Thanks a lot, Carl!

Panzer assault badge from WWI?! But we only had 26 tanks in the whole war...

Pilot badge?! Even weirder...

Hahahahaha!!! [img]smile.gif[/img] I suposse... he never commanded anybody or anything in anycombat ever! Although his notes report of West Point is still a record...

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

German tanks of ww1; werent they mostly captured British tanks? Ive seen some of the original panzers...and using American slang...they aint pretty.

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"If your gonna buy the angel s**t, you might as well go for the zombie package as well."
-George Carlin

The German tank of World War I was the A7V - it looks a bit like a giant cube on tracks !

Incidentally, ther is only one of these left in the world, and it's in a museum in Australia !

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Friedrich--yep--Sepp is wearing his ww1 Panzer Assault Badge in the photo of him reading the paper. Its the silverish-looking one that is on the left side of his left pocket at the bottom. You can also clearly see his Pilots Badge. Its higher up on the pocket and to the right. You can also see his membership pin and on the right upper pocket flap--the ribbon for the Blut Orden (Blood Order)

It was unusual for a person to have War Qualification Badges from other branches of service--but not that uncommon.

Ive seen pics guys with KM Badges, and being in the Luftwaffe. Ive seen pics of guys in the Panzer arm--and having a Flak badge or something from the Luftwaffe. It usually only means that they transferred to another military branch of service and in VERY rare cases, had been a part of ground action long enough to be awarded say a General Assault Badge, a Close Combat Badge or an Infantry Assault Badge--even if they had been in the Luftwaffe--a Panzerdriver/crewman--or a member of the Kriegsmarine and or Luftwaffe.

[ 11 September 2002, 03:18 PM: Message edited by: C.Evans ]

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

I would imagine them being more frequent with the SS due to members transferring from other services. Paul Hausser is a good example as is Willi Bittrich and Fritz DeWitt. Heydrich was in the Kriegsmarine.

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American by birth, TEXAN by the grace of GOD!

Oh, now I see. Many thanks, gentlemen! Now I am less ignorant.

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

Also, Himmler wears the pilots badge with Diamonds-a personal GIFT from Goring!!!

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"GARRY OWEN"-Traditional war-cry of the US 7th Cavalry.
"CURRAHEE"-War-cry of the US 506th PIR.
"Everybody thinks that they are going to get the chance to punch some Nazi in the face at Normandy-and those days are over, they are long gone"-Lt Chris Burnett

Haha! I don´t like Himmler!

At least Göring DID earned his awards!

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

I recall reading several German Generals committed suicide by attacking the Red Army with guns blazing.

I think one of them is GM Günther Angern.

http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-4...n-Guenther.htm

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I am a new member here. But this is an interesting thread. If we may count using personal weapons prior to becoming a general, I have got a couple:

E. Rommel commanded a mountain infantry group in the Alpines WWI. His experience there was main subject of his influencial book Infantary Attacks. On an attack that penetrated deeply into Italian lines, Ltd. Rommel borrowed a rifle from his men on a hunch, while leading at the front as he was wont, and within the span of an hour he was engaged in a lively firefight with five Italian soldiers. He dropped three of them with his Kar-98. George S. Patton, whilst commanding what had sometimes been grandoliquently described as "the first mechanized military operation in US history," drove an automobile into a bandista's villa and personally shot two with his revolver and rifle. Both went down under a fullsilade of multiple weapons so it was unknown if Patton can be personally credited for his kills, but knowing his reputation as a superb marksman, I'd venture to say so!

For Generals that used their weapons: Ridgeway was a prime candidate. He was famous for carrying his Springfield 1903 with his person at all times in the field and wore several frag grenades on his load bearing vest. During the Battle of Normandy when he dropped with the 82d he found himself in the imbroglio of having his entire HQ staff present but no rifleman to command. If the situation was not so disturbing I imagine he would be rubbing it in to his under-dressed subordinates with their puny Colt .45 pistols. Speaking of the Devil, Heidrich was said to have went down fighting at his assassination. Badly injured by the antitank mine blast that destroyed his vehicle, he found the strength to chase away with his pistol a partisan who was having a little bit of a SMG malfunction, before finally sucumbing to the loss of blood. Thankfully he was no more.

There was also some fool of a VGD commander who managed to got himself killed leading at the front of an infantry assault during the Battle of Bulge. His death was attributed to "the poor quality of volksgrenadiers,who needed the personal example of their officers to be goaded into taking any action."

Hi Triple c i hate to be picky but ref Heydrich assasination they were not partisans but members of the Czech army in exile in Britain.see this link wikipedia.org/wiki/operation_Anthropoid

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WHEN YOU GO HOME, TELL THEM OF US AND SAY, FOR YOUR TOMORROW,WE GAVE OUR TODAY. Epitaph on the Kohima memorial .

Yes, I recall something vaguely along the lines of some nebulous British involvement. =P Any info is appreciated.

Is this documented? You'd think the crew would have the sense to lock their hatches while they were in a close combat situation.

i believe brgadier roberts,C.O.of 22nd armd bde,during rommels pathetically disorderly so called attack on alam halfa,used his grants 37mm? and 75mm tank guns on rommels rabble.does this count?.he later became c.o.11th armd div.cheers.

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fair,balanced and unafraid.thanks,4th wilts..