Bernhard H.Holst

Hello Iain. Thank you for the pictures and the information. It would be worthwhile to have additional information from the son of Sq/L Muller, I hope he will give his consent. I have meanwhile received a reply from the lady at the town administration of Rotenburg which stated a fruitless search for any initial burial information concerning your uncle. She is willing to conduct a further search of possible other sites but it seems at considerable expense. I am at a loss where else but Rotenburg would be a likely place for the initial burial. Just to think of the date of April 8, 1945 which is so shortly before the occupation by British troops,leaves the strong possibility that records may no longer have been kept. except grave markers identifying the persons buried there. My brother-in law does not remember the crash but witnessed at some time a military burial at the cemetery section I described earlier. As you state you were passing through Rotenburg, driving from town towards Hamburg you would most likely have taken B 75 to merge onto the Autobahn farther out of town. That would have brought you very close to the crash site. That site is narrowed by the German language version of the index/summary of the site you gave ( Fliegerschicksale or flyers fates ) as "Rotenburg Waldstegen" which to me confirmed that the date of April 8, 1945 establishing without a doubt the crash site and the plane as that of your uncle's plane. You photos captured the prevailing weather and the locale of the cemetery very well. Bernhard H. Holst P.S. I am sorry I mangled your name earlier.

Hello readers. Having had the opportunity to visit the still largely undamaged city of Dresden in the Fall of 1944 and then from a distance see the huge fires in the night sky in February, 1945 I feel compelled to post this reminder that 70 years ago this beautiful city was largely destroyed. Allied bombings by night and by day turned Dresden into rubble. The human toll is still debated though it appears that the early published numbers of dead have been steadily revised downward. My reading of " Dresden im Luftkrieg" by Goetz Bergander, 1998 and "Dresden Tuesday, February 13, 1945" by Frederick Taylor, 2004, certainly put a quite different meaning on the entire subject. These two books are largely based on official sources, of both sides. The widely beheld thinking that Dresden was not at all involved in war related industries can no longer be justified. Nevertheless the losses in cultural treasures and human lives were huge and so sad to contemplate. I believe a subject worth to be reminded of. Bernhard H. Holst Evacuated as a youth to Saxony 1944 to 1945

Hello Jock. Thanks for showing these items. The impressions on the case indicate it made for the Bundesgrenzschutz ( Federal Border protection Service ) in 1955. That may well explain the black color. The Bundeswehr was formally instituted a year later. The map you show is , as you know from your neck of the woods and may give a good idea as to the geographical changes which took place since 1955. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Troy The abbreviation stands for "Heeres Verpflegung" or army victuals/foodstuff. Of course you were right about the "H". Whether the one or the other is front or rear escapes me because I have no experience with items such as this. Mt guess as to the different years listed on these bags, my guess could be the year of manufacture and the possibility that these bags had to be taken out of use after so much use. Perhaps because of contents being foodstuff? Greetings from the still snow covered Mid-West of the USA but mercifully spared the severe weather prevailing elsewhere. Except a snow storm a week ago which brought us 17 (seventeen) inches of the white stuff. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Eric. I do not think that this qualifies for the badge since it was some kind of a race. Also I wonder about what kind of race this was. The description on the certificate says " Fahrer" ( driver ) and not "Reiter" or (rider). So, was it a race involving these light 2-wheel carts drawn by one horse ( nomenclature escapes me ) and not a horse with a rider race? Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Ian. Thank you for posting additional information. I wonder if the pilot Muller was not trying for a repeat return home with a damaged plane. But this time did not make it. I am glad your grandmother had the opportunity to visit your uncle's grave. Fascinating connection of crew member Ranalow and the Scott expedition. The Internet can be a great instrument to discover things and tie together loose ends. Let us hear of your trip, please. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Ian., thank you for this information. I have not yet heard from the lady who promised to review the cemetery records. But am confident to receive pertinent information so that perhaps we shall know of the dead members of the crew first resting place. I wonder whether you ever had any information from the final, sole survivor Wilce? By the records given by the site you were kind enough to relay, that he spent his captivity in hospital. That would in my view be the one in Rotenburg. Also it has been in my mind not yet expressed here if the pilot attempted a crash landing and communicated that intention to the crew? Where did Wice hit the ground and where the later dying F/Lt Ranalow? Then the thought occurred to me what if they would not have switched positions? As you state mysteries shall remain however some small explanation could be had after all and perhaps some more information may yet come to light. Have a safe though sad trip. