trenchmortar

Getty Images has this with the caption: "View of soldiers as they guard Alexanderplatz with a heavy mortar 25 cm schwerer Minenwerfer during the abortive Kapp Putsch, Berlin, mid March 1920. The putsch was an attempt to overthrow the nascent Weimar Republic and reinstall the monarchy." www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-soldiers-as...

On the other hand, www.arkivi-bildagentur.de/articles/a825551 has a similar photo with the caption: "Grosse Strassenkämpfe in Berlin während des Generalstreiks. Schwere Minenwerfer auf dem Alexanderplatz" (Big street fights in Berlin during the general strike. Heavy mortars at Alexanderplatz) "The Spartacist uprising (German: Spartakusaufstand), also known as the January uprising (Januaraufstand), was a general strike (and the armed battles accompanying it) in Germany from 4 to 15 January 1919." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacist_uprising Another general strike took place in March 1919. Translation by Google from de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_M%C3%A4rzk%C3%A4mpfe: "The Berlin March bouts of 1919 demanded more than 1,200 deaths and are thus one of the most bloody conflicts in the context of the revolutionary clashes in Germany after the end of the First World War. They can be dated from 3 March to 16 March 1919. Parallel to the March battles, general strikes also took place in the Ruhr area and in the central German industrial district around Halle / Merseburg. ... Already at the outbreak of the general strike on 3 March there were riots and looting in the inner city and raids on police officers in the vicinity of Alexanderplatz. ... On March 4, the invasion of units of the General Command commenced into the city. On Alexanderplatz there were serious clashes with the Volksmarinedivision, after their units had been bombarded by soldiers of the German Schutzdivision."

The sun., April 20, 1919, Section 5 Pictorial Review, Image 59, printed this photo with the caption: "Practically every form of war implement was used by Government troops during the danger period except the heaviest guns. For instance, this mine thrower was set up in the Alexanderplatz to be used against buildings in which the Spartacans were expected to fortify themselves." Photo, Underwood & Underwood. chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030431/1919-04-20/ed-...

Thank you for the information. I think spring of 1919 is going to be the most correct date which we will add to the catalog.

There is nobody around that can really tell us what it was like.

brian everitt One comment and 16,748 views as at 12-11-15