IrishGunner

They actually were part of the combat engineers and wore Pionier/Artillery type uniforms.

The divisional Minenwerfer-Kompagnie was part of the divisional Pionier-Bataillon (combat engineers).

There were also 13 independent Minenwerfer battalions in the Imperial German Army.

Naxos - thanks for this info. I guess my question wasn't so crazy after all since I was pretty much off base. Thanks again, this helps a lot with some research.

I have always assumed that German minenwerfer units were "infantry" - however, I have seen a photo caption that calls the soldiers "artillerymen".

Of course, today there is no question that mortars are infantry weapons and I am pretty sure they were in WWI as well; just a sanity check. (See "crazy" in Topic Title).

A search of the GMIC also shows that Minenwerfer Abteilungen were armed with artillery lugers; the photo to which I am referring also shows the soldiers with the shortened KAR98 - also associated with artillery units. A coincidence of infantry and artillery units equipped with similar type weapons since their primary weapon was either a mortar or artillery piece.

You can see here (in italian)

http://www.blitzkrie...read.php?t=5751

Grazie! My Italian is very weak, have learned some mostly to travel in Italy; but with the help of an online translator I understood the gist. Such a bar seemed like an unusual concept.

Sorry, this is really just an excuse to post a few pics I took with a little electronic microscope some months ago.

Really interesting microsopic pics.

Last week I saw an RP 2nd Class with swords; issued by the WWII Govt in Exile. It was not marked.

Might go tomorrow and see if I can get the price where I would like.

Went to the flea market to see if I could get away with the 2nd Class with swords, but no luck. Even with a rainy drizzle, the guy wasn't even willing to bargain. In fact, his starting price went up about $5 bucks from when I asked him a couple weeks ago. I hoped the rain would give me an edge, but no luck.

Also, saw a couple RP 1st Class with swords that were most certainly fake due to the extremely cheap (almost plastic like) material from which the swords were made.

Oh, and another PRL 2nd Class with a makers-mark - "AB"

It seems to be a fake

I came to the same conclusion. Not a single reference to be found.

Came across this post while looking through "things Polish" in the forum. Living in Warsaw, I see a lot of these Merit Crosses at the local flea market - in all three classes. Interestingly, of the dozens I have picked up (including both RP and PRL issues), I have only found two PRL issues with makers-marks on the reverse. Of course, I immediately chose those PRL examples for my collection.

The 1st Class (Gold) is marked AZ (exactly like Rick's 2nd Class). My 2nd Class (Silver) is marked S. These both appear strongly stamped into the medal; more or less in the center, but not oriented north/south. (Sorry, no way to scan.)

I have never seen here at the Warsaw flea market a 3rd Class (Bronze) with a mark.

My feeling is that the marked ones are older than non-marked ones. But that is just a feeling based upon the fact that I have not seen more than my two at the flea market with marks. I am very pleased to find Rick's with the same mark (AZ) as one of mine; helps reinforce genuineness.

Last week I saw an RP 2nd Class with swords; issued by the WWII Govt in Exile. It was not marked.

Might go tomorrow and see if I can get the price where I would like. :P

I am aware of the bars for the Italian 1915-18 War Commemorative Medal; laurel leaves with year dates (and one for Albania).

Is anyone aware of a bar "Legionario" for this medal; reportedly for the Czech Legion in Italy?

(I have done a search and have come up with some wonderful photos of Italian WWI medals - including this one with the year bars; but nothing related to the Czech Legion.)

Thanks!

Graham and leigh - thanks for the additional info; like pieces of a puzzle - bit by bit. I actually haven't looked at Gunner Marsh in some time; good opportunity to stoke the research fires.

Thanks, Rick.

I guess an informal internet research project is in order just for curiosity's sake of seeing which order might be in the majority.

Ed, thanks for the SAGongs info - nice bits to help further research.

Appreciate anything you can dig out of Gaylor.

Picked up a British WWI Victory Medal today to a Sepoy of the 40th Pathans.

Internet search only brings a basic history of the regiment: origins in the Great Mutiny; service in Tibet; in Hong Kong at the beginning of WWI; joined Lahore Division in France in April 1915; battle credit for East Africa (apparently arriving there in early 1916). I found on GWIC a thread that lists 199 40th Pathans on CWGC.

Anyone have information on this regiment or can recommend some detailed sources, particularly regarding the East Africa campaign?

I have been looking at the Hanseatic Cross series (Hamburg, Bremen, Lubeck) and have found on the internet (including some scans here on GMIC) that the ribbon for the Lubeck cross appears two ways.

1) Red on the left / white on the right

2) White on the left / red on the right

Anyone have an idea as to the regulation?

Beautiful Bavarians posted in this thread; thanks for sharing.

Makes me miss mine. Cannot post my Bavarian (which is actually my only medal bar) because it is in a safe deposit box back in the United States:

Use your imaginaton...

Iron cross, Bavaria Merit Cross 2. Cl w/swords, Hindenburg Cross w/swords, Bavaria 9y Service

Yes, Fu?artillerie-Regiment Nr.18 (Niederzwehren - Kassel)

If he is indeed a gefreiter of the Fussartillerie Rgt Nr. 18, it is amazing how one small piece of "history" like this photo of an unknown wedding pair can generate interesting connections.

