Alpenkorps1915

Hi Chris, as I wrote you before, the photo looks much like, as it's been taken in Tyrol 1915. I've never saw those white patches in Romania. Kind regards Immanuel

Fritz, your photo shows mostlikely men from the Freikorps time. The Edelweiß was used by some Freikorps too. I highly doubt that the young fellow wearing it, ever saw battle in Tyrol in 1915. Greetings Immanuel

Yes, but the EW I'm talking about is from a staff memeber of the Alpenkorps, so he never got in touch with the Leiberverein. Regards Immanuel

Hmm could be possible, but "my" Major died in 1943, so at least my Edelweiß is not pre 1945. Also why should the family changed the badge? They had one of the most impressive estates of their grandfather I've ever saw, alsmost complete to the gear. Regards Immanuel

Hi Chris, as I mentioned to you an FB before and as Andreas wrotes, the new book is more about biographies and small stories about the first combat mission of the Alpenkorps in the Dolomite mountains. It also contains more then 300 unpublished photos, which I bet you never saw anywere else before. The book contains 320 pages and costs 24,90€. Have a look here for a 30 page review! https://www.athesia-tappeiner.com/sites/default/files/datenblatt/zeugnisse_dolomitenfront_9788868392888.pdf Kind regards Immanuel

Hi Fritz! You bought the lot on ebay Nice one!!! The lowest is an original Alpenkorps Edelweiß insignia! I got the exact same model directly from the grand doughter of an former AK-Major! I also like the one at the top right corner, because you can see that the "DÖAV" letters were filled with other materials. So thise one was reused as a headgear insignia. The one on the left upper corner I would consider as an original too, you can see this version quite often on original photos showing AK members. Kind regards Immanuel

Is realy no one interested in this book? I can remeber that the Alpenkorps was a much discussed topic in this forum. Kind regards Immanuel

Hi there! I'd like to share some great news with you: A new book about the German mountain troops of WW1, the Alpenkorps ("Alpine Corps") is available now! The book was translated from German into English by no one other then the well known expert for German military ofWW1 and my good friend Marshall V. Daut (Iowa, USA). He did a superb job not only by translating the book, but also because he sliped in his great knowledge, which enriches the text even more. You will get the first book in English which describes the Alpine Corps first mission in South Tyrol from May to October 1915! Basically, the 188-page book discusses the wartime circumstances that resulted in the forming of the Alkpenkorps to bolster Germany's Austrian ally in Tyrol on the Italian Front in 1915. You will find fascinating information about the Corps' formation, its early struggles, its combat and behind the lines life, and how the A-K has been perceived between the world wars and in modern literature. The scholarly, yet entertaining book is heavily annotated with footnotes and references, as this was originally my Master's Degree thesis that I expanded for his initial book. What will you find in this book? - 75 photos, mostly of Gebirgsjäger and skiers, but also some lanscape shots from South Tyrol which show the Alpenkorps in action. Marshall and I focused mainly on studio portraits which are great for uniform studies! There are also two maps added at the end of the book, to show where the Alpenkorps fought in summer 1915 - all photos are described by Marshall with great photo captions that focus on the uniform specifics and specialties, again this is very good as a reference for uniform studies! - you get a timeline that shows the most important dates that concern the Alpenkorps battles and campaigns in WW1 - Marshall and I added a glossary photos of German words and concepts that might be unfamiliar to the native English-speaker with little or no understanding of the German language and/or Germany's military traditions At the moment the book will be firstly only available in Germany. Soon it will be also available (as paperback or e-book) in the US, UK, Canada and Australia (most likely via Amazon or other major online vendors) How can I get a copy? In the next days I will receive some copies from my publisher. You can buy a copy (if you wish, I'll sing it) directly from me for a price of 25€ + 3,45€ priority shippment (world wide!) or + 1€ shipping (if you live in Germany). Feel free to write me a PM or a message at my e-mail adress: immanuel_voigt at yahoo.de so that we can discuss the details. Thanks! Payment is via SEPA money transfer (in Europe) or via Paypal (rest of the world). If you need more information, feel free to write me! Kind regards Immanuel

For anyone who speaks and reads German, I wrote a scientific essay about the Edelweiß badge of the Alpenkorps which appeared in the Magazine called "Der Schlern" in November 2014 under the titel "Das Edelweiß des Alpenkorps. Neue Forschungsergenisse". You can also find some nice photos in this essay, which prove my theory that the "original" Edelweiß from 1915 looked like the one of the German and Austrian Alpine Society (Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein, D.Ö.A.V.). Besides this version, the men of the Alpenkorps wore a lot of differend types of Edelweiß badges, which I think were mostly traded, maybe sometimes bought.

Does the reverse tell any date? I have seen men wearing 2 Edelweißbadges on their collar in 1915, so it's not impossible.

The photo in #661 shows the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the "Völkerschlacht" in Leipzig 1913 and the opening ceremony of the "Völkerschlacht Denkmal" wich was build from 1898 until 1913.

You forgot some words or read them wrong, but also the writer of the card wrote some words wrong. The adress reads: An Fräulein Marie Flähmig in Stangdorf [stangendorf] b. Zwickau Mülzen [Mülsen] Grund Gera (Reuß), d. 31.12.1914 ... unser Sohn ist von Breslau seit acht Tagen wieder zurück wegen Krankheit.

I mean the thought that men from former Alpenkorps units came to another unit (like for example they've been wounded) is not that deviously. So I see a possibility for taking the Edelweiß with them. But it seems odd that so many Württembergian wear it too. And to be honest, I can't imagine that the Edelweiß badge was just on sufferance by the NCO's and the Officers, not in Germany where military discipline and drill were done in some kind of perfection. Also Kaiser Wilhelm II. spoke again "scharf gegen Eigenmächtigkeiten im Anzuge, wie sie zum Schaden der Manneszucht vielfach jetzt in Erscheinung treten". That was also the reason why the Prussian War Ministry firstly was against the badge. Only due to Kraff v. Dellemensingens order to wear the Edelweiß without permission it stayed with the Alpenkorps. So one could say it wasn't that easy keeping the Edelweiß badge. No the whole Kriegstagebuch is more or less unpublished. There is a Krafft biography by Thomas Müller "Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen (1862-1953). Porträt eines bayerischen Offiziers (= Materialien zur bayerischen Landesgeschichte Bd. 16), München 2002". He used the KTB as a source and also quotes a lot, but it's not as the whole KTB is published as one book.

If you want to do so, it would cost a fortune! I payed quite some Euros to get some copies, but they were worth it. The most interesting thing is Krafft v. Dellmensingens Kriegstagebuch. Very interesting to read.

Never seen such an Edelweiß and I've never heared of an Alpen Verein Tirol. But sounds fitting ;)