IrishGunner

I decided to post this post card with the stempel of Feld-Artillerie Batterie 848 separately because it seems like a good study of NCO rank insignias... We have here: 5 Unteroffizier (collar lace, no collar button) 5 Vizefeldwebel (collar lace, collar button) 2 Feldwebel - or Wachtmeister in artillery terms (collar lace, collar button, one lace stripe on sleeve) 1 Etatmässige Feldwebel - or Der Spiess (collar lace, collar button, two lace stripes on sleeve) And one that I am not sure of... top row, third from right; he has two vertical stripes on collar - another way of showing Unteroffizier?

15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 1902 (15cm sFH 02); this is a very commonly seen photo post card. This one "gelaufen" by Feld-Artillerie Batterie 252

Some fancy guys... (and probably drunk). A nice Chapter 11 photo of 2. Garde Feldartillerie-Regiment.

None. But that's just it... Seeing even one is so rare it would make me - or you - automatically think it's fake. But of course, on eBay there are many rubes with cash. I suppose a cool unit would attract someone like you who knows enough to research and identify the fake. So, it would take some research to fake it well. A famous person would be easier...

A cool unit... Alpen Korps Jager and sell it to you... A famous person would be too obvious of a fake.

Nice... And it's artillery (If it needs a new home... )

But his is a pickelhaube cover thread... So I still WIN!

Nice. I especially like the Jager badges on the decorative docs. Is that typical for Wound Badge docs? One's I have seen have no art work.

I just scored something for which I've been watching a long time. And I just bought some books to help research it... Chris and E Williams, forget what you saw earlier! Who am I to mess with a jinx! I'm not so good at pretend foreplay.

Thanks again, Glenn. Just picked up a nice 45. Division commemorative medal for action on Monte Sabotino in Gorizia. Will post when it comes...

I recall reading somewhere that the loop on the left shoulder occurs only on cavalry and artillery uniforms... I agree with Trooper... Medal is Eisernes Verdienstkreuz am Band d. Militärverdienstkreuzes.

Okay, Andy, if you want to compare who's gun is bigger... I'll have to jump ahead... Munitions Kolone 863 ... and it is a pickelhaube cover! I also have a card with the stempel of Feld-Artillerie Batterie 848 and I have a card showing shoulder strap for MunKol 934 too! But you'll have to wait for those... In the meantime... Die Munitionskolonne PS: If Chip ever checks in to this thread, I'm sure he'll have something in the 1000s...

Glenn, perfect! Thanks.

Anyone have an Order of Battle for Italy in WWI? Specifically, interested in if there was a 45th Division and if so...where did it fight...

Old guys with cigars, swords, and rifles. RFAR 54

Old artillery in color... 15 sFH 02 (sent to a kanonier in Baukommando, II. Abt. RFAR 35)

Can you read any better the guy's shoulder strap? Your scan is still too small for my old eyes...

Chris, is there a rule of thumb for how long after an action a doc might be presented? Any chance this was for action on the Eastern Front? Of course, more research into the regimental history etc needs to be done, just looking for rough azimuths...

Lacking in anticipatory foreplay and not as cool as Chris' EK docs, I still offer this simple EK2 doc to Gefreiter Richard Zimmermann of the Niedersächsisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 46 for your comments/thoughts. One thing I'm still trying to get my head around with EK docs is the dates; how to tell when the award was presented and when the award was actually earned. This doc has only one date, 18 Oct 1917 - the date the award was presented. A quick look at the battles of the 20. Infantrerie-Division, of which FAR 46 was a part, shows no battles on that exact date, but shows "27.09.–10.10.1917 Schlacht in Flandern" and just before that in mid-September, the Division was transported from the Eastern to the Western Front. I'm only guessing, but I would suppose then that Zimmermann won his EK in early October in Flanders. The doc just arrived in the mail today; so, there's a lot more research to be done, but I wanted to put it up here for your comments... Unfortunately, the seller split the EK2 doc from Zimmermann's Wound Badge document and I did not win that auction (the winner of the Wound doc didn't even bid on the EK2 doc!).

Bavarian Militarverdienstkreuz on top of a EK2 is only a leaping guess... Any clues on the back as to unit/origin?

Wish I could say it in French...it would sound much better. My sincere respect for the Capitaine's memory.

Chris is right, even if it doesn't hit the "G spot", there are interesting tidbits in these items. I can only urge you to take some time to scan the some of the inside pages. I have no doubt there's a couple flakes of gold in there...

The effects of artillery... The bombed out village of Rethel in the Ardennes department in northern France.

Here's one of mine... with stempel L.F. Mun. Kol III (F.) Abt. RFAR 21

Another very common, often-seen post card of German artillery in the Priesterwald. This one has the stempel of Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 21. The gun is the 15cm sFH 02