IrishGunner

Beautiful. Well done.

Chris, I am scouring my notes on Canal du Nord (I have researched a captain of the Grenadier Guards who was KIA in this battle - I have his Victory Medal) and so far, I've found a reference to the German 1st Guards Res Div, 2nd Guards Res Div, and 3rd Res Div in the area. Unfortunately, I didn't put in my notes the source reference, but I think it was from a history of the Canadians from their official archives. Let me dig some more this evening (have some tasks to complete for the wife and am only checking this while have a bit of lunch).

Here's my 5-clasp Victory Medal; a 1st Division soldier with Montdidier-Noyon, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, Defensive Sector.

Alongside is a 3-clasp; Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Defensive Sector. Not sure what unit - certainly not a full Division's award.

Jonas, there definitely is a connection to the Oberbayern Polizei; I just am not sure why I would have come in possession of a police patch. Guess it would help if I could remember where the heck I got the thing. Oh, well...:speechless:

No Bundeswehr experts out there? Hardy? :unsure:

First, you are not intruding at all - all of us are willing and happy to help.

Anything can - and is frequently - faked. There are so many of these buckles/belts on the internet for sale that my instincts say there must be a lot of "reproductions" or "copies". I wouldn't think there would be a huge market for them in Afghanistan, but then again, if ISAF soliders are willing to pay $25 for one, then I'd be willing to bet some enterprising person has carted a trunk load (donkey load?) of these copies into the country to pawn off on the gringos. Of course, there may be many left over from the Soviet occupation, but realistically one has to question just how many that could be genuinely from that period and were worn my Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. Did Afghans really hold on to large quantities? Again, my instincts suggest that isn't too likely. Of course, this is just speculation on my part; however, I'd be a bit wary of saying the majority of these pieces are truly from the Soviet occupation and many are probably "imported" - a lot of those imports are probably genuine, but some could be later copies. Although, you could say one of these is from the '80s and you obtained it in Afghanistan, it is unlikely in my opinion that a Soviet soldier actually wore it in Afghanistan.

What does all that mean - $25 is too much in my opinion for a piece that I am certain is genuine. Of course, you get to say that it came from Afghanistan, which is a novelty; however, at best, I'd pay $10 for a buckle and belt that I was reasonably sure is genuine. I just paid less than that for a buckle/belt that is dated 1978 and I'm certain is genuine. If you can find belts with date stamps - the year will be normal numbers although any words will be in Cyrillic - and the buckle isn't too scratched-up, I'd say a max of $10 would be okay.

The difference between a shiny buckle and a subdued buckle - is exactly as you'd expect for the US military; one is garrison and the other for the field uniforms.

Oh, and please don't try to "sneak" any photos onto a government computer; trying to figure out the quality of a "souvenir" isn't worth your career.

Stay safe.

Lukasz, bardzo dzekuje for your comments! It's nice to know this could be genuine.

But why the swords? Combination of IC and FKK?

I can't help ya...but it's good to see you back at GMIC - it's been a couple months.

Nice site! Well done. :catjava:

Here's the back; a piece of very clean black felt.

I believe this has to be a fantasy bar. First, I would think someone with such long service would have received a Polonia Restutia. Also, the lack of a Cross of Merit in Bronze seems odd since he has both the Gold and Silver. Then there are the non-military awards to go with the Ministry of Defense awards. And the unknown ribbons just add to the confusion. So, does anyone agree this is a fantasy bar or am I just missing some details?

Here's what I see...

Cross of Merit (Gold)

Cross of Merit (Silver)

Armed Forces in Service for the Country (Gold)

Armed Forces in Service for the Country (Silver)

Armed Forces in Service for the Country (Bronze)

Medal for Merit for the Country Defense (Silver)

Medal for Merit for the Country Defense (Bronze)

Decoration of Merit in Protection of Public Order (Bronze)

????

Socialist Youth Association Decoration of Janek Krasicki (Gold)

????

????

Decoration of Merit for the Voluntary Labor Troops (Bronze)

????

I should remember where I got this Bundeswehr Verbandsabzeichen, but I don't. I know it's Bavarian related; even similar to a Polizei Anhaenger for Oberbayern - but I thought I got this from a Bundeswehr officer some time ago. I just can't remember when or why. And not sure why I'd have a Polizei patch. Or maybe I was in jail in Bavaria and just can't remember that either.

Anyone have a clue as to which unit this patch represents? I can't find it online at all.

Les; great news dispatches to go with the photos! Fantastic context.

Hardy, agreed; the gun tube is still present, but is in a position we gunners call "out-of-battery". Out-of-battery means the cannon tube is not forward in its proper firing position. This usually occurs when there is a malfunction of the recoil mechanism and the tube stays to the rear rather than recoiling forward into a position to be fired again. If you try firing a gun out-of-battery, it will cause significant damage. You can also take a cannon tube out-of-battery deliberately to perform maintenance on the recoil system.

Since the 9.2 Heavy Howitzer was so large, it had to be transported in separate loads; the cannon tube being one separate and distinct load from the carriage. Therefore, it was normal (and probably relatively easy) to take the cannon tube out-of-battery for disassembly and transport. There was some type of retaining mechanism that allowed the cannon tube to be disassembled, but also kept the gun in-battery for firing. I'm guessing that the British gunners removed this retaining mechanism, allowing the guns to come out-of-battery - and therefore, be not able to fire - before they abandoned the position.

I don't have any images of the 9.2 Heavy Howitzer in my own collection, but here is one from the web showing the cannon tube in-battery and ready to fire. In this picture you see there is a distinct connection between the breech block and the recoil tube on top of the cannon tube sleeve. This connection is missing on your photo. The retaining mechanism (looks like a large nut on on the rear end of the recoil tube) connects the end of the recoil tube to the breech block. The guns in your photo are not connected in this way; the nut appears to be missing and therefore, the guns are out-of-battery and not able to fire, even though the cannon tubes are intact.

Also, the gun was loaded while the tube was forward in-battery; not to the rear as shown in your pictures. There was a little winch to raise the round to the breech.

Jens is absolutely correct - the guns are British 9.2 Heavy Howitzers - siege guns of the Royal Garrison Artillery (British equiv of the Fussartillerie). And certainly this a captured battery. Although, as we all know, there was no hesitation to use captured equipment if possible.

These guns are definitely "out of battery" - meaning the tube is out of position for firing. Since these guns had to be disassembled into three pieces for transport, it's possible the British gunners "disassembled" the guns partially so they could not be fired, but not completely damaged (such as blasting a hole in the gun tube) just in case they were able to re-capture the guns from the Germans.

This website of the RGA 154 Siege Battery has additional pictures of the guns- including some pictures captioned as "captured by Germans" as well as the guns disassembled - it's hard to tell if the captured photos are the same guns as in your photos. But interestingly, the description in some of the narratives on 154th's website of the battery position seem quite familiar to your picture.

https://sites.google.com/site/154siegebattery/9-2-inch-heavy-guns

Of course, I didn't read anything about the 154th losing its guns - tantamount to losing the colours! But there is a description of the 154th having to make a hasty displacement from their position - disassembling the guns - in the face of a German offensive. So, this lends credibility to the likelihood of a British siege battery being captured relatively intact.

Great photos!

I am embarrassed to report that I have only one "boom" picture in my artillery collection. Dozens of individual soldiers and unit photos; several guns in position, but only one that is actually firing. This is a sFH 13 - supposedly firing at Kemmel in 1918.

Not as suspect as you might think. When the WGB arrived in the Hilsenfirst sector at the end of December 1915, it was initially subordinated to 12. Preuß. Landwehr-Division. However by early/mid January 1916 it was under command of 8. Bayer. Reserve-Division.

