IrishGunner

5 minutes ago, Paul R said:

Has he ever posted a photo of himself here?

Yes, he did...  I believe it was in his Garden topic.

lilnuke - interesting name...   You are in the right place with this forum to research your Prussian family member.  You might start a new topic with the name of his unit if you know it as the subject; that might get the attention of a specific expert.  In the body, post his name, dates of service (if you know them) and any other details you have, no matter how insignificant you might think they are...  You never know what might trigger a flow of information from one of the experts here...  Of course, any specific questions you already have as well. 

You can include any image scans of medals/orders you that topic; not necessary to start a new thread in the medals/orders forum.  Then we can help you identify them and provide the right abbreviations to further aid your research.

Welcome and good luck with your research.  It can be both rewarding and frustrating!

regards, Rick

Jef, I'm sorry that you didn't get what you were looking for...  However, this continuation of the discussion, in my view, has been outstanding.  I appreciate every nugget of information regarding German artillery regiments.  Thanks for asking your original question.  If you find something new, please, let us know...

Unfortunately, my short supply of Beligan-style ales is finished.  I'm on to my supply of Baltimore-produced British-style ESB's! Then it will be time to visit the beverage store!

57 minutes ago, The Prussian said:

Well, Rick, I had a nice bottle of a 2012 french "Mas Bécha Serge - Barrique" (15,5%, A.O.C. Côtes du Roussillon)

 

A Prussian drinking a French wine while looking for a Bavarian unit that passed through a Belgian/Flemish village en route to Alsace Lorraine in discussion with an American drinking a Belgian-style ale brewed in Pennsylvania.  Yea, that all makes perfect sense!

Wow, Andy, what were you drinking yesterday?  I want some!  That is great terrain analysis!  I'm convinced. 

It still leaves the exact dates and reason for Jef's Vichte diary entry...  I wonder if he has access to the diary or a transcription.

Ian, thanks for the information.  Glad to hear.

Mark, ahh...the clues to an issue piece makes perfect sense!  I'm so used to seeing EK2s on bars or with only pieces of ribbon that the long ribbon on your cross is unusual to my neophyte eyes.  Thanks for answering - adds to my understanding. 

3 hours ago, The Prussian said:

We have sunday afternoon. Stormy, rainy and cold. A good time to research something or getting drunk...

Well, I got enough work finished (cleaning and assembling an old crib for our grandson's upcoming visit during Thanksgiving and raking some leaves) that now I have time for a few beers while there is still some nice late afternoon weather!

And I knew you would come through with some useful info to the question of the 12. bay. FAR in 1917! 

Quite nice!  Why is it your favorite?

Pieces to a puzzle.  An enjoyable way to spend a Sunday morning, but now I must do some real work or the Kaiserin will be after my head!

10 hours ago, Brian R said:

Nice cross. Sy & Wagner was one of the initial five makers authorized to produce government EKs between 1914 and 1916.

Without trying to read too much into your post, are you saying that Sy Wagner only produced EKs between 1914-1916?

This cross was one of my first medals, purchased even before I was really a militaria collector.  I bought it in the early 80s, most likely in Berlin itself at a flea market.  I don't have any idea how much I paid, but considering I was more of a coin collector at the time and newly married, it probably wasn't very much.  My new bride and I went to the flea market in Berlin almost every weekend and I bought this mostly as a "souvenir" of my time in Berlin.  I have an EK2 from that I bought around the same time that I'll put up next.

Andy, thanks for your work.  Your timeline seems to match the one from the "Ruhmeshalle der Alten Armee" Andreas posted above.

3. bay. ID was Reserve der OHL from 11 June to 15 July; that matches your online source that states 11.06.-15.07 "Regiment ist zur Wiederauffrischung in La Mourriere (Schießplatz Goudrecourt)" - so, the 12. bay. FAR was reconstituting 11 June to 15 July.

However, I couldn't find La Mourriere or Goudrecourt on a map. In fact, Google returned nothing except the source at the link you posted.

Briey is near Metz - actually between Metz and Verdun; so, the timelines match there as well.  We can be certain that the Regt. was engaged at Verdun at the end of July. 

So, I would agree that the dates suggest the Regt. was in Vichte only a short time.  However, the mysterious location of La Mourriere/Goudrecourt remains.

Jef, does the diary have specific dates or only the months June/July as you originally posted?  Maybe only part of the 12. bay. FAR was in Vichte. 

You mention the lady listed other regiments that stayed at the factory; do you have that list and dates?  Maybe someone has one of those histories.

I suggest turning him around.  The attack is likely to come from the garden through the sliding door!  (Unless of course, it's an ambush for the wife.)

Jef, unfortunately, I do not have the Bay. FAR 12 Regimentsgeschichte.  However, thanks for your information regarding the regiment being in Vichte in the summer of 1917.  Maybe Andy (AKA The Prussian) will add some info.

PS: I Googled your village and found info about Brouwerij Verhaeghe - their website shows some beers I would enjoy tasting!  (Actually drinking a Belgian-style Pale Ale brewed here in the US right now - strangely named with a German name "Verboten").

After doing a search, I see that Wagner crosses get all the attention here over Sy-Wagner crosses.  So, I thought I'd start a new thread...

These scans are the first with my new Epson; so, I'm still experimenting to get the best scans.

This one has a "7" on the reverse of the pin near the hinge.  Google search yields little about the number other than it's a common quality control mark.  That same Google search turned up a number "9" but not much else.  Also, not much out there about the Sy-Wagner firm itself other than being in Berlin.

Not French Foreign Legion, but rather an organization formed in the 1930s to benefit veterans of France's North African colonial units - called the Comité des Amitiés Africaines.   It's headquarters was in Paris, but there were chapters in several North African cities. (Google yields a lot of additional information.)

Are we sure the Cyrillic on the first post card is Russian...  Could it be Serbian or Bulgarian considering the Balkan theme?  Bulgaria was the enemy of the Greeks and Ottomans in the Second Balkan War.

Oh, man, you had to bring up Girls and Panzers again, didn't you?

Another of the post-war icons has passed away.  When people ask who you would like to have a dinner with, Helmut Schmidt would be on my list.  He took West Germany through some very difficult and complex times.  Reading his obituary in the NY Times this evening, I never knew he had been in the Luftwaffe and earned the Iron Cross.  Politics aside, this is a man who's life reads like a history book.

I wonder, has did any other post-WWII German Chancellor earn the Iron Cross?

Best photo I could find...  No EK...

(Source: spiegel.de)

Well, it is a business; so, I can't fault them for a marketing campaign to sell their product.  Onus is on the customer to cancel the trial if they are so inclined.  Just like buying anything else: look under the hood, kick the tires.  I haven't much time this weekend anyway.

Thanks, for the comment, Dave.  So, what you are saying is that it's nothing more than the "free trial" offer dressed a bit differently?

Ancestry.com UK site is offering free access to its military files until 11 November.

Haven't tried it, but looks like you just need to register.

http://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/remembrance?o_iid=68585&o_lid=68585&o_sch=Web+Property

I don't know if this is custom in the UK, but here in the American colonies, fallen police officers are always sent off with the pipes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufGrn0LK6is

Thanks, Tony, I appreciate the detail on the 21st Bn.  Interesting that many became officers when the unit disbanded.

I didn't intend to hijack this valuable thread on Grabenkanone with a discussion about ownership, copyright, fair use, and the internet.  That horse died a long time ago...  I only posted the image to further the discussion on this weapon.  Nevertheless, I deleted the image.