IrishGunner

Wow, I am so jealous of that photo with the Bergmütze/Granat. I will have to go back through the bFAR 7. regimental history and see if there are any similar photos. Chris, don't forget that Bavarian artillery wore the spiked Pickelhaube (instead of the Kugel) until March 1916. Maybe that's what threw you off into looking at infantry regiments.

I'm glad you snagged a split group. Another soldier with a story that will not be lost to time.

The swirls on the lower left of the cypher sill don't match exactly to bFAR 7. So, it's only about a 90% accuracy in my opinion. And as noted, that darker crown is a indeed a head scratcher.

Well, if Andy agrees with me, I win!

Paul, it's interesting that the bar in Post #185 has the USN/USMC Combat Distinguishing Device "V" device for the Legion of Merit, but not the Bronze Star. Quite appropriate, just interesting. China Service and Philippines Liberation to go along with WW2 and Korea service. Probably some good stories go along with this bar. In the second posting ... Post #186 ... What are the grey/blue ribbons on the bottom row of the bar on the bottom left?

Okay, I'll play. The way you write the question, I suspect you already know the answer. So, it might be a unit in your field of interest. But it can't be an obvious one or you wouldn't have fun with the guessing game. On the other hand, I'm going to take a wild guess in the other direction. It looks a lot like Königlich Bayerisches 7. Feldartillerie-Regiment „Prinzregent Luitpold“. Of course, I only say that because I have the regimental history and it is similar to the cover. And the crown being a different (darker) color has me scratching my head. But hey, it was worth a Euro to play the game. Now tell us the answer ... and the story. From the cover of the bFAR Nr. 7 history:

I am certain you've seen this, but I'll post it anyway... Details of KIA: https://www.koreanwar.org/html/korean_war_project_remembrance_search_6_2013.html?key=3122

Tony/Bayern, as you both state the photos are not the clearest. However, there are many photos of both sides with captured POWs. I am not familiar with British headgear to say either way, but it is very possible that this is a photo of German soldiers with British POWs.

GreyC/Bayern, I also noticed the rolled-up shoulder straps and thought it odd. Grey's theory of recruits rolling them up as a way of celebrating obligatory service makes sense. Although, it's the first time I've seen it in one of these Rekrutenzeit photos.

Nice. Have you researched the Silver Star citation? (I couldn't find anything online)

GreyC, great photo of the artillerymen with the Kaiser Wilhelm Zentenarmedaille! I agree they must have recently received the medals.

Just received this one in the mail! It's a great history from what I've already read. Fantastic photos.

Alex, the Automobilcorps was a group of civilians, who privately owned motor vehicles and then volunteered the use of those vehicles to the Army. They had a club uniform - clearly that looked very much like a military uniform. Here is a link on GMIC that has a discussion about the dagger worn with the uniform - and it includes images of this exact same photo, as well as others: http://gmic.co.uk/topic/4473-german-imperial-automobil-corps-dagger/ Here is another link that gives a concise description of the use of motor vehicles by the German Army: http://www.kaiserscross.com/76001/85601.html

No worries! Your photo of Batterie Wilhelm II is actually a very well known naval gun: 30.5 cm SK L/50 gun. Mostly mounted on warships, there were a few mounted as coastal defense. This particular battery was to defend the port of Zeebrugge. These were manned by Matrosen Artillerie Regiments. A nice photo.

Tony, my approach usually is to research as much as I can about an object before asking questions in a post here on GMIC. So, I will at least see what I can find with Google before posting questions. Doing the research yourself is part of the fun. That said, Google searches can be tricky things and take some practice (at least in my opinion) to get the phrases that return the best results. Of course, frequently the "experts" here on GMIC do not need to search for an answer as they have the resources readily to hand; in many cases, those resources are print books or years of experience that Google just can't replicate.

Often the case. However, Bavarian infantry was also red.

Catching up on some missed News From the Home Office. Coincidentally, I just re-read one of my (sparse) blog entries from January 2015 in which we shared the same conclusion: one is either a hoarder or historian. Of course, I had my own "full stop" when I ceased either activity over the past three years. Now as I come back to the Great Game, I quickly found myself just buying the next thing I saw that looked interesting albeit still artillery related. I was like a man dying of thirst willing to drink any and all water that was set on the table. Fortunately, your blog entry was a drink of fresh water, reminding me of my own New Year's resolution back in 2015. (Well, I guess I did fulfill the part about buying less since I bought nothing for three years!) It's time to organize the War Room, develop a plan to re-start my website, and sort out the bits and baubles that can go to the auction block. Back to being a historian.

A great document - if I only could read Romanian! I just looked up at the photos again; the one with the shell alongside the lady's arm clearly shows this was not a 75mm shell. So, your 55mm measurement is likely correct. And as your document shows, most Romanian artillery of the period came from the German Krupp works in the 75mm bore diameter. I see mention of a 57mm field piece model 1880, but I didn't see a factory name associated. The French works Schneider-Creusot produced a 57mm quick fire gun for fortress employment and I believe this also saw an anti-aircraft employment. France did export pieces as well; so, it's possible the shell is related to these French guns. Unfortunately, the base of the shell does not provide me any particular clues.

So, you could verschenk me the photo then

Are you sure about that 55mm? I don't know of any WWI gun that had a 55mm bore diameter. The length of the shell casing makes me think French 75mm. The German 77mm was shorter.

Indeed, a great photo. I have to confess I was unfamiliar with Schörner (I really don't know most of the personalities on the German side), but after reading a short bio, I am envious of your photo. Thanks for sharing.

Hi, I couldn't zoom to get a clear enough look at the medal in question. And, unfortunately, I can't identify it further. However, I really doubt it's a regiment medal. I have several regiment medals for field artillery; they are for commemoration of the regiment's founding - these all date pre-WWI. I would think his MVK3X is for war service; so, I doubt this other medal is one of those commemorative regiment medals. (Besides he's pretty young to have both a pre-war regiment medal and a war time MVK3X) So, hopefully, a Bavarian expert will have better clues.

Tony, there couldn't be a country wide system since police forces are controlled by local, county, and state governments. There are almost 18000 police departments in US; from 1 officer to the largest the New York PD with almost 40000 officers. There is no national level police (well there is the FBI, but they have a very different mission than day-to-day law enforcement). This is due to our federal system of government and "state's rights" under the Constitution. It looks like the Sanford debacle came to light in 2013 during the well-known case of a neighborhood watch member being tried for second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old black youth; Treyvon Martin. From reading the article (and the SPD website and Chief photo) they have since rectified the situation.

Tony, "Schützengraben d. Ers. Bat. Landw. Inf. Regt. 71, Arnstadt, Thür. 1916" Trench of the Ersatz Battalion, Landwehr Infantry Regiment 71, Arnstadt, Thüringen 1916 A bit of Google research reveals: In 1916, Landwehr Inf. Rgt. 71 was part of 13th Landwehr Division; according to my info, that division was in static defensive positions in Lothringen (or the French Lorraine). Arnstadt, Thüringen is just south of Erfurt in eastern Germany. And since Ersatz Battalions were replacement battalions, this was certainly a training scenario.

Farksas, interesting trench photo from the Landwehr; I wonder if this is a training scenario given the inscription "Arnstadt, Thür. 1916"