Steel helmet cover - cloth and... wire?

[ArHo]

Good day everyone!

We all know that the german army of ww1 sometimes used covers for the steel helmet - but somehow pictures of these are quite hard to find unless you would want to pay a lot of money. You may imagine how happy I was (and still am) am when I recently found in a small group of post cards of a Unteroffizier in a saxon regiment - named and all - a group picture of his company, dated 5-1918, with different types of cover pictured! (at least I hope so but would ask for your expertise) ?

I am quite sure that there is a cloth cover on one helmet and - perhaps - the rarely seen "chicken" wire on the other? Looking forward to your feedback! (btw even if you disagree I am really into the expressions on the faces of these very young men - they are on the way into action and they know it...)

Best

ArHo

Edited December 27, 2019 by ArHo

[Flyingdutchman]

... we see them sometimes field made, sometimes professionally produced issued examples. 

First are Austrian troops. 

[The Prussian]

Yes, interesting photos. The covers are not seen too often.

Here we see Fernsprech-Abteilung 208 of the 208th Inf.Div.

Note the stripe upon the left lower arm. The 208th was the so-called "Strich-Division".

Each unit had their own geometric symbol above the stripe. If it was a unit of the staff, they only wore the single stripe.

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by The Prussian

[ArHo]

Hey, thanks for your answers and these very interesting image-additions! I had some contact with units of the ID 208 - but the name "Strich-Division" was new to me. Do you have any ideas on the helmet in the first picture - could it be wire? I cant take a better shot unfortunately..

Cheers

ArHo

Edited December 31, 2019 by ArHo

[ArHo]

Just a little addition because I find it interesting: Strich-Division means stripe-division. In the summer of 1917 the men of the ID 208 were ordered not to wear any numbers on their epaulets /dont wear epaulets at all (compare the photo above) - the reason was secrecy. Instead they wore from June 1917 - as The Prussian already wrote above - on the lower part of the left sleeve of the tunic a horizontal stripe made from white cloth and above it different geometric symbols. IR 25 had a vertical stripe, IR 185 a slanting cross, RIR 65 a standing cross, FAR 267 a triangle, the foot artillery a square. The staff only wore the horizontal stripe. Source of the additional info: genwiki.genealogy.net

Cheers

ArHo

Edited December 31, 2019 by ArHo

[The Prussian]

Hello!

This time wiki was right, but please, don´t ask Wiki... The are so much different views, so I only look in books.

This one is from the book "Vom Stahlhelm zum Gefechtshelm" (Baer)

 

[ArHo]

Yes sir, you are right - of course! But I was far from all my books at home (I know the Baer but would not have looked there!) and found it all so interesting, that I just switched off the brains and translated from Wiki... mea culpa ?

Best and thanks for adding!

ArHo

Edited January 1, 2020 by ArHo

[Chris Boonzaier]

Here you go.......

[ArHo]

Very nice! Oberst Krause, Kommandeur IR 185 from 5.1915 to 9.1918! Here he is again from the regimental history. Impressive bar...

Best

Edited January 1, 2020 by ArHo