For those interested in WWI units

[Ron Smith]

Thought some maybe interested in seeing these. I have another interest. These are photos of German J�¤gers (Hunters).
They are Woodsman,Wood cutters, Professional Hunters etc. Recruited into special units of Elite Fighters. Kind of the equivilent of modern special forces. They were very effective and fierce units. Highly respected by their enemies. They were equiped with the very best weapons. And the only units, provided with additional weaponry. They were pretty much given what ever they wanted or needed.
They can be identified by their distinctive hats or "Shakos". Some were formed as Ski J�¤ger units, or mountain fighters. Identified by a large S worn on their uniform collars. The Elite of the Elite.
Another of my interests I wanted to share.
Ron

[Steinar]

The word for "hunters" (jeger) are still used in the norwegian army (and probably other european contrys??) for "recon squad". Perhaps from the german forces you are refering to Ron. Not sure..

[Ron Smith]

Morgan, I believe that is where they derived the name.

Ron

[George Anderson]

The German word Jaeger translates as "hunter" in English. The proper military translations would be fusilier, and musketeer. In American 19th century usage ...skirmisher.

During the 17th and through the 19th century professional armies utilized controlled massed frontal musket fire to overwhelm the enemy in set piece battles. Most of these massed troops were impressed or conscrpited peasants who could march and manipulate a musket but only with an NCO armed with a pike standing behind him. The pikes were used to manage one's own troops not the enemy.

The idea of skirmishers or free moving marksmen maneuvering ahead of the frontal assaults seems to have reached its zenith in the Napoleonic wars. The idea was for these "irregulars" to move ahead of the main force using cover offered by the terrain to pick-off targets of opportunity. Such targets were primarily officers, NCOs and signalmen.

Interestingly enough, the frequent use of "Jaegers" can probably be given some of the credit for the American colonists' defeat of both the french in the French and Indian War (Seven Years War) and our British cousins in the War for Independence.

I don't know to what extent Imperial Jaeger units were manned with actual hunters as hunting in Europe is considered almost a profession and the number of hunters is small. Shooting fraternities though, have always been popular in the German speaking regions and any small town may boast a dozen marksmen but only a single hunter. I would be interested to know if the ranks of Jaeger battalions were filled with conscripts or volunteers.

As with all my posts, there is a good chance that I have no idea of what I am talking about.

[John Sabato]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">As with all my posts, there is a good chance that I have no idea of what I am talking about. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva"><img border="0" alt="[hiha]" title="" src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[hiha]" title="" src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[hiha]" title="" src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" />

You crack me up George!

[Steinar]

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" title="" src="graemlins/bigok.gif" /> Good work!

[the gunman]

Very nice photo collection Ron

[Ron Smith]

Thanks Richie. It's kind of interesting to see some of the Gents who made these pistols famous.

Ron

[jamese]

George,
I donâ??t have much to base this opinion on other than the book â??Infantry Attacksâ?� written by Manfred Rommel about his father during the First World War.

In the book Manfred Rommel states:

â??My Father was a commander of a Jagerbataillon. This battalion consisted mostly of foresters who only respected a man if he was a hunter. So my father had no choice but to adorn his home with horns and antlers of the beasts he shot. He removed all our ancestors portraits and used the wall space for his trophiesâ?�.

Based on that, the pre-war and the early â??Jagerâ?� units were in fact hunters.

Jim

[George Anderson]

Jim, from my experiances living in Germany, there is quite a difference between a forester and a hunter. In the case of Rommel, his was a Wurtemberger unit and in fact Gebirgsjaegern or mountain troops. I would certainly agree that they would likely have been made up of guys who were foresters by profession.

