Hauptmann

And the rest of the story:

Dan :cheers:

Dan :cheers:

The silver dots:

Thanks Dan.... The hunting comment threw me on the right track and I knew that what I had to look was a rifle..... but that detail!!!

Do you have a full pic or is that the only one...I've been searching Moisin Nagant pics for the last half hour trying to find that detail but Zilch!!

I would daresay that the Moisin Nagant was one of the most popular and I dare say, reliable sniper rifles!! Deadly in the hand of a good sniper.

Jim

Ask and ye shall receive:

We have a winner! Congrats Jim! Wow but you ARE good!!!! :jumping:

That went a "bit" quicker than I expected... but one never knows. I even had pics of other parts set up and ready to go for hints if needed. Scanning, resizing, etc., all that took longer than it did to get the answer.

The part is on the underside of the stock just a bit in front of the magazine base. It's very distinctive and I have never seen the same on any other rifle. It's one thing I love about it... almost like a bit of artistry built into it... along with several small silver (I think they are silver... they look like it) dots... at least on mine there are three towards the rear and three towards the front of the upper wood guard over the barrel. Mine also has the hexagonal breech area which I think also adds to the effect.

Well, it's back to you for the next one... WELL DONE!

Dan :cheers:

My family started in 1891. I've been a warrior ever since although I enjoy hunting as well when I'm not fighting wars. I'm not nearly as famous as one who came after me and whose family sees more action these days as I'm getting on in years.

I've seen the ebb and flow of history. I've seen the fall of the Tsars and the coming of the new age of the Soviets, seen that fall as well. I've seen war on all fronts, in heat and cold and been the constant and loyal companion of soldiers throughout it all.

How did my family get started? What am I? What is my history? Who is the one who came after me?

Good luck!

Dan :cheers:

Thanks guys!

"What was the most useful clue? I thought the number 41 should be the most helpful hint pointing you in the direction of Marshals and then its just a question of finding which one had committed suicied....

.... but then again you never know which hints work best!"

Actually Jim, this one at first hit me as a tough one. A group of 41... could have been a graduating class... a unit... Lord knows what. I had to pick it apart line by line and read between the lines.

"Some of us had grand careers, though others were executed!"

That was one of the keys. I thought, who had the grandest careers in the Soviet Union... the Marshal's of course! Didn't really realize there'd only been 41 of them, but I found the list on Wiki, counted them and sure enough 41. Then went through to see how many alive... sure enough, four and one who had committed suicide. So just knew this had to be it. The rest is history as they say!

Such a sad end. He looks like the sort of guy who if you knew him you could easily be friends with him, go out for a drink, etc.

Anyhoo, I've got another question in mind... a "bit" more specialized but hopefully not too bad. Will pop it up in just a bit.

Dan :cheers:

Okay Jim, I'm going to take a shot at this one:

Question 9:

I am one of a group of 41.

This group being Marshals of the Soviet Union.

Some of us had grand careers, though others were executed!

As stated in the question, some went on to glory and fame and others ended in the purges, etc. Of these, Blyukher, Tukhachevski and Yegorov were executed during Stalin's Great Purge of 1937–38. On May 7, 1940, three new Marshals were appointed: the new People's Commissar of Defence, Semyon Timoshenko, Boris Shaposhnikov, and Grigory Kulik.

During World War II, Timoshenko and Budyonny were dismissed, and Kulik was demoted for incompetence, and the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was given to a number of military commanders who earned it on merit. These included Georgy Zhukov, Ivan Konev and Konstantin Rokossovsky to name a few. In 1943, Stalin himself was made a Marshal of the Soviet Union, and in 1945, he was joined by his intelligence and police chief Lavrenti Beria. These non-military Marshals were joined in 1947 by politician Nikolai Bulganin.

Two Marshals were executed in postwar purges: Kulik in 1950 and Beria in 1953, following Stalin's death. Thereafter the rank was awarded only to professional soldiers, with the exception of Leonid Brezhnev, who made himself a Marshal in 1976, and Ustinov, who was prominent in the arms industry and was appointed Defence Minister in July 1976. The last Marshal of the Soviet Union was Dmitry Yazov, appointed in 1990, who was imprisoned after the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. Marshal Sergei Akhromeevcommitted suicide in 1991 on the fall of the Soviet Union.

4 of us are still alive today.

Only four Marshals of the Soviet Union are alive today. The rank was abolished after the fall of the USSR and replaced by that of Marshal of the Russian Federation and only one individual has so far held that rank, Igor Sergeyev who was Russian Defense Minister from 1997 to 2001.

I died in Moscow by my own hand.

Committed suicide^[2] in his Kremlin office, hanging himself with a length of curtain cord. In addition to personal messages to his family, he left a note explaining that he could not continue living when the institutions to which he had devoted his life were disintegrating.

Question: Who am I? What is my rank/position/title?

Sergey Fyodorovich Akhromeyev (Russian: Серге́й Фёдорович Ахроме́ев; May 5, 1923 – August 24, 1991) was a soviet military figure,Hero of the Soviet Union (1982), Marshal of the Soviet Union (1983).

Other background:

Please tell my story - recounting 1) a WW2 incident as well as 2) the incident/reason that led to my death.

Akhromeyev was a Red Army junior officer during the German-Soviet War, serving with distinction on the Leningrad front. At one point he was ordered to guard and hold a road on which the German Army would be trying to advance. Despite a bloody battle, he was able to accomplish the task. Relating the story during a meal with Secretary of State George Shultz and Ambassador Ken Adelman in Reykjavik during the first Reagan Administration, Akhromeyev told Shultz that his accomplishment was not only a great sign of his patriotism, as Shultz suggested, but also was because had he abandoned the road, Stalin would have had him shot.^[1

During the August Coup of 1991, Akhromeyev returned from a vacation in Sochi to offer his assistance to the coup leaders. Although he was never implicated in the coup, after its failure Akhromeyev committed suicide^[2] in his Kremlin office, hanging himself with a length of curtain cord. In addition to personal messages to his family, he left a note explaining that he could not continue living when the institutions to which he had devoted his life were disintegrating.

^{Shortly after his death, his grave was vandalized and his corpse stripped of the uniform in which it had been buried. The culprits were never found, and it is uncertain whether it was an act of pure desecration or if the grave-robbers hoped to sell the stolen uniform or its adornments for profit.}

^{Here is the link to the Wiki article which gives a bit more detail but I believe the above, quoted from same, answers all parts of this question.}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Akhromeyev

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshal_of_the_Soviet_Union

^Dan

Gentlemen, many thanks to you one and all for all your info and help on this! :jumping:

I wrote back to the seller, gave him additional info, opinions, etc., options to sell, etc., and made him an offer which he has accepted. So it will be in hand in about a week/week and a half. Once here I'll do some nice scans with my Epson and pop them up for all to see.

Again couldn't have done it without all your help. You're the GREATEST!!!!

Dan :cheers:

Actually I didn't get notifications from post 61 on... the entire fourth page of the quiz... plus they did not show up whenever I pulled up the quiz section. No idea why... but I don't think I'm getting notifications from other areas I'm watching or have posted in either. Guess I'll have to post it in the technical problems section.

Great question Windu... kept us on all our toes! :jumping: Good luck on exams!

Dan :cheers:

Well, just tried to answer what the page was showing as the latest reply (from Jim) and then suddenly a bunch of other posts show up (which I've gotten NO notifications for at all in my email) and I see it's been answered.

No idea what's going on but figuring it has something to do with the overhaul of the site.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!! :banger: :banger:

Dan :cheers:

Magnet and edge:

Number on ring:

Sorry these are in some ways not the greatest pics but they're all I have to work with. Hoping it will show what needs to be seen to make an evaluation.

Many thanks!!!!

Dan :cheers:

Hi all,

Need to know if I'm correct that this is a J.J.Stahl, Strassburg... no idea if that's a good maker or run of the miss or what? Also need a valuation if at all possible. Magnetic core (one pic shows a magnet stuck to it as well as showing the edge.

Deeply appreciate any and all help.

Grasping at straws here... as it seems we all are. It couldn't be Vasily Sokolovsky could it? He was promoted to Lt. General in 1940, lived till 1968... but I can't find anything saying he was part of the Imperial Russian Army.

Dan

As I'm still on duty till early this evening and am probably going to hit the bed right after, and may not be able to get time to come up with anything till late tomorrow at the earliest, I'd like to pass the honor of the next question to Windu since he did get part of one correct.

Dan

Have a few minutes till my next run so...

Arkady Gaidar

http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/literature/arkady-gaidar/

This one was a bit of a challenge but once again I've learned some new things... which is what this is all about after all.

Dan

Just popping in for a few minutes as I'm on duty and have to run again soon. But wanted to thank Jim again for handling the next question due to my being unexpectedly called into work for an extra day. Also congrats to Harvey and to Windu as well for making a great try and getting part of the answer!

So far a great start to the quiz!

Dan

Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Konev... the trial being that of Lavrenty Beria.

Dan

To respected Alexander Kuzmich on his 60th birthday from all the colleagues at Kiev VOKU (Voennoye Obschevoiskovoe Komandnoe Uchilische) (not sure of the two letter abreviation) M.V. Frunze. 7th November 1980.

What's the plaque on?

Jim

Hi Jim... many thanks for the translation on this!

Actually it's just the plaque... not on anything and no idea what it might have once been on.

Dan

Wondered if anyone can tell me exactly what this says?

Many thanks!

Dan

Many thanks!

Dan

Rather curious on this one. I've tried checking the various monograms used on AH's silverware on the web (don't have any refs specifically covering the subject at the mo) and can't find one identical to this. So figured I'd see if one or more of our members have any expertise with this area and whether this is possibly from one of his sets or just someone with the same initials.

Info/comments welcomed.

Also does this appear to be the original nut?

In any case, I'm happy to be able to add a serial numbered example to the collection at last.

Dan