Schießplatzmeister

Hello again: In 1955 he was a member of the "Orden der Bayerischen Tapferkeitsmedaille, Ortsgruppe Freilassing". His address was listed as "Bayr. Gmain". So, he survived both wars and lived to at least 75 years of age! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Naxos: Here is the "rest of the story": "Eichinger, Josef Feldw.Ltn. der 3. Komp. b. Res.Inf.Rgts. 16. Im Frieden Gendarmerie=Sergeant in Oberg?nzburg. Geb. 24. 3. 1879 zu Uttenhofen in Scwaben. Feldwltn. Eichinger der 3. Komp. b. Res.Inf.Rgts. 16 ?bernahm nach dem Tode des Kompagnief?hrers sofort die F?hrung der Kompanie und zeichnete sich in den Versolgungsk?mpfen zwischen Oise und Aisne, besonders beim Sturm auf Montecouve und aus die Schlucht bei Bagneux am 30. 5. 1918 aus. Durch r?cksichtslosen Einsatz seiner Person und gro?e Unerschrockenheit trug er mit zum Gelingen der beiden St?rme bei. Einen feindlichen Gegensto? starker Massen wehrte Eichinger mit nur 2 Gruppen Infanterie durch seine Entschlossenheit und ausgezeichnete Tapferkeit ab." Congratulations on owning this nice card! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Rick: The large medal IS an official Baden Merit medal (late 1800's coinage) that had the reverse-center raised inscription removed and was engraved. The original suspension was also removed and this variation added. The FW medal is a Weimar-era town piece. It looks as though someone took an old Grand Duchy medal that was laying around and modified it to their needs. We look at such things today and cringe, but at the time, they probably had no other use for it! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Naxos: Yes, there is one (1) medal group mounted in this fashion out there. I believe that it is at the Burg Hohenzollern and that it belonged to Wilhelm I (if my memory serves correctly). Best regards, "SPM" Here is a link to information regarding Burg Hohenzollern: http://www.preussen.de/de/heute/burg_hohenzollern.html

Hello Noor: Your RAO IV is of the type awarded from approximately 1890 until 1918. This particular piece however I would guess was definately made prior to 1914. I believe that the "N" marking on the ring stands for the maker "Neuhaus" but I may be mistaken as I am away from my reference library at the moment. Unfortunately, almost all RAO IV badges that are damaged have damage to the center. So, your chances of finding a center piece in good condition are probably rather slim. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Sivart: The brown ribbon with white stripes on the first lapel ribbon group is for a Third Reich NSDAP Service Award 1st Class (lowest class) in Bronze. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Stefan: I only have a listing of 1813-1815 EKI recipients and not EKII recipients. There are early Prussian Ranklists which exist, but unfortunately, I do not have any of them. If he was an Officer though, this would be the proper method of finding out about his service. Unfortunately, if he was an enlisted soldier, without other documentation from the family, there is almost no easy way to find out more about him. Please forward my congratulations to your friend for owning (an preserving) such a fine piece of history. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Everyone: Rick, thank you for the comments regarding this document. It belonged to v. Braun in Alabama and I obtained it from the estate collection. I had NO idea how rare it is. What puzzles me is that it looks as though is says "unsere" Anerkennungs=Medaille, instead of stating the class of the medal. Which medal does this document correspond to exactly? Hopefully, this scan will be easier to see. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Gentlemen: I saw this on Ebay.de also. I did not bid although I have rather a special interest in the Bavarian MVM/TKM. I have NEVER seen a recipient wear three (3) MVO/MVK ribbons. I suppose that such a thing could be possible (it would not be Official practice to wear three ribbons) if a recipient made-up a field ribbon bar for himself, but it is highly unlikely. The only thing that I have seen which is close is a recipient of the Gold MVM/TKM who received the MVK III with swords and crown who then received a field grade commission as a Leutnant. He went on to be awarded the MVO IV with swords. So, his ribbon bar would possibly have had the MVM/TKM ribbon, his EKII ribbon, his MVO IV ribbon with a silver swords device, his MVK ribbon with a bronze crown and swords device. He died in the 1920's. If he had survived to get his "Hindenburg" Cross with swords, the EKII ribbon would then be mounted in first position. A recipient would wear ribbons for ONLY the highest grade of the military (with swords) MVO received and the highest grade of the military ( with swords) MVK received. Three (3) such ribbons would NOT be worn. It WOULD be possible in my opinion to have two military MVO/MVK ribbons and one civilian MVK ribbon (but unlikely). In my opinion, the field ribbon bar was put together recently and was not ever worn by a recipient of these awards. I do not like the way that this piece was sewn together. It is rather crude looking. I would like to see the stitching under UV light (I imagine that it would glow). Be glad that you were outbid! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Everyone: I remembered that I had this document in my collection and thought that it might be of relative interest due to the topic at hand. All comments would be welcome. Best regards, "SPM" I know that Rick is cursing me! I am "scanner challenged" and am having trouble posting a readable image with the 110k limit, and yes, I know, I should have purchased an Epson! Sorry folks.

