DonC

The Twins...

Pionier 'Rock:

Hi All -

Just thought I would share my two new Waffenrocks I picked up at the Show of Shows in Louisville, KY last week: A Pionier Oberleutnant and a Transportation Oberdfeldwebel with all private-purchase insignia, which I am a complete sucker for. Enjoy!

Don

Yup, it's a hand snipper! That's what I was afraid of - thanks much, Rick!

Don

Reverse...

Close-up...

Hi All -

Got this bar in a large lot of items - 20 mm ribbons, and one whopper gold eagle for the LS ribbon. The eagle appears to be the kind used for the medal bar. No blacklight glow, but I know that the gold eagle alone on a spange is a big no-no in the Heer. Could this be Kriegsmarine, or is it an out and out fraud?

As always, any and all help appreciated!

Don

From the photo, it appears that the Russian officer is telling his men "See, boys? Today Berlin, tomorrow Las Vegas!"

Don

Is this the museum in the Zeughaus, or is it a different one? I'll be in Berlin in March and would like to check it out.

Don

I thought Stahlhelm or Freikorps. Sorry I can't be more specific.

Don

Hey, that's great to know that more have survived - thanks for the link!

Don

Thanks, Laurence - I feel vindicated!

Don

To further stir the pot, I am not sure that that is an "HV" cypher on his board - it looks more like the Wehrmachtsadler device, which would mean that he was serving in an even more arcane capacity... I'll have to dig out my Angolia tonight and have a look.

Don

Hi All -

Has anyone seen one of these before? I just acqwuired it this weekend, and since diplomatic is not my area, I plan to move it to finance other items. Any idea as to a decent value?

As always, any help is much appreciated!

Don

Another...

OK - let's see if this works...

Don

Hello -

Feel free to send them to me at mutzenfabrik@yahoo.com.

Don

Thanks for sharing these! My mother is Swedish, so that would provide a good excuse to visit the relatives for a day or two and then head to Norway!

With regard to rail cannon, I believe the only remaining one, Anzio Annie, is at Aberdeen Proving Grouonds in Maryland.

Don

Here's a closer shot of the insignia. The adler was unfortunately deNazified at some point...

Don

I'll post some more pics tonight - it is neat in that the shoulderstraps were obviously done very carefully when the guy was promoted - the stitching is very careful, but in using a slightly different tress, you get a different patina on it. And it doesn't glow!

Hi All -

Thought I would share my latest 'rock with you - an Unterfeldwebel from Wehrkreis V, headquartered in Stuttgart.

Don

A German-issued ticket to a lecture - at the Acropolis in Athens! Dated 1943. Also a spare SS-marked button in a Heer NCO M36 pocket. And loose tobacco once, which was probably pretty hard to get.

Don

Just wanted to check in and say that I read Jones' volume on the Freikorps and it was quite good. I was disappointed to learnt hat his book is published under a different title as a second edition - I took both back from my library onlyt o find they were the same text!

There wasn't much on the Silesian campaign - Jones concentrates on the Freikorps in Berlin, Munich and the Ruhr. Still, an easy and itneresting read.

Don

Hi Douglas -

I believe that "Ersatz" refers to replacement units - the "repo depots" of WWII US Army fame, in an imperfect analogy, while the reserves are just that - officers witha reserve status - part timers. They could be attached to active duty units and usually were during wartime when they served as full time soldiers/airmen/seamen. Each unit would have an Ersatz unit from which to draw replacements.

What I do not know if whether there were EM/NCO reservists in the Whermacht or if it was only officers who could be reservists.

Thanks very much, gentlemen - time to do some online searches. SOunds like Jones is the man for Freikorps history! I have not researched the FK much, considering that so many future German officers served in them. It will help me to understand the mindset a little more, I hope.

Don

ps - Fortune smiles - Both Jones volumes and the Osprey volume are in the local university library! Thanks for all your help!

dc