Steve,
I would be very interested in hearing the story of this bring-back.
I didn't know that there was a number eight battery in a German Artillery Regiment until Glenn addressed the issue in this post:
https://www.pickelhaubes.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=11146
I could be very wrong about this, but I think the German Army numbered their batteries independent of the Battalion.
In other words, if a Battalion had three batteries and the regiment had three battalions, battery number 8 would be the second battery of the third battalion.
We do the same thing --- sort of. I spent four years of my Marine Corps career with India 3/11. India Battery (Ooh-rah, Semper Fi) was the "last" battery of the Third Battalion, 11th Marines. My belief is that the German Army would have called "India 3/11" Battery number 9.
The current numbering of firing batteries in the USMC doesn't seem to fit the past pattern. 3/11 currently consists of India, Kilo, and Mike.
John
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