Sorry Jim, but what I was referring to about the crosses on a weapon was merely "popular belief". Something kids hear about in books and comics. Nothing seriously historical at all, eventhough in that array "popular rumours" are sometimes good to take into account.
I don't seriously believe the crosses on the sword mean "kills", btw. I would believe it mayyybe a little more if the sword was mid 19th century, with the 1870 war and all that, or even more if it was Napoleon era, but it was made in 1904. I don't see this weapon being wielded in Verdun's trenches ...
Still intriguing ...
