Well, its been a few weeks, so high time for an update!
Harry puts another piece in a puzzle with an article about the Fight at Kisii, British East Africa, in September 1914 HERE
Adolf Breuer, one of the first Stormtroopers, and I mean the REAL deal, Sturmbataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr) style Stormtrooper on the Western front, WW1 etc. etc. etc.... NOT the overweight beer guzzling Nazi Stormtroopers of the 1930s.... Anyway, I digress... I am happy to be able to present to you the first in a series of 3-4 pages about Breuer right HERE
And, a quicky... some more photos added to the Machine Gun Photo Album... which must slowly be becoming the largest Database of WW1 MG pics online? HERE
13th of Feb, Well, not that you lot deserve it, but here is more..... :-) A bit of an Update to the Kraftfahrer page HERE
The real meat of the update are a couple of additions to the Verdun Section. First off are some great studies of the terrain HERE
Then a new section on Photographs of the battlefield HERE 10th of Feb
Part of the failed update from the 4th is up, a great Victoria Cross action in the Cameroons has been added to Harry's Africa. See Here
A nice google shot has been added to the Byron Silver Star article below... it really brings some perspective into the narration.
We had almost 8000 visitors to the site last month, we have helped not only collectors, but also family researchers whose relatives took part in actions featured in the write ups. I will not be able to fit as many updates in in Feb as were possible in Jan, but will try and get articles up at regular intervals.
4th of Feb
A bit of an accident today, after dedicating the whole evening to an update, I lost more than half of my work in a crash... so, the link offered on the John A. Byron thread to the original text does NOT work (Everything flew out so I have to redo it) and Harry's new bit of Africa went West as well. I will redo all this on the weekend...
What does (Hopefully) work, is the following....
"At 4.20P. M. the 2nd
Battalion, 60th Infantry, and the 2nd Battalion, 61st Infantry, had reached the
bank of the river, and the engineers started work on the first bridge. At this
moment a tremendous fire of machine guns and artillery burst on the exposed
troops with great suddenness. The infantry sought shelter and found it, but the
engineers bravely continued at their posts. Shells sank their boats as fast as
they could be placed in the water and by 6.00 P. M. no boats were left. "
John A Byron was one of the Engineers trying to build the bridge... he was awarded the Silver Star for his action HERE
31st of Jan
Well, I hoped to get a bit more up today, but was called out... still, this section got the (hopefully exciting) update it needed with what I hope is useful info about the actions of the AEF... please see HERE
Coming up soon is a new campaign by Harry and a Silver Star on the Meuse River
30th of Jan
Some of the older hands may recognise this Purple Heart, To a man gassed in the Meuse Argonne Offensive. Please take another look. After some effort I think I have improved the article by 500%. HERE
23rd of January
Well, as the site grows, things evolve... and so, a new section opens... The US in WW1. As the articles are spread all over and 4 more are backed up in the pipeline it seemed logical to regroup them... still under construction, but ready to use.. HERE
Harry occupies an area that in revenge occupies our Media today, along with a tie in to a shipwreck off the Horn of Africa. Somaliland 1884-1898 HERE
The Machine Gun Photo album has some interesting items today HERE
16th January,
Harry continues the adventure in his 24th exotic battle. Barton's Battalion in Nyasaland and Portuguese East Africa in 1918
15th of January,
About two years ago I put up a message on the bottom of the front page saying if anyone wanted to donate a couple of bucks to the site, please use the paypal address. So far I have recieved donations to the tune of USD 0.00. If you consider the exchange rate, thats even less than EUR 0.00 !!!!
Somone pointed out to me this week that I had the wrong paypal address (.com instead of .de) DUH! Anyway, incase you want to, address is corrected. There is absolutely no pressure on anyone to do this, there are more important things in the world... if its a choice between Kaiserscross and WWF... I urge you to choose the WWF, they do more good than I do.
Some more tweeking.... improvement to the Page about the 6th Field Artillery at Passchendaele... HERE
A trip to the battlefields last year got me thinking about all the "young men" (I can say that now, I have reached 40) killed who left nothing behind. Many soldiers were killed and left children behind, those are the soldiers whose great-great grandchildren know he died in the war but have no idea of his name...
