Your research goodies...

[Chris Boonzaier]

Paul C has made a good start, scanning and PDFing rank lists.

A guy in Germany has about 120 regimental histories on CD for about EUR5 a pop in PDF file.

I have a history I have seen for sale for over EUR200 !!! I would much prefer a disc for 1:40th of the price.

What do youguys think the future is? Sure, paper is nicer, but PDF is not to bad... and I would rather pay EUR5 than EUR75 for a history, especially if I am buying all as they come out.

It is a way that really puts in the info in the hands of the masses..... at some stage I will photograph the histories I have and add to the list... imagine if everyone did... how the info would flow....

[Guest Rick Research]

I would HOPE that I will be able to join all this updated computer technology beyond the hamster powered variety I now have...

before my 100-ish year old original volumes fall apart.

They have had HARD use these last 25 years!

[bravo2zero]

Having just invested in a couple of rank Lists and now looking towards the excellent CD may I ask the All Knowing One to set me straight on my next problem? Why the bloody hell don't the Germans put the officers initials alongside his name? I look at a list for, let's say Stumpff, and there's six of them.How the devil do you find which is your recipient?

You can tell how dumb I am ... I can't even work out how to drop a Clickable Smiley in....

Mike

I would HOPE that I will be able to join all this updated computer technology beyond the hamster powered variety I now have...

before my 100-ish year old original volumes fall apart.

They have had HARD use these last 25 years!

[Chris Boonzaier]

ahhhh.... that would make research to easy wouldnt it ??? The germans planned for long term research pleasures... its for that reason they published thousand page historical tomes without an index as well !!

[Guest Rick Research]

Ahhh, welcome to the world of Arcane and Obscure Reference sources!

There are Rank Lists... and then there are Rank Lists.

The Prussians and the pre-WW1 Imperial Navy are the worst, since rare are the appearances of any first names ever, in those. The navy made amends by publishing first names and birthdatea in the 1914-18 Navy Honor Rank List.

Saxony had a rather eccentric version which requires flipping back and forth, but DOES list first names.

Bavaria listed first names and birth years (and--helpfully--all promotions)

but W?rttemberg (on their own, not the combinations with Prussia) takes the prize for first names...

full dates of birth...

AND place of birth...

including detached Prussians on assignment with their regiments!

Bavaria also tossed in all those "invisible" awards for campaigns and jubilees that Prussia and the navy and Saxony left out. W?rttemberg did not actually LIST campaign medals, but in perhaps something BETTER, showed exact overseas and war participation before 1914-- so an EXACT knowledge of which of dozens of Colonial campaign bars is possible.

These are all like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle-- it takes a avriety to get an idea of the pcture. A single year is a snapshot in time, but a range of years enables "reading" a career like chapters in a book.

It's addictive, after a few successes.

The key is SENIORITY... the rank dates and those weird little suffixes which indicate seniority within that date and rank.

[Stogieman]

.... and I am lost already just by "The Evil One's" answer..... thank God I can bribe him into helping me out with this stuff.

[Bob Hunter]

Are you suggesting the venerable Mr. Research is open to a bribe? Hmmmmmmmm, I wonder what works...

I wonder if chocolate chip cookies would work?

Edited September 29, 2005 by Bob Hunter

[JensF.]

Btw. this is the page of the "Regimentsgeschichten auf CD" guy. I bought some and can really recommend them.

http://www.geocities.com/FJ_VF168/dindex.html