Christian Zulus

Dear Dan, congratulations - you got an extraordinary well preserved example of the Labour 3cl . Best regards Christian

Prof. Haynes & Marshal Tito meeting in India Dear Ed, great account . You really met Tito personally and had a drink with him . Tell us please more about that event . What was your impression about Tito? Best regards Christian

Dear William, that's really something extraordinary . Please show us scans . Best regards Christian

Dear Darrell, that's true: The planning of Barbarossa had been a desastrous miscalculation . The Germans knew nothing about the superiour T-34 or the KV-1 & KV-2 tanks. I have an original and top-secret German handbook for commanding officers from summer 1941 in my collection, which shows ALL the weapon systems of the CCCP - but NO T-34 and NO KV-1 or KV-2 .... Supply & logistics had been a desaster during Barbarossa for the Germans . Coming back to the topic "most decisive battle": Stalingrad was "peanuts" in comparison to Bagration . Best regards Christian

Dear Joe, do you have a link to the Stalingrad-story at the New Yorker ? Well, it is not my perspective and my stark statement (I am neither von Manstein, nor Hitler ), but it is the sad historic reality. Best regards Christian

Dear Laurence, that book is mentioned in the OSPREY-publication, but I don't have it in my bookshelf . David Glantz wrote also something about Bagration. I have two, rather recently published books, about Bagration telling the perspective from the German side of the front, but they are both in German language. BTW: I have the honour to have Sergeant Gnitienko's full cavalier "Glory-Trio" in my collection. Gnitienko got his Glory 1cl during the operation Bagration for herioc deeds in Jeglava (Latvia): http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5536 . Best regards Christian

Dear Ed, I don't see such a request as a "drama" . Belarus is interested to see their president in a positive way in the medias - and what's wrong to have a thread about the military merits of the President of Belarus ? Best regards Christian

Dear Dan, thanks for your question . These are two different persons and two different questions with no connex to each other ? Is it right, that the two persons are US-citizens ? Best regards Christian

Dear Lukasz, o.k., you are the expert - I collect Soviet Union & communist Yugoslavia . I think, that William will present to us rather soon a rare and great order of that Archduke to us, he has in his collection . Best regards Christian

Dear Belaruski, many thanks for your congratulations . A truly interesting question . I may bet, that he got more awards, than "Czar" Putin . Maybe we shall send an e-mail to the presidential chancellery ? Could you do this for us ? Ask them also for some nice photographs showing comrade Lukashenko in his KGB-uniform. Best regards Christian

POSTING # 1.000 Gentlemen, I just want to announce my promoting to the honourable rank of a GMIC-"senior member" here at the famous quiz-thread via fullfilling the benchmark of 1.000 postings . I also want to ask Dan again to give the question # 99 to the waiting community - many thanks . Best regards Christian

Information from the researcher Gentlemen, I got this information from our researcher: "I appologize for the delay in replying - I just got back after doing an auction in Finland and two back-to-back shows in Europe. Nothing is back yet on Gnitenko. Since this was a hard case from the beginning (we're looking for a very specific document not just an award card) it's likely to take longer than normal. I'll let you know as soon as I have more info." Best regards Christian

Dear Leigh, I have never seen this badge before, but it is a great design - many thanks for sharing to us . It also shows the YU-typical design elements for labour-awards . Best regards Christian

Dear Joe, you are right from the "propaganda-effect" . But the historic fact is, that the sacrifice of the 6th Army had been very useful, to rescue all the German Armies in the southern part of Russia - and Feldmarschall von Manstein managed that urgent task. Kursk summer 1943 had been the "turning of the tide", but Bagration in summer 1944 had been the bitter end of the German "Wehrmacht" at the eastern front. Best regards Christian