But there are also many, many young men who don't even have great grandchildren to forget their names. Their crosses are grouped in Military cemeteries and in many cases the only one ever to have visited them is the man who cuts the lawn....
Today I tried, in a very modest way, to give a bit of short term immortality (no, it does not really exist, I made that up) to two soldiers killed on the 5th of August in the Vaux Chapitre wood/ Souville sector at Verdun.... As with most of the dead... they are the footnote to the chapter.... HERE
13th of January,
A New section!
Kaiserscross is not going commercial, but I have added a for sale section to the site to raise some funds and move on stuff I do not really need. It is not a dealer site and I will not feed the need to constantly update it with boring waffle, while advertising it as "Investment grade, super rare pieces!"... 99% is stuff I once wanted... and now no longer need.
Please visit and remember, trade is also very welcome, my wants are many and varied... so feel free to contact me with offers.
Well, 2010 is here... over the last 3 months we have managed to average 6000 visitors a month :-)
A couple of quickies today... but worthwhile..
For the Machine Gun fans, a nice new page to the photo album, over 100 photos now.... HERE
A revamped page for Max Stark who dug comrades out of a collapsed bunker in a heavy bombardment, wounded in the process and winning a high decoration HERE
30th of December
Its been a loooong year and it has not always been easy to find the time to update the site, never mind write anything. Thank god for Harry who keeps the store room full. Today he sets of on his 23rd expedition as a Jamaican Lance Cpl wins a Victoria Cross in Gambia 1891-2 HERE
An exciting new section debuts today, Weapons of the Great War. Some rare stuff as "Gunner" Rick presents the Granatenwerfer 16, its really worth a look with some rare material shown HERE
Wishing all who visit the Site a happy and successful New Year.
Still to come this month, another dramatic action in "Harry's Africa"
29th of November
Harry takes a stab at Mora Mountain as he introduces another exotic corner to the Great War. Fighting in the Lake Chad area in 1914.
15th of November
Bayonets in the African bush during the battle of Bweho-Chini. Harry takes more of Africa HERE
11th of November
Updates to Harry's africa are still ongoing, but in the meantime... this just HAD to be here today... 11th of November and William M Cain is wounded on the last day of the war.... HERE
04 November
Sooooo much to do , so little time. :-(
A huge page is up... I am very happy with it... the last shots fired at Verdun on the 11th of November 1918 by the US 104th Field Artillery along with items belonging to one of the battalion commanders Major G.R. Seymour. I have also used a new idea... a map along with satelite pictures... have a look HERE
Another page added to the machine gun photo album HERE
Coming up are two new pages for Harry's Africa.. and in true British style, Harry is not happy to conquer one continent, watch this space as Harry casts his net further to include the fighting against the Turks in WW1.
03 of September For sometime I have been working on a translation of Generalleutnant August Fortmüllers account of the fighting at Verdun in the last half of 1917. Of great interest as it is one of the few English Language descriptions of the events. When I have time I will add photos and maps HERE
Harry has set off on another Punitive expedition, an account of the Taita Hills campaign can be found HERE
16th Of August Sloooowly I am having a bit more time to take care of the site. As usual, Harry is carrying more than his weight... and this time he has an article on a really EXOTIC location. Try the Battle for Mafia Island !
Some more WW1 German today... the Machine Gunner photo Album has 10 new original photos added to it on two pages. HERE
29th of July, Lots almost happening, but work and family still getting the better of me. Luckily Harry is more dependable and he adds to the empire... The Yoni Campaign in Sierra Leone 1887-88
28th of June Its been some time, Mea Culpa, life got in the way of the site ;-)
Didn't prevent Harry from continuing the good fight... but this time it ends in a hopeless muddle at Longido
Another page added to the Machine Gunner photo Album HERE
20th of May
Some great things up today....
Harry continues putting flags on the map as he presents the little known battle at Rejaf and the Congo Free State army HERE
For those interested in German Assault troops 1914-1918 we have 2 firsts for you.
