Comments on: Is There a Prussian Military Expert in the House?

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Wed, 19 May 2010 20:42:25 +0000

You are all awesome. I do not like this part of history, but with your help it will be a lot easier. The original 2 ‘carte de visite’ will arive next week. Let’s see if it reveals any more details. Vielen Herzlichen Dank.

By: Peter LLC

Peter LLC — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:36:48 +0000

res. Landw. Bat.

= reserve(?) Landwehr Battalion

P.S.- About an hour ago I submitted a bunch of links but the post didn’t show; is it in moderation or shall I post the links again?

[Sorry, Peter; it should be visible now. Thanks for that! -- AEP]

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:35:55 +0000

Reserve Landwehr Battalion Berlin Number 35.

That’s my guess.

By: Stephen Taylor

Stephen Taylor — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:33:36 +0000

I’ve heard that tradesmen and professionals in later 19th century German states often belonged to associations and wore military-like uniforms, swords, etc. on public occasions.

By: Peter LLC

Peter LLC — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:30:25 +0000

Here’s a general description of the type of tunic (Waffenrock) Mr. Ollendorff would have been wearing:

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/gtp/waffenrock.htm

Given his age and the appearance of the collar, he is most likely sporting an M1867 model with collar tab thingys called “Lizen” like this:

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/gtp/gtp09.htm

Lots more close-ups and details of various tunics here:

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/dunkelblau/tunics/

In the second picture he is wearing epaulettes along the lines of the one on the top left here:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/e/e4/Epauletten.JPG

Or here:

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/dunkelblau/tunics/dbt32.htm

Or here:

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/dunkelblau/tunics/dbt19.htm

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:26:34 +0000

Dear friends of Ardis & Keepapitchin patrons, My native tongue is German and have no trouble reading it nor the old print or gothic handwriting, so do throw it at me without hesitation. I did find a listing on line in an old military weekly paper from 1875 where it lists him as an assist. physician, 2nd class, in the res. Landw. Bat. Berlin Nr. 35 (what ever that means) These are two different pics, the stripes on the medallion are different. Thanks for all your suggestions.

By: DavidT

DavidT — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:22:21 +0000

http://www.grosser-generalstab.de/

is a great site… I use the translate function in google chrome to advantage

heres an image url from that site
http://www.grosser-generalstab.de/sturm/img3/stm3_041.jpg

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:02:15 +0000

Thank you, gentlemen. I’ll make sure Ingrid sees your suggestions. (I didn’t know where to start, but I had a feeling YOU would.)

By: Clark

Clark — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:32:02 +0000

The most obvious identifying item is the medal on his chest, although it appears that it’s different in each photo. (On the right, the central band of the ribbon is darker.)

Two websites which may help in figuring out what the medal represents (and it appears you can contact the webmaster directly) are http://www.medalnet.net/German_medal_list.htm and http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/lawrence/611/prussia.htm

Perhaps the gentlemen running these sites can help with uniform ID as well. If you have the time, there are entire books on the subject (written by guys who are more of a military history nut that I am) like this one on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/ARMIES-BISMARCKS-WARS-Prussia-History-Equipment/dp/1935149237

I’ll bet this guy was involved in the Franco-Prussian war…

For as organized as the Prussians were, chances of finding his actual records are slim; most Prussian army records were lost in the WWII firebombing of Berlin… Nevertheless, it may be possible to find something. A good overview of where to start is available here http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/205434.html

By: john f.

john f. — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:24:48 +0000

Peter LLC comes to mind.