[Ron Smith]

An aside: My interest in this particular subject stems from my own experiences growing up. I am a native Oregonian. I was raised on the Western slope of the Cascade Mountains. I grew up in the community of Culp Creek (Dog Patch). To give Easterners a perspective. The majority of the people who lived there were Western North Carolina Tar Heels.
They settled there because it looked like home.
All of the male members of my family were Loggers and sawmill workers. I lost two uncles, to logging accidents. Or to use a very common Oregon euphamism "Killed in the Woods".
I was raised on trout and venison.
So , I guess in a way, I can identify with these people. BTW, never call an Oregon Logger a "Lumber Jack". You may lose some teeth. Call them "Lawgers".
Ron

[Steinar]

My interest in the subject comes from a combination of working and hunting in the forrest near my farm and beeng a "grense jeger" in the army some years ago. Things where a lot different back in WW1, with the road network not so developed. I quess it was important to have special units that was used to spending time in the nature without regular supplies.. Nice pictures Ron, and some great info from you guys!

Hmm.. Ron, what does the word "logger" mean?

[Russ]

Morgan
Loggers are peaple that work realy hard for not much money. But they realy enjoy the lifesyle. I worked in the woods for a long time. then this pesky bird came along and stole my job. As Ron has stated, don/t call them lumberjacks.

Russ

EX tree faller. The biggest tree I fell was 7' 8" at the butt.

[Steinar]

Russ
Well.. then I feel like a Logger! Specialy the first year when I started up, one of the first trees fell on my chainsaw and crushed it, followed by a wire that broke and smashed the rear of my tractor. If that wasn't enough I also lost my VHS safety radio into water. All within the first two days! <img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" /> Not much income that month

7'8" thats probably around 2.2m, is that in diameter?? Trees over here are not that big! About half that size..

Ops.. got a little off topic, hope it's ok

[Ron Smith]

Morgan, In case you haven't gathered the meaning yet. A Logger is someone who works in the woods harvesting timber. A general name for anyone who works in this profession. They turn trees into logs, hence the term Logger.
Russ, I spent a couple of months throwing chokers. Then Uncle Sam decided I should go get shot at.
Ron

[Steve Richards]

Working in the woods has always been a very dangeous way to make a living. The "joke", if it can be called that, is that you can tell a retired logger by the way he walks. Limping because of how many times he has had legs broken, hips broken, etc.

I once came across an article on the topic that said in the late 1800's and early 1900's the average life expectancy of a logger in the Pacific Northwest was about 7 years and that Oregon lost more men in the woods durring WWI than in combat.

My only personal experience in the woods (as a worker) was as a tree planter when I got out of high school. That can be dangerous in itself. Carrying a large planting hoe and walking on very unstable surfaces can easily get a person hurt. I was lucky on a couple of occasions.

[Ron Smith]

Steve, Everything out there will either bite ya, stab ya or stick ya. I got nailed on my right shoulder by a "Widow Maker" years ago. I've still got a pinched nerve in my neck. For those who don't know. A "Widow Maker" is a loggers term for
a large broken tree limb or branch falling from a tree. Like getting pole axed by big baseball bat.
Sawmill workers can be identified by the number of missing fingers and other body parts.



Another regional "joke". MILL WORKER ORDERING FOUR BEERS.

The best depiction I've ever seen of what we're talking about is the movie, based on Ken Kesey's book, "Sometimes a Great Notion" About a family of loggers down on the Alsea river. They screwed him out of his royalties and changed the title to "Never Give A Inch". Although dramatized. It's still pretty true to life.

[Russ]

Ron
Very true&gt; when I went into the service one of the ???? was how many fingers do you have.
Russ

[Edward Tinker]

Heres a bit of trivia, or lore; while an army recruiter, I had a kid that was perfect, smart, in good shape, wanted to be an MP, a great kid. Anyway, I am getting him all filled out with the paperwork drill and he is signing things, and one of the things you have to ask is, do you have all your fingers and toes. He says, NO. I said, what! And he is missing his right hand trigger finger! I thought, he is screwed, no way the MEPS site will let him in, let alone as an MP!!

Well, he went down, doc tossed a pencil on the ground, kid picked it up. He used his middle finger like a trigger finger. Made it through MEPS, basic and AIT.

Good kid, wonder where he is?

Ed