Who is this man and where did he come from ?

Sorry Glen ... that was just me getting excited !!!!!!!!!

I've been trying to find Wassmus on the German War Graves Commission !! without much luck I'm afraid

Michel - I got frozen up with your pdf so I haven't been able to look at it yet !! .... I'll try again later and see if I can get it !!

Annie

 

[Michel - I got frozen up with your pdf so I haven't been able to look at it yet !! .... I'll try again later and see if I can get it !!

Annie [/QUOTE]


Annie,

there are more 700 pages, and 251 divisions I think !

take you time

Michel

 

mon Dieu !!

No wonder I got frozen !!!!!!!!!!!

 

They're the manufacturer's details. Where they are would have actually been "inside" the uniform (it's the belt hook (one of two) from the rear of the tunic) so there's not really anything to be gained from this (apart from confirmation that it was from a Bavarian tunic of pre-1916 manufacture (I'm presuming from the colour that it's of a brass type metal?)

 

After cleaning...

 

Initials...

 

Lieutnant Erich Wassmuss - born 18th June 1892 at Rodewald. Official date of death (as from German Air service records and the VdK) 11/4/1918

Buried in Block 26 Grave 727 at Neuville-St-Vaast Soldatenfriedhof

 

Profile view...

 

Hello Fritz,

you are right it is pure brass...

Michel

 

WB is quite a common maker (though I don't know which it is)of these. I've seen and had several of these with the same intitals, though most of the ones I've had were of the National Army variety (with crown).

 

If that means he was Air Force .... he's not "ours" is he ?

 

Most certainly isn't - the "Flieg" (Flieger) signifies an airman and, that besides, this bloke's already got a grave.

 

I knew that !!!!

 

I believe you, Annie!

Anyway re: the "W.B" stamping ... here it is again, but this time on a (non-Bavarian) greatcoat button (along with another dug-up belt hook that was made by a different manufacturer to illustrate the manufacturing stamp style)...

 

Re:Ludendorff...

...and, strangely prophetic - Ludendorff on Hitler...

"You have delivered up our holy German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I solemnly prophesy that this accursed man will cast our Reich into the abyss and bring our nation to inconceivable misery. Future generations will damn you in your grave for what you have done."

 

might be of some use...

(PS. Michel - do you know if anything else at all was found on the remains?)

 

Can you explain whos who on that map Fritz please ..... the places I know ! ....

it's just all the "X"'s !!

PS I believe just the 1912 pfennig !!

 

"X"s are barbed wire entanglements, solid "squiggly" lines are trenches, dotted double lines are tracks, single dotted lines are disused trenches and the symbols similar to this - ][ - are bridges (probably foot bridges)


Michel - would you say that the remains were found near where one of those "bridges" on the 1918 map was once located? (I'm privately theorising here!)

 

Thinking about it, as there's a high probability that trenchmap extracts will be seen in future posts on this forum, this webpage showing various conventional signs reference tables from trenchmaps might come in handy...

http://www.pathsofglory.co.uk/conventional_signs.htm

Maybe someone should post some of the images from this page onto a thread on this forum? Might be a handy reference.

 

Go on then .... then we'll sticky it !!

Thanks for the explanation !!