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Ian. thank you for your post and the link. It is certainly the crash on April 8, 1945 because the crash location given as Rotenburg Waldstegen rang a loud bell when I read it. However I saw fit to confirm this with my dear wife upon her awakening this morning.:She does emphatically confirm this ( BTW: by also reciting the location of the homes of some former friends and schoolmates). In addition I have already received a reply from Townhall Rotenburg. I am told that town records do not contain any information regarding the crash but the person who responded is willing to research any local cemetery files in an effort to perhaps find an entry regarding the initial local burial. My wife gave me information about the burial site on the then only town cemetery together with the exact location thereof which today is of course otherwise occupied. The lady who responded upon her request, was given the full name of your uncle and I am quite confident to hear from her soon. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Jock. Yes, they have. Shame, shame.. Looking with a magnifying glass showed it. And you state your eyes ... Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Ian. Thank you for the additional information. Ref. necktie in wear struck me as odd because of the possible use of it during operational flight, just something strange, why that. I am sure we all have some similar moments. I have just now sent an E-Mail to the townhall of Rotenburg with a request to search town records to perhaps establish the exact date and am hoping for a response.Perhaps in time for your scheduled trip so that you can still make some travel arrangements should valuable information be forthcoming. Should it be pertinent with my wife's help the location could be pinpointed I appreciate the information about the British Military Cemetery in Berlingen. I will stay in touch. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Jock. Re. "Gibraltar" see your group picture below the hospital inmates on smoking break: cuffband in view on many of the soldiers. My guess is they belonged to Fusilier Regt. 73 on training period at Munster training grounds. The regiment was stationed at Hanover and the last surviving Pour Le Merite recipient Lt. Ernst Juenger and his brother Fritz belonged to it during WW I. Thanks for showing these pictures. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Flying Scot. The April 8, 1945 could be the date. Everything points to it, unfortunately at this point in time it seems difficult to establish the exact date. However my wife will contact her brother ( stiil residing in Germany) who visited the crash site but some short while later when already cordoned off whether he has a better date. I shall post any new information. Middlebrook gives the losses as 3 Halifaxes and 3 Lancasters as you most likely already know. The practice by the German Airforce was to give a military burial locally. I would be interested to learn details of the fate of the crew. I wonder if British records give any indications as to the location of the crash and the nature of it i.e. accident, A.A. or night fighter, the latter very unlikely. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Jock. Reading the Menus made me kind of salivate... Checking the several pricelists made it apparent that Breman's smoking, alcoholic beverages etc products had favorite places as it should be since the shipping company Nord Deutscher Lloyd was based in Bremen. ( My wife to be worked for the company in Bremen and in New York after relocating). I came to the USA in 1959 on bord of the MS " Nabob" , formerly a US built escort carrier in service with the British Navy under the same name and torpedoed by a German U-Boat in summer of 1944 and sold to N.D.L. post-war then used as a freighter with limited passengers in the Atlantic Ocean traffic. The visits to bridge and engine room mentioned seemed familiar but ladies were allowed in the engine room. Everything still painted battleship grey. Thanks for showing this. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello. On a somewhat more serious note: it seems to me a picture from the usually not very respectful to authorities and against the military "Simplicissimus" German satirical magazine. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Jock. Thank you for showing this sad group of documents. It seems that someone tried to "enhance" the one Wehrpass as you suspect. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello. What is apparent by the 1944 Nachuntersuching or follow-up medical check how critical replacements were that even those who through severe wounds were no longer fit to serve, were again checked out. Iif perhaps just perhaps they could serve somehow in some capacity or other. That to my knowledge did not take place during WW I. Total bankruptcy prevailed. