IrishGunner

Hot bread BEFORE the rats crap all over it...

Oh, look at that... Schmidt could also write and think; they trained him as a Richtskanonier and Geschutzfuhrer. Would've been an officer in the Infantry.

Looks like to me Jansen started out in the Infantry and they discovered he could read, brush his teeth, and other civilized things; so, they immediately made him a baker. Much too useful to be mere cannon fodder in the trench.

Get your hand outa my box of chocolates!

The Landwehr dude in #26 looks to have the EK2 and a "Tapferk Med" - Tapferkeit Medallie; I wonder which Tapferkeit Medallie?

That is absolutely beautiful! And what a provenance! Congratulations.

So these would be anti-tank troops... Armed with anti-tank guns?

Interesting piece...

With what type of panzer/weapon would these Gebirgs-Panzer-Jäger Abteilungen be equipped?

I forgot I had this little book called "Leitfaden für die Kanoniere und Fahrer der Feldartillerie" - Guide for the Cannoniers and Drivers of the Field Artillery; 1915 edition. If you can read German script, it gives an excellent run down of the NCO ranks as described by Glenn above. And there's a color plate for the dunkelblau. Does this exist for the other branches... Infantry? I wonder if there are later editions which would cover feldgrau.

Hasn't changed much has it David?

i know what you mean. I was on a dry spell for awhile. Then went on a binge!

Glenn, thanks, you are indeed observant - Obergefreiter.

Claudio - Grazi! Great info.

Kgl. Sächs. 2. Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr.19 Kaserne in Dresden

This artist card of the 15cm sFH 02 may be as common as the gun itself. Jager notes that this was the first artillery piece to use a modern recoil system in the German Army and over 400 were in service at the start of the war.

Thüringisches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr.18 We talked about this guy way back in 2009: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/34008-prussian-artilleryman/?hl=eibau

Interesting photo (to me at least) because of the sign: Waffenmeister-Werkstaette. Repair shop for the guns. This photo has the usual 15cm sFH 02 of the Fussartillerie.

Artist rendition of a 15cm Ringkanone C92 on a patriotic card... (gelaufen Oct 1915 - Lothringisches Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr.16)

Glenn, thanks... I would agree these units are actually conducting rail operations. It's the "Festung" part that confuses me...since festung are static.

C'est si bon, merci.

Eisenbahn units certainly seem to be a great collecting area - not necessarily mine though. Just happen to have a post card sent by a member of Festung-Eisenbahn-Betriebs-Abteilung Nr. 2 to a friend in the Fussartillerie. The stempel made me wonder exactly what the Eisenbahn unit did and if it had any relationship to artillery since it was "Festung"

Bernhard, that's helpful, thank you. This explains why I've seen photos of "Panzerartillerie" that is towed by horses... As for "indirect fire" with the StuG... That had to be difficult considering the gun carriage. Actually, tanks usually train in basic indirect fire and artillery trains in direct fire; the opposite modes of usual fire - for emergencies. Artillery in direct fire is usually for battery defense, but I've actually direct fired 155mm shells into log crib obstacles...very effective demolition.

What is the following unit: Festung-Eisenbahn-Betriebs-Abteilung I know how it translates - Fortress Railroad Work Detachment But what exactly did it do...? How many of these could there have been in WWI?

Thanks Bernhard. So, I wonder how the Sturmartillerie related to "Panzerartillerie"... ?