Dear Rich, yes, Enigma + radar . But there had been far too less of these wolf-packs for getting a major impact to the Allied supply lines, I guess. Despite their mess and chaos in economy (and also research), they Germans in WW II had been superiour in the design at 3 fields: - Jet fighters - Missiles: A 4 (= V 2) - Submarines Well, "design" . The Soviets launched the (German designed) MiG-15, US & CCCP used the German ballistic missiles and also their advanced designs of submarines. The fact had been, that the German had far too less jet fighters, advanced submarines and no missiles with a nuclear warheads. They lost their war ... Best regards Christian

Dear Lukasz, do you think, that our Archdukes & Generals did actually had the "Matrikelabzeichen des landesst?ndischen Tiroler Adels" on their uniform ? In my feeling, that's more a decoration for some "von", "Edler" or "Ritter", but not for a prominent member of our imperial & royal "Erzhaus" ??? It seems to me to be more an order with a grand star + sash - so the minature and not the full decoration . Best regards Christian

Dear Rich, ENIGMA is a good point . I guess, that Polish scientists in England solved that problem . I think, that the German Submarine Force had been too weak and too easy detectable to cause real harm to the supply of the British Isles. Imagine: The Germans lost more than 3/4 of their submariners - more than 30.000 KIAs . Best regards Christian

Dear Laurence, as I pointed out, operation Bagration smashed the Wehrmacht in summer 1944 and it has been one of the most brilliant military operations in history. That's true, the German losses caused by the Allied Invasion had been nothing in comparison to that epic desaster at the Eastern Front. There is a small, but comprehensive, book about Bagration at OSPREY: http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php/title=P4784 Best regards Christian

That's true: Vienna has maybe the best organized archives in the world . Well, I don't think Tuscany, because Austria lost that country to the new Italian Kingdom in the mid of the 19th century. Are there no listings of the foreign awards of the Austrian Military ? Best regards Christian

Dear Wild Card, I think, that HSU & HSL had been in the CCCP legal parts of one's name and had been put always in front of the name. We had an rather ident law in Austria for more than 100 years, that the (old) academic university degress, like "Magister" (= MA) or "Doktor" (= PhD), had been legal parts of your name and had to be written at all documents, passport, etc. in abbreviations "Mag." or "Dr.". The authorities in Austria even forced you to use your title in your handwritten signature . In the CCCP it might have been the same - like HSU & HSL - with other titles, like "Meritorious ...." or "Member of the Academy of Sciences". So, when you had been a famous scientest, the titles in your name had been much longer, than your real name . The habit to incorporate titles in one's name seems to have been more present in the history of central & eastern Europe, than in the western world . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, if someone is interested, the drawers are produced by "Lindner" in Germany and they cost about USD 35,- each (+ shipping). Here is a link to "Lindner" showing these drawers: http://www.lindner-falzlos.de/ http://www.lindner-usa.com/home.html http://www.prinz.co.uk/ http://www.lindner.fr/ A better photograph of the boxes: Best regards Christian

Economy, Supply & Logistics Gentlemen, I assume, that the decisive battle in WW II had been at the "front" of economy, supply and logistics . In those fields the economies of the Soviet Union and also of the USA had been absolutly superior to the economic chaos of the Nazi-Germany. In terms of "military" battles, Bagration, the destruction of "Heeresgruppe Mitte" in summer 1944 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bagration , had been THE decisive battle of WW II. Best regards Christian

Dear Leigh, many thanks for your expertise . Well, paint doesn't last for ever . Best regards Christian

Alexei's Glory 1cl Dear Ed, I think, that it happened a long time ago, that Alexei (NB) http://home.netcom.com/~merezhko/orders.html sold his Glory 1cl for USD 2.350,- . Alexei's "sold-notations" are a reminder to our glorious "past" ... I am missing the "proportions & relations" in the recent price-settings . Just a matter of demand & supply - Smith, Ricardo & Marx + Vienna & Chicago ? Best regards Christian

Dear Dan, please give us the question #99 . You have a lot of knowlegde and some approbriate books . Best regards Christian