Chip

Claudio, Thanks for all of the information and photos. I really enjoyed them. I am a big fan of the German mountain units, especially the Ski units, the W?rttemberg mountain troops and then (of course) the 3.J?ger Regiment. There is something that I would like to point out in post #5. First, the "Gebirgsj?ger Mantel" appears to be a normal M15 example, with the exception of the smooth buttons. To my knowledge, there was no special overcoat for mountain troops. The cape it is covered with is a "Radfahrer Umhang" and though the mountain troops may have adopted it, it would have been unofficial gear, as this cape was meant to be for bicycle troops. It's too bad we can't see the enitire thing, but it sure looks like the one in this picture (though the one you have shown is much faded).

Brian, Well, he is an NCO from the Garde Korps. I think the squared off front visor on his helmet with narrow it down a bit more. Perhaps the 1.Garde Dragoner Regiment. The dark Litzen on the collar indicates that they were most likely yellow, as opposed to white for the 2.Garde Dragoner Rgt.

He lives in Germany!

Most of the soldiers appear to be Bavarians, so I would guess that this is a Catholic run hospital and these men in black are wearing outfits related to the organization/order. The neutrality armbands serve no great purpose at these homeland hospitals other than to be an outward sign that the person has a medical connnection and is contributing to the war effort. Normally, these civilian medical workers were never anywhere near the front. The army medical personnel took care of all the first aid, removal from the battlefield and the first surgical field hospitals. Once a wounded soldier was stabilized, he was either retained somewhere behind the front for recuperation or sent back to Germany. These non-military types would take it from there, manning the Etappen routes back home and the homeland medical facilities.

Not from the imperial period in my estimation. The gold braid is from a later time. The same goes for the chevron. Chip

Definitely one of these, so post-September 1915.

This is a pre-1915 Prussian board. The 2nd Ulan Regt. did have a red underlay, but Rick is correct concerning the alterations to this piece, which tend to put any identification in doubt. Rick, 98%? I would say not even 50%, but still a lot. Chip

Jens, You are the Internet wizard! Chip

Rick, Manfr.Hart ? Just a guess.

Gordon, An excellent set, with a lot of information. I find it interesting that he was awarded the regimental R.E.K., when there was a Marine version available. The tough part will be finding the correct ribbon. Here is a photo taken on the Goeben deck in 1913. The sailor on the right is Albert Dienst. Chip

He's a Bavarian Flieger officer. Unit is impossible to tell without the presence of a field formations sleeve patch. He is wearing a Kleiner Rock with the Bavarian blue/silver Hoheitsborte on the collar. Chip

There is a chance that you could confirm the Uboot association if the Branchenabz. could be clearly seen. Can you make it out on the original? Seidene Halstuch = silk neckerchief. Chip

He may have been a soldier (the medals will tell), but here he is pictured in the uniform of the household livery. A high ranking servant. Chip

The Arendt (listening) Abteilungen (22 units in total) were formed in February of 1917. Small irregular units had existed since 1915, but they were not numbered. The Abteilungen were dissolved in March of 1918 and formed into 292 autonomous "Listening Stations". They were under direction of the commander of the Signal Troops. As Rick has mentioned, the process was experimented with for the purpose of signalling, but it was found to be unsatisfactory. The listening activities, however, continued to be of great benefit. Here is an excerpt from a website with the reminiscences of a WWI German soldier, who was used as an interpretor on the Eastern front. "The designation Arendt section was a code-name for listening stations. In those years there was already wireless telegraphy, but radio was an unknown concept. The telephone was the usual means of communication. A wire was strung over field or trees, the return current going through the ground, for which a wire was wrapped around a bayonet and it was stuck in the ground. From those locations waves were emitted that could be received with rather primitive vacuum tube equipment. The listening posts used so-called "earths" [erden] which were hidden wires that were buried in the no-mans-land as close as possible to the enemy positions. These were antennas that picked up waves in the ground, rather than in the air. An Arendt station consisted of a listening device and the "earths" which would sense several kilometers of enemy front. Each army corp had many listening stations. The personnel in each was half interpreters who listened, and half communication specialists who laid the wires and maintained the batteries and other equipment. The living quarters were a few kilometers in back of the first line, connected to the listening stations by telephone. The German telephone lines at the time used two wires, the Russian ones only one. Thus when the Russians spoke by telephone the listening posts could hear them easily and send all important news immediately to headquarters." Chip

Dante, That is quite a mixture of odds and ends. I think I can help you with the following, 1. Looks like green underlay with green darts? Could be a Saxon piece. A better scan would be great. 2. A military official from the Proviantamt (provisions). This should have a state shield in the center where the rank pip is. 3. A Prussian Major on a wartime feldgrau backing. Though this is backed like a Hussar's board, the cording is not the correct style. It is just a wartime variation and could be any branch. 4. An Oberlt. board from one of the infantry regiments which was allowed to wear the extra silver Tresse around the base. Missing the crown and cypher. Might be the 1.Gd.Gren.Rgt. Need a better scan. 5. Lt. 14.Bavarian Inf.Rgt. 6. Prussian doctor, missing the snake/staff device. 7. Prussian Major, old style cording, before 1900. 8. M15 Lt. from the 114.Inf.Rgt., missing the crown and cypher. 9. Not sure. Purple/blue velvet backing would indicate medical, but the state colored cord is missing from the front. Devices also missing. 10. Prussian Inf. Lt. The devices do not look correct for this piece and there seems to be evidence of previous devices. 11. TR or later period piece. 12. Postal official. 13. Bavarian medical officer. Missing the snake/staff. The pip is incorrect. It is for an official's board. 14. The other half of #8 above, pair. 15. Need a better scan. Cannot see the color of the darts. Is the backing green? 16. Looks like a Prussian infantry Lt. au?er Dienst. The thick state darting is the indicator. Chip

Rick, The cording looks like it once had a device (holes). Perhaps it is a wartime piece and that was the only material that the tailor could get. Otherwise?

I love to see the wartime feldgrau backing plates too. It's a small icing on the cake. Chip

Dave, Thanks for the clarification. Chip

"Zur Erinnerung an die milit. Hilfs-leistung in der Ukraine 1918." Is this what you wanted? Chip

Hardy, I have been trying to figure out what that pair are since I first saw them on Ebay. There were some technical related officer's boards that had only a black velvet underlay. Examples are, the Festungsbau-Offizier, the Feuerwerksoffizier, and the Zeugoffizier. Unfortunately, not one of them had a unit number. Chip

Dave, Would that be Karl von Schoch, commander of the 3.Bayr.I.D.? I have a document for the EKII that is signed by him. Chip

Hardy, Prior to 1915 all foot foot artillery units had white, white piped or white underlay shoulder boards. In 1915 the canary yellow color was adopted as you have said. Basically, these boards you have shown are from the Train troops (blue underlay). The problem is the crossed shells, which might be partially explained by the fact that in October of 1917, due to a shortage of replacements, munitions columns began to be manned by Train troops. This Train officer obviously did not want to have to alter his uniform, so he took it upon himself to add the foot artillery insignia to his existing shoulder boards. That is my best guess senario. Chip

Chris, Have you written the seller to get the particulars? The are too small to see on the webpage. I have asked, but have not gotten a reply yet. Chip

Again Chris, very nice indeed. The J?ger of my Pa? was at Verdun from 5.6.16 to 15.7.16. He made it through that only to be badly wounded in the Karpathen at the end of September 1916 and never made it back to the front. He was discharged with a 50% disability in 1917. Chip

It has the puckers that indicate to me that it is sewn on. I don't believe it is drawn in. Chip