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David, Here are a few from the 1841-1852 Ordens Listen: These are all "ohne Schleife" (except for the ones you marked with swords) Andy Schrader Wilhelm Ludwig Geheimer Regierungsrath PROA3 before 1834 1787-1856 Wilkens von Hohenau Karl Friedrich Major a la suite PROA3 before 1834 1792-1888 Pfeiffer Franz Georg Geheime Regierungsrath PROA3 before 1837 after 1835 Bàumler Georg Philipp Adam PROA3 before 1841 after 1839 Kopp Johann Heinrich Geheime Ober-Medicinalrath PROA3 before 1843 after 183931.01.1842 von Starck Kriegsrath PROA3 before 1843 after 1835 Wöhler August PROA3 before 1847 after 1843 28.07.1843 von Heppe Theodor Geheime Regierungsrath PROA3 before 1847 after 1843 18.01.1844 Spohr Louis PROA3 before 1847 after 1843 16.01.1847 von Kaltenborn-Stachau Rudolph Wilhelm Carl Roland Oberst-lieutenant PROA3 before 1851 after 1847 12.02.1849 von Lossberg Carl Wilhelm Jeremias PROA3 before 1851 after 1847 26.10.1847 Weiss Wilhelm Otto Theodor PROA3X before 1852 after 1847 09.10.1849 Schenck zu Schweinsberg Heinrich August Ludwig Oberst PROA3 1853 07.06.1853 Wachs Heinrich Regierungs-Director PROA3 before 1856 after 1851 Schier Martin Generalstabsarzt PROA3 before 1856 after 1851 14.08.1851 Lange Georg Friedrich Geheime Oberbaurath PROA3 before 1856 after 1851 27.07.1850 von Marschall Wellenstein Christian Oberstlieutenant PROA3 before 1856 after 185126.07.1853 Treusch von Buttlar Julius Oberst PROA3 before 1856 after 185126.07.1853 von Eschwege Hermann Ludwig Carl Julius Hans Major und Flügeladjutant PROA3 before 1856 after 1851 23.04.1853 von Heimrod Ludwig Friedrich Major PROA3 before 1856 after 185126.07.1853 Cramer Wilhelm Ober-Finanzrath PROA3 before 1859 after 1856 Freiherr von Dörnberg Emil Kammerherr PROA3 before 1860 after 1856 von Schmerfeld Sigmund Director der Eisenbahn-Direction PROA3 before 1864 after 1859 Sezekorn Simon Eduard Wilhelm Geheimer Regierungsrath PROA3 before 1864 after 1860

David, The Ordenslisten and MWB are good sources but hard to use absent an index. Perhaps you can post a list of what you are looking for and we might be able to help fill in a few dates for you. Andy

He was clearly a Prussian officer, as his promotion and notice of death are included in the Prussian sections of the Militär Wochenblatt. Moreover, he is listed in Uebe's "Ehrenmal des preußischen Offizierkorps." There are many instances of individuals from one part of the Empire commissioned in another army. Nothing terribly unusual about a man born in Bavaria serving in Baden unit with a Prussian commission. Just not the norm. All that said, you still have a nice card! Andy

A very nice example from a wonderful field for Imperial collectors! Vizefeldwebel Kerbl was promoted Leutn.d.Lw on 27.01.1915 while serving with Landw. Inf. R. 40. He was assigned to Landwehr Bezirk Mosbach. He was a Prussian officer, which would explain the absence of a Bavarian award. Andy

I can add that he was born 19.10.1893. Andy

Looks like Herr Ob.Lt. Schimke 3/2 Garde Osten, den 20.02.19?? to me. Andy

There wee no active officers by that name in May 1914. That his rank on the cover was changed to Oberlt., it's safe to say his was no wartime commission. I believe this would be Georg Berck's Soldbuch. He was a Leutn. d.R. d. IR 116 at the beginning of the war and was assigned to Landwehr Bezirk Hanau. RIR 221 was raised in Darmstadt from elements to IR 115, 118 and 168. Given his proximity to Darmstadt, I think he is a prime candidate. Andy

Looks like "steife Mütze" for 19,75 Andy

Thanks very much for the input and it got me thinking about publishing what I have. I spent today (having the day "off" due to the US government shutdown and furlough of government employees) looking into self-publishing. There is a company not too far from where I live that offers very small printing runs specifically for people looking to publish but without having to lay out the funds for a larger run. Of course, the larger the run, the more economical the process. I imagine a useful next step would be to gauge the level of interest in the biographies in order to get an idea how many to have printed. A friend and member of this forum has had considerable experience selling CDs of various Ranglisten. It's a proven method, but I wonder whether people prefer digital to paper. Call me old-fashioned, but I much prefer a book for most things. Skimming through a digital copy works only if you know what you're looking for. Leafing through a book offers so much more. Anyway, thanks again for your ideas and comments. More to follow.... Andy