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello readers. In 1945, between February 22 and April 19, 1945 word of mouth got around quickly in my home town of Rotenburg, northern Germany ( between Bremen and Hamburg ) that a British bomber had crashed in close proximity of the town. Of course this being of some considerable importance to us youth ( my age was 13 ) friends and I were on our way. No school for me because of enrollment in a Bremen school and having just returned from an evacuation program to Saxony where the bombardments of Dresden could be seen from a distance). Just a small distance from town the wreckage of a four-engined bomber was located in a field. The front area was burned out with the pilot and the flight engineer still in their seats, their clothing burned away but the bodies still whole. A little distance away a dead crewmember lay. No parachute and the tan/ yellowish flight suit slightly open with the blue RAF uniform quite visible underneath. The necktie worn struck me as odd. On impact his body had made a slight depression in the earth. Had he jumped or was he thrown from the plane before the plane hitting the ground? My memory is somewhat hazy but seems to tell me that the interior of the plane's fuselage contained another body? The rear turret was empty but the amount of ammunition visible was impressive. Our first guess of the plane's type was that it was a Lancaster which was the type of British bomber foeremost in our minds but then it could very well have been a Halifax. Shortly after my arrival on the scene German airforce personnel arrived from the near airfield and cleared the area from spectators. The whereabouts of the remaining three or four crew members are a mystery. Did they manage to escape the plane by parachute when it had difficulties? I am unable to be more precise as to the date.The time span given is from the date of my return home to the date of our hometown 's occupation after three days of fighting by British troops in April . My wife recalls the incident because of her family owning some property very near by but cannot give a better date. She having been located there throughout the war recollects day- time air battles including one during which the sky seemed filled with parachutes such were the losses. The reference book : " The Bomber Command War diaries, An Operational Reference Book 1939 - 1945 " by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt gives a map containing the main Bomber Command's targets and also the location of the several British War Cemeteries located in Germany, in which so many of the fallen British aircrews found their final resting places. In one of them these dead crew members are possibly located. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Jock. As stated before by Rick. The battle of the Bulge began on 16.December 1944 through the Eifel area and was a surprise attack. Preparations were kept back from the frontlines until very shortly before the start of the offensive. While this soldier was deployed on the Eifel frontline and found his death i doubt any connection with the forthcoming offensive. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Jock. This unit did exist until June 1944. Has a complex history too much to describe here . Google it under Grenadier Ersatz Bataillon 452 and thou shall find. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Chris. Thanks for posting this. Just a reminder for this reader how it all came about. Made me think of what a Canadian WW II bomber pilot told me and my wife some years ago: "You started it". Bernhard H. Holst

Hello: After a power-outage deleted my nearly finished continuation of a biographical sketch of this exceptional United States Army cavalry officer I will now finish it. General Grierson's command was activ in preventing attempted Confederate infiltrations until early 1864 when he was participating in a subordinated role in a raid into Alabama to destroy installations in Selma. This raid was aborted due to poor leadership and poor weather conditions but during the retreat the Confederates attacked. Only General Grierson's intervention prevented a complete rout. On June 1, 1864 with General Grierson again in a subordinate position, a cumbersome taskforce of infantry and cavalry set out to protect General Sherman's rear while he invaded Georgia. Much artillery encumbered this force as did 250 supply wagons with rainy weather further slowing down the march. The expected difficulties by General Grierson promptly happened when the infantry became separated from the cavalry due to faulty command and control. The following engagement known as the Battle of Brice's Crossroads turned into a near disaster with the Union forces loosing nearly all their artillery pieces, the entire wagon train, more than 1,600 prisoners and 617 other casualties. A third and fourth expedition fared somewhat better and prevented the Confederates from disturbing Sherman's supply lines. The cavalry was now in dire need of resupply and reorganizsation. In late 1864 and into 1865 General Grierson led one more successful raid with his conception of a swift cavalry raid travelling light. This one penetrated eastern and central Mississippi for 459 miles which were covered in just sixteen days. During this operation his command destroyed 100 miles of railroad track, 20,000 feet of bridges, 20 miles of telegraph wires, 4 locomotives, 95 rail cars, 300 army wagons, 32 warehouses, 5,00 stands of new arms and 500 bales of cotton. 