Chip

I'm curious to see a M1866 board with this insignia. These boards were supposedly discontinued before 1900.

Nice!

Normally, that extra stop piece of leather on the back of the heel is for wearing spurs.

Gepäcktasche für Radfahrtruppen.

I have been collecting wartime German shoulder straps for nearly sixty years and have never seen a post-1907 enlisted version of this strap. That includes the M1907, the simplified M1907 (without piping and tongue) and the M1915. It's a rare thing.

A very rare patch. Though it was unofficial, so were a lot of patches worn in the air and balloon services, where they got away with a lot more than other units.

Super documents! That letter from the 4. Kavallerie-Division really fills things out. I did not know that type of thing was done. Of course, reports were made during and after the war, but printing them out and sending them to the participants is a new one on me.

So is running around the battlefield with a canister of flammable liquid on your back!

Wouldn't this be Prussian or some other state that used the Resedagrün band and piping?

Chris, the blue Bavarian Litewka was replaced (by regulation) in March of 1916 by the Kleiner Rock. I'm sure, however, as this photo shows, that officer's with the former jackets did not pitch them. This guy is obviously in the homeland convalescing and has access to all of his uniforms. I would think that the gray Schirmmütze would have been worn with the blue Litewka at least up until the time of the change to the Kleiner Rock and quite possibly beyond.

Shoulder straps of the Bavarian Garnisons Bataillonen looked like this...(in this case, K.B.III.A.K., 5.Komp.).

Yes. I agree, a blue Litewka. The slanted breast pocket confirms it.

I think someone on this forum owns one of Pelkmann's field gray jackets.

You should let me take that nasty Prussian Jäger stuff off of your hands.

I've seen several examples of this happening and I thought it might have something to do with the fact that Kurhessen troops wore Prussian heraldry and that Hessen was caught short of supplies during the expansion of the army in 1914/15.