Jock, In many ways conducting the research was easier than trying to determine how best to make this and a great deal more information available. Given the size (about 2650 pages), publishing as books would not be cost effective and I am not sure their are many who would chose to pay what it would cost to publish the biographies. Internet access makes sense, but does not offer a realistic possibility of recouping any of the money spent over many years to assemble my library. I am under no illusions that I could ever even attempt to make anything for the hours of work that went into these biographies. I'd be interested in ideas members may have on striking a balance between access and simply posting on the net. Andy

Bernhard, He was born 10.10.1870 in Krangen (Pommern) and died 18.10.1961 in Lindau am Bodensee at 90 years and 8 days old. Andy

Bernhard, You have a fine memory! Siegfried Gr. zu Eulenburg commanded 1. GRzF from 07.11.1916-1919. He had been in 1. GRzF from 1889 and served as a company commander from 1905-1913 and then had a battalion from mobilization until he took over GGR 3 for about a month before becoming commander on his home regiment. He received his PLM on 27.08.1917 and oak leaves on 04.09.1918. Andy

Chris, I really is. I have not found many regimental commands that lasted more than three years, especially commanders of regular regiments. It seems thay wanted to cycle as many officers through a command as they could. Fatigue must have also taken a huge toll, too. Andy

Jock, I have been working on the Prussian officer corps of 1914 for nearly 20 years, and I have traced the careers from start to finish of all Majors and above listed in the 1914 Prussian "Rangliste", nearly 3,800 biographies. As a Major in 1914 v. Dewall is part of my work. I've used a number of contemporary sources, to include "Offizier Stammlisten" and the Militärwochenblatt. For wartime dates of command, Gunther Wegner's 3 volume work (plus name index) "Die Stellenbesetzung der aktiven Regimenter, Bataillone und Abteilungen von der Stiftung bzw. Aufstellung bis zu, 26. August 1939" Biblio Verlag, Osnabruck is the best source available. Andy

Hans von Dewall (1866-1923)- Batl. Kom. in IR 74 at beginning of the war. He was the commander of the regiment from 06.09.14-21.04.18 and then went on to lead the 23. and 21. Inf. Brig. as the war ended He went on the receive the "Charakter" as a Gen.Maj. in 1921 while commandant of the Munster Training area. He retired from the army in March 1922. Andy

Chris, have you got a name of an officer in the unit? With that, I can check ancestry.de for his record and we might be able to find out where they were. Andy

It is a post card anyone of us could have written to a family memberin the early days of the war. "I have received the telegram but not the package yet. No doubt it will come. Other than that, I am well. We will make it to the field during the week and we are all of good cheer. Have you received my cards from the trip? hopefully you have. Anyway, hugs and kisses to you, your Jean. Hugs and kisses for my dear child and the same for all the relatives and friends. The sender was Unteroffiz. "Thapp?? I can't make out his name at the top or in the address line to his wife. Andy

Chris, the second was much harder to decipher, as you can see from the many holes. Perhaps someone with a sharper eye can make better sense of the letter. Nevertheless, a heartfelt expression of sympathy Meine sehr geehrte Frau Schultze, Als ich gestern die Verlustlisten durchlas erschreckt ich sehr über die grosse Zahl gefallener Kameraden unseres Regiments u. ich kann Ihnen versichern, das der Verlust Ihres lieben braven Mannes mir am nähsten ging. War er ?? derjenigen des Regts. dem ich immer ?? nahe gestanden habe u. dem ich über alles vertraute u. seinen mannhafte Natur ja ganz kannte u. ich auch am besten verstand. Es ist zu traurig daß gerade er daran glauben müßte ?? ?? ?? für Sie zu finden ist mir unmöglich. Das einige ?? ist, dass man sagen kann er starb als erster ?? Mann u. schneidiger todesmütiger (not sure of that) Offizier den Heldentod. ?? am 24. Okt. ehe wir Schulter am Schulter in das Gefecht marschierten, dachten wir zusammen an unsere lieben Frauen zu Hause u. er bat mich, falls etwas ?? sollte, Sie sofort zu benachrigtigen, ?? ist es leider nicht gegangen, da ich am 25. bereits verwundet wurde u. nichts mehr von ihm sah u. hörte. Ich bin nun bald wieder Sorge?? u. werde zum dritten Mal ausziehen in den ?? auch mich ?? sobald wie möglich nähreres von ihm u. seinem Tode zu erfahren u. Ihnen dann mitzuteilen. Gott gebe Ihnen Kraft die schweren Zeiten zu überwinden, mögen Sie an Ihren kleinen Söhnchen ?? all seine hervorragend Eigenschaften wieder finden. In tieferen Schmerze Ihr sehr ergebener Fritz Graumann Andy

