Turkey Help with Campaign/Battle Bars

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[mario]

[Guest Rick Research]

EXCEPTIONALLY nice photos of Heeres Kraftwagen Park XII (sign on building, HKP XII) although his 11.11.16 note to

"My Dear Leni"

says it is Replacement Motor Vehicle Park 12 (Ersatz Kraftwagen Park)--

"Here is a picture of the RMVP 12 in Grodno to which I've been seconded for the last three weeks. If you put both postcards side by side it makes an over-view.

Heartiest greetings from your

Paul"

With letter stamps of Prussian Cavalry-Motor Vehicle (!!) Column 17 of the 12th Army.

Here is Wilhelms right-side up:

Because he is wearing his 30 October 1918 (Turkish Armistice Day) EK1, I'd guess this was actually taken after he got back home. The 1930s ribbon bar seems to indicate he had no Austro-Hungarian awards, so that ribbon bar may just be a souvenir from an Austrian friend. The clips on the back of that bar are typical Austrian attachments, so it is not an improvised German bar of "foreign" awards.

Which makes that the FIRST Austrian ribbon bar from Turkish service I've seen in 40 years!

[mario]

This is again really appreciated. I am rushing to take more pictures so with all the help from you guys we can put all pieces together. The Austrian bar is indeed confusing when thought as an integral part of the grouping. I think you had a great insight attributing it to a friend. The Goeben und Breslau book also came together but I think it refers more to the Dardanelles campaign.

Confusing as it may sound I think that what was pictured was his EK2, the ribbon was removed and placed on the second button together with the TWM ribbon that is actually below the EK2 ribbon. The reason I am saying this is because both EKs came with the lot, the EK2 is very similar to the pictured EK while the EK1 is vaulted and thinner. I know this is just a detail difficult to grasp from pictures, so my observation is limited.

I will take pictures from his medals over the weekend.

I still hope to get more info and more items from Wilhelms.

[Dave Danner]

The more I look at this -- and I nearly gave mysely an injury dragging my copy of Tarihi's book down off the top shelf -- the more I think the red bar (on the Austrian medal, post #2) is merely a rough rendering of T?rkei into semi-Ottoman script. Something made in Austria to doll up the ribbon bar?

A lovely bar!

It doesn't say Turkey. The first letter does appear to be a "t" but the second letter is an "l". The third appears to be an "f", but in this script it is hard to tell an "f" (ﻔ) from the letter which in Arabic is Daad (ﻀ‎) and is either a "d" or "z" in Turkish. Next is a "y" or long "i" (ﻴ). The curl at the end is either the tail of a final "y" (ﻰ) or an "r" (ﺮ) connected to the "i".

It could be Tal Afar, the town in northern Iraq which was an Ottoman garrison town. In modern Turkish, the city is called Telafer. I can't find an Ottoman gazeteer to see how the town was spelled on Ottoman maps, though.

[Ed_Haynes]

I guess so, Dave, I guess so. Not being one of the normal clasps, though, it is an interesting invention.

[mario]