Chip

Rick,

This is the tunic for the Schweres Reiter Rgts. You must be thinking of the Chevaulegers or Bavarian Ulans.

Chip

I too have an EKII (Alpenkorps) document with Graf von Bothmer's signature as Major u. Rgts. F?hrer in June of 1918.

Tony,

Both of these pairs of German epaulettes would have been worn on the Dunkelblau uniform for non-field use. The doctor's set is for the rank of Stabsarzt. The second pair is that of a Hauptmann from the Inf.-Rgt. von Courbiere (2.Posensches) Nr.19.

Chip

PS In the time it took me to type this, two others beat me to the answer! Talk about service!

I'm a little bit worried about your mom's fixation with pigs and skulls , but when it comes to the German steins.....would she consider adopting me?

Great stuff!

Chip

Dan,

Years ago, a German collector friend of mine found four of these unissued papercloth MG-Trageriemen at the Stuttgart Flohmarkt. I was lucky enough to have something he wanted (an M71 Hirschf?nger), so I got a set, along with a like-new pair of issue boots (BA XII marked), some issue shirts and a few other things.

There is a good possibility that your black Drillich is Kriegsgefangenenkleid. Kraus mentions that prisoners wore black Drillich suits as a sign of their status. He also says that they were eventually made from papercloth. On the other hand, his description of regular army issue Drillich does not mention black, but does discuss the change from earlier natural flaxen color to Feldgrau cotton cloth. No mention is made of papercloth. For what it's worth.

Chip

Simon,

The name of the maker of your belt is Karl Barth of Waldbr?l. His firm made other leather items during the war, including leather Sanit?ter-and Krankentr?gertaschen. They also made the same pouches from papercloth with leather straps.

I think I did help you with an identification. German insignia is my specialty. I have over 700 shoulder straps.

Chip

Rick,

I wonder which Saxon regiment's uniforms Feldwebelleutnant Beyer dipped into in order to come up with Litzen on his collar. You would think that if the 241st was supplied with uniforms from the depots of say, the 100th or 101st grenadiers, that Herr Seltrecht would have them too.

Chip

It would be interesting to know just how the medal is suspended in Ulsterman's photo. There is no exterior button hole on the Bluse. There is one under the flap, but how would looping through that suspend this medal the the position that it is in? I do have photos of soldiers wearing Blusen that have the EKII ribbon sewn on as if there were a button hole, but I don't recall having seen a ribbon suspending a medal in this manner on this pattern jacket.

Chip

Dan,

Very nice weapons. The drag straps were also made from Papiergarn. I have such an example. I don't imagine that they would have held up very well under field conditions, but I am told that the papercloth did do a sufficient job, as it was surprisingly strong. It's just hard to imagine what would happen to it if it got soaking wet.

Chip

Simon,

I checked my buckle collection and I have the same crown on my Bavarian "telegraphers" buckle.

Chip

Rick's got it right. The straps are M16 field issue with white underlay for infantry. That would probably make the unit the b.4.I.R. The buttons are general issue after 1916 for the Bavarian Bluse and Mantel. The traditional Lion buttons were supposed to be replaced with crown buttons. I assume that this applied to officer's as well. The only lions left were on the NCO rank disks. In practice, this took a little while to get into the production pipeline and the earliest Blusen were still being made with lion buttons. I have a Probe Bavarian Bluse dated 1916 with lion buttons throughout.

The special strip of cord on the medical officer's board differed by state. It came in black, blue, red/black twist, red/white twist, etc.

The tunic and cap look like they could be examples of that "silk" material.

Chip

Tom,

That must have been a popular motif. I have the same match safe!

Chip

Thanks guys,

I think landsknechte's example is closer to mine (same exact ribbon) and it makes sense to me that it was probably a membership medal that once hung on my "bar".

Best regards,

Chip

I have a couple of photos showing Germans with captured Russian and French machine guns. Weapons seem to be the most common trophy. I also have a French Adrian helmet that I got in Germany back in the 1980s, which has a cloth field cover. It was souvenired by a German soldier, who wrote (in that ubiquitous purple pencil) "Somme 1916". Finally, I have a wooden Russian canteen that has a German's name written on the bottom (I also found this in Germany).

