Schießplatzmeister

Hello again: I just noticed the large pouch on the soldier's belt on his right side. Is this a MG tool kit pouch or a Medical kit pouch? Interesting! Sadly, we can't see the numbers on his Epauletten, but I wonder if he is a soldier from a Grand Duchy of Baden regiment or a Royal Bavarian regiment? Best regards

Hello Chris and Rick: I hate to disagree with Rick (who is usually always correct), but I believe that this medal is a Grand Duchy of Baden, Military Merit Medal (silver). If one looks closely at the photograph, one can see that the suspension is of the usual "Baden-type". The narrow dark stripe in the middle of the ribbon also matches the "red" stripe proportions for the Baden ribbon for this medal. I know that on Ebay it was listed as a bayerische MVM/TKM photo, and that at first it looks like it should be (especially with the bayerische MVK next to it), but I believe that it is not. Best regards

Hello Wildcard! A great link! :-) If you notice he has a "shop" on the website. "His" uniform is on sale for the bargain price of USD 160,000. I wonder if "his" Orders are included. What a bargain, I am on my way to the bank now. Also, on the internet, I found a photo of him in his rollerblade attire shirtless, and wearing a copy of the Order of Albert the Bear (probably in the Grand Cross size) around his neck on a chain. This guy has real class! They must love him in Germany! Note: I will spare all of you from having to actually view the photo, so I will not re-post it here! Best regards

Hello: Yes, it was entirely possible for such awards to have been made depending on the unit in which the soldier served or the particular duties that they had. The Austrian, Hungarian, and Bulgarian World War Commemorative Medals were available in the 1930's to soldiers who had served in the World War, submitted an application for the award, and payed the required fee. The same situation existed for the Honor Cross for Frontfighters. The first four (4) awards however were usually combat-related and were awarded upon recommendation of the Commanding Officer. In 1914 the EKII the was very prestigious, by 1918 if a soldier DIDN'T have one, they were unusual. I believe that "Ordensschleifen", "Bandschleifen", or "Ordensbandschleifen" would all describe this ribbon group adequately. Best regards

Hello: Per a tip submitted by Tom on this website years ago (and as mentioned by someone else above), I have used Boeshield T9 and had excellent results in stopping further oxidation [yes; Fe+H2O through a series of reactions ends up as Fe2O3 (rust)] of iron/steel items. This product also helps prevent future oxidation. The good thing about this product is that it does not damage painted surfaces and that after it dries it leaves a coating that is not easily detectable. A wonderful product that is a bit expensive, but well worth the purchase price in my opinion. Best regards

Sadly, for autograph collectors this was often standard practice in the past as they only cared about the signature and not the context in which it appeared. Often, these scraps were then pasted in a scrap book. I am certain that much history has been lost due to this practice. Many order/medal collectors are not totally innocent however. Estates get split-up all of the time with helmets going to one collector, medals to another, uniforms to yet another, etc., etc. Most dealers now do this to get the highest dollar/euro amount for the items as most collectors are too specialized to want everything. I know of many order and medal collectors who don't know anything about the documents associated with the awards nor do they care. So, while we are quick to judge, sometimes our narrow focus is also part of the problem that causes "history" to be lost.

Hello Alf: Here are two "must see" places to visit in Paris: Musee de L'Armee Musée national de la Légion d'Honneur Have a wonderful trip!

Hello Thierry: This Wikipedia article has the information from "Virtuti Pro Patria". http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_von_Zottmann Is there more specific information that you are looking for? Best regards

Hello Chris: Thank you for posting these photos. This is a mystery indeed! The PLM on the right is a well-known type of copy of relatively modern manufacture. The piece on the left is possibly a Godet made piece that was modified. I would like to hear more about the story behind this. When did Jacobs give these items to Dr. Parks? Is is possible to also get a photo of the other medals that are with the Jacobs items? Since Jacobs died in 1978 in is entirely possible that he gave these items to Dr. Parks. The piece on the right may have been a piece that Jacobs owned and used for actual wearing, or a piece that he purchased to give as a gift. Very interesting. Best regards

Hello Detlef: This piece is not made of gold and is not an officially awarded piece. At best, it is a period copy made for everyday wear on the large medal bar. There were genuine gold pieces, but they were awarded very early in the history of the award. They are extremely rare. Best regards

Hello: I have personally inspected this item and I concur 100% with the comments made by the very experienced collector/dealer who made the comments regarding the HHO3 and determined that it is a post-1930 piece. Best regards

Hello Phillipe: I have seen many WWI German photos with numbers. I believe that they usually indicated the photographer's catalogue number. A soldier/officer could then order a print based upon the number indicated. I have not seen photos before with the "O" or "S", but perhaps this was part of a similar cataloguing system and nothing more. Best regards

Hello Daniel: The HHO is NOT gold. It is gilded-silver if I remember correctly. The SEHO piece is gilded silver. There are no gold awards on this bar which does not make sense for this time period. Best regards

Hello all: I know some of the history of this group prior to the year 2000 and personally inspected it many years ago. In the 1970's it was a featured sale item of Ernst Blass. The RAO III. with Crown is a horrid quality bronze-gilt "spangenstuck" if I remember correctly. All of the ribbons appear to be old however. Although impressive looking, somewhat of a mystery to all who have ever owned it. Best regards

