Falkenhayn

[Snoopy]

Hello

I bought this small badge, a couple of years ago. I payed less than 3 $ for it. I don't know much about it. It's probably a common badge, but I like the detail on this one. It has what I would call, a safetypin, on the back. I forgot to scan the back. Who would wear such a badge? Is it some sort of campaign badge?

Snoopy

[Chip]

snoop.

Though I have not seen this particular badge before, it is in the style of the Austrian Kappenabzeichen. It may well be of Austrian manufacture, as they did make badges that commemorated their various associations with the Germans on the Eastern Front. Most Austrian made badges are maker marked on the reverse.

There were some German made badges, most of which were Bavarian. The Bavarians who served on the Eastern Front with the Austrians picked up the habit of wearing these badges and I have photos of them wearing Austrian corps badges as well as German made divisional badges. Given that Rumania was a joint theater of operations, I would guess this badge is of Austrian manufacture.

Chip

[Snoopy]

snoop.

Though I have not seen this particular badge before, it is in the style of the Austrian Kappenabzeichen. It may well be of Austrian manufacture, as they did make badges that commemorated their various associations with the Germans on the Eastern Front. Most Austrian made badges are maker marked on the reverse.

There were some German made badges, most of which were Bavarian. The Bavarians who served on the Eastern Front with the Austrians picked up the habit of wearing these badges and I have photos of them wearing Austrian corps badges as well as German made divisional badges. Given that Rumania was a joint theater of operations, I would guess this badge is of Austrian manufacture.

Chip

Hello Chip

Thanks, for the information. The badge has no maker marks on the reverse, but it has an inscription on the front. It's located along the right rim. The letters are tiny, so it's a bit difficult to read, It's two words, and the last, looks like "EISEN". I have tried to make a close up, from the picture.

Snoopy

Edited May 2, 2007 by Snoopy

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Guys, the top inscription reads "Against Rumania" obviously an early WW1 as its dated 1914 - 1916 tinnie for the campaign there. (The Rumanians came into WW1 in 1916.)

FALKENHAYEN is the name of the German Chief of Staff.

ALSO:

On 14th October 1914, the German Chief of Staff, General Erich von Falkenhayen, committed the German Fourth and Sixth Armies, and the First Battle of Ypres commenced. (WEST FRONT)

AND:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_Campaign_(World_War_I)

"The Romanian government signed a treaty with the Allies on August 17, 1916 and declared war on the Central Powers on August 27. The Romanian Army was quite large, about 500,000 men in 23 divisions. However, it had officers with poor training and equipment; more than half of the army was hardly trained. Meanwhile, the German Chief of Staff, General Erich von Falkenhayn correctly reasoned that Romania would side with the Allies and made plans to deal with Romania. Thanks to the earlier conquest of Serbia and the ineffective Allied operations on the Greek border, and having a territorial interest in Dobruja, the Bulgarian Army was willing to help fight the Romanians." (EAST FRONT)

I took the liberty of high lighting the pictures to show more detail.

Kevin in Deva.

[Snoopy]

Hi Kevin

Thank you very much. Now, that I know more about the badge, I like the badge even more.

Snoopy

[Kev in Deva]

Hi Kevin

Thank you very much. Now, that I know more about the badge, I like the badge even more.

Snoopy

Hallo Snoopy, you are very welcome Kevin in Deva

[bob lembke]

Falkenhayn had been the Chief of Staff since shortly after the war commenced, but as the Battle of Verdun sputtered to a bloody stalemate, mid 1916, he was asked to step down and the team of Hindenburg and Ludendorff came from the East and took over the Highest Army Command for the rest of the war. Although judged not the man for the supreme command, Falkenhayn was a capable general officer, and when the Romanians entered the war on the side of the Allies he was chosen to command the army sent to deal with the new Romanian problem. The difficulty was that the British-French attack on the Somme was in full swing, leading to a very tight resource situation.

Romania, prior to their declaration of war, was leaning to the Allies, but had a certain flexibility. My father's unit, a detachment of replacements for the German volunteer Pionier=Kompagnie serving at Gallipoli, entrained on a civilian train through Romania in civilian clothes, their kit having been sent ahead by some other means. It is a certainty that the Romanians knew that they were German soldiers. One of the German leaders at Gallipoli, probably von Sanders or Oberst Kannengeiser, complained in his memoirs that the Romanians were prejudiced against the Germans, and to smuggle men or materiel thru Romania they had to pay bigger bribes than the Allied powers were forced to pay for a similar blind eye, a "Nelson's eye", to look the other way.

Bob Lembke