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Taube, Very nice photo! I think it is Oskar von Xylander. I compared the photo in Biblio's 3rd volume of the series "Die Ritter des Ordens Pour le mérite des I. Weltkrieges", page 583 and they are the same man. Andy

Interestingly enough, there was a Hptm. Ludwig Terberger in IR 158 in 1914. His awards in May 1914 were LDH4 SA3b. His date of rank as a Leutn. was 18.10.1897, so no centenary. Perhaps the plot thickens?? Andy

Rick, According to the 1979 "Anschriften Verzeichnis ehemaliger Kgl. Preuß. u. Kgl. Sächs. Kadetten" he died on 10.05.1977 in Bad Honnef (Frankenweg 1a) Andy

Looks like "Grüning" to me. What is the rest of the stamp-- "Hauptmann u. Komp. Führer........ that might help. Andy

Eckhardt, A Vizefeldwebel Blechschmidt was promoted to Leutn. d.R. d. Inf. R. 95 (from Landwehr Bezirk Meiningen) on 28.07.1917. Unfortunately, the Militär Wochenblatt does not provide a first name. That said, I think this could certainly be your man. One source indicates that a Feld Intendantur Sekretär Hermann Blechschmidt received the EK2, AEZ, EHsM, SMK. So, what do we make of this??? Are you sure of the first name?? Andy

Rick, That gentleman entered the saxon 2nd Gren. R. (Nr. 101 in 1867), so, he can be eliminated as well. Andy

Paul, I used the Militär Wochenblatt for 1864 and 1866 and the and Ordenslisten for 1848-1850, all contemporary sources that provide what I believe is as complete a list as possible for each data base. Andy

Over the last several months, I have created three new data bases which list the awards of the various grades of the PRAO, PKrO and PHOvH with swords for the 1848/49, 1864 and 1866 wars. I have named the vast majority of these. While I realize that there may not be that many bars or photos of recipients of these awards, I want to ensure that the members are aware of the possibility to research items from the mid-19th century. In each case I tried to determine there last year of service to assist in figuring out who these officers were and their last published awards. I myself am not a collector of bars or photos. I work on identifying the individuals behind the awards. With the help of the other Research Gnomes, I think we can open a new chapter in the history of awards. So, don't be shy about asking. We'll do our best to assist. Andy

Rick, The 1904/05 DOA list Jakob's awards as BdZL3b HssP4b PrKr4 KSäA3c and OestFJ4. So, looks like the FJ knocks him out of contention. Andy

I have a table of the WWII armored divisions, but it will not copy well into this posting. If you send me a PM with an e-mail address, I'll be happy to send it to you as a WORD document. ndu

Georg Menkhaus, born 06.06.1893 in Iburg (Osnabruck), entered the Bavarian army as a recruit on 07.11.1914. There are numerous entries for him on ancestry. He too was infantry. It seems he survived the war. Andy

Widtmann was born 18.07.1872 in Munich. He was a cadet and graduated from the corps of cadets on 01.04.1890 and entered 1. IR. He went to the Kriegschule from 1891/92 and studied in "Lehrabteilung A." Priester attended the same years and studied in "Lehrabteilung D." On 01.10.1893 Widtmann was transferred to 6. IR, where he would have now met Priester, and we know he died in 1899. Widtmann left the army on 25.06.1906. In 1914 he was living in Berlin-Friedenau (at Hackerstr. 27, III) as a "Regierungs Sekretair" and upon mobilization, returned to Bavarian military service (there are four nice entries for him on ancestry.com). He was promoted to Hptm. on 05.11.1914. He survived the war. Andy

There were two Sek.Lts. in the Bavarian 6. Inf. R. by those names in 1895, Friedrich Priester and Heinrich Widtmann. Priester was promoted Sek.Lt. on 05.03.1892 and Widtmann on 28.05.1892. I am not sure of the significance of date yet. On 27.01.1899 Priester transferred to the Schutztruppe for German East Africa. He died on 15.03.1899. I'll keep digging to see what else might be available. Andy

Rick, I checked my copy of the IR 12 Stammliste, and he is not to be found! Andy

I can add that he was born 17.05.1872 and died 17.07.1954. If you are ever in Berlin, you can visit his grave in the Invalidenfriedhof! Andy

