Hideous Captions, Hideous translations

G

Glennj

Well-known member
Have you ever bought a book online and instantly regretted doing so on its arrival? I thought I would bring myself up to speed on the subject of Portepees, Troddeln and Faustriemen and with some difficulty sourced a copy of "Edged Weapon Accouterments of Germany 1800-1945". I could not suppress a groan on reading the caption of the very first picture in the book, that of a Bavarian One Year Volunteer Kanonier in 8. Feldartillerie-Regiment but captioned as a "Bavarian infantry officer of the 8th Infantry Regiment"!!!!! On the very next page, a Vizewachtmeister of Train-Bataillon Nr. 10 is captioned as a "Junior NCO in the Field Artillery Regiment von Scharnhorst (1st Hannover No. 10". Perhaps the Pickelhaube with spike should have been a bit of a clue!

I can live with American authors terming a Feldwebel as a Sergeant but the following sentence killed me: "Portepees are the rank insignia of officers and deserving NCOs who wear the officer's portepee." Deserving????????

Some obscure Bavarian Infantry Major on page 10 is captioned as Prince Arnulf of Bavaria and a Korvettenkapitän (mispelt in the book) on page 23 becomes Großadmiral Prinz Heinrich! And so it goes on. What are "defense" troops or "convoy" troops??

I don't know if these chaps know anything about sword knots but the lack of knowledge on uniforms and ranks frankly appalls me....Hideous.

Glenn
 
Hey Glenn, thanks for the heads-up as thi book was first on my shopping list!

Is there a French version you think?
 
Ronny,

apparently it is an "enhanced" version of an original German language title called "Portepees, Seitengewehrtroddeln und Faustriemen des deutschen Militärs von 1800 bis 1945" by Heinrich Kreutz. This was a self published ring-bound publication without the photographs and was actually the title I wanted but could not find. :(

Glenn
 
Glenn,

This happens more frequently to me than I would like. I really agree with the introduction and Randy Trawnik's book that says there is no book on the subject without mistakes. The question really is how often do you groan? There are some real howlers out there. My semi-favorite of poor performance is

All the Kaiser's Men The life and death of the German Army on the Western Front 1914-1918

Passingham, Ian, /Sutton Publishing, Gloucestshire, England, 2003 (English)

and do not forget the World War I German army
Stephan Bull , Brassey's History of Uniforms Series London 2000
"This is an essential book for everyone with an interest in the German Army and the First World War." False. Light treatment and errors On page 73 there is even a picture of an Austro-Hungarian Uhlan helmet that is ascribed to Germany!
Click to expand...

On the positive side the authors are at least standing in the fire trying to accomplish something helpful. That is far better than being a “hyena in the wood line” smirking and laughing at other folks efforts. However, the groan factor can be significant.
 
Hi Joe,

there is no book on the subject without mistakes
Click to expand...
I could not agree more.

Still, how can one have any confidence in a book about sword and bayonet knots when the authors attribute the knot worn by a private soldier in an artillery regiment as being that of an infantry officer? But even more cause for concern is not knowing the ranks of people (Unteroffizier mit Portepee) entitled to wear an officers' sword knot!

Regards
Glenn
 
I was really looking for a decent overview on Prussian swords and ideally in the German language. Having not found anything that seemed suitable, this offering by Schiffer appeared to fit the bill.

Imperial German Edged Weaponry, volume 1 arrived yesterday. Now, I must admit that I broke my own rule of not buying anymore of Schiffer's (albeit very nicely produced) "photo albums". The comments I made on the Portepee book at the top of this thread are equally valid for this book. In fact many of the same photographs with the same captions are also in this one! The misidentification of branches of service and ranks are too numerous to detail; however I will draw attention to a particular favourite. I can assure readers that the Major of the Königin Augusta Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 4 on page 255 is not the King of Sweden!!! For those who may be interested, he is Major Adolf von der Hardt (1868-1930). Incidentally, King Gustav V of Sweden was the Chef of Grenadier-Regiment zu Pferde Freiherr von Derfflinger (Neumärkisches Nr. 3).

I think this one will be going back to the retailer.

Regards
Glenn
 
joerookery said:
Glenn,

There are some real howlers out there. My semi-favorite of poor performance is

All the Kaiser's Men The life and death of the German Army on the Western Front 1914-1918

Passingham, Ian, /Sutton Publishing, Gloucestshire, England, 2003 (English)
Click to expand...

I fully agree, this is a complete laughing stock. I owned a copy of this book for several years but I got rid of it recently :p

Best regards,

Edwin
 
As part of my research for the next book this is my howler of the week:

German cavalry forces led by General von Richthofen, the future German flying ace, were already scouting the vicinity of the next battle, the fortress of Namur.

Donnell, Clayton (2013-10-17). Breaking the Fortress Line 1914 (Kindle Locations 1302-1303). Pen and Sword. Kindle Edition.
 
joerookery said:
As part of my research for the next book this is my howler of the week:

German cavalry forces led by General von Richthofen, the future German flying ace, were already scouting the vicinity of the next battle, the fortress of Namur.

Donnell, Clayton (2013-10-17). Breaking the Fortress Line 1914 (Kindle Locations 1302-1303). Pen and Sword. Kindle Edition.
Click to expand...

I guess this means that he took a reduction in rank in order to fly. #-o

:D Ron
 
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