Major i. G. (Wehrmacht), Brigadegeneral (Bundeswehr), Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 September 1943 as Hauptmann (Captain) and Commander of the II. Battalion/Panzer-Regiment 15/11. Panzer-Division. Another son was Lienhard (b. 31 July 1922 in Hameln), 2nd Lieutenant of the Wehrmacht, ⚔ on 7 July 1942 3 km off the road from Voronezh.

Good evening from Berlin! I would like to take you up on your offer. I would love everything you have on GM Friedrich Lebrecht von Trotha (1841–1914), father of Vice Admiral Karl Wolf Gebhard Bernhard von Trotha. Thanks! Andreas

Thank you for the picture. Can you add any promotion dates? 29 July 1829 (?) Portepee-Fähnrich (Officer Cadet) ?? July 1830 Seconde-Lieutenant (2nd Lieutenant) ?? January 1846 Premier-Lieutenant (1st Lieutenant); he waited 15 1/2 years 14 December 1848 Rittmeister (not sure about this date) 26 June 1856 Major 18 October 1861 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) 17 March 1863 Oberst (Colonel) 20 September 1866 Charakter als Generalmajor (Honorary Major General) Seeing his medal bar, I seem to be missing a couple of medals: Knight of Honour (Ehrenritter) of the Johanniter-Orden Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz) Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar Order of the White Falcon (Hausorden vom Weißen Falken), Knight's Cross 1st Class (GSF3a) Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (PRAO4/PrA4) Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow in January 1864 Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 2nd Class on 11 May 1867

I am sure I am missing some (several?) WWI decorations: Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class War Commemorative Medal of 1870–1871 (Kaiserliche Kriegsdenkmünze 1870/71; KD70/71)[4] Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Knight Cross 1st Class (HSEH3a/HSH3a) Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz) Anniversary Oak Leaves "25" 1870/1895 to his Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille) Order of Henry the Lion (Herzoglich Braunschweigischer Orden Heinrichs des Löwen), Commander's Cross 2nd Class (BrHL2b/BrH2b) Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 3rd Class Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves WWI (excerpt) Repetition Clasp 1914 to the Iron Cross 1870, 2nd Class Iron Cross (1914), 1st Class Swords to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves on 26 August 1915 Star to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves and Swords on 13 March 1918

Gentlemen, when researching for Max Carl Erdmann Gronau I also read a little about August Friedrich Anton Ernst Louis Theodor Wernitz, since 1913 von Wernitz (1848-1922), once commander of the 35. Kavallerie-Brigade, veteran of the Franco-German War (EK II), no longer in the Rangliste 1910 (now Gutsherr auf Thymau), surely reactived in 1914, commander of the Division von Wernitz, later renamed 86. Infanterie-Division. Can anyone contribute to this surely interesting carreer? Thanks! Any decorations would be great, he received the EK I and the swords to his RAO2 in WWI.

Gentlemen, one last question: I know, many sources state, Gronau became on 21 March 1915 (until 1918) commander of the 86th Infantry Division, although he was still commanding the 22. Feldartillerie-Brigade. Other reliable sources, on the other hand, still have Lieutenant General Theodor von Wernitz as commander of the division in 1916 and even early 1917. Other sources state, Gronau became commander of the 215th Infantry Division on 10 September 1916. He received the Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg as such, as the Urkunde shows. Can anyone clear this up? Thanks! The reinforced German 215th Infantry Division supported the Austrian Army in the Romanian and Russian theater at the beginning of November 1916 and in the Russo-Romanian theater as of 23 July 1917. This would explain the Austrian Grand Cross.