Chip

I've seen these in museums in Europe and I know an American collector that has one. The amount of workmanship and detail is truly impressive. The only drawback with them is the silk base material, which is prone to deterioration due to the method of processing silk during that period. Chip

That's a number "9" on his collar. The Armierungs-Batl. were organized in February of 1915. They were originally clothed in old Dunkelblau era uniforms and caps or Drillich. An order of April 1915 prescribed a white armband with "Armierungs-Bataillon (unit number)" or abbreviated "Arm.Batl.(unit number)". Later in 1916 (Bavaria) and 1917 (Prussia), the armband color was switched to gray, but armbands were soon dropped all together. The fieldgray army uniform was adopted in the Fall of 1915. Kraus says nothing about insignia of any kind other than the armbands, though similar units (like Straßenbau-Einheiten) wore plain shoulder straps. Chip

Darren, Yes, there were other letters used. I believe that each factory had inspectors with their own stamps. And yes they did have crowns over them. Chip

I don't think that is a Württemberg mark. It appears just to be a normal inspection stamp (crown over a Gothic "D"). Most of these 84/98n/A S bayonets did not have the state stamp and date. I don't know what the other numbers mean. Thought they look to be period, they are not in the form of a typical unit mark. Chip

Chris, Unbelievable stuff! I can't imagine how much this sort of outstanding paperwork must cost . You have got to have the all time premier collection when it comes to WWI German documents. Impressive! Chip

Joe, That's pretty interesting. Certainly not a navy marking. In this case, I think the stamp means, "Proviant-Kolonne 6, II.Bayerisches Armee Korps". Chip

So far, I have logged twenty different manufacturer codes spanning the years 1915-1918. I have no idea who the manufacturers are. Perhaps that information is buried somewhere in the Bavarian decrees or orders. There would have to have existed some index. Chip

The Bavarians used the B.A. stamp in most cases, but at some point during the war (1915 I think), they came out with a Hersteller code, similar to the WWII German manufacturer codes. As far as I know (from the examples I have seen), this was only done by the Bekleidungs Depot of the III.b.A.K.. So what you see in the marking is a rectangle intersected in the middle by a vertical line. On the left half is the vendor code and on the right is "B.D.III" over the date. I've seen this on everything from Bluse, to Unterhose, to cartridge pouches and pretty much any other issued item coming out of that corps depot. Chip

An M15 Einheitsmantel took the the same straps as those on the Bluse. Any M15 pair would do. The straps were not sewn to the loops, but rather were stitched to the shoulder seam. The loop (Schlaufe) was a retainer for a rolled or folded strap. Chip

That's the reason it's so nice. It most likely was the fellow's walking out dress uniform (not worn much and often kept at home or in the Kaserne). Chip

I would think 550 Euro a very fair price for one in that condition, especially coming out of France, where prices seem to be the highest for German pieces. Chip

I've got my kleenex out (and not for tears ).

Eric, A great 1917 piece, with the correct truncated Borte and shoulder Schlaufen. Chip

The Schlaufen were not authorized for the Bluse until November of 1916, so you will see the tunics both with and without them, depending on when they were manufactured. Chip

So what is this then?

The good news is that I have four steel Gefreiter collar disks, though none match exactly (kinda like the company buttons on your Bluse). I can send you a scan if you would like to see them. Chip

Chris, Bad news....those are the wrong buttons. What you need is Gefreiter buttons, not Sergeant buttons. The Gefreiter buttons are smaller. A Sergeant's tunic would have subdued collar lace. Chip

Eric, First time I have seen a "1" size marked Tasche. I have two "2"s and I have seen "3"s before, but except in photos, never a "1". Chip

Charles, The Tornister was not normally carried into combat. Marches yes, but not the full pack for combat. You do see a makeshift version, the so-called Sturmgepäck. It consisted of a Kochgeschirr with overcoat or blanket wrapped around it with pack straps. It used breadbag straps as shoulder braces. Chip

Never seen one to a Padre. Nice, unusual, private purchase tag! Chip

Chris, Thanks for showing the interiors. I had never seen an open one. Chip

I would assume that he is in IR40. Odd that he would have a Reichsrevolver. Those were normally carried by artillery and other rear echelon troops. Looks like an Ausmarsch photo. Chip

Chris, These are like maps. Once you unfold them it is very difficult to put them back correctly. Good luck with that. A few years back a large stash of these was found with bundles of these dressings covered in civilian cloth, but with the normal military ink markings. All with 1918 dates and in the same manner as so many other things that substituted civilian/commercial cloth for the normal cotton. My 1918 Bluse is lined with black pinstriped civilian cloth. They were getting down to the nubbins. Chip

With those rounded noses, I suspect that ammo is high explosive. Tracers and armor piercing are more tapered/pointed. I have a somewhat similar French round. Chip