Chris, My attempt at the first letter (#7 and 8) Hochverehrte gnädige Frau, Ihr an Herrn General v. Wurmb gerichtetes Schreiben habe ich geöffnet, da der General erkrankt nach ?? zurück ist. Es ist mir ein besondere Genugtuung, Ihnen sehr verehrte gnädige Frau, heute mitteilen zu können das die Verleihung des EK ganz ausnahmsweise nachträglich gestern erfolgt ist. Seien Sie meinen aufrichtigen Teilnahme bei ??. Ich persönlich habe Ihren Herrn Gemahl sehr geschätzt und bin am 23./9. eigen (??) zu ihm getritten ins Quartier um ihn gelegentlich seiner Genesung und Rückkehr willkommen zu heissen. Bei dieser Gelegenheit besprach ich auch mit ihm die Nichtverleihung des Eisernes Kreuzes und konnte ihm versichern, dass er bei erster Gelegenheit an der Reihe sei. Es wird Ihnen, auch später Ihrem Sohne, eine besondere Genugtuung sein, ein Urteil über die dienstliche Leistung Ihres Herrn Gemahls in Händen zu haben. Ich füge Ihnen daher eine Abschrift der Stellungnahme der Brigade zu dem Antrage auf Verleihung bei, allerdings unter der Voraussetzung dass kein weiterer Gebrauch gemacht wird, da dies die Dienstverschwiegenheit nicht zulässt. Möchten Sie darin Trost finden, gnädige Frau, das Ihr Herr Gemahl hervorragend sein Pflicht getan. Mit dem Ausdruck meiner vorzüglichen Hochachtung bin ich Ihr ergebenster Lotz Hptm. u. Adjutant 59. IB

Dave, You're a Mensch! Thanks very much. I'll add that info to my 1939 database! Andy

I do not have the book, but I would appreciate it if you could show the page with this personal data-such as date and place of birth. Thanks very much! Andy

Glenn, So, should it have been listed as the BM4b (without the crown)? Andy

Rudolf Frhr. von Wechmar (26.11.1823-18.10.1881) He was a Prussian officer who began his career in Gren. R. 6 in 1841. He held several General staff positions. In 1868 he left the Prussian army to take commander of the Baden Gren. R. 109 on 18. Nov. 1868. He was the "Führer" of the 1. Baden Inf. Brig. from 18.12.1870. When the Baden army became part of the Prussian army in 1871, he was back in the Prussian Army. 12.12.1873 Commander of the 21. Inf. Brig., 02. Mai. 1874 promoted Gen.Maj. 13.01.1880 commander of 11. Div. He retired on 10.09.1881. He died barely a month later. He also had the PLM (awarded 19.01.1873) and EK1 Andy

Karsten, He received permission to war the Tunisian award in mid-December 1888 (see MWB 1888 Spalte 2286). A Stabarzt d. Landwehr Dr. Hugo Kleist (*17.11.1842) of Berlin received the same award at the same time. Dr. Kleist also had the EK2w and PKrO4mSchww for 1866. This is why these two men received the award- http://books.google.de/books?id=4m4xAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:tunis+inauthor:kleist&hl=en&sa=X&ei=14kvUqqPF-Xh4APiyIHADw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false For those who can't follow the link, they published a book in 1888 with the title: "Tunis und seine Umgebung. Ethnographische Skizzen." Tunis and its surroundings- ethnographic sketches. He entered the 3. GRzF as an Einj. Freiw. on 01.04.1879, was released to the reserves on 07.07.1879. He reentered the army on 01.11.1880 in 2. GFAR. Leutn. 16.09.1881. 24.03.1890 transferred to FAR 34 and then into the Sch.Tr. f. DOA 10.12.1891. Andy

Karsten, In 1913 he was living in Leipzig as a Dr. med. He disappears after 1896- presumably he left the army and went to medical school. He was born 04.07.1860. When I get home from work, I'll check his earlier career for clues to the Tunesian award (if someone does not beat me to it!) Andy