IrishGunner

I agree on the 1920s/1930s interwar period.

Well done. Good outcome all around.

I'm with Frank; possibly Baltic - I thought Finland in my first glance. So, the EK2 would fit. Then I thought... Czech...but the EK2 wouldn't fit.

Glad posting the link will be useful. I hope it turns up something interesting.

That info pretty much seals it as faked, I think.

Too bad, Ed, our resident Luger expert, is no longer collecting. I'm sure he'd have a good idea.

Hmmm. A label is helpful. But my suspicious nature makes me ask why the label is ripped while the tunic looks brand new.

The Royal Air Force Museum has launched a new website allowing people to explore previously unseen Casualty Cards of members of the Royal Flying Corps who were killed or injured during the First World War.

I bit the bullet and joined.

Marcin, no worries on the typo. That's a good reason to always post the original document when you can. It helps with details and sometimes makes it easier to answer the question. No worries on my "precious" time either... I love researching Imperial artillery! I know it can be confusing. I have gone through this drill with a couple of Militarpass of my own. Thankfully, it's not FussArtillerie! This is a great Militarpass - lots of good stuff in it. I am fairly confident of my conclusion. Hopefully, a real expert will come in the discussion and confirm - or deny - my findings.

Marcin, I'm a bit confused now. Your original post stated "26 December 1916" for the EKII. But the Militarpass clearly states "26.12.17" which you also note on your webpage. Just a little mix up. There is more confusion though. The stamp on that page reads "Ersatz Feldartillerie Regiment Jüterbog 5. Battarie" but I think that is where he was in on 14.2.19 when the pencil entry was made. The entry was made by the Commander of 8. Batterie, Reserve Feldartillerie Regiment Nr. 43, whose signature appears at the bottom of the entry with "Altes Lager 14.02.19". Altes Lager was the barracks in Jüterbog. My reading of handwriting German script is weak, but the entry says he joined 8. Batterie, Reserve Feldartillerie Regiment Nr. 43 on 28.8.16. This appears to be confirmed on Pages 8/9 where the entry also says he went to the 43. on 25.8.16. I am not sure what is says about things up until 30.9.18. on Pages 10/11. I read all of this to mean he won the EKII 26.12.17 with 8. Batterie, Reserve Feldartillerie Regiment Nr. 43 Interestingly, the 43. Reserve Division - which including RFAR 43, was on the Western Front until Nov 1917 when it moved to the Eastern Front. 01.11.-07.11.1917 Transport nach dem Osten 43. Reserve-Division (Ostfront) 29.11.-01.12.1917 Stellungskämpfe am Serwetsch 03.12.-17.12.1917 Waffenruhe 17.12.1917-01.02.18 Waffenstillstand 01.02.-06.02.1918 Transport nach Altengrabow 43. Reserve-Division (Westfront) The Stellungskämpfe am Serwetsch could be the action for the EK award. The date doesn't have to mean the date of the action, but rather the date upon which the award was made. Of course, he could have still won the EKII on the Western Front with RFAR 43 before moving East. The 43. Reserve Div was in heavy fighting in France just before going east. The battle/campaign page in the Militarpass looks exactly like that for 43. Res. Div. Again, hopefully some of our members that read German script better than I do and know more about EK awards will join in the discussion.

This may also help to narrow down related actions: VII. Armeekorps was commanded by General der Infantrie Hermann von François, June 1915 to July 1918. From 18 Oct - 30 Nov 1916 the VII. AK was called "Maasgruppe West" Also, can you post a scan of the EK doc itself; there are some experts here that could perhaps identify further clues from the doc itself. Not to mention that Chris B. is both an EK doc expert and a Verdun expert.

I believe this is one of only 3 US Distinguished Service Crosses awarded to foreigners in Vietnam (the other 2 being Vietnamese). Not to take away from the incredible nature of the bar and Payne's legacy, however, the US Silver Star in the bar may be in error. I believe the Silver Star was recommended for the action in which he won the VC, but that award was later upgraded to the DSC.

It does look a bit spic and span.

Not to mention the ribbons are in reverse order.

