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41  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Personalities & Aces / General of Artillery von Kirchbach on: 16 September 2012, 16:00:10

Pictured here is Hans von Kirchbach who finished his 52 year career at the end of WWI.
He was a General of Artillery for Saxony's XII Reserve Corps in the German Third Army at the Battle of the Marne and served on the eastern front at wars end.  http://home.comcast.net/~jcviser/aok/kirchbach_h.htm

I'm sure someone here can tell me what the ribbon in his button hole is awarded for.  He was awarded the Pour le Merite in 1918, too.
42  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Personalities & Aces / Re: Helmuth Hirth on: 16 September 2012, 05:36:57
Ha, ha!

You know it's one reason I share them here--digitization allows access to the image without having to actually be holding the piece of paper.
One draw back is that digitizing may miss something. I may be sharing what you all can't come and actually touch and feel but I'm filtering my collection through my choice of interests or what I think others may find interesting.  Who knows what I'm overlooking and failing to scan and post here?!?
Slowly but surely I'm getting more and more items scanned and posted.
43  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Personalities & Aces / Helmuth Hirth on: 15 September 2012, 16:45:41


Also known as Hellmuth Hirth in this wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellmuth_Hirth , Hirth (1886-1938) was a famous airplane designer and flyer.  This postcard shows him with his Iron Cross presumably during WWI.  He was killed in a plane crash in 1938.
44  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Books, Movies, Docus and Stories / Re: US Library of Congress: Veterans History Project on: 14 September 2012, 16:16:46
http://pritzkermilitarylibrary.org/Home/Shes-a-WOW.aspx

The Library of Congress is really focusing on women in the US military recently!  Today's blog post concerns this site, the Pritzker Military Library, which documents, collects and celebrates US women in the military serving during WWII.
45  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Books, Movies, Docus and Stories / US Library of Congress: Veterans History Project on: 13 September 2012, 15:40:54
http://www.loc.gov/vets/

The LoC is one of the best on-lines sources for special collections in digital format for many topics.
While reading a blog about a 105-year-old US Army veteran (a Black woman in Washington DC named Alyce Dixon) I came across this large collection of oral histories and personal collections of letters and pictures.  Fascinating and well-organized digital collection of US military veterans' history.
46  War & Conflicts Discussions / World War I / Re: German Navy 'U-9' Submarine Commander & Crew on: 12 September 2012, 01:18:42
Thanks, Koen!

with the centennial of the war coming up, I'm working more on that collection of mine (I have boxes of postcards and photos) and looking for more nice images to add to the collection, too.
47  War & Conflicts Discussions / World War I / Re: SMS Möwe & Crew, WWI German Merchant Raider on: 12 September 2012, 01:16:54
3rd picture is strange but also shows the difference between WWI & II and the naval code


when I first saw it, I thought the flag was some sort of Ottoman flag and the men were Turks. 
48  War & Conflicts Discussions / World War II pictures/postcards/maps / Re: Couple of German Postcards... on: 12 September 2012, 01:14:02
The top card you show is part of a series of about 6 cards; they show different maps.
49  War & Conflicts Discussions / World War I / German Navy 'U-9' Submarine Commander & Crew on: 9 September 2012, 16:10:37

Here is another postcard in a cache I recently obtained.  This one shows the Captain and crew of WWI German submarine 'U-9' after sinking 3 British warships in September 1914. 

This postcard from the same group shows 'U-9' Kommandant Otto Weddigen.  Later transferred to U-29, Weddigen was killed when that sub was struck by a British warship.

Again, great quality to these real photo postcards and fantastic subject matter.
50  War & Conflicts Discussions / World War I / SMS Möwe & Crew, WWI German Merchant Raider on: 8 September 2012, 20:42:50

Commander of SMS Möwe, Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien with officiers on a great real photo postcard I recently got. 'The Seagull' was a WWI German merchant raider with 13 sinkings and 2 captures to her credit in 3 months of raiding from December 1915 to February 1916.  Used for propaganda purposes (like these postcards I have) later in the war the ship also served as a submarine tender.  The Treaty of Versailles gave the Mowe to Great Britain and she was sold to a German firm in 1933.  In April, 1945, British war-planes sank her off the coast of Norway.

The whole crew is pictured here.

This postcard shows the Indian crew of one of the Möwe's victims.

These three cards are wonderful photos both in quality and subject matter.
51  War & Conflicts Discussions / American Civil War / Gettysburge College -- Library Special Collections includes Civil War Blogs on: 6 September 2012, 14:32:37
http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2012/09/the-digital-stewardship-of-civil-war-memory/

The library at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania has begun purchasing blogs to include in its special collections.  This is a way to obtain new material for the collection without paying high prices or for cases in which the items are not even available. 
52  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Personalities & Aces / Enver Pasha -- Turkish Leader Balkans War & WWI on: 5 September 2012, 16:29:54


This recent postcard find shows Enver Pasha (1881-1922).  Born Ismail Enver, he was an Ottoman officer and led the Young Turk movement.  He was involved in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911, the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 and World War I. 
An interesting life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enver_Pasha
53  War & Conflicts Discussions / World War I / UK Propaganda, Support from Colonies on: 31 August 2012, 18:40:31

Can you read what is in the lion's mane?  The lion represents Great Britain.  In his mane, from top to bottom, one sees Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, African Colonies.  The caption says "The Glory of a Lion is his Mane" -- Britain was proud of the colonies but also realized the importance of colonial support for the war effort.

