Chip

But I had this strap loooooong before Chris found his medal. Chip

Chris, You aren't the only one. Any photo for sale from Germany with a Tschako being worn is identified as a J?ger. At least half of them are from the Telegraphentruppen and there are also Flieger, Landsturm and Train troops that are misidentified in this way. Chip

Chris, What publication is Sascha's information from? How was he able to link the name to it? Just curious, as one would not expect to find such information on an enlisted man without some sort of name index. Chip

Stijn, The 223.Division was formed in the fall of 1916. The IR173 had been in the 34.Division. In May of 1917 it went to the Russian front for the first and only time. It was in Galicia until Dec.-Jan. 1917 when it was sent back to the West. The IR173 was originally drawn from the Rhineland and Westphalian provinces. Chip

Bob, That's "Stellgsk." an abbreviation for Stellungskampf as you have guessed. Chip

Would the D.K. be a Dienstkreuz or a D?ppelkreuz? He did serve in the Danish War. Any idea when he won the EK2? I think it may have been before 1870-71, so perhaps in the Danish or Austrian War? Chip

Tip O' the Tam to Glenn. Thanks very much for the information. Chip

Glenn J. said he would try to find the AKO for the creation of this badge the next time he visits the archives. In the meantime, I think the Probe tag from the example in the Bavarian Army Museum gives a good clue as to whom the original wearers were. The tag says, "Probe des ?rmelabzeichens f?r M.G. Scharfsch?tzentrupps". At the time of the creation of this insignia (in February of 1916) only the M.G.Trupps existed. They were formed into the MGSSA in September of 1916 and continued to be given this insignia. The real questions are how, when and why was the authorization for the wear of this badge extended to other M.G. establishments. The original AOK will not give us the answers. Chip

Would anyone have the time to check out Karl von Barton Stedman? I have been told that he served in the 4.Garde Grenadier Regiment prior to his death in 1901. A friend has a Reichsrevolver that was his personal sidearm and was interested to know what his service history was (dates of service and promotions). Thanks in advance for any information. Regards, Chip

I don't think the soldier with the Bavarian shako is a J?ger. First, the shoulder straps would be piped in dark green, these clearly have a light colored piping. Secondly, a J?ger would most likely not be wearing this pattern of cartridge box (Patronentaschen 87/88). They were normally issued to pioneers and soldiers of the Verkehrstruppen. My guess is that he is from a Telegraph unit. They wore shakos, had swedish cuffs, light colored strap piping (light gray) and would be more likey to be carrying a Lebel than a J?ger. A close-up of the shoulder strap might confirm this. Chip

Charles, NCOs did add breast pockets on occasion. I have a photo of an Etatsm??ige Feldwebel with them. I don't think the lower ranks could get away with it. Chip

Charles, I know of no regulation authorizing such hybrids. 99.9% of these combinations appear on privately purchased uniforms. Alterations were not officially allowed for issued uniforms, but they normally were overlooked if they were within reason. Chip

Exceptional grouping. Congratulations! Chip

Charles, It looks like that first tunic has subdued M15 boards as well. Chip

Charles, It appears that the shoulder boards are bright rather than subdued, but that could be just the lighting. I suspect that officer's could continue to have the M10 style tunics made if they wanted. They were certainly more attractive than the new Bluse and I have seen many hybridizations which included characteristics of both the old and the new. Chip

Dave, I would assume that it could be worn on any uniform since it was officially sanctioned, but I do not have a copy of the AKO, so I could not say that this is a fact. I will contact Glenn J. to see if he would copy the AKO for us. Chip

Dave, The Flammenwerfer Totenkopf sleeve patch was officially created with an AKO. Chip

There were no enlisted veterinary troops. The enlisted men who worked along with the veterinarians belonged to the Train troops. The lowest veterinary ranks I know of were Unterveterin?r and the wartime ranks of Feldunterveterin?r and Feldhilfs-Veterin?r. There was no veterinary sleeve insignia. The "snake" worn by the veterinary officers looked like the one on this M10 example of an Unterveterin?r. Chip

Guys, I thought the gas unit was the 35.Pionier Regiment? Chip

Ulsterman, This Sanit?terabzeichen had been around a long time before 1916. The Feldgrau example was introduced in 1909. It was worn by the trained medics within the various units and they wore the same uniform as the rest of the unit, with the exception of this patch. The sleeve patch was not worn by doctors. There are a number of sleeve insignia that were worn both before the war and during. The number increased significantly during the war as the number of units that wore field formations patches expanded. Rick, It is somewhat unusual to see a metal ?skulapstab being worn in the place of the normal cloth patch, but I have seen it before. It may be his way of accentualting his exalted NCO rank. Judging from his plain floppy enlisted style shoulder straps, I would say he is either a Landsturmer or has some sort of cover on his straps. Normally, only the lower NCOs (Grefreiter, Unteroffizier) were Sanit?ter. That is obviously not the case here and things may have changed because of the war, but I imagine his rank was no higher than Vizefeldwebel. Chip

Charles, First, if you don't mind, it's Schirmm?tze and Feldm?tze. I think any cap that was a duty cap, as opposed to a dress cap, could be called a Feldm?tze. A Schirmm?tze is specifically a visored cap. A Feldm?tze could have a chinstrap as long as it was a visored cap. Both enlisted (M09) and officer's visored caps had chinstraps. In 1915 a new visored cap was introduced for enlisted men. It was to have no chinstrap and was intended to be for non-field use. So Schirmm?tzen could be with or without chinstraps. Technically, it depended on the model of the cap. In practice, visored caps were worn by non-Portepee NCOs and enlisted men in the field. I don't have time tonight to verify this tonight (it's almost 11:30pm), but I am pretty sure I have my facts straight. Chip

Charles, It looks fine to me, but it looks like a Kleiner Rock, not a Litewka. Chip

I think the monument says Groberz, which is a town in Brandenburg. I sure don't see G?rlitz. Chip

Rick, Definitely the Baden 110th. The slang term for the cords on his straps is "Hoffnungsbalken". They indicate that he is Abkommandierte zum Schule. Not sure which Schule, but the dark color could indicate the Lehr-Infanterie-Bataillon, Unteroffizierschule or Unteroffiziervorschule, etc. Chip