webr55

Backing is red:

Just got this one. Apparently these are three Turkish awards on what looks like a wartime bar. Ribbon #2 might be the Liakat medal with a better-than-nothing sword device, #4 is the TWM. Any idea what #3 is?

Good to see Richthofen's bar finally dug up!

I think his father was "Anwesenbesitzer" in the first doc, i.e., the owner of some estate. The second doc calls him "Privatier" indicating he had retired by then.

His son Hans obviously died as a child.

Can't be praised enough.

Pontoppidan - that name's a first for me.

It would be too much to get all the interesting stories about of the book. There is, sadly, no picture of Dr. Kohlhaas in uniform, and no information on awards. At least, here's some information regarding his relatives:

He had a cousin Otto Holtzmann who was a Pioneer Lt in WW1. Having allegedly captured 160 French soldiers, he became a flyer.

He tells a story how in 1915 he set up a hospital in the castle of a French Marquis, with whom they were on very gentlemanly terms.

Kohlhaas had two sons who both survived WW2 and POW time, and two nephews: One never returned from Soviet captivity, and the other was KIA near Rshew after getting the RK. This must have been Oberstleutnant Ludwig Kohlhaas (1905-30.11.1942), RK on 21.11.1942 as Kdr III./F?sReg Gro?deutschland.

That's probably the Baden Jubilee Medal of 1902 3rd from the end-- what WEIRD jumbled awards he is wearing.

Per the Detmold rolls, Franz Reid was born in Bromberg 20.12.1870. He received the LDH4aX 27 November 1915 as a Major in the Kriegsministerium, living in Berlin-Steglitz. Looks like Saxony gave him their booby prize!

Yes! He must have chosen a precedence Prussia-> other Kingdoms -> something else (Hesse?) -> Principalities.

Good work! Now I found him in the Berlin address books until 1929, living in Steglitz, Grunewaldstr. 6, as Oberstleutnant aD.

Apparently the seller has been encouraged by the prices his "things" now fetch. I have to admit that some of his fakes - combination issues aside - look really good. These must be old backings he uses, cannibalized from other bars??

Close-up:

Just a nice find from a regimental history: Major Reid with his medal bar. I don't have his first name. He was Hptm in IR 55 by 1914, with RAO4, BMV4 and WF3a. Ended WW1 as Oberstlt aD and Kdr RIR 26.

During WW1, he seems to have got a Saxon Verdienstkreuz, Lippe Hausorden and Lippe KVK plus another medal which I cannot recognize.

It looks like the first one is from a Garde regiment.

Thanks Rick,

Was SA Obergruppenf?hrer Friedrich von Raben present at Night Of The Long Knives? I'm going to do some searching to see what info comes up on the net for this man.

An SA General's ribbon bar! I think it's the first time I see one.

Really strange that I can't find ANY information on v. Raben. I suppose he is the brother of Ernst v. Raben, colonial officer in Kamerun?

And this is him at old age. I will add some information from his book soon.

From his autobiography, here is Kohlhaas as a student in Tübingen:

Generalleutnant Theobald (aka Theo-Helmut) Lieb (1889-1981), who freakishly won a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross AND the oakleaves, 11 days apart in February 1944 (!)

I find (in my 1958 Keilig) no evidence that Schimpf ever served outside Germany during the war. Lieb's assignments leave the crucial winter of 1941/42 blank, though he seems to have wandered back and forth from combat assignments to city commandant jobs with odd regularity (wounded?)

Did Lieb serve in Russia over the winter of 1941/42?

Schimpf hasn't reached Biblio's glacial alphabetical publishing schedule yet (sometimes I despair of living that long ) but when did he actually die, since I have two year dates--one of which must be a typo.

KC and oakleaves for the "Lion of Cherkassy" Lieb, who crossed a river during the Cherkassy battle "swimming alongside his horse" (back is rusty??... ) . And according to his bios entry, he was "acting leader" of the 290. Inf-Div from Sep to Nov 1941 in Russia.

Schimpf, according to his entry on the "Special Camp 11" pages, died 1958 in Wiesbaden.

Looks very weird, but the reason is probably an anti-Prussian attitude due to the historical links of Saxony with Austria. Those 1870/71 veterans probably wanted to show that they were definitely not Prussian.

Ulsterman said:

Really? I assumed my last issue (1944) on thin, worn wartime paper was the last issue! Do you know where I can find the series from 1967-75?

The Württembergische Landesbibliothek in Stuttgart has it. They have got a "Nachrichtenblatt" from 1967-1975, and a "Rundschreiben" from the same Traditionsverband from 1963-1985 (!).

a magazine actually. his regiment had an extensive veterans magazne run from 1931-1944. Lots of info. on members.

Is that the "Nachrichtenblatt" of the "Traditionsverband Ehemalige 9. Husaren"? Apparently this one continued to be published from 1967-1975.

Kampfabzeichen der Kleinkampfmittel 7th grade (if gold), or 5th grade (if bronze). I have seen only the M1957 versions.

The seller has 820 positive evaluations, and 0% negative ones. How can unsuspecting ebay buyers know these things are fake? Yes, this is tedious, but WE have to point at these fakes again and again.

Sorry, I just had to say this.

People are obviously buying these things in good faith. With medal bars, one will at least - sometimes - get original medals. But these ribbon bars are worth NADA - this one went for 68 euros:

I know we've been through this many times before: The current flood of fake ribbon bars coming from Austria. But looking at the prices these items have fetched recently, I do not find this amusing anymore. This one went for 122 euros:

Here it is. Oberstubaf. Georg Schönberger, Kdr SS-Pz Reg 1, KIA 20.11.1943:

Wow! Is that taken from a book?

Ahhh, thanks!! You mean this one?