Hello everyone: This type of cross is 100% correct. These cast iron crosses (your pieces should be magnetic) with "Roman" sword crossguards were issued for the 1870-71 conflict and often appear on groups of this era. These pieces with "Roman" crossguards were defiantely not jeweler's variations. The pieces with the more ornate sword crossguards are of a later manufacture. If I recall correctly it has been speculated that none of the later types were actually awarded (it seems that they were certainly not awarded during the 1914-1918 era). Eric Ludvigsen knew what he was talking about (always). It seems also that many of these Oldenburg pieces (which are rather scarce) seem to have been discovered by Canadian units towards the end of WWII. There were a few in a collection in the UK a few years back. Due to these pieces being cast iron, you will probably not be able to find a craftsman (or craftswoman) to repair the sword grips properly. Many pieces on groups have the sword grips broken off. I would leave the piece "as is" it it were mine. Congratulations regarding the addition of this nice piece to your collection! ps: Oh yes, Wildcard, I remember the Mertens medal well!

Congratulations David! A wonderful website and a very interesting topic. Good luck with the publication of a book on this subject. I believe that there will be a healthy interest in such a publication. Best regards

Hello Dave: I would interpret it as being a bit strange. A pre-Hindenburg Cross group/field ribbon bar to a Bavarian recipient would usually (but not always) have the MMJO/TKM ribbon first, then the MVO/MVK ribbon, and then the EKII ribbon, etc., etc. That being said, there are three possibilities in my opinion: 1) Bavarian Officer who was a MMJO Knight recipient and MVO IV w/Swords recipient. 2) Bavarian NCO who recived the TKM and who then received a field promotion to Officer and then recived the MVO IV w/Swords (more likely statistically). 3) Bavarian NCO who received the TKM and the MVO,MVK II w/Swords (most likely statistically). I believe that someone who has the Sachsen-Meiningen roll book could sort this one out without too much difficulty. There could not have been too many Bavarians with the Sachsen-Meiningen War Merit Cross or War Merit Medal. On another note: Dave, I am glad that you are back. I really miss your Military Max Joseph Order website. Is there any chance of it ever returning? Best regards

Hello Chris: Yes, cleaning this piece is not advisable as the plating is extremely thin. If you clean it, any trace of the gilding will undoubtedly disappear. Best regards

Although not a "champion" by any stretch of the imagination (just ask my wife), from what evidence I have seen, there were probably very few post-1918 TKM awards. I imagine that several factors influenced this. It is probable that there were a multitude of applications right after 1918 for awards which were not made during the War. In addition to an influx of applications received "all at once", the military and government apparatus for processing such award applications was undoubtedly decimated and in a chaotic state. Also, the funds for such awards were undoubtedly no longer as easily available. It is my opinion that only in "exceptional" cases were retroactive awards made. The award document to Schwartz is the ONLY post-1918 award document that I have every seen (and I have been paying attention to these documents for awhile now). So, my vote is that the "bar" was actually raised. Best regards

Hello: No, actually, I was referring to the provisional award document to Georg Schwartz dated October 24, 1919 which appears later in the book on page 149. His citation document is also shown which was dated November 20, 1925. He was awarded the silver TKM on October 24, 1919 for actions on April 21, 1918 and on June 9, 1918. This is proof that TKM awards actually did continue after the cessation of hostilities. Best regards

Ple..........................se! Ple.............................se! Pretty Ple..............se! Does the EKI have a "square-shaped" punch mark on the reverse center?

Hello Chris: A great group! Congratulations! I believe that the silver-gilt medal was the only medal received by the soldier. There were often severe delays in processing recommendations for awards due to a variety of factors (hospital recovery, POW, etc.) as mentioned by Paul. The action may have happened in 1915, but the award itself was probably presented in 1916 (or 1917 or 1918). If the actual award document existed, it would show when the actual award was processed for presentation. As you know, these official silver-gilt medals are much scarcer than the gold medals. It is possible that awards were made after 1918 (citation documents from the 1920's exist) just like post-war MMJO awards. Most citation documents were prepared in 1918 if I recall correctly. The 1920's citations may be official replacements however and may not indicate a late award. I believe that I may have seen an actual 1919 award document, but I will have to research this further (I believe that a photo may exist in O'Connor's book, Volume 1). It is also possible (as you mentioned) that soldiers were given the option to "trade-in" their gold medals for silver-gilt medals to help the war effort and show their patriotism. I have not seen literature regarding this, but I do know of certain non-wartime awards for which a recipient could trade in their gold medal for a newer-issue (non-gold). Best regards

Hello Chris: I have two (2) theories: 1) Double exposure of film (most likely explanation). 2) Shot made through glass which had a reflection on it??? Best regards

Hello Chris: Yes, I think that you are correct! After looking through ranklists, etc., the name "Dallwitz" does appear several times. The name "Dauwitz" does not. I have not found this General yet. I will keep looking a bit more. Best regards

Hello Christer: It looks like General von "Dauwitz" is possibly written and maybe not "Dallwitz". Best regards