Thomas W

Robin: Just found a photo identified as a German small-flamethrower attack. The weapon in question appears to be a captured French P4 flamethrower, which the Germans could not have used very much, as the French manufactured only 250 of them. So, this photo is posed, and the soldiers are armed with the Gew 98. Since flamethrower pioneers used the Kar 98AZ, these are likely infantrymen. Look at the sleeve cuff of this fellow:

Reviewing men of the Württemberg Mountain Battalion after Caporetto. Any idea who he is?

Very nice. Unusual to see Grabenpanzer and guard dogs. Usually the armored fellas are in a trench, not out in the street. Here's a Pionier of Sturmbataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr) in Belgium. $1.00.

Sometimes I pay insane prices for postcards on eBay, but other times I find incredibly valuable cards for almost nothing, so for me it balances out. I just bought this card of an Unteroffizier of the flamethrower platoon, Sturmbataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr). It cost only $1.75.

Can anybody identify the vertical stripes on this pioneer's collar? Thanks.

Thanks, Andy. I appreciate it.

The Sturmtruppen book by Jean-Louis Larcade says that Assault Battalion No. 17--a Germano-Austrian unit--was formed January 19, 1917, by k.u.k. Heeresfront Erzherzog Karl on the Russian front. This new Sturmtruppen book by Oliver Richter says a Sturmbataillon was formed in October of 1917 by Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg in Flanders.

I just read that Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht von Württemberg had an assault battalion, formed in October of 1917. I've been unable to corroborate this claim. Anybody help me? An assault battalion seems a bit small for an entire army group.

Really hard to say. Can't tell if they have oval cloth backing patches or not. The regulation officers' badge was embroidered from silver bullion. It would be a huge hassle to embroider a skull directly onto a sleeve. Plus, the officer would have to give up his tunic while it was being embroidered. They may indeed be non-regulation metal skulls. At any rate, the position so high on the sleeve indicates that the two men are veterans of Sturmbataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr).

It may be postwar, because many of the men seem older. At least four men are veterans of Sturmbataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr). Interesting!

Do you have a date for the last photo?

What's the story behind the last three photos?

Yup. It was allegedly ordered on June 6, 1916. Every time I see a period photo of a Guard Pioneer wearing a Pickelhaube, I look closely to see if there's that little Brunswick skull. No luck yet. Maybe someday I'll find a photo of a guy wearing a Guard Pioneer Pickelhaube with a Brunswick skull and a sleeve badge with a black Prussian skull. Can you imagine the bidding war on eBay?

Thanks, Chip. I appreciate it.

The Litzen look yellow, but the Litzenspiegel are white. Is it Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5?

Let's all pitch in to split the cost, and then we'll take turns keeping it in our houses.

Thanks again...

Thanks very much. What was the rank of a private soldier in the Seebataillon?

This soldier of the East Asia Expedition Corps was photographed in Peking in 1901 by an American officer named Captain C. F. O'Keefe. Can anybody I.D. the unit?

Stahlhelmbund...

View of both men...

The larger one is a Lange Pistole 08. There's another man in the photo wearing the same rig, and you can see that it's a pistol holster. Both men have the small case...

Thanks. Never saw such a small map case...

Is this an ammunition pouch for the Lange Pistole 08 on the man's belt?

Thanks very much. It's a photo of an assault unit, so maybe "S" is for Sturm or Stoss and "A" is for Abteilung.