IrishGunner

Pieces to a puzzle. An enjoyable way to spend a Sunday morning, but now I must do some real work or the Kaiserin will be after my head!

Without trying to read too much into your post, are you saying that Sy Wagner only produced EKs between 1914-1916? This cross was one of my first medals, purchased even before I was really a militaria collector. I bought it in the early 80s, most likely in Berlin itself at a flea market. I don't have any idea how much I paid, but considering I was more of a coin collector at the time and newly married, it probably wasn't very much. My new bride and I went to the flea market in Berlin almost every weekend and I bought this mostly as a "souvenir" of my time in Berlin. I have an EK2 from that I bought around the same time that I'll put up next.

Andy, thanks for your work. Your timeline seems to match the one from the "Ruhmeshalle der Alten Armee" Andreas posted above. 3. bay. ID was Reserve der OHL from 11 June to 15 July; that matches your online source that states 11.06.-15.07 "Regiment ist zur Wiederauffrischung in La Mourriere (Schießplatz Goudrecourt)" - so, the 12. bay. FAR was reconstituting 11 June to 15 July. However, I couldn't find La Mourriere or Goudrecourt on a map. In fact, Google returned nothing except the source at the link you posted. Briey is near Metz - actually between Metz and Verdun; so, the timelines match there as well. We can be certain that the Regt. was engaged at Verdun at the end of July. So, I would agree that the dates suggest the Regt. was in Vichte only a short time. However, the mysterious location of La Mourriere/Goudrecourt remains. Jef, does the diary have specific dates or only the months June/July as you originally posted? Maybe only part of the 12. bay. FAR was in Vichte. You mention the lady listed other regiments that stayed at the factory; do you have that list and dates? Maybe someone has one of those histories.

I suggest turning him around. The attack is likely to come from the garden through the sliding door! (Unless of course, it's an ambush for the wife.)

Jef, unfortunately, I do not have the Bay. FAR 12 Regimentsgeschichte. However, thanks for your information regarding the regiment being in Vichte in the summer of 1917. Maybe Andy (AKA The Prussian) will add some info. PS: I Googled your village and found info about Brouwerij Verhaeghe - their website shows some beers I would enjoy tasting! (Actually drinking a Belgian-style Pale Ale brewed here in the US right now - strangely named with a German name "Verboten").

After doing a search, I see that Wagner crosses get all the attention here over Sy-Wagner crosses. So, I thought I'd start a new thread... These scans are the first with my new Epson; so, I'm still experimenting to get the best scans. This one has a "7" on the reverse of the pin near the hinge. Google search yields little about the number other than it's a common quality control mark. That same Google search turned up a number "9" but not much else. Also, not much out there about the Sy-Wagner firm itself other than being in Berlin.

Not French Foreign Legion, but rather an organization formed in the 1930s to benefit veterans of France's North African colonial units - called the Comité des Amitiés Africaines. It's headquarters was in Paris, but there were chapters in several North African cities. (Google yields a lot of additional information.)

Are we sure the Cyrillic on the first post card is Russian... Could it be Serbian or Bulgarian considering the Balkan theme? Bulgaria was the enemy of the Greeks and Ottomans in the Second Balkan War.

Oh, man, you had to bring up Girls and Panzers again, didn't you?

Another of the post-war icons has passed away. When people ask who you would like to have a dinner with, Helmut Schmidt would be on my list. He took West Germany through some very difficult and complex times. Reading his obituary in the NY Times this evening, I never knew he had been in the Luftwaffe and earned the Iron Cross. Politics aside, this is a man who's life reads like a history book. I wonder, has did any other post-WWII German Chancellor earn the Iron Cross? Best photo I could find... No EK... (Source: spiegel.de)

Well, it is a business; so, I can't fault them for a marketing campaign to sell their product. Onus is on the customer to cancel the trial if they are so inclined. Just like buying anything else: look under the hood, kick the tires. I haven't much time this weekend anyway.

Thanks, for the comment, Dave. So, what you are saying is that it's nothing more than the "free trial" offer dressed a bit differently?

Ancestry.com UK site is offering free access to its military files until 11 November. Haven't tried it, but looks like you just need to register. http://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/remembrance?o_iid=68585&o_lid=68585&o_sch=Web+Property

I don't know if this is custom in the UK, but here in the American colonies, fallen police officers are always sent off with the pipes... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufGrn0LK6is

Thanks, Tony, I appreciate the detail on the 21st Bn. Interesting that many became officers when the unit disbanded.

I didn't intend to hijack this valuable thread on Grabenkanone with a discussion about ownership, copyright, fair use, and the internet. That horse died a long time ago... I only posted the image to further the discussion on this weapon. Nevertheless, I deleted the image.

It certainly has the ring that soldier's in the line are not the "fortunate sons." Interesting that it was sold for the benefit of the unit fund. One would think it would have had a more patriotic tone. Perhaps it's meant more in humor than as criticism.

I missed seeing DrakeGoodman's name in the corner. If I had noticed it, I would have cited it in my post. DG is the source for a lot of great images with immense research value and with his name on the photos, I believe due credit is afforded to him. Too bad he's removed many of his best photos. It's just my opinion, but I see no point in owning such a photo, if it's not shared under fair use for its historical value. Now, if someone is out there reproducing them for sale, that's an entirely different story...

The attached WWI postcard was sold to support the unit fund of the II. Batl. 1. bayer. Fuß-Art.-Regt. Any help with the meaning of the text? Dankschee!

Paul, you are so right - a great looking bar! The Bulgarian Silver Merit Medal has Ferdinand I as "Tsar" - so it dates 1908-1918. It has the wartime ribbon; so, an award for WWI service. A very nice NCO bar with Eastern Front service with the Bulgarians.

Here's another image I found in the internet with a good opportunity to revive this thread. Of note, I came back to this GMIC thread by Googling "Grabenkanone" - showing we are still one of the best sources on the internet! I always thought these were infantry weapons, but found an image from 1914 on the internet that is interesting since it has artillerymen posing with a Grabenkanone...(as evidenced by ball topped Pickelhaube). Image deleted by IrishGunner.

Thanks, Paul. That is helpful to explain why the BWM and VM aren't on this MIC. Still lots of research to do - spent some time yesterday reading about RFC balloon sections.

I found a reference that da Fonseca attended the Kaiser Maneuvers in Germany in 1910, which I believe were in northern Germany near Stettin. From a San Francisco newspaper article in 1910: KAISER TO ENTERTAIN BRAZIL'S PRESIDENT Marshal Fonseca to Be Guest at . • Naval Maneuvers BERLIN, July 30.~Emperor William «has invited Marshal Fonseca, president elect of Brazil, who is in Germany, to be "his guest at the German naval maneuvers off- Kiel at the end of August. The invitation: has been accepted. . After a two weeks' stay in Germany^ where Fonseca will be entertained by I various persons, he expects to go .to Paris, returning for the naval maneuvers. Following the maneuvers he will go to^England. . " " . .... With the Army maneuvers in Stettin and the naval maneuvers in Kiel; a Zapfenstreich in Danzig... It was a busy summer vacation. da Fonseca would have been President-Elect in August 1910 - election in March, inauguration in Nov 1910. Great document!

I picked this medal up in 2007 simply because of the unusual name and the desirable unit (R. Fus.); now that I'm doing a bit of research, I think I've discovered my man became a Balloon Officer with 37 Balloon Section in 1917 and moved to 2nd Balloon Company in 1918. Both serving in France. If so, another serendipity find...as that would make him an observer for artillery!

Nice pick up. I really enjoy these finds - you think you bought just a medal and end up with a bit of history.