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The Obergefreiter of Fußartillerie wore the 30mm button on a blank collar i.e. without the gold or silver Tresse. Regards Glenn

Morning James, I certainly would not suggest that. Here is a picture of the guy who was the recipient of this magnificent album, Otto Walther von Walderstötten (1848-1934) pictured as a Generalmajor. The officers and officials on the last two sheets are the medical officers on the bottom...

James, a wonderful album and in superb condition. I can’t see any names so I am assuming these gentleman are all un-named? Given that I can immediately identify two of the field officers on the first page I would determine that this collection dates around December 1900. The bespectacled Major...

Sandy, all the “real” Generalfeldmarschalls had batons; it would appear that the Generalobersten (mdReGFM) did not. Both Goltz and Hindenburg were “real” Generalfeldmarschälle. Regards Glenn Regards Glenn

I have a copy of the book Steve mentions; “Mythos Marschallstab”. It makes no mention of any of the Generaloberst (mdReGFM) as having been awrded a marshals’ baton and does not list any. Interestingly a baton for Kaiser Wilhelm I is not listed either. Regards Glenn

Great photo but not the same Schmidt as the obituary. The group photo shows Rittmeister (later Generalleutnant) Artur von Schmidt 1849-1918. The obituary is that of Generalmajor Franz von Schmidt 1842-1929. In 1886 Franz von Schmidt was a Major in Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 16. Regards Glenn

But frankly I don't think this cap belonged to Ernst Marquardt. Herr Marquardt was a reserve officer and a Leutnant d.R. in 1914. I checked back through all the editions of the relevant army list from 1900 to 1914 and there was just one active officer with a surname beginning with "M" in DR 25...

Unfortunately, the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg does not have a portrait of Rittmeister Marquardt in his DR 25 uniform! Regards Glenn

Another one from the Bundesarchiv. This gives a good view of General von der Decken. I am speculating that the Garde-Reiter-Regiment officer is Oberstleutnant a.D. Edzard Freiherr von Hake who was the chairman of the Saxon branch of the German cavalry association/union. Regards Glenn

These are from the Bundesarchiv and show the same day in 1931. The original caption to the above image "Generalfeldmarschall von Mackensen inspects the front of the Garde-Kürassier-Regiment on the Ilgenkampfbahn (a stadium) in Dresden). March past of the old German cavalry before...

The Waffentag der Deutschen Kavallerie or German cavalry arm of service day of 1931 was the first of a series of annual commemoration reunions/parades organized by the German cavalry association (Waffenring) culminating in the 8th at Erfurt in 1938. The patron was none other than...

I always think it a great shame that the Prussian, Saxon and Bavarian armies discontinued their publication of army lists during the war. I of course, appreciate that it would have been a huge undertaking but I do believe the British and US Armies did so and included all variants of commissions...

The latter picture shows Premier-Brigadier Paul Pfeiffer around 1870 (he has yet to receive the commemorative medal for 1870-71). The rank is that of an Oberlieutenant (rank and spelling then in use). The subaltern officers of the Hartschiere, the Premier-Brigadiers and Brigadiers were...

A future general officer in the 1899 group. The squadron commander is Jobst Freiherr Knigge (1861-1928) who spent most of his earlier career in Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 13. Entering as a Fahnenjunker on 1 April 1881 and rising to the rank of major on 18 May 1907. He had a brief interlude as the...

Steve, I am not certain what the first strap is but I can confirm that the "Offizier-Stellvertreter" strap is the normal strap of the rank of Hartschier. (in the rank of a Feldwebel/Vizefeldwebel). It is described as thus in both the "Knötel, Pietsch, Collas" and in a more official period...

These company/squadron/battery photographs are always interesting and provide much of worth. Here the squadron commander is Rittmeister Victor von Koenig, born 21 April 1854 in Rybnik in Silesia. Entered Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 2 as an "Avantegeur" or Fahnenjunker on 1 November 1873 and promoted...

Thanks all, just to round out this thread, here is the real Georg von Gayl. Regards Glenn

I think of all the wartime straps for non-commissioned officers and soldiers, the yellow straps of the Fußartillerie are the most striking and appealing. Wonderful stuff. Regards Glenn

I have commented a couple of times about poorly captioned or misidentified images before but in the context of fairly modern publications. This image is period to 1905 and was found on the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg site. A quick google search shows this and higher quality reproductions...

Indeed, one can clearly see the darkened epaulets in the 1901 image. I checked the 1896 officers' clothing regulations page 37, paragraph 51 which states that epaulets, shoulder boards, sashes and portepees should be "eingeflort." Flor is gauze or crape so presumably to cover with such...