I just did a google earth search of Niederzwehren; I was an exchange student living in Kassel in 1978 and most certainly passed through the neighborhood of Niederzwehren during my teenage "adventures."

Also, found another Great War connection with the British Commonwealth War Cemetary at Niederzwehren; found the following on a website:

"The cemetery was begun by the Germans in 1915 for the burial of prisoners of war who died at the local camp. During the war almost 3,000 Allied soldiers and civilians, including French, Russian and Commonwealth, were buried there In 1922-23 it was decided that the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who had died all over Germany should be brought together into four permanent cemeteries. Niederzwehren was one of those chosen and in the following four years, more than 1,500 graves were brought into the cemetery from 190 burial grounds in Baden, Bavaria, Hanover, Hesse and Saxony. There are now 1,796 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated in the Commonwealth plot at Niederzwehren."

Not to mention what I've now learned about German artillery uniforms thanks to the GMIC crew. (I thought he was a Saxon artilleryman when I bought the item due to the city of the photo studio on the card.) Of course, I'll never know his name or how he won the EK2, but so far not a bad evening of "research."

This comment is probably .... but I also discovered they make a special dark beer in Eibau where the photo studio was located. Maybe still a good reason for a road trip to Saxony. :cheers:

Rick - on the original, I can clearly see that his collar is one solid dark color (no lace that I can see - I did read about the collar lace for NCOs).

The square of material to the rear of the sleeve cuff - behind the buttons - is a similar dark color as the collar.

So, with the 3-button clue - my regiment guess is definately wrong. Back to the unit search.

Fu?artillerie regiment ... Th?ringisches Fu?artillerie-Regiment Nr. 18; garrison in Kassel - making that trip home to Saxony for love and marriage just a bit further; but he is a gunner! :cheers:

Recent CDV acquisition; unfortunately, I do not have scanning capability so quality is poor. My first real attempt at trying to determine clues from a photo; so, lots of guessing in my "analysis."

I can at least identify this as a Prussian artilleryman based upon his pickelhaube (front eagle and ball top).

Rank: I am not an expert on this, but based also on the pickelhaube front eagle (under magnifying glass) I am reasonably sure he is not an officer - my guess an NCO - but what grade?

Regiment: On his shoulder boards I seem to make out the number "18" - and no other marks (again using that magnifying glass). So, my guess is "Feldartillerie Regiment General Feldzeugmesiter Nr. 18 (2. Brandenburgisches)" - but again, I am no expert.

Circumstantial evidence: Photo studio is on card as "Emil Roitsch - Eibau in. S" - determined to be a known photo studio in Eibau, Saxony. My basic internet "research" has the 18th Regiment being based in Frankfurt/Oder. Now those two cities are not all that far from one another; so plausible that this fellow went home to Saxony to marry his sweetheart.

Other hints: He's wearing for sure an EK2.

May not be able to confirm my guesses, but does anyone have evidence to at least blow my guesses out of the water?

My bavarian bar:

Great Bavarian - this is what I hope to find. The one with the Hindenburg Cross is nice, but I would really like to get my hands on a State pure one like this Bavarian. Thanks for sharing the photo.

Thanks Ulsterman

This insight into one unit certainly helps put into perspective award combinations.

I am also thinking that the initials "AM" are actually initials of the medal's designer rather than a makersmark - which really would be Egana.

Not sure what that means to the whole varient story - just thinking out loud. :rolleyes:

Type 4b / obverse = AM under the dragon claw / reverse = INDUSTRIAS EGA?A around the shield + AM under the end of eagle wing.

Reverse:

Type 4b / obverse = AM under the dragon claw / reverse = INDUSTRIAS EGA?A around the shield + AM under the end of eagle wing.

Obverse:

Received this one as a present from my kids this past Christmas; we took a family trip to Barcelona in Feb 2008 and that is where they bought it - at a flea market.

After reading this thread, I've identified it as Antonio's Type 4b / obverse = AM under the dragon claw / reverse = INDUSTRIAS EGA?A around the shield + AM under the end of eagle wing. I'll post images, but my photography isn't the best.

Always learning, this thread also helped me identify this as a non-combatant's ribbon with green stripes (thanks to Antonio's website); now I have to find the black stripe combatant version.

I picked these up at a flea market during a Christmas 2008 trip to Berlin; nothing special, but for the cost of a couple beers, somethng interesting for me since I actually got them in Berlin.

A few years ago (2005 I think) I picked up a "5 Years" including the box as another flea market purchase in Berlin; however, that one is back in the US - so I can't include a photo.

Thanks to this thread I am able to identify the "15 Years" as a Type 8 - (1986-90) and the "10 Years" as a Type 10 - (1986-90). I didn't realize before reading this thread that there even were type/production year differences.

Also after I took the photo I noticed that the NVA medal ribbons overlaps to the right, but the ZV medal's ribbon overlaps to the left. After checking out a few other internet pics, all the NVA medals overlap to the right; but I've seen ZV medals overlap both left and right.

Interestingly, the ZV medal posted by Ed Haynes in the Zivilverteidigung thread in this same forum has the ribbon going to the left; however, on the accompanying award document, the medal's illustration goes to the right.

Thanks everyone! Especially for the photos; I will have to start trolling photos myself for examples.

Ulsterman - "Bavarian artillery" - Nice and interesting info on one battery. Someday I just might put Bav arty as a sub-focus area.