A lion head sword with dedication from 1893

[saschaw]

My father has a German artillery sword (lion head) with an "Eisenhauer-Klinge" and a dedication on it which reads "Herbig s./l. Grasshoff 1893", so it was given from a Herbig to a Grasshoff, and at least Grasshoff, but maybe both, were artillery men. Is it possible to get to know where they were at this time? I could be Prussia, Baden or some other things ...

Thanks in advance for your help ...

PS:

Sorry, I have no pictures of it.

[Guest Rick Research]

You are in luck. What you have is a typical F?hnrich-to-F?hnrich present for graduating from a Kriegschule as Leutnants:

HERBIG was commissioned in J?ger Bataillon 9 20.5.93 U2u and never left that battalion before the war. He survived, and retired as an Oberstleutnant.

GRASSHOFF was commisioned in Fussartillerie Regiment 3 20.5.93 Qq. He was still on active duty there as Adjutant of the IInd Abteilung in 1902, but between 1902 and 1905 left active duty and went into the Landwehr I as an Oberleutnant (Herbig was promoted to that rank 18.7.02 Q6q and I should think Grasshoff was too) at Landwehrbezirk Halberstadt.

DESPITE having at least 9 years of active duty, as of 1912 Grasshoff had NOT received an LD2--suggesting the MINIMAL participation in his Landwehr duties--which may be why he went from active duty TO the Landwehr and not into the Reserve. In 1913, however, he held the XX Years-calendar-time-regardless-of-actual-DUTY-time LD1... and retired from the Landwhere 1913/14.

Because neither of them had any awards in 1908, no entries in the Orders Almanac, so I have no first names or dates of birth.

[saschaw]

Rick, you're great as always, thank you very much ...

[Glenn J]

Wolfgang Max Oskar Hans Herbig, born 17 May 1872 in Wilhelmshaven. Father - Kapit?n zur See a.D. Otto Herbig.

Attended Cadet Schools Potsdam and Gro? Lichterfelde from which he graduated on the 22nd of March 1892 as a char. Portep?e F?hnrich in J?ger-Bataillon Nr. 7. Promoted Portep?e F?hnrich on 18 October 1892 and commissioned on the 20 May 1893 on transfer to J?ger-Bataillon Nr. 8. Transferred to J?ger-Bataillon Nr. 9 on 15 November 1894.

Grasshoff was promoted to Oberleutnant on 22.9.92 U. Pensioned off as an "half-invalid" in 1904 he was on return to civil life an Amtsvorsteher in Hasserode. He retired from Landwehr service on the 20 January 1914. Mobilized at the outbreak of war he was promoted to Hauptmann d.L. II a.D. on 17 October 1914. On the 1st of November 1914 he re-entered "active" Landwehr duty as an Hauptmann d.L. I with a patent of 17 October 1914 and was serving in the II. Ersatz-Bataillon of Fu?artillerie-Regiment Nr. 4.

Regards

Glenn

[Guest Rick Research]

Awwwwwwwww, Glenn! You left off:

Did he survive the war?

[Glenn J]

Awwwwwwwww, Glenn! You left off:

Did he survive the war?

Rick,

it is difficult to be 100% certain. In the list of KIA Prussian officers, one Hauptmann d.L. a.D. Gra?hoff is listed as died on the 4th of Feb 1916 as a member of the 1. Garde-Reserve-Fu?artillerie-Regiment. Unfortunately (and unusually) it does not give his peacetime allocation to a Landwhr-Bezirk).

Now although we know from the MWB that "our" Gra?hoff ceased being "a.D." in November 1914, I cannot find another Prussian Fu?artillerie Landwehr Hauptmann d.L. going back as far as 1900. So it may well be the case that he did die in 1916. I hope to see a copy of the 1916 MWB next month and perhaps a death notice in there will shed some further light on the subject.

Regards

Glenn

[Guest Rick Research]

Uhhhhh ohhhhhh. Sounds like yet another Unhappy Ending sword story!!!!!

[saschaw]

Thanks again for your great help, Gentlemen.