EK 1914 Iron Cross First Class from the Brussilow Offensive

[Brian R]

Hi Guys - I have recently come across and EK1 from the Brussilow Offensive. Specifically, it has the following engraving on the reverse...

 

Bohuszowka
Kol. Nowy Mozor
am Stochod
Juni 1916

 

It seems quite clear that this cross was partially earned for the fighting on and around the Stochod in June 1916 given the engraving. It also appears that Bohuszowka is a small town in the vicinity of Luck so this fits in as well. The confusing thing is the Nowy Mozor reference. From what I can see, this appears to be Polish - the words for New Cemetery. The Kol. likely stands for Kolonia and, perhaps, this is a reference to a small, regional cemetery in that it is even smaller than the smallest village.

 

While I'll never know who owned/earned this Iron Cross, I wonder if it could have been a member of the Polish Legion fighting in the area. The Nowy Mozor makes me think that its a Polish reference that could be referred as something slightly different in Russian (or German). I asked a Polish friend about it and he said it's tough to determine given the area; the northwest part of the Ukraine, just below the Belorussian border, and not far from Poland. It's an area that varied over the centuries in terms of rule, and the influences of the various people in the region overlapped. It's quite possible that a Polish name/reference could be shared by others.

 

So, does anyone have any thoughts? At this point, we can surely say its Brussilow related, and for the fighting in June when the Russians were taking heavy casualties from the Germans (and possibly Poles?) in the area.

 

 

 

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi,

 

one thing becomes rapidly aparent when researching WW1 on the eastern front.... many of the names the Germans used were used almost as a "one off"..... almost as if they created names as they went, which then dissapeared when they moved on...

 

By this I mean, sometimes you find a german text with an eastern front name.... when you google, the ONLY reference to that place name is a single hist from 1917... Which leads me to think the germans used versions of place names that had little to do with the original name and were only used while they were there...

 

Best

Chris

[Brian R]

Thanks for the reply, Chris. I know what you mean - researching the Eastern Front in WWII can be quite the challenge as well. Do you think the Germans were even more apt to be liberal with names during the Great War? If the Germans were in this area and naming things "the way they pleased", wouldn't ya think they would have went with Neu rather than Nowy? I guess it could go either way, but this is the type of thing that has me wondering if it would have been a member of the Polish Legion.