Chip

Well, they might have changed the requirements later (I have seen no proof of that), but when this badge was instituted in 1916 it was specifically for MGSS formations. Chip

Dave, Thanks for sharing these links. This is wonderful information, but I am so surprised that Google has had these obscure books digitized. These types of reference books have been locked away in secure parts of old libraries for many years with no access to them and little understanding of what they were and where they were. This type of disemination will secure the future of these works and make the possibility of them being destroyed by fire or natural disaster that much less. Finally, this effort helps our hobby in that the rare and valuable tomes are available to the masses and thus the dependence of the collecting community on a few experts is lessened. This is important, I think, as it helps us to avoid some of the great losses the community takes when one of our reseachers is suddenly no longer with us. I think of our medal collecting friends and all the information that was almost lost when our esteemed mentor passed on. Thanks to Google and you! Chip

Chris, I would vote for a simple, single prong roller buckle belt. Much more often seen in period photos than the official Feldkoppel. Chip

sambolini, Yes, it is the Saxon K?nigsabzeichen, given out each year to the best shooting company. The device had the year in which it was won on it. If you could see the year, you could determine which regiment this man was from. Given the location of the photographer, it was most likely the 106.IR or 107.IR. A close-up of the buckle could further narrow it down. Chip PS Just last week I got in a picture of an Saxon NCO from the 107.IR wearing a K?nigsabzeichen from the year 1904.

Chris, Congratulations on the Feldgrau uniform! They are very tough to find in that kind of condition. I like the fact that you know who owned it and that you will most likely be able to find out what awards were on the missing ribbon bar. Good luck with the new hunt. Now you have to find an issue enlisted one in the same condition! I have the Erkennungsmarke of an officer of the same regiment, who might have known him. Here's the back of one of his disks. Chip

Roeland, I nearly forgot to mention, that there are things that are not shown that you might have an interest in. For instance, no shirts, Unterhosen, Halstuch/Halsbinde, mittens, towels or things of that nature are shown. I can help in this area if it interests you. Chip

Roeland, There are plenty of websites and good books on the subject, but if you want to see something quickly, I suggest you go to this website, to see the photos of John Sheehan's collection. Everything is set up on mannequins and is, for the most part, correct. He takes enough photos to show anything you would want to see and they can be enlarged to a hugh size and still retain their detail. You might have to register on the site to see the pictures. Try it out and if it is not what you are looking for, let me know and I will try to help. http://www.gunboards.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=68548 Chip

I have a Perfection 3490! Chip

The story continues.... "F?hrer durch Heer und Fl?tte" 1914 edition says, that the buttons on the colonial officer's Kakidrell Feldrock should be "Versilberte Kaiserkronenkn?pfe (vorn 6 gro?e, auf den beiden Brusttaschen und den beiden Seitentaschen je ein kleiner)". The description of the boards is, unfortunately, not that detailed and only says that they were silver wire with red and black silk darts. I was hoping that my photos of the Probe pieces in the collection of the Bavarian Army Museum would have some navy boards, but no such luck. Rick, The artist was Paul Pietsch, a stickler for detail, though he did make mistakes, as evidenced by the corrections in the back of the book. Chip

Daniel, I took a look at what "Das Deutsche Heer" has to say on the subject. It's very interesting. The officer's khaki tunic is shown with plain nickel silver buttons on the pockets and down the front (Knopf glatt, ohne krone). It looks like the imperial crown buttons were worn on the gray Tuchuniform, but not on the khaki. The Leutnant shoulder board is shown as having a normal type officer's underlay in the blue color used for S?dwest Afrika and the darts are alternating red/black, that is, the black side of the dart switches each time from inside to outside. Here is the drawing that is in the book. Chip

Daniel, They sure do look the same. I could not tell from your photos that your boards were bullion. They looked gray to me. So I wonder what Rick's boards are. I had assumed that colonial officer's boards were pretty much the same except for the colored underlay for the various colonies. Obviously, more work needs to be done to clarify things in this area. Chip

Rick, Those are not imperial Hussar straps. I have a bunch of them and this doesn't match the prewar or any of the Feldgrau versions. I also have an enlisted Schutztruppen board and though this is closer, it is also not a match. I think your Sonderfuehrer suggestion might be the right identification. Chip

Ulsterman, I hate to repeat what Rick said, but this is an outstanding photo. Hessian buckles, badges and EKIs. They're all NCOs as well. Very nice and unusual to see all this in one photo. Thanks for showing it. Chip

byf, If the color on my monitor is correct, this is not an original WWI era paint. To me it looks to be a light gray color. The early M16 helmets, to my understanding, were a light gray-green color, often referred to as "apple green". Perhaps I can take a photo soon to show you the difference between it and the standard Feldgrau color that everyone is familiar with. Or maybe someone else can post a picture of a helmet with an early paint job. Chip

These cotton tunics appear to be non-military to me. I would guess they would be Reichs employees....something like railway, phone service, etc. The one shoulderboard does not correspond to anything military, though on first glance, it would appear to be that of an Offizierstellvertreter. It is not that, but more closely resembles the later Reichsbahn board. Some minor officials of some sort. Chip

Dave, Very interesting information. Thanks for posting it. Chip

Chris, The early rigs bring more, but that just may be because the Italians buy them as examples of what the Austrians normally wore. It is hard to judge how much more the Gummimaske are worth. If you go by prices on E-bay, I think you get somewhat of a skewed view. But generally speaking, I would say that the difference would be about $75.00-$100.00 if the two were similarly complete sets in comparable condition. Regarding scarcity, I think I would see about ten or more leather masks for every Gummimaske. Of course, that is here in the U.S. and that is most likely effected by the fact that by the time our troops began souveniring masks (1918 basically), the Gummimaske were about gone from the field. Chip

shako_uk, I would call it a veteran's badge or pin. To me "Tinnie" connotes an all metal badge. It's for former members of the unit. Worn on civilian clothes, most likely at reunions or association meetings. Chip

Rick, Your eyes are older than mine! Looks like the other board has a pip on it too. Can't see any darts on that side. Chip

Rick, The regiment is the 243.R.I.R., which was raised in the XIX A.K. and spent nearly the entire war with the 53.Res.Div. The division was in the process of being dissolved when it got caugt up in the American attack of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Chip

Looks to me to be the cypher of the 1.b.FAR and I see two pips on the right (his left) epaulette. Chip

Ulsterman, When you say this Saxon was bumped up, bumped up to what? I ask this because I was trying to think of what a deputy officer is and I could only come up with a Feldwebelleuntnant. This soldier has a pip on his boards. I have never heard of a Feldwebeloberleutnant, so what am I missing here? Would that not then make this fellow just a regular Oberleutnant? And is it just my old eyes or is that an enlisted national cockade on his cap? The state cockade looks like a regular Saxon officer's, but that other one sure doesn't look like an officer's to me. Strange. Chip

I'm not sure which ranks were allowed to be Steuermann, which I guess would be the "pilot" of a Luftschiff, but I am relatively sure it would have been an NCO rank. On the other hand, Luftschiffer personnel also manned the captive balloons, so he could have been attached to one of those units. Chip

I'm not sure if this photo is staged or not, but it is interesting. I suppose the lack of helmets would indicate either a posed photo or a picture taken during a training session where you try to fire while wearing your mask. Chip

For a bunch of guys who are an ocean away from the war, they don't look very happy. Chip