Chip

I thought I would ask if anyone has any reference regarding this shoulder board. It is, I believe, a medical general's board, but the huge size has me uncertain of the period. It must be an earlier piece, but I would like to nail down the time span over which it would have been worn. I have shown it in comparison to the size of an M15 medical officer's board. I would assume that it would be from the 1873-1897 era, but I have little reference from this period. The ?skulapstab and pip are gilt with the cords being gold/black/silver in color. The backing is blue-black. The length is 10,5cm and the width 6,5cm. Chip

Chris, I can't imagine a better example from this genre. Though there are many types of these, they all have above average artwork. On my many trips to Germany I saw lots of these, but never got one because of the frames. I regret that decision now. I must admit that I am amazed by this man's extreme fortune to have made it through the entire war with the same well travelled and hard fighting unit. I don't imagine that there were too many soldiers that could boast the same sort of record. Chip

Moving to start another topic.....http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=11019

Chris, I was watching this lot. I have an Erkennungsmarke to one of these units. The official units were part of the pioneers, rather than the Verkehrstruppen. He might have been authorized to wear this patch on his Feldgrau tunic sleeve. Chip

Chris, Had our friend not been gassed, he could have been near the shooting (just some four months later) by our corporal Alvin York. It was Oberlt. Paul Vollmer of Landwehr Inf.Rgt. Nr.120 (1st Battalion commander) who talked 132 German soldiers into surrendering (with York's pistol in his ribs). Chip

Tom, Yes, this is the style that I have with the mesh on the sides. Interestingly, I have a period postcard photo showing the same two Bavarians as you show here, only in my picture, they have their rifles slung over their shoulders. Small world! Chip

Tom, I agree that they two crowns are a bit different. The bottom band has a different design. I also agree with Jens, that this is just a variation. If you look at Kraus's book, page 250, you will see another Infanterie Leib Regiment officer's board. Look at the crown. The lower band is just like mine (with the diamond shapes), not with the small dots on the band. Chip

Kool item Dan. I like anything government issue. Too bad we don't know what these swabs looked like or how they were packaged inside the tin. Chip

Paul, Divisions and regiments increased during the war. I don't think that the basic standing army corps increased, but new corps were formed at various times to accomplish speific tasks. These were often disbanded once the purpose was fulfilled. Chip

Well, we are sure that they are authentic, we are just not sure about the time period. The font of the lettering on the cardboard box does not scream WWII, but it also looks a little modern for the pre-1919 period. There is just nothing to base a definitive judgement on. I would post pictures my pair, but they are identical to the boxed pair that Tom has shown. Chip

Paul, I am sure that there are OB for the 1914 army that are readily available. Regimental and Divisional Truppenregisters are out there. For instance, in Jeff Noll's "The Imperial German Regimental Marking" there is a regimental and smaller unit Truppenregister. Quite a number of people have tackled this project with various success. I would first suggest that you look at some websites. Here is a link where you can purchase a CD with the above mentioned info. http://www.geocities.com/FJ_VF168/dindex.html Here is another link that has a ton of info. http://home.comcast.net/~jcviser/index.htm/page_9.htm Find out what is out there first. It will save you a lot of work. Chip

Glenn, Do you own that work by Selzer? I bought a copy from him back in the early 1980s. It covers just about everything you can think of regarding the officer's shoulder straps of the Bavarian army. Chip

Tom, Your Bavarian Infanterie Leib Rgt. boards are the M1916 type. Previous models had a red underlay. Here is another wartime subdued example from before the Spring of 1916. Chip

Tom, Welcome to the forum! I am very much interested in the Alpenkorps, especially the 3.J?ger Rgt.. I collect anything that I can find from either. I see your avatar is the collar insignia of the Ski battalions. I have a single example myself. I collect books, memorial prayer cards, postcards, photos, insignia and uniform parts when I can find them. One of my favorite possessions is an M84/98 bayonet marked to the 3.J?g.R. What are your interests and what do you collect? PM me if you like. Best regards, Chip

Dave, Don't get me wrong. I wasn't implying that those boards should not be on your tunic. If that was what I had, I would use them too. I'll keep a lookout for a correct pair. No, I was just curious about what pattern they were. Chip

Douglas, Your friend's helmet maker is most likely "Bell L". This mark is the outline of a bell and an "L" Many look at the bell and assume it is a letter. It does look somewhat like an "A". I have three of them. Many were issued to the 1.Garde Division. Chip

Hauptmann, There are all sorts of products that will get rid of mold. The problem is that it's anyones guess what they will do to the leather. Once an item gets mold on it, it is very hard to get all of it off. You usually end up just stirring it around. What I do, which seems to work, is spray a cloth with some surface disinfectant that specifically kills mold and apply it. You have got to get to every nook and cranny that you can. The better you clean it off the longer it will take to reestablish. I then go back over the leather with Pecards, which protects the leather and inhibits the regrowth of the mold. Perhaps there are others that have better solutions. If so, I would love to hear them. Chip

Hauptmann, You've got a good crop of mold growing there. You need to get that helmet out of the humidity! Chip

Dave, Are those Olga boards with the white underlay M15's or are they M10 Dragoons? Chip

Dave, It should be a thread on cyphered shoulder boards, given your photo. You hid all of the Litzen. What happened to that project where we were comparing various collar Litzen? I thought you were going to post your stuff and the things that I sent you? I'm sure there would be overwhelming interest in it! Chip

Dave, They are all M10's except for your weird Infanterie Leib Regiment example. Lord knows what it is. Of course, the other thing that they have in common is that they are all yours! Chip

Dan, I would assume that you are correct about the needle sterilizer. It most likely was a small, thin metal tray with lid that would have slots for the needles. It would have been steam heated somehow. Now that I think about it, they could also have been hypodermic needles. I still don't see any divider and you didn't mention it before. Chip

Ah Dan, You are starting to figure me out. No big secret....I love it all! Thanks for the list of contents. This is not the same list as that of the two types of pouches that I described. Neither of them has a leather sleeve in the lid for the scissors and needle sterilizer. The list from the Krankentr?gertasche (L) includes a loose pouch (1 Zwirntuchtasche, darin: 1 gerade Schere, 1 anatomische Pinzette). During this period, needles were restrung and reused, so there needed to be a means of reprocessing them for the next patient, thus the needle sterilizer. Kambric, also known as Kambrik or Kammmertuch, is a fine linen that got its name from the early German name for Cambrai (Kamerich) where it was made and was named for. You will notice that the list on your lid does not have any of the salves and medicines that you have in your pouch. The reason is that they were not the normal contents. These types of items (Arzneimittel) are only found in the Sanit?tertasche ( R), though none of these specific things are listed. Perhaps they are from a larger case or medical backpack. Yes, the cross on the Freiwil.Krankenpflege armband is a Bevo type weave. Chip

With only a few regiments possible, one would think this man would be identifiable? Chip

Dan, Please list the contents on the inside lid of the pouch, if you would. Here are two more armbands. The second one is interesting, as even though it has a Prussian stamp (Stehendes Kriegslazareth d.VI Armee Korps), the only period photo I have seen of an armband with this style of cross being worn, was of an Austrian soldier.