Strange cap straps

[Robert Noss]

Photosammler's Weekly Fleamarket Report:

I found these thick leather cap straps very strange:

I even think they look like straps for the steel helmet !?

Also interesting is that round piece of gear in that bag, the left soldier is wearing.

Well, could be a can of beans.

What do You think ?

Regards

Robert

[Guest Rick Research]

Those are the visorless Tellerm?tzen with very NICE visors sewn on, and really, really weird home-made chinstraps.

Could that be an early gasmask in there?

Flea markets ALREADY? Has the snow melted already in Bavaria? Here in the dark, endless piney woods more snow is coming again tomorrow!

[Chip]

Those are the 1908 pattern peaked service cap for enlisted men. Very scarce with the visor still intact and difficult to find these days. I have only seen a handful in 40 years. Discontinued in October of 1918, they were primarily issued to support troops (engineers, Train troops, Sanit?ter and Krankentr?ger, etc. I have two of them that have had the visors and chinstraps removed and then were just sewn back up.

The three compartment cloth gas mask pouch first came out in 1915 to carry the mask (no filter attached), and two spare filters in their factory sealed tin cans. In 1916, when the Bereitsschaftsb?chse (issue carrying can) was introduced, the old bags were modified by taking out one cloth partition, thus creating two compartments, one for the mask and filter in the carrying can and the second for the spare filter. Newly made cloth gas mask pouches (Segeltuchtasche 16) were made with two compartments. This one in the photo could be either, as it is not possilbe to tell which it is from the outside. The earlier pouches were made from a thinner canvas similar to Zeltbahn cloth. The later pattern was made from a heavier, tougher canvas.

Chip

[Robert Noss]

Thanks for the infos.

As You all know, the 1st WW and imperial germany is not my main subject and I am not very familiar with these uniforms, but I can recognize "strange" things when they appear.

Rick, I am an "All-Year-Fleamarket-Visitor". No matter how low the temperatures are or how bad the weather is.

Here in the Munich-Big-City-Area we have fleamarkets all year and those in winter are not bad at all.

A bit less competition with other collectors.

Got also a few nice 2WW photos this weekend.

Kind regards

Robert

[dwmosher]

Robert

Based on the cap cockade and cuff arrangement, your two boys were Saxons.

Regards

Dave