1,600 prisoners, 800 head of stock were taken and 1,000 blacks were brought in. This succes cost 27 killed, 93 wounded and 7 missing. This raid deprived the Confederates of badly needed supplies and again proved the validity of a need for swift movement and surprise to assure success. In February of 1865 General Grant met with General Grierson in Washington and also took him to see President Lincoln and other notables. His next assignment led him to the command of the cavalry of the Military Division of West Mississippi under Major General E.S. Canby. He was to lead the cavalry in the planned offensive against Mobile, Alabama which then fell before the cavalry was completely organized. The death of President Lincoln reached the general amid the preparations to penetrate Alabama further and deeply affected him. Because vengeful actions by his troops could be expected, he issued orders that threatened severe punishment against straggling and pillaging, even entering a privated home without special permission was prohibited. Near the Georgia stateline news of the surrender of the confederates in North Carolina reached him after having earlier learned of General R.E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox . These good news were followed by word of surrender of all remaining Confederates forces in Mississippi and Texas. Brigadier General Benjamin Grierson was promoted to Major General US Volunteers on May 27, 1865. He also received Brevet rank as general in recognition of his conduct of successful raiding operations during 1863 to 1865. During a visit to Washington he received wide support from the Illinois Delegation to Congress to serve as colonel in the regular army, Generals Grant and Sherman also recommended that. General Grierson was mustered out of service in April of 1866 but received an appointment to command one of the two newly authorized cavalry regiments manned by black troops. Colonel Grierson was assigned to Fort Leavenworth, Kansa to raise his new regiment, the Tenth US Cavalry. This process proved slow, Colonel Grierson wanted officers with prior experience with black units, only fit enlisted men and qualified men to fill specialist positions. It took nearly a year for this and meanwhile first difficulties arose with the commander of the post who disliked black troops. It came as a relief to Grierson when the regiment was gradually moved to Indian Territory and central Kansas to protect the Kansas Pacific Railroad and stage routes against warring Indians. Problems were caused by several officers including abuses towards enlisted men which resulted in transfers if such behavior was not ended. Colonel Grierson's family now included five children and living conditions and educational opportunities varied from post to post where the family would be living for the next several years. General Ph. Sheridan was now the area commander and relations between him and Colonel Grierson were never good. This situation, further cuts in army strength in 1869, 1870 and again in 1874, allegations of lax discipline in the regiment, the unpopularity of black troops including their commanders, too lenient treatment of Indians and Grierson not having graduated from West Point, all contributed to his not receiving promotion to Brigadier General until shortly before his retirement. Colonel Grierson was instrumental in the creation of several military posts in Indian Territory and elsewhere including Fort Sill in what is now the State of Oklahoma. He apparently liked this activity and was good at it. He was very successful in fighting Indins but always kept a humane approach when dealing with them. His regiment, the Tenth US Cavalry developed into an efficient unit, Indians called them "Buffalo Soldiers". Alice, Colonel Grierson's wife died in 1888 after a long illness and he made arrangements for his children as best as he could before beginning his next assignment to command the department of Arizona. There he was occupied by two interests: the welfare of the Indians in his department and an increase in productivity in this arid area as an incentive to settlement.He proposed an enlargement of the Navaho reservation to provide adequate space and had a vision of government sponsered developement of water resources and irrigation, something that would happen over time. On April 5, 1890 Colonel Grierson received his long overdue promotion to Brigadier General, just three months before his retirement. His submission of proposals for certain improvements to be made to the conditions under which enlisted personnel served including higher pay, better living conditions, more possibilities for recreation and better terms of enlistment were not acted upon and would be introduced only much later. General Grierson had served for twenty-four years after the Civil War without further promotion and when it came shortly before his leaving the service, it came about only through the death of a general officer which opened a slot for him. His background as a volunteer officer, commander of a black regiment, his good treatment of Indians as well as his own troops were ill regarded by those in position to hamper his advancement. His son Charles, a graduate of West point served as Lieutenant Colonel of the same regiment as his father. Charles did not accede to its command due to later mental illness after his father had died. This affliction also hit another brother shortly after his mother died and he spent many years in institutions. General Grierson later remarried, much to his sons disagreement. He lived in Jacksonville with visits to Texas where he owned some property. Some of his other investments had not been successful but he could live