johntaylor Posted 27 July , 2009 Share Posted 27 July , 2009 I have a reference that the photos were taken on 19.7.1919. The occasion was the visit of General Foch. Now Foch vs Petain; pity that we do not have their diaries to cross check..... Hi Egbert, if the date is correct then it couldn't have been Foch - he was in London on that date for a victory parade to mark what was described as Peace Day. It's not clear why they picked 19 July, but this was presumably the pretext for the parade in Cologne as well. An extract from the coverage in The Times is attached referring to Foch's visit to London. The Times doesn't reveal what Petain was doing on that day, and I can't find any reference to a parade in Cologne. No doubt it would have been covered in the newspapers there. All the best, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 27 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 27 July , 2009 Uh oh john, now we have a problem. Probably some photos are NOT connected to a common date in time. Some are a prelude and the actual parade for General Petain and others possibly for General Foch. Here is a photo that shows salute firing for , yes for whom, at the banks of the Rhine River where (which) general arrives by ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 27 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 27 July , 2009 Arrival of Foch welcomed by Brit general Robertson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 27 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 27 July , 2009 post 27= most likely arrival ceremonies for Petain according to John's paper snippet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drover Posted 27 July , 2009 Share Posted 27 July , 2009 The French must have been regular visitors. Here's another one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 28 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 28 July , 2009 Mon dieu, where is the British efficiency? They should have made one parade for all of them. This should be either Petain or Foch between cathedral and main RR station (in back) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drover Posted 28 July , 2009 Share Posted 28 July , 2009 Maybe the tanks just took a wrong turning........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johntaylor Posted 28 July , 2009 Share Posted 28 July , 2009 This is a fascinating series of photos that clearly relate to a number of different VIP visits and other military occasions. I have had another look through The Times for 1919 and it isn't nearly specific enough about events in Cologne (sorry, can't do umlauts on my keyboard) to work out what was going on. General Sir William Robertson arrived there to take command on April 19 - see article attached - so the Foch visit must have been after that. But the British papers don't seem to have reported visits by French generals like Foch, Petain or Fayolle, so it would probably be necessary to search French or German papers to find out more. As for the salute on 19 July, this may have been to mark 'Peace Day' rather than to celebrate the arrival of a general - Peace Day being the celebration to mark the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, and presumably a good occasion for the occupying army to flex its military muscles. There is a good account of events in the UK on this website: http://www.aftermathww1.com/peaceday.asp John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 28 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 28 July , 2009 Interesting and great research, another piece solved. This seems to be an armed Rhine boat serving with the Army of Occupation and probably one of the escort boats for the Robertson convoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 28 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 28 July , 2009 Drover is your excellent last picture from the series of the Petain visit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1052 Posted 28 July , 2009 Share Posted 28 July , 2009 My dad was near Cologne in 1945 and I visited the place in 1980. There's something about the place that attracts soldiers--maybe it's the beer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 28 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 28 July , 2009 Just off the records: I fear there was no beer available in 1945 as you can see in this aerial. P.S. The picture still shows the old street pattern (gone today) where the 1919 tanks crossed the bridge and drove to the Domplatz parade ground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drover Posted 28 July , 2009 Share Posted 28 July , 2009 No evidence that these pictures are associated with any particular visit. Maybe just a tour of the city to impress the locals! I think that your picture of the ship may be one of the Rhine Flotilla motor launches that were stationed at Koln until 1926. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drover Posted 28 July , 2009 Share Posted 28 July , 2009 Rhine Flotilla motor launches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 28 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 28 July , 2009 Drover your image shall read "Wallrafplatz", I have included the photographer's view angle in red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 28 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 28 July , 2009 And this is today's location of former British Rhine flotilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drover Posted 28 July , 2009 Share Posted 28 July , 2009 And this is how it used to be... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 28 July , 2009 Author Share Posted 28 July , 2009 Sorry Drover I have the advantage of knowing these places too well. Your last picture location is not identical with the flotilla boats moored in front of the southern Autobahnbridge (Rodenkirchen bridge). Your last picture is taken downriver; as you can see the bldg is in the floodwater, the Hohenzollernbridge just visible in the left background. So this bldg is some 3-4 km away from the moored flotilla and some 400meters from cathedral. Check also this link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 10 September , 2013 Author Share Posted 10 September , 2013 This is a supporting video with tanks from British occupation army in Köln, 1920 http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060000161 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 27 April , 2014 Share Posted 27 April , 2014 Egbert I have a similar picture to the original showing L7 and L8; the picture is courtesy of the family of Sgt Reg Acock who served with12th Bn after the war. He was also one of the First Tank Crewmen in September 1916. The family believ that photo was taken in Jun 1919 but it could have been a different event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now