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Kraftfahr-Bataillon, 1911


Fritz

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A 1911 dated field cap for Artillery, Pionier and other technical troops of the Prussian Army. The cap is in reasonable condition for age and the considerable wear which it has been through. It has been profusely stamped with issue and re-issue marks. In Prussia nothing was ever thrown away, things were always used, repaired, reconditioned and passed on for wear by other units.
The first issue marks were B.A.G.1911 and K.B.1911 and 2.Komp., which was the Bekleidungs Amt Garde for the clothing issue office, K.B. would most likely be Kraftfahr-Bataillon, which was also first raised in 1911. There is also a later stamp of Inst.Werkstatt Düsseldorf (Instandsetzungs-Werkstatt), where it would have been repaired for re-issue, various other marks and St.A.Sonnbg., which would sound like Strafanstalt Sonnenburg, which was a notorious prison (cockades would not have been worn here!). The cockades appear to have been period re-fitted, as they have the correct original coloured backing cloth behind them. The red piping has turned to a crimson tone through staining and chemical changes in the dyes. An interesting piece of history. Rare to find a stamped, issued example.

 

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Private purchase example with handwritten entry, Ersatz-Reservist Friedrichs, 1. Batterie, (Niedersächsisches) Fuß Artl. 10 as a comparison

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  • 8 months later...

The "St.A." is a common mark used in caps. I believe it has something to do with with the overseeing manufacturing district, in this case Sonnenburg. I have caps with the same stamps.

Here is a M1907 feldgrau cap of the same ilk. You can see the "St.A." mark at the top of the lining. The cap is also marked to the Garde Korps 1909 and the Feld-Luftschiff-Abteilung Nr.1.

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Also a B.A.G. - Garde issue - the F.L.A1 could stand for Feld-Lazarett A1 (?) - St.A. may or may not be "Strafanstalt".

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  • 1 year later...

Wow, that first cap has a ton of stamps! Second one is nice also, hard to get items with good stamps and a traceable history. 

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Especially the coloured pre-war items, most of them turning up are the private purchase pieces (Eigentum), which could be worn off duty, these obviously have no stamps. Official pieces are referred to as Kammerstück / pl. Kammerstücke.

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I would love to get my hands on some of these caps, they don't turn up much here and when they do they are really high priced. You see the tunics more often then the caps. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

The last cap shown would be Feld-Luftschiffer-Abteilung 1, I assume.
Would Not the right facing colours for medical. If any, dark blue with red piping, shoulder straps with the number of the army corps, as in the case of "Krankenträger".
Examples below, colour chart with relevant insignia and shoulder insignia, Stabsarzt (other insignia: Veterinär, Roßarzt, etc.)

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Shoulder pieces and a single Epaulette for Stabsarzt, Prussia (dark blue velvet)

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There would be several possibilities for medical personnel attached to a Feldlazarett. This would include various ranks of physicians, medical orderlies - Krankenwärter (nurses), Sanitätsunteroffiziere, Etappen Sanitäts Kolonne with Freiwilliger Krankenpflege.

Krankenwärter wore dark blue shoulder straps with a medium blue piping and yellow Arabic corps number. M1915.

Krankenträger wore Karmasinrot (carmine) colored shoulder straps with no piping and yellow Arabic company number. M1907-M1915.

Doctors, Assistenzarzt and above, had a dark blue velvet underlay on their boards, Unterarzt had a dark blue board.

Freiwilliger Krankenpflege had their own system of shoulder board ranks, as they were volunteer medical personnel and not part of the army medical service.

 

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image.png.0f6d8426aaa1b26d50bd1a28d6d6f510.png

Sächsisches (?) Rothes Kreuz

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(Hanseatisches) Rothes Kreuz, fieldgrey

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Preußisches Rothes Kreuz, Schirmmütze

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