comfortably enough. A stroke disabled him somewhat four years before his death which came in 1911. A life ended which led from an ordinary one into the service of his country and his home state with much distinction and recognition during the Civil War. However, the recognition of his further service in the regular army after the Civil War was not forthcoming but General Grierson served his country well and was ahead of many of his contemporaries in his vision of what the West could be and what the army could be. Sources : - Mark M. Boatner III:The Civil War Dictionary, October 1966; - Shelby Foote: The Civil War, A Narrative Vol.Two, 1963; - William H. and Shirley A. Leckie: Unlikely Warriors, General Benjamin Grierson and his Family; 1984 - Robert M. Utley: Frontier Regulars, The United States Army and the Indians 1866 - 1890; 1973 - Ezra J. Warner: Generals in Blue, Lives of Union Commanders, 1981. BTW: the movie " The Horse Soldiers" form 1959 is loosely, quite so based on Gen. Grierson. It is still in my memory one of the better Hoolywood products. Directed by John Ford with John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers and Althea Gibson ( the late African-American sportswoman). Bernhard H. Holst

Hello readers. It is hoped that this somewhat obscure officer receives attention which he deserves. Benjamin Grierson was born on July 8, 1826. He was the son of Scotch Irish immigrants who had first settled in Pittsburgh but moved to Youngstown, Ohio later. . His father was a succesful merchant and had a shoemaking business. Benjamin grew up with three sisters and a brother. At the age of eight he was struck in the head by a horse and lay in a coma for two weeks. He had lost sight on one eye and had to spend several months in a darkened room. His face was marred by a long scar. His vision returned but he had a profound distrust of horses thereafter. The young fellow developed into a good musician, learning to play the flute and also all major instruments under the tutoring of the local band instructor. The band was led by Benjamin at age thirteen and upon graduation from Youngstown Academy he clerked at a local store with free time spent on teaching music and repairing instruments. In 1849 the entire Grierson family moved to Illinois where economic prospects were very promising and had chosen Jacksonville, only thirty miles from the state capital, Springfield. Jacksonville offered Illinois College, a recently opened female seminary as well as musical, reading and discussion groups. Benjamin had met a young woman, Alice Kirk, in Youngstown who was a teacher had a position offered to her at the Springfield Female Academy in Springfield, Illinois. This position she accepted. Alice and Benjamin were married in the Fall of 1854 despite Alice's misgivings about her future husband' indifference towards religion, his indulgence in cigars and occasionally in hard liquor and billiards. The newly married husband had a hard time providing a living from being a musician and bandleader so he took an opportunity to become a partner in a store about twenty miles from Jacksonville. Benjamin became activ in politics having Abraham Lincoln as guest in his home during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. His tireles efforts brought him close to Congressman Richard Yates, the furure governor during the Civil War years. Unfortunately his business failed and he moved his family which now included two sons back to Jacksonville to live in his parents house on the eve of the 1860 elections. He had foreseen the coming of the war and when it broke out he volunteered his services. Upon carrying dispatches to Cairo, Illinois to Colonel Benjamin M. Prentiss ( later to become a General) at the request of now governor Yates, he was offered and accepted a position as unpaid aide with rank of lieutenant.This evolved inti a commission of Major in the 6th Illinois Cavalry in October 1861 which enabled him to pay off some of his remaining obligations from the business failure. The regiment was in a poor condition led by a colonel who was absent most of the time, poorly equipped and quartered in a ver unsuitable location. A petition by many of the regiment's officers following Major Grierson's efforts to correct the many shortcomings when the incompetent colonel still in command finally brought a necessary change. Grierson was now put in command. Meanwhile successful actions by U.S. forces under the command of General Grant were taking Forts Henry and Donelson followed by "Bloody Shiloh" in April 1862. In June of that year the 6th Illinois Cavalry relocated to recently occupied Memphis, Tennessee and began small scale operations against Confederate guerillas. These operations gave the new regimental commander and his officers and men necessary, practical exposure to real campaigning by cavalry and were quite successful. General Sherman in command in this theatre was satisfied with Colonel Grierson's performance and remained his fiend and supporter throughout his military career. General Grant now began his operations against Vicksburg, Mississippi and the Sixth Illinois Cavalry was screening the advance by Gneneral Sherman's wing towards that objective.. In December Colonel Grierson received a brigade command from General Grant upon General Sherman's recommendation. This brigade was formed by the Sixth and Seventh Illinois Cavalry and the Second Iowa and moved to La Grange, Tennessee while