The Russia article might be delayed due to work on Artillery in the First World War: Special Issue – Belgium’s Artillery and the Battle of Liege, 1914

Okay, $200 for a WW2 vintage desk might be reasonable. But the one in the photo looks exactly like ones I had in my units in the 80s.

I have the regimental history of Feld-Artillerie Regiment Nr. 4 and there is a very detailed description of the house to house fighting by 14. Brigade after Ludendorff takes command, and in particular 4. Batt. FAR 4 which the 10.5cm lFH 98/09 depicted in the print represents. Two NCOs who were gun chiefs and the Leutnant who was the platoon leader were decorated for the action.

The great thing about having a regimental history - the details are better than many sources. The Regimental History of FAR 4 confirms that 7. Batt. FuAR Nr. 4 was indeed armed with 21cm Mörser. Furthermore, there is a detailed description of the house-to-house fighting after Ludendorff took command of the 14. Brigade, especially how 10.5cm howitzers of 4. Batt. FAR 4 were brought forward to help clear the village.

The Regimental History of FAR 4 mentions actions of the infantry regiments. I had just read up to 6 August last night, but it was 1am and I went to bed. I do recall that IR27 figured prominently in the text. It mentions a few names; if you give me the names I can keep an eye out while reading.

Man, how can you be a First Sergeant without a field desk! That would be a great addition to a war room. You think $120 was too much? Doesn't seem too bad; although I would've tried to bargain down nonetheless. Have you seen them for less?

UK-IN-US, welcome to GMIC. We could give a better answer if you could post the actual picture of your ancestor. It is quite possible the cartoon drawing takes some artistic license. What I know of the back story of the comic, Captain Baltimore was in an infantry regiment. So, while the drawing looks like Royal Artillery or Royal Engineer bombs, they may not actually be such. We don't know what was in the artist's mind since I haven't found a reference to a specific regiment for Baltimore in a Google search. Does anyone know of an infantry regiment with similar shape collar dogs for officers?

Nice print with a 10.5cm leichte Feldhaubitze 98/09 behind Ludendorff. Barbara Tuchman's book, "The Guns of August," describes how Ludendorff takes command of 14. Brigade and directs a field howitzer to clear a village just outside of Liege. My OOB source lists 4 15cm howitzers of the "7th Btry/4th Howitzer Battalion" with 14. Brigade. Which is an error in translation I think. 2. Armee (which 14. Brigade/7. Infantrie-Division was under) had II. and III. Btl. FussArtillerie Regiment Nr. 4. III./FuAR 4 was 7. and 8. Batterie (according the Ehrenbuch der deut. FuAR) armed with "Mörser". So, there's a slight difference. I'm pretty sure the heavy element with 14. Brigade was an element of FuAR 4; I just am not sure of what guns. On the other hand, 14. Brigade had elements of the Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Prinz-Regent Luitpold von Bayern (Magdeburgisches) Nr.4 and according to my OOB source that detachment had 77mm Feldkanone M96 n/A. But it's likely that it was really a battery of 10.5cm howitzers since some regiments had an Abteilung of 77mm guns and one of 10.5cm howitzers. I just happen to have the history of FAR 4 and II. Abteilung indeed was armed with 10.5cm howitzers at the beginning of the war. The regimental history of FAR 4 also says II. Abt. was attached to 14. Brigade. So, I think that's another error in the OOB. And in my opinion, the print of Ludendorff shows a 10.5cm howitzer of FAR 4. I have to read deeper into the regimental history (it's of course script; so, difficult for me...) But this is exactly the fun that researching a battle - and a picture - brings!

Very poignant

I haven't read that yet in my "research." However, it wouldn't surprise me. I do know that several of the 12 forts surrendered due to ventilation problems - smoke from their own guns combining with smoke from the incoming shells - made the forts untenable. German propaganda being quite efficient certainly took some liberties. On the other hand, several of the forts were taken over by the Germans. So, it's probably a combination of all of the above. The big guns certainly were used - especially at Loncin, the largest fort. The smaller forts may not have needed the effort of the 42cm Big Bertha.