Regards

Glenn

Is this also from Sproesser's book?

Thanks, Glenn!

So, with Sproesser's reference to the 12. Bavarian, Rommel's reference to a Bavarian unit, and the stempel on the post card of the 12. Bavarian, I am presuming the answer is really 12. Bavarian Inf. Div and the reference to the 12. Prussian Landwehr is suspect.

During August 1916 the W.Geb.Batl. was fighting in the Vogeses (Hartmannsweilerkopf) attached to 12. (Preußische) Landwehr-Division. In September 1916 the Battalion was attached to the 222. Infanterie-Division. In October 1916 the battalion was sent to Romania attached to the 11. Bayerische Infanterie-Division of the 9th Army.

Naxos, thanks for deciphering the message! I'm fine with printed Suetterlin, but the hand-writing simply kills me.

I also found the reference to the W.Geb.Batl being with the 12. (Preußische) Landwehr-Division in the Vogesen. Yet the 12. Bavarian Div. stempel on the card has me perplexed; 251 Divisions has the 12. Bavarian in the Fecht Valley, which is also the Vogesen, from July 16 (when it was formed) until Oct 16 (when it went to Romania - as did the W.Geb.Batl). I guess it is possible that 1. Komp. W.Geb.Batl might have been close enough to use the Bavarian division's feldpost instead of the Prussian. But is it possible that the W.Geb.Batl was moved to the 12. Bavarian when it arrived in the Vogesen in July 1916? I wonder what is the original source of the Prussian Landwehr Division reference.

On the other hand, Rommel writes in his book, Infantry Attacks (pg. 75) that he relieved a Bavarian Landwehr unit on the South Hilsen Ridge on Sylvester 1915. Adds a bit of confusion. Anyone have a copy of Major Spoesser's Geschichte Wuerttemberger Schutzentruppe - the W.Geb.Batl commander's book?

While not an exquisite medal bar, I became very excited when I saw this little post card for sale. At first, I was interested in the photo because of the two artillery observers; then I noticed that the sender of the card was a soldier in the 1. Kompanie, Württemberg Gerbirgsbattalion. I immediately wondered about a Rommel connection and bought the card for $6 bucks.

In his book Infantry Attacks, Rommel deals very little with the period in the Vosges in 1916 - only a few pages about his raid on the High Pine Knob. The opening of the chapter confuses the reader as to whether Rommel was in command of the 3. or 2. Kompanie, but from later context it seems he commanded the 2. Kompanie. Of course, there is no way to know, but it is possible that the soldier in the 1. Kompanie whosent this card at least knew of Lieutenant Rommel. A couple degrees of separation, but nonetheless, for me an exciting acquisition.

Does anyone have information (or references) for the Württemberg Gerbirgsbattalion in August 1916? The Feldpost stempel is the 12. Bavarian Infantry Division.

Also, if any of you expert Suetterlin handwriting code-breakers can help, it would be appreciated to know the card's message. (PS: This is also the first test of my wife's scanner; unfortunately, not an Epson.)

Hello again, Odulf,

Enclosed is the reverse of the medal, in case you need it.

With kind regards,

Jef

Jef, now I'm curious; do you have any of the history of this VFW medal? On the obverse; are those to represent captain's bars?

Sorry

No need for apologies; it's all about learning. Cheers! :cheers:

Maybe this is here, but is not Medal of Honor.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is one of the oldest U.S. charitable organizations, formed in 1899. All members are current or former active duty servicemen who have spent time overseas in a conflict and have been decorated with an expeditionary medal, spent 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days in Korea, or have ever received hostile fire or imminent danger pay.

Lambert

Just for the record: this is the Auschwitz Survivor's Medal issued by Communist Poland; this example looks like some type of lapel pin minature.

Here is one more US Victory Medal clasp:

Why is the one on the bottom blank? :unsure: