Dave Danner

He would be in a Prussian rank list, not a Saxon one. As the SEHO in first place indicates, he was apparently from one of the small Saxon duchies which were part of the Prussian Army under the various protocols and conventions of the late 1860s. I don't know where Schlo? Moderwitz was, but Moderwitz was in the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. He doesn't appear to have a White Falcon, though, which would be first if he were from that state. There are no Beusts in the 1875 edition of the Handbuch ?ber den preussischen Staat, which lists civil officials, and I don't have any early military ranklists either, so I can't be of much more help.

UBS did indeed pull all of their Soviet items on the day of the auction, with an announcement that it was due to pressure from the Russian government. UBS is a major Swiss bank, with significant investments worldwide, including the Russian Federation, so the Russian authorities have more leverage than just calling Interpol and making allegations. Note that the Russian authorities showed no interest in Imperial Russian orders even though, by Russian law, most of these were probably state (or crown) property too. In the Putin era, they only seem interested in recapturing their Soviet past.

The one on Glenn J's website is an "innie", with the same sort of pebbling of the numbers, but otherwise quite different from my innie: http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/mobkreuzpic1.jpg

"Western style" it may be to the unschooled, but that is the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Morocco. The text below reads Muhammadi (alternative transliteration as Mohammedi). On his Morocco page, Ed Emering notes the existence of an Order of Mohammedi, but notes nothing about it other than that it was a neck chain only. So "obscure" would certainly seem an appropriate choice of word.

The lower badge is a neck or sash badge for the Tunisian Order of the Republic.

The one resting on the Osmania is a Polish Cross of Merit: In the upper corner is an Austro-Hungarian Cross of Merit, not the FJ Order, of a lower grade than this one (no enamel on the medallion):

I have a nice vaulted Iron Cross 1st Class to an Austro-Hungarian artillery officer. I do not have his medal bar. Bidding ended for the medal bar about 5 minutes after the EK1. Having won the cross, I went to protect my bid on the bar. I was outbid by a sniper who had never placed a bid until the last minute (this is a practice that peeves me. If you are interested in an item, let other potential buyers know by placing at least a minimum bid so they can gauge how much interest there is). Fine. He wanted the bar enough to bid alot for it and it was the seller who split the group to begin with; I could live with losing. When I received the winning bid notice, I contacted the seller and told her to offer the EK1 to the winner of the medal bar. He wasn't interested. All he wanted, apparently, was his pretty little medal bar and he didn't care about the history, the man, behind it. Well, now I have a pretty little EK1, but it is severed from the man and the history behind it.

Your Mobilisierungskreuz 1912/13 (Mobilization Cross 1912/13), that is

My two examples, finally scanned and uploaded. Kashmir 1948: Kashmir 1964-65:

Here's a Cambodian medal I've had for a while (actually the only Cambodian medal I have). The reverse states "Norodom Suramarit Roi du Cambodge" or "Norodom Suramarit, King of Cambodia". Ed Emering's site, the best resource on the web for decorations of France's former colonies, has an image of one, but all it says is "Medal of Norodom Suramarit" which doesn't exactly tell me much. Any idea what it was for?

And finally the ribbon bar. This one is a little earlier than the medal bar, as the National Defense Medal is in Bronze (no white edge stripes) and does not have the overseas missions bar.

The reverse:

Here is a medal group I've had for a while to a French Foreign Legionnaire, a 2?me REP veteran of the operations in Zaire in the late 1970s. It consists of the Overseas Medal with bars for Zaire and Chad, the National Defense Medal in Silver with bars for Overseas Missions, Airborne Troops and Foreign Legion, and the Zairean Croix de Guerre with Palm.

To keep the thread going, and also because it's a nice photo, and I think one of the few I've seen of a Leopold-Orden in wear.