There's an interesting message on the back which reads in part: "Horncastle Nov. 8th 1914  What do you think of the mane? Is it not clever? We have got a Red Cross Hospital fitted up here in our drill hall, and about 30 of the wounded here.  I went to visit them yesterday.  Oh, this war is terrible.  The loss of life is dreadful to contemplate.  We are all praying that it may soon come to an end and that peace may be established. Glad to hear that you are all well; am pleased to say I am throughout the disquieting circumstances through which we are passing.  Best luck to you all, your loving Auntie"

3 months into the war, this woman had no idea they were in for 4 mores years.
54  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Pictures & Postcards / Ernest Harmon Air Force Base, Newfoundland Canada on: 30 August 2012, 04:04:14


In 1941 as part of the 'Destroyers for Bases' agreement between the UK and the US, the US was granted an air base near Stephenville Newfoundland.  The US Air Force operated the base until 1966 when it reverted to the Crown and then Canada.  It's now Stephenville International Airport.
The base was named after Harmon in 1948 (before that, it was simply Stephenville Airbase) so this card dates from the late 1940s or early 1950s.
55  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Pictures & Postcards / Harrier Jet on the Mall, Washington DC on: 26 August 2012, 23:13:02
Here's something you don't see every day.  The postcard is dated 1993 on the back; not sure when the Harrier was on the Mall.
56  War & Conflicts Discussions / Airpower / Fieseler Fi 167 German Navy Recon/Bomber/Torpedo Plane on: 24 August 2012, 20:34:34

Recently added a postcard to my collection showing a Fieseler Fi 167 which was a German plane originally designed for use from the Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier.  It's role would be a recon and torpedo/bomber plane.  When the Germans abandoned their aircraft carrier construction, the Fi167 was used in coastal defense and some were sold to Croatia in 1943/44.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieseler_Fi_167
In this staged image we see flyers consulting maps/plans/paperwork and several ground crew loading bombs.
57  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Pictures & Postcards / US Navy in China 1916 on: 23 August 2012, 19:08:38



In the same vein as the US Navy in Mexico 1916 topic, here is a postcard showing a US sailor's impression of what duty on the Whang Poo River [Huangpu River; 'Yellow Bank River'] in China was like.
On the back it says "Shanghai, China 6-17-16 This river is full of boats and Chinese like you see on here. They live on the slops that ships throw overboard.  Here is one along our starboard side catching what we dump out.  They eat, sleep and live in the little boat. several have as high as five children and parents all at home in the little 'sam pan'.  Lovingly, Doyle "
58  War & Conflicts Discussions / World War II pictures/postcards/maps / Re: German propaganda postcard: air force & invasion of England on: 23 August 2012, 16:38:53
Thanks, Rattler.  Definitely sounds like a German Navy poem ('mast', 'cruising to England') twisted with 1940 German planes to a new meaning for a new generation.
I assume the message on the back of the card is nothing too earth-shattering so if it's no fun or too much time, don't worry about a translation of that.
59  War & Conflicts Discussions / Wars & Conflicts: Pictures & Postcards / US Navy in Mexico 1916 on: 23 August 2012, 04:02:48



I love this type of postcard--one sent my a regular service member writing home to show something that's important to him or part of his daily life.
This postcard is from C. Eckhardt of the USS Denver and shows a panoramic view of Mazatlan Mexico (or as he writes "Maztland")  On the back of this we see he's written this message: "Maztland Aug. 14th 1916  A very good voew of Matzland taken from one of the high hills w[h]ere they have hidden several large guns [signed] C.E."
It appears to me that his is not 'taken from a nearby hill' as the angle is so sharp and the buildings in the extreme foreground are so close.  
60  War & Conflicts Discussions / World War II pictures/postcards/maps / German propaganda postcard: air force & invasion of England on: 18 August 2012, 22:20:51



this postcard has a topic which isn't seen as often as other propaganda topics: an invasion of England.  Stukas are shown super-imposed over a beach seen, obviously meant to be an English shore.  The wonderful thing about this card is that it was mailed so we have a date (postmarked 13 May 1940) and a message to go along (the message is dated 12 May, 1940.)  I can't read the message and I assume it's just a message to a friend but perhaps someone can read it and see a personal view on the war effort or the particular subject matter of the front of the card.
Always looking for more postcards in this series!
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