KenS

The 1905 Rangliste shows him as a Captain at the Kriegsschule in Hannover (with the uniform of Saxon Foot Artillery Regiment No. 12) 24.6.03 F

Is this him? http://www.munzinger.de/search/portrait/Bernhard+Schwerdtfeger/0/1679.html

The regimental history is the best way to go. For the FR73 we have the general Erinnerungsblaetter that was published shortly after the war: http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/NT4326UGM3F3DLMKS8PXB71ISYBIK98EJGF4B8BH7S36HPX28I-00050?func=full-set-set&set_number=123490&set_entry=000001&format=999 and the actual unit history: https://portal.d-nb.de/opac.htm?method=showFullRecord&currentResultId=Fuesilier%2B73%2526any&currentPosition=2 also of interest may be: https://portal.d-nb.de/opac.htm?method=showFullRecord&currentResultId=Fuesilier%2B73%2526any&currentPosition=5 And the same with DR19: https://portal.d-nb.de/opac.htm?method=showFullRecord&currentResultId=Dragoner%2B19%2526any&currentPosition=9 https://portal.d-nb.de/opac.htm?method=showFullRecord&currentResultId=Dragoner%2B19%2526any&currentPosition=5 https://portal.d-nb.de/opac.htm?method=showFullRecord&currentResultId=Dragoner%2B19%2526any&currentPosition=6

I would try to find out more about the school. At some point they may have issued a war memorial book(let) that may include information about students who served in the war. Schools also sometimes produced annual reports, which during the war years would have included casualty notices and possibly other information about war service.

Well, if you're really ambitious, Freiburg University has digitized the Freiburger Zeitung which may yield some information. It appears that column for local news usually appeared on the second page.

Bob, Thanks for your reply. I am, first of all, the Ken S. from the GWF, so apologies for not making that more apparent. I suppose it would have saved you from making a long reply. If only I had any such documents... My grandfather apparently kept up quite correspondence with my grandmother, but if it survives I have no idea. When I visited my aunt in Germany she only made vague reference to "papers" but I don't know what they are specifically; she apparently didn't trust me to go through them.

Yes, I'm aware of that, but I'm quite certain that my grandfather, who was born in 1898, would have entered the war in 1916 at the earliest. I only have a photo of him in his dress uniform, and another in his field grays with no distinguishing features (as far as I can tell).

My grandfather was, I believe, a member of the 5. Garde-Regiment zu Fuss. But having seen a photo of the 203rd, I'm wondering how one could tell the difference between the two. I'm assuming by the shoulder board, but in the photos I have of my grandfather these cannot be seen.