In an effort to give the forum members a sense of how a name was put to this photo, and what is behind the effort, I submit the following. The first thing I did was start with the known. He was in the East Asian Expedition Corps. Now, back in the 1990's, I created a database with all the members of the OEK from its creation in July 1900 through 1901. As the basis of this, I used the Militärwochenblatt because it was an official source and it included all the support personnel required to sustain such an effort far from home, to include the lower officials not found in the Rangliste. I also added the awards that these individuals received prior to and during their service with the OEK. Next, I looked for those individuals in my database with one of the awards listed in the initial posting. In this case, the first clue was the PAEz which Mutschall had. Next, I went to the 1904/1905 Deutscher Ordens Almanach and looked up Mutschall, and there he was with 4 of the awards. I then checked the 1908/1909 DOA and saw that he had 5 of the six. But what about the Red Cross Medal? For that, I had to look from the Ordens Liste for mention of the award, and there it was. So, now I confirmed that he had all the awards shown in the photograph. His birth year was given in the DOA. In an effort to further confirm Mutschall was the right man, I went through the "Taschen Kalender für Beamte der Militär Verwaltung" compiled by H. Siekmann (hence the shorthand tile "Siekmann") for the years 1902, 1907 and 1917. Only the 1917 edition showed his Red Cross Medal. Now, for the first time, published verification that he had indeed received that medal. Another vital piece of the puzzle was the location of the studio in which the photo was taken- Brandenburg a.H. Looking at his career using the Militärwochenblatt to track his promotions, transfers and awards, I saw that he was located in Brandenburg! I now was convinced he was the right man. This is another example of why we always ask that when posting a photo include the studio name and location! For a first name, I went to the Berlin address book and found his name, rank and address. However, before I could add it to the posting, Glenn had already provided us with his name. So, it took at least 10 publications, a database created years ago and worked on ever since, a little luck that he lived as long as he did and the patience to put it all together. In the end, it's particularly satisfying to help out a forum member to put a name to a photo, medal/ribbon bar or anything else. I would like to emphasize that information, especially from contemporary and official sources, is essential. The more information you have, the more likely your chances for a successful identification. Trust me when I say this is much easier said than done. I've been collecting books, creating and expanding databases since 1993. It's taken years to find the books, more than a few dollars, German Marks, Euros, British pounds, Austrian Schillings and even Czech Crowns to purchase them; untold hours of work on the databases and years of learning how to interpret all this information (both literally and figuratively speaking) to be in a position to solve this little mystery. The last point I'd like to make is that this is all great fun, and that's why I enjoy this as much as I do. It's an interesting challenge and it provides a measure of satisfaction not to be found anywhere else. So, keep the questions coming. Andy

Glenn, Thanks! I just found him in the 1914 Berlin Adreßbuch- he was living in Berlin North at Scharnhorst 14. Andy

I just confirmed that Mutschall did in fact receive the Red Cross Medal 3. Kl. The 1905 Ordens Liste (page 1482) shows that he received it on 11.10.1899. I wonder why it's not in the DOA? His PKrO4 was awarded on 24.10.1901 and PAEz on 17.09.1887. In June 1913 he received the PRAO4. Also, on 13.08.1909 he received the "Charakter als Rechnungsrat." The 1917 Siekmann, page 345, confirms his Red Cross medal. In this book, he is listed as a Rechnungsrat (dated 31.3.1910) and Lazarett Verwaltungsdirektor in Berlin. Now, we just need a first name. According to the DOA and Siekmann he was born in 1852. Andy

I would like to suggest that this could be Lazareth Oberinspektor Mutschall. He was twice attached to the OEK and returned to his previous assignment in Brandenburg a.H. (which happens to be the place the photo was taken!). That said, there is one small problem. The 1908/09 DOA lists his awards as "D70/71 DChM PrKr4 PrAE PrZM" but no Red cross medal. Five of 6 is not too bad, but not 100% conclusive. I'll keep looking to see if he ever got the Red Cross medal. Andy

On 8 August 1899 he and two NCOs, Schlegel and Dolinski, saved two privates from FR 36 from drowning in the moat of the bridgehead at Torgau. Andy

From what I can find, there were only two saxon officers with this combination in 1872: SH3 VR.KD AR.KD PEK2. One died in 1889 and the other in 1908. Clearly, neither would have been around for a WWI EK and one not even for the centenary. I would agree with Rick that something is not quite right about the mini. Andy

Since Rick brought this topic back from the dead, so to speak, I thought I'd add this little story. I think one of the best examples of a "disgraced" officer coming back from the dead is Erich Böhme. At the beginning of the war, he was a major and Eisenbahn Linien Kommandant in Breslau. He went on to become a char. Gen.Lt. (in 1939 as part of the Tannenberg promotions). He also was awarded the PLM on 07.5.1918. He began his career in IR 118 as an Avantageur on 20.07.1882. Not quite ten years later, while still an Lt. in IR 118, he ran afoul of the code of honor and on 20.07.1892 he was cashiered. That could easily have been the end of his military career but he submitted a request to the king for permission to reenter the army. That request was granted and on 28.0.1893 he entered FR 37 as an Avantageur. Due to his good conduct he was granted an ante-dated commission as an Oberlt. gaining 2 1/2 years of seniority in 1903. This put him back in line with his original contemporaries and paved the way for his future career. I think it speaks quite highly about the willingness of the King and Army to forgive the mistakes of a young officer who was willing to start from scratch to reclaim his career through commitment and dedication to service. That his superiors and the King thought highly enough of his service to bestow the PLM upon this man speaks directly to his abilities. While there are several other officers who had a similar setback in their career, I think Bohme's is the best example of a man making the best of the second chance given to him. I'll be happy to provide sources should anyone be interested. Andy

These were abbreviations for titles of nobility: D. = Durchlaut (Serene Highness) and Erlaucht (Highness). Andy

Marcin, I just noticed the date on the photo- 14. August 1917. That is the date he became the Chief of the General Staff of XXIV. Reserve Corps! Nice occasion for a photograph. His awards included: RAO4, HOH3X, BMV4XKr, SA3aXKr, WK2cX, ÖEK3K Andy

Marcin, You have a nice photo of Major Hans von Knauer. He spent most of the war on various staffs as a general staff officer. He commanded FAR 44 from Jun-Oct 1918. He went on to become a Wehrmacht Gen.Maj. z.V. Of note is the fact he served in the Chilean army from 1927-1937. He then became an instructor at the Kriegsakademie, and also a liaison officer to the Condor Legion in Spain. He was born 15.05.1874 and died 01.02.1944. I'll leave the awards to the guys who knows those much better than I. Andy