First first is a total rework of the page on the first assault by Sturm Bataillon Nr. 5 under the command of Willi Rohr HERE
Second first.... the first Panzer Grenadiers... the men of Sturmbataillon Rohr take part in the first German Tank attack. Thanks To TomY for helping out on this and Don Doering for the picture of one of his Tank Badges. Some Rare documents pictured HERE
6th of May
We had over 5000 visitors last month, looking good!
Today Harry conquers another piece of Africa. Darfur 1916, a bloody corner of the world that is still at war today.
Volunteer for a mission where you are almost sure to die, and come back alive. It should and did get Charles Chedeville a medal. An old article but with a rare Lehr Infanterie Regiment document added.
1st of May
Tom W has done a fantastic rewrite for the Sturm-Bataillon Rohr page HERE In the pipeline is a new Article for Harrys Africa, hopefully finished by the weekend....
18th of April
Harry's war against cattle disease turns into a military campaign in Bechuanaland 1896-97 HERE
The older men of the Garde National Mobile of the Cote d'Or are sent to Algeria to occupy a fort during the Franco-Prussian war. Their cushy number becomes critical when they are besieged by the locals HERE
6th Of April
Harry is on a Punitive Raid to Witu this week, another piece to the wars in Africa puzzle can be found HERE
Thanks to Tom Young we have a great new section on the evolution of the German Machine Gun troops 14-18 HERE
Another Page has been added to the Machine Gun Photo Album HERE
28th of march
Egypt 1882: Harry continues his march through Africa, from Alexandria to Tel-El-Kebir HERE
2nd Of March:
A major relaunch of the Verdun page, this time as its own section HERE
Harry's colony spreads further as he covers the Angoniland Rebellion 1898-99 HERE
Added to the Great Gibeon article is a list of casualties from a document in the South African military Archives...
24th of Feb A Victoria cross for the fighting in Gambia 1866 is the subject covered in today in Harry's Africa HERE
23rd of Feb A fantastic update to the flamethrower page thanks to TomW as well as some very rare flamethrower items HERE
17th of Feb
1880s and Africa are IT today...
Harry has an account of the opening stage of the Transvaal war 1880-1881 in his Africa section, the battle at Bronkhorst Spruit HERE
The road to Kairouan, a background, a diary and an award document to a French soldier who rode a supply column to Kairouan in Tunisia 1881 (A big thanks to Tom Young!) HERE
10th of Feb
A final volley! Major Harold Griffith dies leading a bayonet charge in German Kamerun in 1915, winning the Croix de Guerre HERE
8th of Feb
It has taken quite some time but I am happy at last to present a fantastic account of the fighting at Gibeon Station in 1915. Translated into English it is taken directly from Walter Nuhn's wonderful new book "Auf verlorenem Posten", without a doubt the best book dealing with the war in German South West Africa. Herr Nuhn kindly gave permission to use it on the site. Along with the text are a couple of items that should excite the most blase Schutztruppe collector. HERE
Added to Harry's Jebu War article are some pictures of a very desirable medal, see here
6th of Feb
Ever heard of the Jebu war? Here is your chance to find out what it was...
A Medaille Coloniale to the 23rd Bataillon de Chasseur a Pied for the annexation of Tunisia in 1881 HERE
29th of January bis
Goats testicles and DSOs, Ross's Scouts in German East Africa
29th of January
Spectacular MC and bar and DCM group added to this article... HERE
A Tonkin award to an artilleryman of the 1e RAMA Here
24th of January The fight for Zuganatto Bridge, Baron Eric von Otter wins the Military Cross
19th of January
Shipwrecked on the Horn of Africa. The French transporter Aveyron runs aground off the coast of Somalia in August 1884 on its way home from Saigon
18thof January
The Baganda Rifles, Ugandan Hunters who volunteered to fight in German East Africa
14th January
The waterholes at Narungombe, a British officer in the Gold Coast Regiment wins the Military Cross in German East Africa, 1917
12 January You will see the front page has been revamped for easier navigation
Also a short article about the death of C.W. Walser, killed in German East Africa on the way to Tunduru
"The Battalions of Pain"... Service in the Bat d'Af was about a lower point as a soldier could hope to achieve... A short write up about the Penal battalions in the Rif War period including a very rare document HERE
A new member joins the site today and lends a greatly appreciated helping hand in the "Africa at War" section. Harry Fecitt MBE is contributing to a new section called "Harry's Africa"... go HERE to see the start...
