Gradez

Hi Tony, thank you for your reply. As far as I know, he was not artillery - just plain infantry. Regards Gradez

Dear readers, I was not quite sure where to post this, as one could consider it German/British/armour related. But I wanted to share this, as in my opinion it shows in its own way, how the German Imperial Army dealt with the introduction of the tanks by the British in WWI. I do not know, when or where this picture was taken. I found it among others in a stash of photographs depicting the wartime experience of an enlisted man (Ersatzreservist), who served with 368th Regiment of infantry (10. Ersatzdivision) in France from around 1914 until late 1916 and subsequently with 429th IR (224. Division) in the eastern theatre of operations. 224. Div. was moved to France in September 1918. My guess would be, that the picture was taken in France, as tank warfare at the eastern front was limited. Futhermore I think, that the reproduktion was build for training purposes, or just to give the men an impression of what they might have to face. There is a caption on the rear: „Das neue feindl(iche) Angriffsmittel „Der Tank“ umstehend eine Nachbildung aus Holz.“ (German: The new enemy means of attack (or advance) "The Tank" overleaf a wooden reproduktion). I hope, that this is of interest for you and would be pleased to read your opinions. Kind regards Gradez

Hello Ralph, I am following your interesting collection for quite a while now via your very interesting website and just wanted to let you know, how much I appriciate your effort. I added a WWI "Artillery" picture, which I discovered this year together with a couple of other wartime photographs of an enlisted man, who served with 368th Regiment of Infantry in France. Caption on the rear says "Scheingeschütz", which means decoy gun in german. Cheers Gradez

OK, lets stick to the blokey stuff then..... If you are in the federal state of Lower Saxony there are a few places, that might interest you. All of the following attractions are more or less located in a rather small triangle between Munster, Göttingen and Wolfsburg. There are actually two car museums in the city of Wolfsburg, home of the Volkswagen company. First is Automuseum Volkswagen (http://automuseum.volkswagen.de) focussing on VW cars, the second one is Autostadt Zeithaus (http://www.autostadt.de/en/explore-the-autostadt/zeithaus/) which shows not just VW cars, but has a bit of a focus on brands now belonging to them and their evolution (like Audi, Horch, DKW, Wanderer, NSU,...). A newly opened private museum with a quality collection and lovely made display is in Einbeck (https://ps-speicher.de/en/index.php) I´ve been there earlier this year, so I am glad to be able to post a (MV-retated) teaser picture: If you get fed up with cars, you should visit an aviation museum, which easily can be done here: http://www.luftfahrtmuseum-hannover.de/ So much for the technical stuff. If you are interested in more historical stuff, especially anglo-hanoverian history (you know, all those Georges), you could go there: http://www.landesmuseum-hannover.niedersachsen.de or there http://www.schloss-marienburg.com So enjoy your trip. Kind regards Gradez

Hello, do you already have a rough idea about your route? And are MV´s your only interest? Is there a significant other to be entertained as well? If you travel via Hamburg (about 90 km from Munster), and you are interested in motoring in general, I would recommend this: http://www.prototyp-hamburg.de A fine private collection focussing on Porsche constructions, so usually they have their VW Schwimmkübel, Porsche Jagdwagen or CCG Beetle on display (among many other interesting cars). If you are interested in maritime or (German) naval history I would recommend this: http://www.internationales-maritimes-museum.de One mayor benefit is, that both museums are almost direkt neighbours. One mayor problem is, that you can spend almost one entire day in both of them, especially in the maritime museum. So enjoy your trrip to Germany, Kind regards Gradez Just one additional note: Please keep in mind, that museums are usually closed in Germany on Mondays. So you´d better check opening hours in advance.....

Thanks again to all of you, and especially to you, mtskull, for rummaging through your archives. I can make out the eagle in the same postion, on the picture, you posted. So, as a little courtasy, and as we are well into WW 1 balloon warfare now, from the same source (even if it is not a MV, and we are not in the Aviation section): Caption on the rear just says: "Ballon der X.E.D.", which means "Balloon of 10th (GE) Ersatz-Division (Reserve Division)". Kind regards Gradez

THANK YOU ALL, @ Sean, yes that will be worth a try. @Wattie. thank you, for the details. I looked them up and am a bit confused now, because I felt, that 1944/45 would not fit into the general timeline of the rest of the pictures which seem to cover the 1940-42 period. But who knows, how the picture found its way to the others. @Motorfahrer, thank you und vielen Dank, for the BMW-link. BMW 321 fits very well. No one has mentioned the commander´s pennant/flag (I do not know the correct English term), mounted to the wings. Is it an army commander´s insignia? Thank you Gradez

