ersterweltkrieg

LOC, note error in transcription "Galicia"

"Albert Theodor Otto Emmich (since 1913 von Emmich) (April 4, 1848 – December 22, 1915) was a Prussian general."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Emmich
(there is more detail in German Wikipedia: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Emmich)

In April, 1915, he was transferred to the Eastern Front for the major German offensive which began in May of that year.
See also:

There's something strange going on with this train coach. Look at all of the cables coming out of the windows and heading up to the roof.

artolog: Thank you for the other image of Emmich, the additional details and for catching the typo in the title. We will update the description with the new information. LWyman: You are right about the cables on top of the train. Any ideas what could be going on?

When looking for idea as to what the cables on the train are, I found a great set of German postcards from 1914-1916: www.allworldwars.com/German-World-War-I-Postcards-Part-I.... Nothing showing the cables, but there is a picture of Emmich's funeral. The source of the postcards may be New York Public Library -- digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm... -- but the site above has translated the captions and narrowed the date range.

Acording to www.akpool.co.uk/postcards/24155901-postcard-gotha-eisene... this statue was erected Sept 26, 1915. According to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etrich_Taube The Taube was a "pre-World War I monoplane aircraft. It was the first mass-produced military plane in Germany." www.pictorialgems.com/1916-Gotha-Taube-Memorial-To-German... shows this picture printed in the Illustrated War News of February 16, 1916

This plane with the birdlike tail (the name translates to English as "dove") was reportedly responsible for bombings in Paris in October, 1914.
query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A07E4DA1438E0...
A Bain photo of the damage:

It looks like the sort of memorial you could pay to drive a nail into. See the leading edge of the wing, and the engine.

Seth Gaines That's correct, the memorial is on a list of "Kriegsnagelungen" (war nailings) (with the same postcard as in swanq's comment), see www.munzel-everling.de/download/Kriegsnagelungen_August_2....

Another example of such a memorial was the "Eiserne Hindenburg" in Berlin Tiergarten

see comments there

""Kriegsnagelungen". I never knew of these, thanks. I wonder if this monument still exists? I can't find any trace of it.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_der_Linde "Otto von der Linde (* 13. Januar 1892 in Regenwalde, Hinterpommern; † 23. Mai 1984 in Wienhausen bei Celle) war ein deutscher Offizier im Ersten Weltkrieg und Oberst der deutschen Wehrmacht im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Er war außerdem Träger des Pour le Mérite." He was the first junior German officer to receive the highest military honor, Pour le Merite, for his capture with a small party of Fort Malonne at Namur, Belgium in August, 1914. He convinced the Belgian commander that resistance was futile, and was handed the fort. forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=86015. See also: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_de_Malonne#First_World_War

artolog: Thanks! We'll include some of this additional information in the description next time we update.