Chris Boonzaier

A rough translation so far... Memories of our dear leader and commander his majesty Prinz Heinrich von Bayern. It was a joyous occasion for all members of the III. Battalion when Prinz Heinrich took command in March 1915. It was a beautiful spring day when the battalion assembled on a meadow near the Cemetery of the town of Peronne to greet our new commander. I remember well how he appeared on horseback with his adjutant dismounting in front of the Battalion and giving a rousing speech, awakening the “Leibergeist” (Leiber Spirit) which had existed in the regiment on all battlefields, through attacks and battles, leading to great victories. How enthusiastic and proud the three loud “Hurrahs” for the commanders, which rang out after the speech. The moment spoke louder than words. The French citizens on the street and in the cemetery were at the same time astonished and sobered by this impressive military ceremony. Many knew, or at least suspected that a Bavarian Prince was taking command of 100 Bavarian Lions. Ecstatic to be under the command of “their Prince” the companies marched to their quarters singing loudly. A few days later we moved into the front line at Maricourt. The Trenches gave the Prince and his men the chance to get to know each other. As a leader of a Machine Gun section I had repeated opportunities to observe and appreciate the attachment and affection he had for his men. Every day, irrespective of the weather, day and night he could be seen in the front line trenches with his adjutant. After a while even the youngest Leiber began to lose his apprehension when the Prince appeared. These control visits covered much ground covering all the trenches and communication trenches were physically strenuous. The Prinz took the time to check the finest details of every defensive position and during these visits every man had a turn to come into contact with his commander. I think I am correct in my belief that his Royal Highness found a deep inner satisfaction in his interactions with his loyal Leiber. I often observed how moved and pleased the simple soldier was when the Prince visited him in his position and chatted to him. When the relief came and they returned to their dugouts conversations followed “Hey Gustl, the Prince was there today. He asked me where I came from, how things are at home, if the foods good and if I get a lot of mail. I like him Gustl, he is a good guy. A pity there were others around or I would have told him more about back home” So open are the conversations between the Prince and his men, a tone the Prince appreciated and often lead to lengthy conversations. He was a master at probing the emotions in the men’s hearts. It was not unusual to meet a man in the trench whose spirit had been lifted by a chat with the Prince. Kann jemand hiermit helfen? Ich verstehe da gar nichts,,,,, Einen aus der Stadt (erklärt) Gustl mit den Worten: „Maxl, heut sind die Stadtfräck einmal richtig ausgerutscht. Der Georg hat die Hoheit auch angesprochen, weißt wie sich der Bursch gestreckt hat, sonst kann er‘s nicht.“

Hi Uwe, I will rescan them this afternoon thanks Chris

Well aware that Uwe is again the victim in this...

aaaahhhh... the eagle has landed??

Magic, thanks Uwe! I will misuse your good will again soon ?

So would I, but I have problems reading the writing....

Waaahh!! Super, thanks! I did not know both brothers were in the Alpenkorps! or even that he had a brother. That is magic and reinforces my conviction that a Picklehaube named to Steidle with nickle silver fittings could only have been Luitpolds as there were no other options... Good tip... I will try that to streamline the ancestry options

Hi, I am having trouble pinpointing an officer named Steidle ... I know there was a young Lt d. Res. in the Leib Regiment.... Does anyone know if there was a Steidle in the Pionier units? Thanks Chris

Just found this! ?

Really tough call.... I think you would need to examine the collar tabs and shoulder boards and how they are sewed on very carefully

I was looking for the perfect bayonet to compliment my Leib Regiment Blue Tunic. In some pre WW1 pics I saw reservists or soldiers who chose to wear the 71/84 bayonets with their Tunics while off duty.... and I was very happy to find a beautiful Private purchase with dark wood handels (I saw another one by the same company with beautiful Dark Walnut... I think they sold to order according to the taste of the reservist. The most interesting thing to me was the unit stamp on an obvious private piece... of course it is pure suposition.. but I think maybe the reservist had his old weapon number added... I do not really see a collector doing this to a private piece which does not even have a functioning press stud.... here the private piece with an issue Leib Regiment one (Unfortunately not the mathing sheath....)

At the moment I am just trying to complete my uniforms, knife here, belt there, correct cap to the left, right Binos to the right..... Here is what I got while playing with my sons new camera today......

Indeed, they are not the same weareres as the tunics, but it took some time to find them... luckily a friend has a collection of 50 or so Artillery/Pionier caps and was willing to push 2 my way ?

I really like these.... a Private Purchase, and what seems to be an issue one. I am betting the issue one was used as a service dress in the ersatz Battalion during the war as it is a bit "used"... the buttons have been moved a bit as the last guy to wear it had more belly than the original wearer....

... have just recieved their hats..... The Bluse and Kleiner Rock are both with names and documents... but today I recieved the caps from a really advanced Bavarian Artillery collector.... A nice crusher for the Bluse and a high peak for the kleiner Rock... another piece of the puzzle added....

The buckle is Bavarian, as are the buttons, the one ammo pouch and map case typical for bicycle troops... and it looks like a 1 on the shoulder... so I am guessing a really early pic of the radfahrer company 1st Jäger battalion, before they split off to join Radfahrer battalions?

He may have caught a bullet carrying that fish elsewhere....

Reenactment ....

Interesting!! I have a number of RIR87 things, I never knew they had lost their colors

Indeed yes... It is probably not a Non Combattant, most soldiers in WW1 did not recieve the EK2, but for some reason we see more medal bars with the WW1 EK and hindie ribbon than we do with just the Hindie.

Hi, left is the WW2 EK2 (EK Iron Cross) then WW2 KVK2 (War service cross) then on the right is the Hindy (Actually the "Honor cross for frontfighters or war participants" also known as the Hindenburg Cross... or Hindy/Hindie)

Of course it is not rare, but nice to see a Hindie with this combination... we usually expect a WW1 EK....

OK, found it, WW1, It is in Geissler's book on page 175

This came with a WW1 group, with a bit of WW2 stuff.... However... I am wondering if it may be a WW2 era box? The reason that I think it may be is that the inside has the 3 dimensional stamped cardboard shape under the cross which I tend to think makes it more like WW2 technology? Any thoughts? Thanks Chris

Here is Edenhofer's Ribbon Bar....