IrishGunner

And you tied the fly paper to a bayonet and stuck it under a box! You would be so at home in a trench.

Nice photos Odulf! We've posted some medals in wear we haven't seen yet...

Markgraf, thank you very much for the photos in #32. I didn't even know the skill badges existed! I really like that artillery and minenwerfer one!

Well done... Thanks for sharing

Thank you gentlemen...appreciate the feedback

29. Regiment d' Artillerie Laon Caserne d' Artillerie - before the war

25. Regiment d' Artillerie Occupation duty La Cantine Godesberg

23. Regiment d' Artillerie Corporal in a horizon blue uniform. I suppose the black arm band is a sign of mourning?

1. Regiment d' Artillerie A bit of a uniform study; "1" on the collars and the kepis. Horizon blue uniforms, fore-aft caps. The officer has two ribbons - unknown. Not sure what the stripes mean on the sleeves of the two soldiers to the left of the officer...any help?

I would have thought that bars would have the highest award ribbon on top with the lower precedent awards overlapping...

Hey, those older dudes don't have as much time as youth to wait...

I just got this in the mail today... An artillery Junior Sergeant with the Order of Red Star, Order of Glory, and Bravery Medal. I wonder if this is a propaganda photo that someone may have seen before... My copy is a post card; I'm also wondering what's written on the back.

Thanks for the assist! Also, now I see the ribbon also has Schwerten. I didn't notice he is an officer...

What do you mean? Of course, it isn't "rare," but this is the first I've seen the stempel myself... Could be a bargain with an interesting story...

Koolio! Ein Militaerpass mit "Genesenden Batterie" is vielleicht ein Advent Schnäppchen

Vielen Dank! So, es ist moeglich, dass ein kanonier bei einer Genesenen-Batterie Verwundete oder Krank war?

Was ist eine "Genesenen-Batterie des Ersatz-Bataillons Fußartillerie-Regiment"? Bitte, auf Englisch uebersetzen...

Silbernes Verdienstkreuz Karl Truppenkreuz Militär-Jubiläumskreuz 1908 Mobilizierungskreuz 1912-1913

Did we identify the medals in #13? I see: Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille, 1. Kl. Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille, 2. Kl. Bronzene Tapferkeitsmedaille Karl Truppenkreuz Verwundetenmedaille

Yea, but it's a chili, not a tomato. So, how does that prove that every tomato isn't a tomato? A chili isn't a tomato. It may look like one, but it isn't one. Just like an EK may look like an "official award," but it isn't. No question about a Besitzzeugnis. It's official. It's an award. An EK could be just a chili masquerading as a tomato for the uninitiated.

I would agree with "award document" being the simplest and most descriptive term in one. But I don't agree with you on the second point and I think the British argument is quibbling - because their medals weren't "official" until gazetted - an official announcement - i.e. a piece of paper. I would argue that the London Gazette announcement or any piece of paper issued by the Crown was the "award" not the medal inscribed with a name. And using your Kaiser logic above, the Kaiser didn't say, any actual EK given out is "official," he said that any document given out by an authority is the Besitzzeugnis. Ergo, only the document is official; not the medal itself. The Besitzzeugnis is what makes the medal "official." Therefore, the document, as official proof, is the award. This extends to the American system, in which case neither the medal itself nor the certificate is the official award. You can get both in a nice ceremony. But the "award" is the actual orders announcing and authorizing the medal - the only official document in the group (even the certificate will usually refer to the orders number). At least this is the modern system; I'm not sure about WWI, but I'm willing to bet that the General Orders announcing the award was the true official document and therefore, the "award" itself, as medals probably could be obtained from sources other than the US Government.

Huh?

Definition of "document": "an official paper that gives information about something or that is used as proof of something" Therefore, they are all "documents" - and that word could be used for all. Definition of "certificate": "a document that is official proof that something has happened" Therefore, they are all "certificates" - and that word could be used for all. Definition of "entitlement"? "the condition of having a right to have, do, or get something" Your logic that all are of the aforesaid pieces of paper are all "Besitzzeugnis" because the Kaiser said so ... is sound. Since the Kaiser was the ultimate arbitrator of what constituted official or having a right to something, when he said all those papers are recognized as "official," they all became, as you say, Besitzzeugnis. And they then all became documents, certificates, and all other synonyms for official papers giving proof of something. Fred and Ginger say it best...

Thanks, Joe!