Captured Stuff...

[Chris Boonzaier]

used by the Germans

[Chris Boonzaier]

First is a British compass dated 1916. The name of the british officer and his regt have been scratched out, and "Ltn M?ller 12/23 I.R." written over it.

[Chris Boonzaier]

The binos are 1909-1911 stamped, the case was later died black by the Germans.

[Stogieman]

Coo ltopic. Does anybody have any photographs of germans showing off any captured "trophies"??

(Rats, Bodies dead or alive and Heads don't count)

[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 Boonzaier]

This thread reminded me of Lt M?llers compass...

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5077

Very strange that the Germans did not have an issue compass !

[PKeating]

No German items captured from Allied forces, I am afraid, but here is a rare photo of members of the 369th RIUS - popularly known as the Harlem Hell Fighters - sailing home. Note the man wearing the M16 or M17 stahlhelm.

PK

[Chris Boonzaier]

Waking this thread up again....

Does noone have any examples of Allied Gear used by the germans ??????

[PKeating]

How about a BSA M20 500cc motorcycle in the hands of members of I./Fallschirmj?ger-Rgt 2 after the capture of Leros in November 1943?

PK

[Tom Y]

A Russian pouch...

[Tom Y]

With a German name penned on the flap and some very non-Russian oddments inside.

[David Gregory]

With a German name penned on the flap and some very non-Russian oddments inside.

Tom,

Very nice. Any interesting entries in the Milit?rpass?

David

[Chris Boonzaier]

Tom,

Very nice. Any interesting entries in the Milit?rpass?

David

Yup... three days arrest for looting Russian military equipment ;-)

[Daniel Murphy]

Great items, I love the ID'd compass and the pouch with contents is awesome. Justin is an odd German first name though.

Dan

[Chris Boonzaier]

Great items, I love the ID'd compass and the pouch with contents is awesome. Justin is an odd German first name though.

Dan

Hi,

I think it is Justus.... which is odd as well .....

He was probably known as "Just Kramer"

[Daniel Murphy]

How about German field gear used by the allies. Here is a German Patronentaschen 09 captured and used by a US 29th Div. doughboy. Two souvenir buttons were in one pocket, a wadded up waterproof soldbuch wallet was in another and the third contained a pouch of Bull Durham smoking tobacco and rolling papers. The pouch is marked "H. Tilles / Leipzig- Lindenau / 1915". The two stamped markings inside are illegible. This just as it came out of his trunk.

Dan

Edited November 8, 2006 by Daniel Murphy

[Tom Y]

Yup... three days arrest for looting Russian military equipment ;-)

No arrrests, but he got around a bit.[attachmentid=60197]

Hope you can read this. The only places I recognize are Riga and der D?na (Danube).

[Chris Boonzaier]

This is a small parts wallet for the british Vickers machine gun, dated 1915.

I cannot say for certain, but 3 things point to a maybe

1) the little inner compartments are removed

2) It has the exact size of the large wallets of the time period

3) It was found in Germany.

I cannot say for fure, but I think it was used by a german soldier to carry his "stuff"

[Paul R]

The only thing I have that is confirmed caputured is the SVT 40 rifle (on the top). It is stamed "SA"on the reciever, which indicates that it was captured by the Finnish. I know that it is not WW1... but...

[Chris Boonzaier]

I just bought a postcard from a german soldier to his family... unusually it mentions souveniers and he mentions he will be sending a French jacket and Mütze home.

Somehow Germans were not really big souvenier hunters.

Best

Chris

[Chris Boonzaier]

I just bought a postcard from a german soldier to his family... unusually it mentions souveniers and he mentions he will be sending a French jacket and Mütze home.

Somehow Germans were not really big souvenier hunters.

Best

Chris

[Thomas W]

Does noone have any examples of Allied Gear used by the germans ??????

German officer wearing a British 1915-Pattern trench cap:

[Ulsterman]

A REALLY useful captured item ( @ 1942/43):

[bob lembke]

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

Recently read a primary source about a German MG unit, which was armed with the MG 08, but had a few enemy MGs in reserve, both French and Russian, not trophies, but as reserve weapons.

Reading about Gallipoli, and one of the German naval MG detachments had lost almost all of their maxims, but Turkish infantry conter-attacked Brits and were able to present the naval detachment with 13 captured Vickers guns, and the MG detachment was back in business.

The Germans, mid-war, used a fair amount of Russian artillery, both the 76.2 mm parapet gun, somewhat modified, as infantry guns (but the barrels quickly wore out, the Russian steel was poor), and heavier Russian guns as divisional artillery. Not sure of the caliber. In 1915 the Germans captured thousands of guns when they captured several very large fortresses. Used first Danish Madsen LMGs and then Lewis guns in special LMG units.

My father's unit used French LMGs.

The Germans had a very active program, with dedicated officers and units, to salvage enemy material and scrap in general from the battlefield. Two-thirds of the "German" tanks were refurbished Mark IVs.

Bob Lembke

[KIR]

I have a british compass from my greatgrandfather dated 1915 and 1916.

Front: "69th. FD. COY. R.E. No.2 SN." (69th Field Company, Royal Engineers, No. 2 Squadron)

Back: Lt. d. Res. K.J.R.145 (Leutnant der Reserve, Königs-Infanterie-Rgt. Nr.145)

Best regards,

Jens

The battles of both regiments:

69th Field Company: Cambrai 20.11-03.12.1917

K.I.R.145: 22.11. bis 29.11. Tankbattle (Panzerschlacht) bei Cambrai

30.11. bis 01.12. Angriffsschlacht bei Cambrai (Villers-Guislain)