Chip

You made the best choice. How about a look at the inside? Chip

Thanks Mike, I have virtually no reference on Pickelhauben. Chip

Charles, If you meant, which one you should choose according to rarity, then I would go with the smaller battalion sized unit J?ger cap. If you are choosing according to value, the Saxon Garde Reiter would be worth the most. Chip

Marcin, Perhaps it is a corps level photo and not one taken in Bromberg. I had missed the "1". That would make it what you first suggested, though I cannot see the shoulder strap cypher to confirm it. I'm not a spiked helmet expert, but would the fifth grenadier regiment wear a grenadier eagle on their helmets and not the line chicken? Chip

Yes, for veterans and privately purchased. Chip

Well, if they are real, they would all be quite scarce, but you already knew that. Chip

Marcin, I can tell you that the two on the left are dragoons, possibly from the Grenadier zu Pferde Rgt. Nr.3. The first clue is the squared-off corners of the helmet visors. Then there are the mounted belts and the issue M89 Kavalleriedegen. One of the streamers on the standard mentions King Gustav the V of Sweden, whose cypher that regiment wore on their shoulder straps. The infantryman is probably from the Pommeranian Inf.Rgt.Nr.14. also stationed in Bromberg. Both of these units were in the II.A.K. Chip

Joe, While I am far from being well versed in the markings of spiked helmets, I can tell you that, generally speaking, the Bavarian marks are often larger and the "B.A." letters normally have larger serifs, while the other corps markings tend not to. Chip

Chris, I assume that the wool is feldgrau and not graugr?n? Chip

Joe, I don't know the answer to your first question, but as to the second, yes, the Bavarians used the same type of B.A. markings as you suggest. The actual stamps are somewhat different, but the letters are the same. The Bavarians also had some markings that were particular to Bavaria. Chip

Chris, Even the regimental commander, Ralf von Rango, was not an Oberst until very late in the war, so I think you can count the 3.J?ger Rgt. out. Chip

Chris, It looks like the Reserve officers of the two Bavarian battalions of the 3.J?ger Rgt. wore your Tschako too. Chip

Charles, They look OK from the outside, but the inside will really tell the story. Chip

I was told long ago that many of the men in these alpine units had come from mountainous areas of Germany and thus, some were members of the Deutscher-Oesterreichischer Alpenverein and wore their association badge, which was nearly idenitcal with the badge given by the Austrian emperor. Chris, you can see that one of the badges you have shown has the "D OE V" stamped into the gold center of the flower. Chip

Dave and Chris, Thanks for the information. It sounds to me like it would be legitimate then, for Bavarian uniforms to have B.A.XV markings on them in 1918. I have seen a Bavarian Einheitsm?tze marked B.A.XV and this pattern cap would normally have the traditional Bavarian corps markings, i.e., B.A.I, B.A.II or B.A.III. Chip

Iv'e got to go see that collection some day. It's only about a ten hour drive away. How can I get myself invited? Chip

Christophe, From the look of the black leather and lack of any military marks or date, I would guess this might be a commercial piece. It appears to be an old piece, if that is what you were asking. Chip

I was looking at the composition of the Prussian XV army corps and it appears that there were units drawn from all over Germany, much in the same way other border army corps were set up. I have recently seen an indication that Bavarian troops were issued with exclusively Bavarian style clothing items from the Bekleidungsamt of the XV corps. Though I see Silesian, W?rttemberg and other far flung units making up the corps, I do not see anything Bavarian. Does anyone know if there were any Bavarian troops stationed in that corps during the war? Thanks, Chip

Chris, The Hauptlaboratorium in Ingolstadt was part of a large complex devoted to testing and the manufacture of gunpowder, cannons, artillery shells and other chemicals utilized by the army. It was organized in a military fashion and the employees of what had been the technical institute before the war, became part of special worker formations. By 1916 these units were renamed the Technische Betriebs-Bataillone. The workers at Ingolstadt, for the most part, continued to wear civilian clothes to work, but were given a badge to indicate which section of the complex they worked in. Those workers in the Hauptlaboratorium wore a shield just like this only with the number 1. or 4. (companies). The letters on the badge were painted red. The letters TBJ, were for Technische Betriebs-Bataillon Jngolstadt.

Rick, I don't, but a friend of mine has one in his shoulder strap collection. I will contact him and see if he can scan it for you. I do have some examples from the 12.Division, which had its various units wear colored strips across the bottom of their shoulder straps. The color varied according to the unit. I have three different straps from the division with the strips. Chip

Chris, Correct me if I am wrong, but I have never seen an Edelwei? being worn on a Tschako. Now, I do know that they made Edelwei? insignia with different types of prongs and pins on the reverse, some of which I think would work on a Tschako. Chip

Bob, I think you are on the right track and I have no problem with such a thing. I still would like to know why this battalion is listed in the roster of units in the regimental history of another regiment. Chip

Rick, By early 1915 the corps and other pipings had been dropped. This was one of the first steps in the simplifications of the manufacturing process for uniforms. Other changes that saved on increasingly hard to get textiles were soon to follow. By 1916, the initial shortages had passed, only to return later in the war as the naval blockade did its work. My impression is that these are some sort of patriotic, basic training graduation handouts. Nothing official and not like any of the semi-official strips that were worn on the straps of certain divisions. Chip

Glenn and Dave, Thanks for the replys. My question originated when I looked into my unit history to get some information on an officer, whose wartime tunic is owned by an acqaintence. The odd thing is that the tunic has the shoulder boards of the 145.IR, but the officer, one Hauptmann d.R.Brune, was listed as the F?hrer of the 11.Komp. of RIR67. And Glenn, it also mentions that he was wounded on August 24, 1914, the same day that your Major was killed. Was the III/RIR67 with the 145.IR on that day? Chip

I have a copy of Band I of the regimental history of the 145."K?nigs" I.R. in WWI. In the back, it lists the officers of the regiment and the Ersatz depot as of the Ausmarsch. Also listed, for some reason, are the officers of the III/67.RIR. Could anyone explain to me what the reason is for this? From what I can discern, RIR67 was part of the 33.Res.Div. which was formed in Metz, where IR145 had its garrison. This is the only connection I can make. There has to be more to the story. Also, in the history it mentions a certain Feldwebel=Leutnant Johan B?nting, the Verpflegungs=Offizier of the III/145. I don't suppose that men of this rank appear in any postwar lists of officers. He was my wife's great uncle. Chip