XIV 30 Four Soldiers. E Heid Rastatt

[Eduardo]

Hello,

The officer sitting in this group has "XIV 30" in his collar. This photograph was made by: E. Heid, Rastatt. I will appreciate any help to proerly clasify it. Thank you in advance.

Eduardo

[Chip]

Eduardo,

None of these men is an officer. The unit of the sitting man might be the 30.Landsturm Batl. of the XIV Armee Korps (Baden). If you can make a close-up picture of the man on the right's shoulder strap, I might be able to tell you more. The light colored shoulder straps and very dark cap bands could be something else. A good shot of a shoulder strap would clear up the questions.

Chip

Edited October 2, 2006 by Chip

[Eduardo]

Thanks Chip.

I have made a closer view of the shoulder strap. Hope it helps. This forum is great. Finally I am being able to know more about my post cards than just "german soldier posing".

Eduardo[attachmentid=55752]

[Chip]

Eduardo,

I can see from your enlargement that this soldier was from one of the cyphered regiments, that is, one of the regiments that wore the royal cypher of the honorary commander of the unit. These straps had a crown under which was the stylized initials of the ruler. If you could enlarge this picture to 3" X 3" I could probably tell you which regiment it was.

Chip

Edited October 3, 2006 by Chip

[Eduardo]

Chip you are great, I will do my best to enlarge the picture keeping a clear detail. I'll have to wait for my son to tell me how to do it. Thank you very much.

Eduardo

[Eduardo]

OK Chip, Lets see if the enlargement is well done.

Eduardo

[Eduardo]

Chip I have tried again and it is even larger. Hope it is clear enough. I can see the crown but can't make out the initials.

Eduardo

[Mike Dwyer]

Chip,

It's kind of hard to see at that angle, but since the Landwehrman is from a Baden unit, do you think the cyphered shoulderstrap is from 2. Badisches Grenadier-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm I. Nr.110?

[Chip]

Mike and Eduardo.

No, it's not the 110th. This crown is the very distinctive crown of Infantry Regiment Margraf Ludwig Wilhelm (3.Badisches) Nr.111 garrisoned at Rastatt. The cypher is "LW". I have added a picture of a M1915 example as would have been worn on this pattern tunic by an enlisted man. In this case, however, seeing that this picture was taken in Germany and judging from the very light color of the strap, my guess is that this might be a Friedens shoulderstrap. This M1915 dress strap normally would not have been worn on the field tunic. It was white with a red crown and cypher.

Chip

[Eduardo]

Thank you again Chip. You make my postcards come alive. It makes all the diference to know more about the person in them. I really apreciate your expertise and although Per? becaeme involved in the first world war after the Germans sunk a Peruvian ship carrying nitrates to Bilbao almost at the end of the war, If there is anything arround here that you might need or want to know please don't hesitate to let me know.

Eduardo

[Mike Dwyer]

Mike and Eduardo.

No, it's not the 110th. This crown is the very distinctive crown of Infantry Regiment Margraf Ludwig Wilhelm (3.Badisches) Nr.111 garrisoned at Rastatt. The cypher is "LW". I have added a picture of a M1915 example as would have been worn on this pattern tunic by an enlisted man. In this case, however, seeing that this picture was taken in Germany and judging from the very light color of the strap, my guess is that this might be a Friedens shoulderstrap. This M1915 dress strap normally would not have been worn on the field tunic. It was white with a red crown and cypher.

Chip

Chip,

I was using the shoulder strap plate on Kaiser's Bunker for reference and it skips the 111th, it goes from 110 to 114. I was looking for that distinctive crown, but didn't see it anywhere.

Sorry, Eduardo, for almost leading you down the wrong path!

[Eduardo]

Mike, it is through discussion that the truth comes to light. Thank you too for your interest. This is a fantastic forum and I really apreciate your help-

Eduardo

Edited October 4, 2006 by Eduardo

[Chip]

Mike,

That plate from the Kaiser's Bunker website is from a 1900 publication. There are many things missing that would have been around in WWI and also a few are shown that were gone by WWI. A wartime cypher listing would be nice thing to have on that website. It would give the full picture of imperial cyphered shoulder straps when added to the one you looked at.

Chip