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    I have a couple of photos showing Germans with captured Russian and French machine guns. Weapons seem to be the most common trophy. I also have a French Adrian helmet that I got in Germany back in the 1980s, which has a cloth field cover. It was souvenired by a German soldier, who wrote (in that ubiquitous purple pencil) "Somme 1916". Finally, I have a wooden Russian canteen that has a German's name written on the bottom (I also found this in Germany).

    Chip

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    • 4 weeks later...

    No German items captured from Allied forces, I am afraid, but here is a rare photo of members of the 369th RIUS - popularly known as the Harlem Hell Fighters - sailing home. Note the man wearing the M16 or M17 stahlhelm.

    PK

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    • 8 months later...

    How about German field gear used by the allies. Here is a German Patronentaschen 09 captured and used by a US 29th Div. doughboy. Two souvenir buttons were in one pocket, a wadded up waterproof soldbuch wallet was in another and the third contained a pouch of Bull Durham smoking tobacco and rolling papers. :blush: The pouch is marked "H. Tilles / Leipzig- Lindenau / 1915". The two stamped markings inside are illegible. This just as it came out of his trunk.

    Dan

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    Edited by Daniel Murphy
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    Yup... three days arrest for looting Russian military equipment ;-)

    No arrrests, but he got around a bit.[attachmentid=60197]

    Hope you can read this. The only places I recognize are Riga and der D?na (Danube).

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    • 3 weeks later...

    This is a small parts wallet for the british Vickers machine gun, dated 1915.

    I cannot say for certain, but 3 things point to a maybe

    1) the little inner compartments are removed

    2) It has the exact size of the large wallets of the time period

    3) It was found in Germany.

    I cannot say for fure, but I think it was used by a german soldier to carry his "stuff"

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    The only thing I have that is confirmed caputured is the SVT 40 rifle (on the top). It is stamed "SA"on the reciever, which indicates that it was captured by the Finnish. I know that it is not WW1... but...

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    • 2 years later...
    • 1 month later...

    I have a couple of photos showing Germans with captured Russian and French machine guns. Weapons seem to be the most common trophy. I also have a French Adrian helmet that I got in Germany back in the 1980s, which has a cloth field cover. It was souvenired by a German soldier, who wrote (in that ubiquitous purple pencil) "Somme 1916". Finally, I have a wooden Russian canteen that has a German's name written on the bottom (I also found this in Germany).

    Chip

    Recently read a primary source about a German MG unit, which was armed with the MG 08, but had a few enemy MGs in reserve, both French and Russian, not trophies, but as reserve weapons.

    Reading about Gallipoli, and one of the German naval MG detachments had lost almost all of their maxims, but Turkish infantry conter-attacked Brits and were able to present the naval detachment with 13 captured Vickers guns, and the MG detachment was back in business.

    The Germans, mid-war, used a fair amount of Russian artillery, both the 76.2 mm parapet gun, somewhat modified, as infantry guns (but the barrels quickly wore out, the Russian steel was poor), and heavier Russian guns as divisional artillery. Not sure of the caliber. In 1915 the Germans captured thousands of guns when they captured several very large fortresses. Used first Danish Madsen LMGs and then Lewis guns in special LMG units.

    My father's unit used French LMGs.

    The Germans had a very active program, with dedicated officers and units, to salvage enemy material and scrap in general from the battlefield. Two-thirds of the "German" tanks were refurbished Mark IVs.

    Bob Lembke

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    I have a british compass from my greatgrandfather dated 1915 and 1916.

    Front: "69th. FD. COY. R.E. No.2 SN." (69th Field Company, Royal Engineers, No. 2 Squadron)

    Back: Lt. d. Res. K.J.R.145 (Leutnant der Reserve, Königs-Infanterie-Rgt. Nr.145)

    Best regards,

    Jens

    The battles of both regiments:

    69th Field Company: Cambrai 20.11-03.12.1917

    K.I.R.145: 22.11. bis 29.11. Tankbattle (Panzerschlacht) bei Cambrai

    30.11. bis 01.12. Angriffsschlacht bei Cambrai (Villers-Guislain)

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