IrishGunner

A good question. Here's a website dedicated to the topic: Switzerland and the First World War This websites cites about 1,000 incursions into Switzerland; mostly by aircraft. Related website, but not specific to the question: How propaganda flooded Switzerland during WWI

So, tell us Jock - what are Bremen prices?

That is such a great piece! Something simple evokes interesting memories. Following the Russian defeat at Tannenberg in August 1914, combat on the Russian front focused on the First (Sept 1914) and Second (Feb 1915) Battles of the Masurian Lakes. Today is the 100th Anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Battle on 22 Feb 1915. Lötzen sits right in the middle of the battlefields. The Masurian Lakes are quite beautiful in summer, but the area is known as being among the coldest spots in Poland during the winter. The winter of 1915 was particularly rough with the battle being fought in blizzard conditions at times. This is only a guess, but to be a bracelet I would think this is a rotating band from a 75mm shell. It has the right look. Prior to the outbreak of the war, Lötzen was the site of Festung Boyen and was the garrison of part of 2. Masurisches Feld-Artillerie-Regt. Nr.82 and part of Fußartillerie-Regt. von Linger (Ostpreußisches) Nr.1

Wounded, EK2, POW, Minenwerfer Abteilung for a short period; looks like a very interesting pass and quite collectible.

Bernhard, that is quite interesting. That now makes sense of what I read as "Die richtige Mischung!" - The right mix of Ludendorff and Stennes.

(Hitler=Bewegung) Hilter Movement. No year, but this must be from before Hitler took power.

Exactly! I missed those handwritten entries on the bottom left column. What is the last entry for 21.5.18?

It's great to see that those aspiring infantry officers are getting a good education in artillery! That looks like a great book to have...

I'm sure others can chime in with more, but I am always surprised about some small bit in these Passes. Often what looks to be "common" yields some interesting info.

Ian, thank you for sharing your story and experience with the Forum. I've been reading with interest and it is wonderful that you were able to make the visit to the cemetery.

Mervyn, thank you for you very detailed and personal insight. Like all controversial topics there are many perspectives. It is good to read one from someone who experienced the events.

Mervyn, there is no question regarding the evil nature of the Nazi regime. Also, please, do not misunderstand my view as being against Churchill. Quite the contrary, as I said, his decisions on bombing are what make him more than simply an inspirational leader who was good at V-sign photo ops; these difficult decisions set him apart as a true leader - often in wartime - even desperate times - a leader has to make difficult, unpopular, and often times controversial decisions - for the greater good. However, if I am a cynic regarding Britain's - thus Churchill's - bombing policy, then I have a lot company, including many Britons. From the BBC website regarding Churchill's bombing policy early in the war: "This was the time when Churchill began to think about the need for an 'absolutely devastating exterminating attack by very heavy bombers from this country upon the Nazi homeland.' When on the night of 24 August 1940 the German air force - the Luftwaffe - accidentally and against Hitler's orders - dropped some bombs over London, the British prime minister requested a retaliatory raid on Berlin. Hitler responded by going ahead with the Blitz, and the following months and years saw tit-for-tat raids on each country's cities." Some historians argue that the Luftwaffe was hemorrhaging pilots and aircraft at a faster rate than the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Additionally, they argue that RAF airfields were usually back in operation within 24 hours after German attacks. And they question whether Churchill really needed to risk British cities in Hitler's tit-for-tat escalation of the bombing of cities and civilians. But Churchill did risk them. As Brian's piece points out, this is often cited as having saved the RAF and Britain itself. And as I pointed out above, Churchill was perhaps the only British leader who could make that difficult decision, unlike Chamberlain (who I've previously pointed out in the comments of this blog as a PM who lacked the ability to lead in difficult times). From the BBC website again: "Many felt that the Germans deserved to reap the whirlwind they had sown. Yet Bomber Command's policy of targeting residential areas clearly contradicted Chamberlain's pre-war statement in parliament that it was 'against international law to bomb civilians as such and to make deliberate attacks on the civilian population'." Fighting an evil enemy like Nazi Germany requires difficult decisions - sometimes sacrificing the needs of the few, for the benefit of the many. I believe Churchill had no choice but to risk further destruction of British cities by bombing German cities. I don't think Chamberlain would have made that choice and the result for Britain may have been even worse. Fortunately, Britain - and the world - had Winston Churchill at the helm in 1940 to make that very difficult decision. Cynical? I don't think so. Admirable.

Aussie, thanks for your post. It certainly has given me a fresh perspective to consider that I hadn't before...

Day old eggs that even ketchup can't revive, I'm afraid. Nothing really new here. Sorry, old friend. "He calculated, correctly it turns out, that the bombing of the German capital would enrage Hitler and he would order his bombers away from RAF targets to the cities of England. A terrible choice had to be made but the saving of the RAF form destruction would mean the salvation of the Nation itself." This is perhaps the key point. And perhaps should be expanded upon. Britain's "finest hour" really begins with many Britons taking their last breaths. The "terrible choice" meant sacrificing British cities to save the RAF. For the most part, we see Churchill as the "inspirational" leader - the V-sign photos you mention. But could any other British leader have made that decision? Chamberlain? I doubt it. It took someone like Churchill to make that "terrible choice." A choice that he saw as singular. It wasn't a choice really. It was the only option in his view.

Just when I thought I didn't need to buy another Russian medal... I also just checked and I never got a 65th Jubilee. Have you seen the 70th available to the public yet?

Hardy / Chip, Nick did a domain server transfer last night. Several posts made during the transfer were dropped. Sorry for the confusion.

It looks like they just dropped a big box of medals off at every Embassy. Even the wives got one...

And here I thought you wanted to keep it a secret that Nazi Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbontrop received this medal while Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Hopefully, paddywhack will be kind enough to repost the roll pages with the "von" names again...

I sincerely doubt this is Civil War era. It just doesn't have that mid-19th Century or Victorian era jewelry look to it, at least in my opinion. Sweetheart type pins are most common from the early 20th Century, especially WW2 and later. And that pin brooch catch looks more like 1960s or later to me. You can go online right now and buy similar looking KA fraternity related sweetheart pins. It has the 10k gold stamp on the back... Maybe some jewelry experts could tell it's date more accurately from that... If those are truly rubies (but to me they don't look anything like genuine precious gem stones to me...especially rubies...they look more pink and like semi-precious birthstones - Amethyst comes to mind - in this photo, but that could be just camera-related). Difficult to tell about the pearls; they could be cultured. But if truly genuine rubies and pearls from the Civil War era, I'd expect this to be a fairly expensive piece. But I still suspect it's from the 60s and not relatively valuable.

I feel like I'm reading the internet version of a ransom note using words cut out of a newspaper. Les, that is indeed a valid question. But I didn't ask to comment on the collector's estimation of "value" versus current prices asked for WWI militaria. We've flogged that horse already: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/64885-combatting-high-prices/ Allow me to re-direct. How much, if at all, have we seen prices of WWI militaria inflated in direct relation to this being the Centenary?

A sweetheart pin for the Kappa Alpha Order, a faith-based college fraternity and social organization. Although, it has no military relationship, it has a strong Virginia base being founded at the end of the Civil War and cites Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee as it's "spiritual founder." It could be dated anywhere from the early 20th Century due to the jeweler's pin.

Great detail on that Bavarian!

Interesting article. Another interesting article found in the "comments" section. The editor of the well-known magazine Ebony is the little boy in the photo with the swastika on his sweater. Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany