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Imperial German Army Clothing Depot Issue Stamps


Kenny Andrew

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These BA stamps can be found on first world war German helmets and equipment.BA stands for Bekleidungsamt or Clothing Depot and can be used to find out where the item was issued.

 

BAG: Garde-Korps (Berlin)
BA I: I Armee-Korps (Köenigsberg)
BA II: II Armee-Korps (Stettin)
BA III: III Armee-Korps (Berlin)
BA IV: IV Armee-Korps (Magdeburg)
BA V: V Armee-Korps (Posen)
BA VI: VI Armee-Korps (Breslau)
BA VII / VII Armee-Korps (Münster)
BA VIII: VIII Armee-Korps (Coblenz)
BA IX: IX Armee-Korps (Altona)
BA X: X Armee-Korps (Hannover)
BA XI: XI Armee-Korps (Cassel)
BA XII: XII Armee-Korps (Dresden)
BA XIII: III Armee-Korps Württembergisches AK (Stuttgart)
BA XIV: XIV Armee-Korps (Karlsruhe)
BA XV: XV Armee-Korps (Strassburg)
BA XVI: XVI Armee-Korps (Metz)
BA XVII: XVII Armee-Korps (Danzig)

BA XVIII: XVIII Armee-Korps (Darmstadt) a mixed corps of Grossherzogl. Hessisches and Provinz Hessen, latter under Prussian rule

BA XIX: XIX Armee-Korps (Leipzig) Second Sächsisches Armee-Korps

BA XX: XX Armee-Korps (Alleinstein)

BA XXI: XXI Armee-Korps (Saarbrücken) also a mixed Armee-Korps, composite

BAO: China Expeditionary Armee-Korps (Ostasien)
KA: Kolonial Amt (Africa)

 

Bavarian items are often marked: BD for Bekleidungsdepot.

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  • 2 years later...

Just noticed in your listing - you have XIV. Armee Korps as Baden-Baden

 

Baden-Baden is a city and of no relevance. The city was Karlsruhe, which was also the capital of the Grand Duchy of Baden.

The XIV. was the Grossherzoglich Badisches Armee-Korps. Baden was a sovereign state or Bundesstaat within the Reich.

 

Must have overlooked this in the past.

N.B.: There was no such thing as "Imperial German Army", there was only an Imperial German Navy or Kaiserliche Marine,
Kolonien u. Schutzgebiete - Colonial issues were "Imperial"
Officially it was the Prussian Army, consisting of:
Königlich Preußische Armee, with it's contingents
Königlich Sächsische Armee, XII. u. XIX. Armee-Korps, Königlich Württembergisches XIII. Armee-Korps
and separate: Königlich Bayerische Armee

In the years after WW1 the army was often referred to as "das Deutsche Heer" or sometimes "Reichsheer", which included all the armies of that period, however not technically correct. The remaining army in service of the new Republic was known after 1918 as "Reichswehr".

The Kaiser was not "Emperor of Germany" / Kaiser von Deutschland - but German Emperor / Deutscher Kaiser !
Primus inter pares - the German Emperor as King of Prussia was on the same footing as the Princes of all the other states, his role as "German Emperor" was simply nominal, based on the will of all the other states to have chosen him as a figurehead of the unity of the Reich or federation since 18. January 1871.

Same issue with many designations of collector's items:  WW1 tunics are often referred to as "Feldbluse" / Field blouse, which is not correct, these apply to WW2 uniforms, the official designation was simply "Bluse" or blouse as introduced September 1915 and replaced the previous decorative "Waffenrock".
 

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Thanks Paul,

 

I have up-dated the list :thumbsup:

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Sehr gut!
Just noticed also, missing are:

XVIII. (Hessisches) A.K. - Darmstadt. This was a mixed corps of Grossherzogl. Hessisches and Provinz Hessen (latter under Prussian rule)
XX. A.K. - Alleinstein
XXI. A.K: Saarbrücken - also a mixed Armee-Korps, composite

Bavarian items are often marked: BD for Bekleidungsdepot.
Now complete.

 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

correct, these were for the field uniforms and Ausrüstung

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Thanks Chip, welcome to the forum :thumbsup:

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  • 4 weeks later...

During the war, some Reserve Bekleidungsämter were set up. 

Normally, the only items marked with the "B.D." were from the bayr. III A.K. The bayr. I and II A.K. used "B.A."

Thanks for the welcome.

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Correct. Yes, welcome to the forum, some of your posts have remained unnoticed until now.

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  • 9 months later...

Here is a stamp from a WW1 German Overcoat from my collection. If I am reading it right, by the codes listed above this would be from BA XIII: III Armee-Korps Württembergisches AK (Stuttgart). 

IMG_0813.JPG

IMG_0804.JPG

IMG_0831.JPG

IMG_0830.JPG

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