IrishGunner

Agreed. Great piece. Thanks everyone for extending the thread...

"Normal" does not mean there isn't price inflation. Prices for photos (and sterbebilder) have definitely made a significant jump in the last few months. At every price level, things are now double or triple. And then there are the really out of whack high prices... Supply and demand (supply is dwindling...esp on the prime themes...thus prices are rising) Preference (more collectors in the market looking for everything, esp prime themes) Expectation (we're getting close to the 100th anniversary) Knowledge (more people are educated about the images, but not educated about realistic prices) Knowledge 2 (forums like GMIC are increasing overall interest in the product) Probably a combination of the above. But it's getting a bit out of hand I think...

Nice photo. Great leather flight suit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XP4KObG9N8

Hallie, thank you for posting this... But more importantly, thank you for your family's service to our nation. As a retired Army officer, I've spent a lot of time on/at Fort McNair. I'll be driving by there tomorrow in fact... It's great to hear that you have treasured their medals and their service.

Brian, I think this is what troubles me most right now as we approach the anniversary of WWI. There will be a lot of commemorations - honoring the sacrifices on the battlefield - studies on the intricacies of the battles - exposes on the personalities. The same old worn out "reasons" for the war will be trooped before the colors. However, few will look at the deep and systematic issues that caused the war in the first place beginning more than a decade before. We had a good discussion going earlier under this forum on the 1912-1913 Balkan Wars and my premise remains, that the Great Powers could have avoided the war if they had in fact wanted to avoid it...the signs were there to be read. Today, as I continue my education to become a history teacher, I'm amazed at how little interest there is in discussion on the "causes" of any historical event. Remember the names, the dates, the places, and maybe an effect or two...that's it. Many say that kids just can't make the connection to why it matters today. I think this is the greatest mistake. (I really think some teachers don't attempt it in the first place because "it's work"...but that's another debate). There are many lessons to be learned in history. And the lessons to be learned from the 18th and 19th century revolutions and the First World War are very important. For I too sometimes wonder if we aren't on the verge of a revolution or a catastrophic event. It may be even worse; because I don't think any person (or nation) in a position of "power" truly wants an event on the scale of WWI to occur...but as Shakespeare wrote, "What is past is prologue."

An interesting Economist article; thought provoking? http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21578978-world-1913-was-worryingly-similar-world-today-year-sky-fell

Andy, thanks for the info on Gebirgs-Kanonen-Batterie 2. As for the 15cm M93; I want to clarify because I think you misunderstood my original post. I agree that it's not a true mountain gun - I never said that it was. I also agree with you - as stated in my OP - that most of these were in Landwehr units. What I said was that this type gun appears in many Bavarian Fuss-Artillerie units and that this one may be in the Vosgesen; causing what I might call a "creative" caption (while it seems you might prefer "mistaken" caption). Of course, your info on the Res.Pi.Kp.48 is an argument against my Vogesen speculation, as I believe Corbeaux Wood is closer to Verdun. Or maybe not - because as frequently happens - what's written on the reverse of the card doesn't have to have anything to do with the front of the card. Why a Pioneer would send a card with an artillery piece on the front is too far open to speculation. It may have been all he could obtain. I've seen this photo before - it's not unique - and probably was widely distributed. A final point; Herbert Jager writes in his book, that The Alpenkorps was known to convert heavy guns for use in the mountains, by breaking the load into two parts, including both the 15cm sFH 02 and the sFH 13 models, as wells as the 10cm K 04 and K 14. Are these "mountain guns"? No; but they are heavy guns used in the mountains. Just like I think this M93 was used in the "mountains." We're not talking the Alps here, but rather what are called mountains in Alsace-Lorraine or even the Ardennes (closer to Corbeaux Wood). This M93 remains a curiosity with the Gebirgs caption. And makes for speculation. I still believe this photo is a piece with a Bavarian Fuss-Artillerie unit in some "mountains" somewhere on the Western Front, possibly in the Vosgesen - maybe the Ardennes, and that someone added a "creative" caption because of the gun's location.

Ed, I often wish I had been interested in collecting when I lived and traveled in Germany, esp Berlin, in the 70s and 80s. Oh the collection I would have.......

Kgl. Bayer. Res. Feld-Art. Regt Nr. 6 Sergeant Nikolaus Vitzthum, 9. Battr; EK2

Ersatz Feld Artillerie Regiment Xaver Angerbauer

Kgl. Bayerisches 21. Feldartillerie-Regiment Sergeant Georg Steidle, leichte Mun. Kol. 124; EK2

Kgl. Bayer. Res. Feld-Art. Regt Nr. 8 Kanonier Stephen Zeiller

Kgl. Bayer. Res. Feld-Art. Regt Nr. 1 Soldat Sebastian Oberecker I need to get to the research on this one...might be a relative on my wife's German side of the family.

Kgl. Bayerisches 23. Feldartillerie-Regiment Kanonier Johann Huettler; EK2

Kgl. Bayerisches 19. Feldartillerie-Regiment Soldat Peter Hallweger, 1. Abteilung, 2. Battr.; EK2

Kgl. Bayerisches 20. Feldartillerie-Regiment Joseph Hecht; 9 Oct 1917 counterbattery fire

Kgl. Bayer. Gebirgskanonen-Batterie Nr. 10 Fahrer Alois Starl; KIA 8 Nov 1918 - one of the last casualties of the war.

Kgl. Bayer. 12. Feldartillerie-Regiment Soldat Alois Plinganser, 24 August 1914 - one of the first casualties.

Kgl. Bayer. 7. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold Kanonier Josef Stettner, EK2

Kgl. Bayer. 8. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz Heinrich von Preußen Kanonier Josef Bachmeier, Leichte Mun. Kol. 117; EK2

Kgl. Bayer. 6. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz Ferdinand von Bourbon, Herzog von Calabrien or simply bFAR6 Soldat Max Seiler died 16 July 1918, Marne Reims, from counterbattery fire (PS: If anyone would like to own Max's card, I have two...will trade)

Kgl. Bayer. 3. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz Leopold Unteroffizier Jakob Weigl; EK2, MVK3krx, Militar-Verdienst Auszeichnung, Verwundeten Abzeichen

An easy way to collect Bavarian artillery. Sometimes a way to some interesting research; although, I haven't yet researched any of these fellows. First up, of course, Kgl. Bayer. 1. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold or simply bFAR1 Gefreiter Otto Bauer; Unteroffizier Luitpold Ellwanger; Kanonier Andr. Reischenbeck

An interesting article about the tons of unexploded ordnance still under WWI battlefields and the effort to continue disposing of it...especially as the 100th anniversary commemorations approach. This article has some great photos of WWI artillery shells. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2497732/The-iron-harvest-Meet-soldiers-tasked-clearing-hundreds-tonnes-deadly-World-War-I-shells-mines-beneath-fields-Flanders.html