I think French badge manufacturers, like US ones, were generally permitted to manufacture more than the military's contract run of badges, so as to better reach economies of scale and lower the price. They could then sell these on the collector market or to the various surplus shops like Ranger Joes here in America that cater to soldiers looking for extra stuff, as you note. For some reason I have this vague recollection that French badge makers like Delsart and Drago could remake older pieces from units that no longer exist, like Indochina units, but had to mark them with an "R". But I'm not sure about that.

Hartwig Busche, Formationsgeschichte der deutschen Infanterie im Ersten Weltkrieg (1998).

That looks familiar

No, it was founded in 1896 by Kaiser Wilhelm II in honor of his grandfather, Wilhelm I, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his coronation as German Kaiser in 1871. Werlich (Orders and Medals of All Nations, 1974) states that it was intended primarily for foreign heads of state, but could also be awarded to Germans in certain exceptional cases for outstanding services to society.

Also, to the same guy, here is the certificate for his National Defense Medal, with bar "Troupes Aeroport?es".

Here for your perusal is a certificate for French jump wings. The certificate is too big for my scanner bed and I don't have a digital camera, so I had to put it in the scanner sideways and scan the top and bottom halfs, and then play around with cropping them so they matched.

Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 79 was a reserve regiment from northern Germany, the daughter regiment of Oldenburg's IR 91, as well as the III. Bataillon of IR 78, a Prussian regiment from Ostfriesland. It was called up on mobilization in August 1914 in Oldenburg (regimental staff, II. and III. Bataillone) and Aurich, Ostfriesland (I. Bataillon). The regimental staff and the I. and II. Bataillone went to Borkum to relieve the regular garrison on the coast, while III. Bataillon and the MG-Kompanie were attached to 19.Reserve-Division. This is what "Formationsgeschichte der deutschen Infanterie im Ersten Weltkrieg" says happened next: Im Januar 1915 wurde das I. Bataillon umgebildet. Es bestand danach aus dem Stab sowie der 1., 4., 5. und 6. Kompanie. Das Bataillon wurde zusammen mit dem I./Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 85 und dem II./LIR 85 zu einem neuen Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 79 zusammengestellt. (Das I./LIR 85 wurde II./RIR 79, das II./LIR 85 wurde III./RIR 79). Nach Umbildung des I./RIR 79 bildeten die 2., 3., 7. und 8. Kompanie das neue II./RIR 79. Das III. Bataillon trat am August 1916 als III. Bataillon zum bayer. 29. Infanterie-Regiment und wurde mit dem neuem II./RIR 79 und dem IV./LIR 75 zum RIR 440 zusammengestellt. Does this make sense? Leaving aside that I think it should be Januar 1916, not 1915, as 1916 was when RIR 79 and LIR 85 appear to have been reorganized, something doesn't quite add up. The companies of the I. and II. battalions are reshuffled, and then I.Bataillon is joined with two Landwehr battalions to form a new regiment. These Landwehr battalions are redesignated II./RIR 79 and III./RIR 79. But there already are a II./RIR 79 (at least the companies) and III./RIR 79. Were there two II./RIR 79s and two III./RIR 79s apiece in 1916? The original ones and the ones from LIR 85, with the original ones becoming battalions of RIR 440 in the fall of the year? Why would I./LIR 85 become the II./RIR 79 of the "new" RIR 79, while the companies of the old regiment become "new" II./RIR 79?

My bad, not another view of one. Another view of the same one.

Wilhelm-Orden Here's another view of one: http://www.dhm.de/magazine/orden/abbs/002.htm