Chip

Chris,

I would say that in general, enlisted custom made tunics are not as desirable as issue ones. Maybe that is just my preference. Otherwise, I think that much of the value lies in the originality of the tunic. Were the pockets added during the period, is the material an exact or near match to the rest of the tunic, is the tunic a converted issue piece or a private purchase example? Period alterations were common for enlisted tunics, especially for walking-out-dress tunics and those of troops in the rear areas. There are lots of questions, but in the end, I am sure that your sense for what you like and your experience as to whether others would like to own this tunic, will tell you if it is a "buy" or not. Good luck.

Chip

Vic,

One more thing, I do own a photo postcard dated September 4, 1914 sent by "Lt. i/K.F.A.C., kommandiert z. Generalstab d. XV.A.K.". The name looks like Georg Siebert. It says that he has been in the field since August 8th. The photo shows Georg standing in front of his car, in uniform. There is also a batman, perhaps Georg's personal chauffeur in the photo wearing some sort of civilian uniform. Most of these club members were quite well-to-do, having their own cars.

Chip

I know this question has probably been asked before, but I have not been able to locate the answer through past posts. Perhaps someone could help. I recently acquired a grouping belonging to a former member of the Bavarian 209th Minenwerfer Kompanie. Among the other things, there was a Bavarian Vet.u.Krieger Verein pin as shown. In addition, there was this "medal bar" with the broach wrapped in the same ribbon as that of the pin. There is a hook on the back to suspend something. Does anyone have an idea of what would have been on this bar originally? Obviously it was something associated with the Verein, but was it a medal or some other geegaw?

Thanks,

Chip

Vic,

Unfortunately, I know of no organizational breakdown on the members of this unit. Since Prince Heinrich of Prussian was the head of the corps, perhaps his memoirs would include some information that might be useful. Cron also says that all club members became officers on August 10, 1914. Their mechanics were made Unteroffizier. Cron says that from May 30, 1915 both the members of the corps and their mechanics were taken on the nominal rolls of their service units. There are A.K.O.s associated with both of these dates. I would think that you might find something in wartime histories of the Kraftfahrtruppen. I don't know of any specific sources, but I am sure there is something to find out there (in German) if you are willing to look. Best of luck.

Chip

Vic,

The volunteer automobile corps basically changed from a "club" to hired contract drivers upon mobilization in 1914. They were all taken into service as officers and kept this status until the summer of 1916, when their contracts were annulled and the corps was made a regular military formation as part of the Verkehrstruppen. This information is according to Kraus and is taken from his book "The German Army in the First World War". His dating for their status change from contract drivers to regular military differs from what Cron says.

Chip

Rick,

The Sam Browne belt is the first tip-off. The "sunburst" star Wappen is typical of the postwar police. If you compare it to a Garde star you will find that even the basic outline is different and other than the general impression, they don't have much in common. Other clues are the plain pocket buttons, the Graugr?n wool material on the body of the shako (J?ger officer's would have had black wool), the black visor and trim (Garde MGA officer's would have light brown leather), the Weimar era badge just below the Turk pilot's badge, etc. My uneducated guess based on the collar Litzen (as opposed to the early police Kragenpatten with button) is that this photo dates from the late 20's or very early 30's.

Chip

Rick,

J?ger? Isn't that a Polizei outfit?

Chip

The "German Forces in the Field" from April of 1918 identifies the IX.29 as being part of the Bug Army (Eastern Front), lines of communications troops. I like this guy's swagger! It does appear that he is trying his best to emulate the look of royalty.

Chip

"Git Jer Blast"

Chip

Dan,

There were a Prussian and Bavarian decrees (in September 1915) ordering all mess kits made from aluminum to be withdrawn from the front to be used for other needs of the army. It is hard to believe that this was universally adhered to, but it was mandated.

Chip

David,

These equipment markings are issue marks and the marks pertain to the piece, not to the soldier it is issued to. There is some correlation made between the equipment markings and the issuee, but that would have been done on paper.

Chip