Thank you all, for your interesting replies. Gradez

Dear Rick, In my opinion this is a very interesting aspect. My feeling always was, that standardisation wasn´t a thing that German army officials cared about very much, as far as motoring was concerned. Even the socalled "Einheits PKW" from the pre/early WW2 aera came with different engines, according to the maker. I know, that in the pre WW1 aera there was a system for subsidy lorries, but how far was "standardisation" an issue? Kind regards Gradez

Thank you Richard, I know Austrian Newspaper Online from other things, I researched in the past - MVs being just a "side interest" for me. I just never realised, that they also have motoring magazines in stock. So, my weekend is settled. Greetings Gradez

Thank you, mtskull. I tried to enlarge the "significant areas" of the lorry. And yes, it should be an Opel. The sign you have posted is very similar. Kind regards Gradez

Dear Readers, the kind, helpful and supportive answers I recieved within literally no time encouraged me, to post another snapshot from the same source as the Opel picture, I posted yesterday. This time it is the picture of a German AA (Anti Balloon?) gun mounted on a lorry, unknown to me. The crew appears to be in a bit of action, as someone seems to have spotted something in the skys. What fell into my eye is the rather unusual position of the German Imperial eagle, which seems to have been applied, where space was available. I tried to enlarge this part of the picture. So, does anybody recognize the type of the lorry? Kind regards Gradez

Dear redhering, This could very well be, as the Sinsheim Museum have their own reputation for not always restoring their things properly, but to use what is availeble to get the stuff running. So I did not want to take this exemple as a reference. But to stay fair, they saved it back in those years, when anybody else would have scrapped it and when originality to every nut and bolt wasn´t a requirement. Kind regards Gradez

Dear Great War truck, I feel a little honored, to recieve an opinion from you, as your Dennis and Thornycroft threads a the main reasons for me to check this forum on at least weekley bases for years now. They somewhat triggered my interest in Great War motor transport. "Artillerie" instead of "Armee" makes sense to me. Kind regards Gradez

Thank you, Bosun Al, for your answer. I do not have any drawings, just this picture and a few others, showing other WW I impressions. But if I come accross a set of drawings, I will remember you. Gradez

Thank you Rick, I know, the notes on the back are not always trustworthy. But what about that radiator badge, beneath the filler cap? Isn´t it an early Opel sign? Regards Gradez

Thank you, Wattie. I just checked a few pictures of Gen. Nehring, and yes, the nose, the mouth, it could be him. Gradez

Dear readers, in a stash of WW I photographs I found a picture of a german WW I lorry, obviously an Opel. But does anybody recognize the exact type/model? And furthermore, what about the markings? What does A.M.K.K. mean? Armee Motor Kraftfahr Kolonne? Or anything else? If so, does anyone know, in which theatre of operations A.M.K.K. 816 was deployed? And what does the "Str. 3162" on the licence plate (?) stand for. I have very little knowledge about Imperial German motor equipment, or the organisation of German army transport during the great war, so please be gentle, if these question might be stupid or have been discussed several times before. Oh, by the way it says just "Opel Lastauto" on the back, which can be roughly translated with "Opel lorry". Any help will be highly appreciated. Gradez

By the way, no one has mentioned the lorry in the middle, by now :cool2:. Gradez

Thank you so much guys. As I wrote in my initial post, I am interested in the car, too. That is, why I posted my request in this forum. You can find knowledge about both, the men and the rides, here . So please, post right away, if you have anything to say about the car. Can we consider it being a BMW, now? Thanks a lot Gradez

Thank you Wally, for your input. I checked out v. Küchler, and it could be him fairly well.

Dear Readers, after long time reading, and very carefully adding my two cents, this is my first question for help. A friend of mine gave me a stash of photos from his grandfather, depicting his wartime experiences. Sadly, there are not much notes on them, so it is quite difficult to figure out, when and where the pictures where taken. Needless to say, that the recollections of the family are very limited as well... But there are a few hints. As far as I know by now, he served as an enlisted man with an artillery Regiment of Panzergruppe Kleist and was deployed to France, the Balkans and Russia. So, my questions for today would be, does anybody recognize the General on the picture added? Could it be Fieldmarshal von Kleist himself? Does anybody recognize the pretty elegant staff car? If so which type/model is it? Any help will be appreciated very much. Gradez

As far as I know it was powered by a "KdF" (Volkswagen-) engine. There is one surviving example in the famous Grundmann Collection in Hessisch Oldendorf, Germany. Regards Gradez

No matter. It´s thank YOU for sharing your interesting pictures. Regards Gradez

Back to Post No. 179. In my opinion it reads: Rußland 18. X. 42, Rast auf dem Ufer des asowischen Meeres. Partisanen-Gebiet. "Resting on the banks of the Sea of Asov (Ukraine). Partisan-Area".