Chris Boonzaier

The Bavarian 12th and 12th Reserve Regiment are ones that I really focus on (Other than Alpenkorps) and I had an eye on this tunic for ages, inspite of the fact that there is no name tag... what is also very interesting is a pocket on the inside flap. It is actually a double pocket, the back part is a regular wide pocket, then the front pocket is a leather one. As you can see, the back one opens the whole length the front one is like a pouch you put your hand into (falf of it is sewn closed)... I assume it is done in leather because of the strength, and I assume some military equipment purpose and not because he always had a pocket full of points pistachheo nuts... and thoughts?

I just picked this up... it is interesting on a number of levels... Can anyone guess what it is (pretty obvious) and who he is (less obvious)

Yeah, but I think a tag like this may be worth EUR30, average price.... this one was to a guy who served a couple of weeks and missed out on the regiments famous battles... so the huge price tag is only regiment related....

Hi, you need to scroll down

I missed out on this... https://www.ebay.de/itm/Erkennungsmarke-bayrisches-Infantrie-Leibregiment-Abzeichen-/322984797829?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=E85epdlv41MvkjXnAquob1gqkME%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc I was really surprised at the price! On top of that, the recipient was wounded in August 1914 and missed most of the Famous actions of the regiment...

I am not exactly sure what the extras mean, but there must be a reason for the extra bling.... P.S. I mean the "extras" as in the extra cord and frills around the side, obviously the 1st one is for 10 years membership and the others for Bezirk Dachau

Hi, blowing the dust off (Time accumulation, not Africa) I assume it could also have been worn like this? I find ZERO info on insignia uniforms worn by Luftwaffe Feldpost, in fact, zero info on Luftwaffe Feldpost at all... does anyone have any thoughts in that direction?

Hi Larry, no Problemo, I am delighted a discussion has evolved... they seem to be rare on online forums these days, as conman as they were 10 years ago ! I must admit I can not remember exactly where I had them from, but I bought them just after I arrived in Germany (time flies, that is longer than 15 years ago when i calculate it!) At the time I was mainly a flea market buyer and ads in our local newsletters. It was just one of many things I had that for purely fiscal reasons at the time must have been pretty cheap, and was definitely not from a dealer or collector. Lets assume that a naked pair of citron Gelb tropical boards would sell in a day online, but these are going to be a monster to move... I think the pertinent question is, even if they had been in collector hands... why would someone have messed with a good set of boards, and in a way that only modern day googling could explain what they were. I don't think I was able to even guestimate what they were when I had them first time around. Although we now wear civvie clothes, I worked for years in a small uniformed department in a large civvie uniformed company. As our cell was completely removed from the rest of the company in the disciplinary - admin - supply chain, mostly out of site out of mind to the rest, we had a lot of leeway and exercised a lot of initiative when it came to adapting our uniforms to suit our tastes... At some point our manager, who not having any experience with the rest of the uniformed mass realised what liberties we were taking, and changed us into Civvieclothes.. Fot that reason i can quite understand why a cell of 18 men attached to a division, in the confusion of Tunisia, from a branch whose supply lines were apparently struggling, may have taken the initiative with their straps. The traces of the "FP" are very evident... in fact, if the slides were simply removed one would assume that someone had just removed the FP on a set of FP boards... the slides are the bugger that makes people questions the boards, although from the fading, they were worn on the boards .... A little bit of research shows I may be on the wrong track though.... the 334th division was in Italy from October 43 until the end of the war.... I see many photos of Tropical uniforms being worn in Italy... It may be even more likely that these were not Akrika boards but rather set up as the FP would have had them from late 43... ergo Italian campaign....

Hi, there are a number of references with the Citron Gelb... here is the one I used... http://www.feldpost-archiv.de/09-arbeit-der-feldpost.shtml Then the post from this which quotes the Archiv für deutsche Postgeschichte, Heft 1/1971 http://www.forum-der-wehrmacht.de/index.php/Thread/10513-Feldpostamt-Soldaten-od-Beamte/