02 January
A new addition to the site... The "Medaille Coloniale" is one of the most widely awarded decorations to ever grace the chest of a soldier. It has rewarded campaigns in desert forts and steamy jungles. It is a decoration that provides a wide scope for collectors, either in variations of the medals and its bars, or the certificates and award diplomas which cover campaigns and battles that capture the imagination. For a small "taster" in this interesting collecting field, please see HERE
28th of December
Sous Lieutenant Georges Picquet fought on the Mont Cornillet in the Champagne until he was wounded in April 1918.
23rd of December: Some good material has been added to the Hartmannsweilerkopf page including a superb commemoration certificate for a German killed on the first bloody day of the December 21st offensive. see HERE
South Africa's first officer casualty has seem a bit of a restructure with some links added HERE
22nd of December
Trench raids were usually short, bloody and merciless
affairs. The objective of the raiders was to enter the enemy positions, take a
handful of prisoners then kill and destroy as much as possible before returning
to their own positions. The raiding parties had little means of handling large
numbers of prisoners and those enemy soldiers who could not be taken back…
could not be left alive either. A Trench raid at Avocourt on the Verdun battlefield HERE
13th of December
A death most beautiful.... Robert Tremblay sent in this wonderful selection of letters and photos written by one of the "Innocents" killed in Flanders in 1914....
19th of November.
Yup... its been a loooong while...
A Harlem Hellfighter involved in a bloody and spectacular defense wins Frances highest combat decoration in this article by prosper Keating.
3rd of July
Black Day at Demuin... a Fussartillery Batterie is destroyed... thanks to TomY for help on this one.. HERE
Some raw data from Chip M, from the research files of Major von Stein. A list of the Feldgendarmerie units in 1917-18 HERE
22nd of June
Start of a new section dealing with the men in the trenches. It basically groups together awards and documents to men that are otherwise scattered over the site. See HERE
21st of June
A new section on the Feldgendarmerie has been added, Information courtesy of Cron see HERE
A correction in the page on Theodor Günther, wounded on the Somme can be found HERE
A new addition to the Machine Gunner Photo Album can be found HERE
24th of May As we approach this months 4000th visitor... some Eastern Front stuff... A rough overview of the mid 1915 battles of the Njemen-Armee with items to men who fought in the battles. First part of the August Weber group included HERE
17th of May The reduction of the St Mihiel pocket in 1918 by general John Persings newly arrived American troops HERE
5th of May A section on the "Boer war on the German bookshelf" some decorative items published in Germany during and after the Boer war. HERE
3rd May At long last the beginning of a section that deals with the militaria and relationship between Imperial Germany and the Boers HERE
10th of April At long last I have gotten around to presenting the group to Major H.J. Pretorius who played a role in crushing the 1914 Rebellion and fought in the Southern Force in the campaign in German South West Africa HERE
9th of April A page about the mapmakers, just to show where they fit into the army HERE
6th of April
Prinz Adalbert was wounded again in the Marne-Champagne offensive. To see his wound badge document and a description of the event see HERE
A brief overview of the defensive battles between Soissons and Reims and between the marne and Vesle in July-August 1918 HERE
1-5 of April
I WANT YOU! to help on the site.... I am sure many folks have something to add as far articles, translations etc go... please see HERE
A great section on the German raid on Kakamas, I think the only raid the Germans did on any country of the British Commonwealth during the war. Including rare documents to Oberleutnant Freiherr von Hadeln see HERE
Fighting their way into Romania in September 1916 the Alpenkorps and units of the 187.I.D. had to clear the slopes of the treacherous Vulkan pass See HERE
Bavarian Prince Adalbert was wounded fighting on the Stochod during the latter stages of the Brusilow offensive for his Wound badge in black and award document see HERE
