Chip

If I'm reading this correctly, he was just getting this paper in 1918 for a wound suffered in 1914! Chip

Hi, What city?

Yes Männel and it appears he was a Beamte. His rank advancements mention "Unterbeamtenstellvertreter auf Widerruf", which was apparently soon after cancelled and he was forwarded to the rank of Vizefeldwebel. Bernd, For various "umlauted" letters, you can use the ASCII code. So, for instance, you hold down the "alt" key and then type "0252" and then let up, for a "ü" and then alt+0228 for "ä", etc. You can look up the ASCII codes on the Internet, if you want more, such as the numbers that produce the capital Ä (0196) or Ö (0214) and so forth, just refer to the charts. For some reason certain sites will show these letters and then later reduce then to gobbeldigook, so you are probably safer just using the "ae", "oe", "ue", etc. Chip

The history of the Sturmbataillon I has a version a Weber's "Gut Sturm" sketch at the start of it's Ehrentafel. Chip

I ended up with the Erkennungsmarke for the pioneer with two sleeve badges. His name was Johann Meyer, 3.Komp. Chip

Chris, What is especially disturbing is that the price got as high as it did without more pictures of what is actually in the pass. I guess you needed to take the seller's word for it. But if I was spending that type of money, I would want to make sure what I was buying first. Two bidders is all it takes, but in this case, two fighting publicly and one sniper. I know of at least one guy on the German forum who specifically collects anything to do with mountain troops and their campaigns and particularly the Izonzo battles. There are plenty of others who concentrate on the Gebirgstruppen and their theaters of the war (including me!). Bottom line.....silly price. Chip

Chris, Nice boards to be sure! Strap collecting can be occasionally confusing. I'm always happy to assist. Chip

Eric, At least it's all WWI era stuff. Why wouldn't you want the other items? Just saying......

There is more than one possibility as to the unit. It could be staff, or it could be other Bavarian units that did not use a unit number, like cavalry regiments for instance. This feldgrau backing was a personal choice and although not common, not rare either. Chip

Yes, I have a thought....they're not Jäger! If I am seeing the underlay color correctly, it is feldgrau, which was used by some officer's. It's non-official, but not rare to see. It definitely is not Jäger green. Chip

A very interesting unit. Nice catch! Chip

Yep. As I mentioned at the beginning, the squarish ones are most likely, WWI vintage. Chip

As far as I know, the squared top Saxon shoulder straps were discontinued with the new M1907 field uniform. I have seen a few examples, but all have appeared to be private purchase pieces. Chip

Well, with a lower officer rank like this, it is somewhat less likely that he was a prewar officer and it is especially less so since we have not been able to find him in the Ranglisten. Nur meine Meinungen.

The rank is "OLt.d.R.", so would he be in a normal Rangliste? I thought Reserve officers were not included. Chip

Abs. Infanterist Martin Seiler, Sturmtrupp

Mikko, If you only have to have one, that would be a great one (especially for a Finnish collector). Chip

​ Jeff, Wiki says that Tagal is another name for Manila hemp, which was used to make straw hats (and evidently cord too). Chip

Jeff, I'm unfamiliar with Tagal hat lace. I can see what it is, but what was it's normal use? Chip

Just a small note. "Mar.Ob.Stabsarzt" translates more like "navy senior staff doctor". The army equivalent rank is major. Chip

Chris, Definitely a dilemma if you have had the thought. Some would not even have this idea cross their mind. If you are agonizing, it probably means you want to do it. Say you had a document group and it included two identical award documents. Would you consider one redundant and pass it along for another collector to enjoy.....or would you say, it's part of the historical package and after all, easy to store. How similar are the tunics? Same rank? If they are different in some meaningful way, that would be a concern. How much money do you have tied up in the tunics? That could make a difference. Storage for larger items is also a factor. Groups often have duplicate items, but they are usually smaller things and not worth a whole lot. In the end, if you can afford to buy the group, then you can probably afford to keep it together. Whether you will or not is an individual choice. I'm glad I don't have to make it. Chip

Charles, I have a nearly untouched Mütze that has a sew-on enlisted national cockade and an prong-backed state cockade. I don't believe that it ever had a sew-on state cockade. I'm just saying that you don't have to convince yourself of anything. Most Saxon sew-on cockades that I have seen in period photos are the smaller size (same size as a prong-backed example). I don't recall having seen one like you have shown. Chip

Charles, I will be a hell of a lot easier than finding a pair of M1907 enlisted shoulder straps from a specific regiment!

Hello, Could I get some advice from the experts here? I have a couple of officer school badges that I have had for many years (Konstantin Artillery School & Nicholas Cavalry School). I assume that these are fairly common badges, as officer's badges go, but I would appreciate a value estimate for a badge in good condition. I'm pretty sure these are wartime examples. Chip

Charles, Since your tunic has the rank of Unteroffizier, the prong-backed cockades would not be incorrect. If they came on the cap and it already has the holes for them, I would just leave them on. That also solves the thread problem. Chip