Hi, apparently at the beginning of July 1943 things had gotten so bad with supply of NCO insignia for Feldpost men that there was an official order to change to Heeres insignia. "Es war eine Folge des weiter unten wiedergegebenen, inzwischen erlassenen, aber noch nicht veröffentlichten Befehls des OKW vom 7. 7. 43 über die geänderte Rechtsstellung der Fp-Beamten. Danach mußten die Fp-Bea. im Uffz.Rang andere Rangabzeichen und Kragenspiegel erhalten, nämlich die allgemeinen militärischen mit den Buchstaben FP. Man wollte also schon jetzt den milit. Nachschubweg nicht mehr mit auslaufenden Ausrüstungsstücken belasten." I think it would probably not be a stretch of the imagination to assume that in the runup to July 43 units would already have been solving the problem in other way, especially a fringe unit in the desert. After the arican Campaign the division was reformed in Italy, where I understand Tropical gear was used again? The Citronen Gelb for Feldpost are mentioned in a number of references, including the Feldpost site... "Die Waffenfarbe der Feldposteinheiten ist zitronengelb, auf den Schulterstücken ist eine Plakette mit den Buchstaben "FP" aus weißem Leichtmetall angebracht. " Best Chris

Hi, I received these originally (15-16 years ago) as is from a non Militaria source, so I don't see any possibility of "collector improvement". In fact, it was only getting them back last week that I was able to find the connection to FP. My collector friend had them in a drawer unidentified and forgotten since 2002-3. I found a mention on the German site that the Feldpost officially adopted standard Lemon Yellow signal boards in 1943 to simplify supply and avoid complicated production bottlenecks, and I assume given the small number of Feldpostamt men in Africa at the time they had to adapt and show initiative as it is unlikely that there was anything specially created for them. I am reminded of our local now sadly departed Totenkopf man who told me he had taken over his KIA cousins Army Schirmmütze and simply exchanged the cockade and wreath for the Totenkopf, and that was his schirmütze... I am always very scptical of "out of the norm" but such things did exist. Other than knowing the origin had no connection to Militaria, I think the deciding factor for those who "believe the piece, not the story", is probably that if these boards were naked (ie with no metal on them) they would sell in 10 minutes... with the devices they will probably be veeeery difficult to move... so the thing that makes then interesting also makes them worth less than if they had been simple boards... ;-) I am guessing it was left up to FP-Amt (mot) 334 to figure out themselves how they got their tropical gear together... Such a small unit probably had to "Demerde" as the french would say.

Silly question... but what is that?

Sorry, My error, (Motorised) Feldpostamt 334 ... http://dak.webseiten.cc/einheiten/heer/334-infanterie-division/

... especially since these, unlike most, were actually there.... You can see the traces of the FP, these were removed and slides were put on, I am not sure of the slides meaning? Anyone know? These are the 334th (Motorised) Feldpost Abteilung of the 334th Division.... 100% untouched... Can anyone offer anything rarer ? :-)

It has a more solid form than the Students cap I think? But the band around it looks like those student bands... I think the cap can be anything from the baggage handler at Zwiebelsbruck station to the Musikverein in Busenstadt... with band and cockade added?

Yes, looks like an Unkle. That is a nice monument, quite simple but optically very pleasing indeed.

Here is a neat little EK/Wound badge set :-)

Over the years I have collected as many variations possible of the documents to the men of the 26th Reserve Korps, the "Grüme Korps".... the Korps we associate with the "Langemarck Cross". Initially the Iron Cross documents were awarded at Korps Level, then as the 51st and 52nd Divisions were sent to other parts of the front they started printing Divisional Level certificates. At some stage in the war Divisional commanders could award the EK2, in the early stages it was the Koprs commander. The units would later fight in the Champagne, one very tough battle taking place on Height 185... Here is the result of quite a number of years collecting to the Korps.....

Another step forward.... ;-)

A nice piece... what is the official German name for these?

Yeah, but it is a manufacturing distributer. I think they were to small and geographically wrongly placed to be "KO" but it is interesting that someone had the box and 30 bagged KO!

Hi a wholesale distributer

Hi, after numerous wild ass guesses in the past, in both published and online lists, i think it is generally accepted that "KO" is in fact Klein and Quenzer. By far the most likely maker of KO. This is confusing because it has 30 KO bagged crosses in this box!

I know the Klein and Quenzer theory is considered proved.... but just in the interests of discussion... what do you think of lot 57 here.... https://online.flippingbook.com/view/824197/22/ I saw that in his book and it confused me then....

From New Zealand? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnham,_New_Zealand