Prussian orders, decorations and medals: SAOBr ? Schwarzer-Adler-Orden mit Brillanten plmE ? Orden Pour le M?rite mit Eichenlaub plm KuW ? Orden Pour le M?rite f?r Wissenschaften und K?nste WO ? Wilhelm-Orden RAOGKEKrSzX ? Roter-Adler-Orden, Gro?kreuz mit Eichenlaub, Krone, Szepter und Schwertern RAOGKEBr ? Roter-Adler-Orden, Gro?kreuz mit Eichenlaub und Brillanten HOH1aBr ? K?niglicher Hausorden von Hohenzollern Gro?komturkreuz mit Brillanten HOH3X ? K?niglicher Hausorden von Hohenzollern Ritterkreuz mit Schwertern EK1 70 ? 1870 Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse (as well as, by implication, the II. Klasse) RM ? Rettungsmedaille Joh ? Johanniterorden LD1 ? Landwehrdienstauszeichnung 1. Klasse 66K ? K?niggr?tz-Kreuz 64 ? Kriegsdenkm?nze 1864 Other German states' orders, decorations and medals: AB1 ? Anhalt, Gro?kreuz des Hausordens "Albrecht des B?ren" BTBrmK ? Baden, Hausorden der Treue mit Brillanten und mit der Kette BHBr ? Bavaria, Haus-Ritter-Orden vom heiligen Hubertus mit Brillanten BrHGK ? Brunswick, Gro?kreuz des Hausordens Heinrich des L?wen HG1 ? Hannover, Gro?kreuz des Guelphenordens HL1 ? Hesse-Darmstadt, Gro?kreuz des Ludewigs-Orden HP1X ? Hesse-Darmstadt, Gro?kreuz des Verdienstordens Philipps des Gro?m?tigen mit Schwertern HgL ? Hesse-Darmstadt, Goldener-L?wen-Orden MK1b ? Mecklenburg Grand Duchies, Gro?kreuz des Hausordens der Wendischen Krone mit der Krone in Gold OV1XKr ? Oldenburg, Gro?kreuz des Haus- und Verdienstordens von Herzog Peter Friedrich Ludwig mit der Krone und mit Schwertern SRKBr ? Saxony, Orden der Rautenkrone mit Brillanten GSF1Br ? Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Gro?kreuz des Gro?herzoglich S?chsischen Hausordens der Wachsamkeit oder vom Wei?en Falken mit Brillanten EH1mK ? Saxon Duchies, Gro?kreuz des Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischen Hausordens mit der Kette WK1Br ? W?rttemberg, Gro?kreuz des Ordens der W?rttembergischen Krone mit Brillanten Foreign orders, decorations and medals: BL1X ? Belgium, Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold with Swords DD1 ? Denmark, Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog FE1 ? France, Grand Cross of the L?gion d'Honneur GE1 ? Greece, Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer JC ? Japan, Order of the Chrysanthemum JAn ? Italy, Order of the Annunziata LEK1 ? Luxembourg, Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown SM1 ? San Marino, Grand Cross of the Order of San Marino NL1 ? Netherlands, Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion USt1Br ? Austria-Hungary, Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephan with Brilliants ?EK1 ? Austria-Hungary, Grand Cross of the Order of the Iron Crown PCBr ? Papal Order of Christ with Brilliants PAPBr ? Persia, Order of the Portrait of the Shah with Brilliants PL1 ? Persia, Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion and Sun PT1 ? Portugal, Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword RumSt1 ? Romania, Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania RAdBr ? Russia, Order of St. Andrew with Brilliants SSer ? Sweden, Order of the Seraphim SWA1 ? Serbia, Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle SE1 ? Siam (Thailand), Grand Cross of the Order of the White Elephant SGV ? Spain, Order of the Golden Fleece TNIBr ? Ottoman Empire (Turkey), Nishan-i-Iftikhar with Brilliants TO1Br ? Ottoman Empire (Turkey), Order of Osmania 1st Class with Brilliants TunHO ? Tunisia, House Order ZSt1 ? Zanzibar, Order of the Brilliant Star 1st Class

It appears from the family history they were using the hyphenated name for the family itself, if not for individual members without court approval as early as the 1870s. "Beitr?ge zur Geschichte des Geschlechts Lettow-Vorbeck" was published by Hermann von Lettow in 1877, updated in 1882 and 1905. That's where the Stammtafeln came from, BTW, which is why they end with that generation.