Hello Rod: Your cross sounds like it is as it should be [except for the ribbon, which should be a black ribbon with two white side stripes (like an iron cross ribbon)]. The "W" should be rather roughly scratched into the bottom cross arm. This indicates that the piece was made by Wagner of Berlin. I am not certain if the swords are supposed to be gold or not, but I am certain that there is someone on our forum who will know the answer. I am also not certain if the sword pieces should be threaded and screwed into the center of the cross, but I believe that this is correct for the period. And yes, these crosses were awarded for the DSWA and Boxer (China) campaigns. Do you have a photograph of it to share with us? Unfortunately, there are copies of these about. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Stefan: This is a very nice ORIGINAL ~1830's? EKII. I have never personally seen one of these with a marked eyelet. This is a very interesting feature. I am at a loss to read the markings however. That the letters present are "EB" is not clear to me from the photo. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Scott: I like the piece that you show. It appears to be a period piece that comforms in detail to known originals by Wagner. It should command a slightly lower price being unmarked however. I have seen later copies (purchased by recipients) in mounted medal groups, but they are rather crude compared to the WWI-era pieces. I used to own a piece that was identical to a "textbook" Wagner piece, except that it was marked "938" on the lower arm and had no other markings. I hope that you find this information useful. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Everyone: From the outstanding book by our very own "Kapitular", there were 3,685 of these medals awarded. It does not mention how many were struck however (probably slightly more). I would like to thank Tom for sharing these outstanding and scarce medal groups. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Christer: These fellows are using a captured French Saint-Etienne or Mitrailleuse mle 1907. It is interesting to see the improvised mount using a carriage wheel! Apparently, these weapons were rather horrible to use in practice (design faults caused stoppages often). You can see one of the soldiers in the photo with a strip of ammunition (there were 24 and 30 round versions). Perhaps the French soldiers allowed the "capture" of this weapon for these unsuspecting enemy troops to use. All joking aside, a very nice photo of an interesting weapon! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Andy and Rick: Rick, you are right of course (as always). This fellow was undoubtedly dead (next time I should pay attention!). A strange and uncommon document ideed! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Andy: You are correct. This is an abstract of information from his official war records verifying that he was awarded the EKII on November 1, 1914. The 1883 listed after his name is indeed his date of birth. This is a very interesting document and not often seen. It appears as though he somehow lost his original EKII award document and had to re-apply to the War Ministry to get this abstract confirming the award. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello All: I believe that "revisionist history" is human nature when writing from the "losing side" after the gun barrels have cooled. No one wants to admit that their side did not reign supreme on the battlefield overall. No one wants to personally admit defeat. It's the old "I really didn't think that it was a good idea" type of statement after it is all said and done. If things had turned out differently, would these folks be as vocal? I believe that most folks accept their lot and things bigger than themselves. May God bless the souls of all of the soldiers who fell during the Great War. They marched off for God, King (for some Countries), and Country with cheers! If only we had as many folks with their fortitude and conviction today! (Don't get me wrong, there are a good many of our "boys" "over there" right now who have plenty of conviction and fortitude!). Sorry to digress! Thank you for your patience! "SPM"

Hello Motorhead: I am guessing that this fellow had the 2nd Class Landwehr decoration. Since there is a hook on the back, it had to be one of the "fancy" enamelled types with the ring suspension. Too bad that it is gone I really like this group. The bars are really nice (and real!). These troops under v. Werder really did a lot of hard fighting. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello folks: The ribbons look like they were made yesterday. This bar would be very pretty in the dark with a UV light! The hinges for the pins and pin catches are not of the proper style for a Godet mount of this period. Also, I would expect a gray backing. Further, there would be not legitimate reason that the EKII was "added" to the bar, therefore, the pin hinges should be at the end of the bar, not starting where they do. It would be a much shorter discussion to talk about what is "right" with this bar (not much!). It was put together very recently! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Scott: I will also chime in (although a bit late!). From the scans, the piece looks good and looks to have an original piece of ribbon. This is definately not one of the known copies that has been circulating. I believe that you have purchased an original piece. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Charles: This is a very nice ribbon bar for an enlisted soldier (NCO). The first position ribbon is for a Bavarian "Bravery Medal" (gold or silver) as it came to be known later in the war. At first, it was officially called the "Milit?r-Verdienst-Medaille" (Military Merit Medal). Unfortunately, almost everyone who received the first award on your ribbon bar also received the other awards (MVK, EKII, Bavarian long-service award), so it is not possible that this can be identified without some supporting documentation. Whoever he was, he did something rather important which led to his receiving the "Bravery Medal". Congratulations on owning such a nice field ribbon bar! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Paddywhack: Yes, the Bavarian Government did continue to authorize combat awards after the abdication of the throne. However, these awards were for actions prior to the armistice, for awards which were recommended, but never made prior to the end of the war. There are of course Max M?ller's posthumous MMJO and other high-level awards. I have also seen post-war (~1919) MVK award documents which have the Royal header removed and have a printed seal with the crown removed. I am not aware of any awardings (of Royal awards) that the Bavarian Government made for Freikorps actions. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello again Gordon: A merry Christmas to you! I remember seeing your early stepped-core 1813 EKII when you posted it awhile back. As I recall, it was a very nice piece indeed! I see no reason why these don't possibly belong together. It is entirely possible that a recipient could be awarded these three (3) awards during his career. He could have been an officer and gotten the EKII in 1815, then later retired as an officer with twently-five (25) years of service. Then, at some point as a civil servant of some sort, he would have received the RAO IV. All of these awards were possible during a normal lifetime. All of them are rather uncommon, and one would have to go to a bit of trouble to find them to "create" a group. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello again Gordon: Thank you for sharing images of these very nice and scarce pieces. An original Prussian Officer's 25 Year Service cross from this period is also rather difficult to find! I'm just the slightest bit curious now what the "keeper" is, if these are the pieces that you are discarding! Congratulations on owning these. You will have no trouble selling the RAO IV. Best regards, "SPM"