Grant's first attempt towards Vicksburg fizzled out. To support further efforts diversions were necessary and Colonel Grierson's brigade was to strike south with the objective of cutting the Southern Mississippi Railroad east of jackson which would isolate Vicksburg from the east. This expedition was to cause as much damage as possible to Confederate facilities, supplies and communications as they moved speedily through enemy country. The troopers therefore had to travel light and Grierson carried a small scale map of Mississippi, a Jews harp and a very valuable document. This contained suitable cavalry routes, Confederate locations and plantations given by a Unionist. Six two-pounders guns provided artillery support. The raid began on April 17, 1863 with 1,700 men while diversions began elsewhere. After two days of hard riding and a first contact with the enemy on the second day, Colonel Grierson selected 175 men who appeared unfit to continue to return to Tennessee under the command of Major Love, Second Iowa Cavalry. They were to give all possible indications that the whole command was returning was returning as the Confederates were by now alerted to the raid. This detachment made it back unscthed. The Second Iowa Cavalry was detached to destroy the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at West Point and the return to Tennessee also. This regiment destroyed barracks, a cotton warehouse, large stores and an ammunition dump and captured 600 horses and mules. The Confederates were misled and the regiment under Colonel Hatch with some small losses made it back as well after fighting to protect Grierson's rear. Colonel Edward Hatch, later a Major General, also had a distinguished career. He remained friends with Grierson until he died on active service in 1889 as commander of the Ninth US Cavalry. One of the two cavalry regiments raised after the war and composed of black troops, the other being the Tenth commanded by Grierson. In short Grierson's brigade raised holy hell all over. He had the option of going north through Alabama to return to Federal lines. Or else go west and join General Grant at Grand Gulf to find Federal outposts there. Rail tracks and rolling stock was destroyed and Confederates troops prevented from opposing General Grant. Colonel Grierson had made good use of several scouts disguised as Confederates and now received ample warning that the only safe road was toward Baton Rouge. They had now been on the road for fourteen days but speed was still uppermost required to reach safety. A defended rivercrossing had to be forced with a determined cavalry charge across the bridge. In the next twenty-eight hours they covered sevent-five miles to enter Federal lines near Baton Rouge. This raid over a distance of more that sixhundred miles in less that sixteen days cost 3 killed, 7 wounded and 14 missing but inflicted about 100 enemy casualties, captured and paroled over 500 prisoners, destroyed between 50 and 60 miles of track and telegraph wires and over 3,000 stands of arms. In addition many stores and other government installations were destroyed and 1,000 horses and mules captured. A considerable number of blacks had also joined the expedition on the way to freedom. General Grant later described this raid as one of the most brilliant cavalry exploits of the war. Also noteworthy is the discipline of the troops as besides needed food and forage no private property was taken nor any other excesses committed.. This is no doubt caused by the influence and control of the commander who was also able to demand and get utmost performance out of his troops. His tactical dispositions were very good as was his application of reconnaissance. The raid and its astounding success received wide publicity in the north which was in need of good war news. After a period of rest and reorganization the brigade was not returned to its command by General N.P. Banks, commander of the Department of the Gulf. who deployed it on some unsuccessful operations. After repeated efforts by Generals Grant and Sherman was the brigade returned but only after Port Hudson and Vicksburg had fallen. Grierson was promoted to Brigadier General on June 3. General Grierson sustained another injury from a horse, only his high cavallry boots prevented a more serious injury.. General Grierson was put in command of the cavalry of Sixteenth Army Corps or three brigades. They were deployed in western Tennessee to prevent Confederate infiltrations. The rest of General Grierson's noteworthy career will follow. Bernhard h. Holst

Hello. You are right but the left entries are all designated as " Schlacht " therefore battle not Kampf or combat action. I believe there to be a substantial difference. I do not want to split a dog's hair. Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Larry. My response to this must have gone astray. But here is my understanding: - Tarnbefehle are deception orders regarding the hitherto L-Offiziere which term is no longer in use due to the open reintroduction of universal national service i.e. open expansion of German military. The date must be somewhere around 1935? - Zehrzulage, without any tangible source it seems to imply some kind of supplemental money grant for most likely daily food allowance. Less likely granted as in kind supplement. I hope this helps, Bernhard H. Holst

Hello Jock. I have no clue. They look small for sure, just right for us small fry. Bernhard H. Holst