SkipperJohn
Well-known member
Bavaria sided with Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War, but they retained the uniform worn in 1866 during the Austro-Prussian War. Bavaria sided with Austria in the 1866 war and suffered badly. Siding with Prussia during the 1870-71 conflict led directly to Bavaria being united with Prussia in the unification under the Imperial Constitution. Bavaria retained many of it's own characteristics but the cut of their military uniforms began migrating more toward the Prussian model.
The Bavarian Mannschaften Schirmmütze worn during the Franco-Prussian War was light blue, top and bottom. The Schirmmütze was piped in red and had a metal, or cloth, crown mounted on the top:
After the war the Bavarian's began adopting Prussian standards and the Schirmmütze took on more of a Prussian appearance. This is a post war Bavarian Infantry Mannschaften Schirmmütze:
Bavaria was one of the first German states to adopt a Kokarde. This occurred in 1806 when Bavaria was fighting on the side of Napoleon. The Bavarian Kokarde has always been white-blue-white; however, after the Franco-Prussian War both white-blue-white and silver-blue-silver were acceptable. The Bavarian Kokarde varied widely including smooth edge patterns, serrated edge patterns, ribbon patterns, and flowers. This pattern Kokarde identifies this Schirmmütze as being from 1872 to 1887. By the time the Bavarian Army had adopted the Pickelhaube in 1887, the Kokarde had become more standardized to the familiar Prussian pattern. The Kokarde on this Schirmmütze is the flower type pattern with a silver wash:
The interior of this Schirmmütze is in good shape but no markings remain. Note how wide the leather sweatband is in comparison to newer models:
It is a good match to my Raupenhelm from the same period. The Kokarden match on these two pieces:
John
The Bavarian Mannschaften Schirmmütze worn during the Franco-Prussian War was light blue, top and bottom. The Schirmmütze was piped in red and had a metal, or cloth, crown mounted on the top:
After the war the Bavarian's began adopting Prussian standards and the Schirmmütze took on more of a Prussian appearance. This is a post war Bavarian Infantry Mannschaften Schirmmütze:
Bavaria was one of the first German states to adopt a Kokarde. This occurred in 1806 when Bavaria was fighting on the side of Napoleon. The Bavarian Kokarde has always been white-blue-white; however, after the Franco-Prussian War both white-blue-white and silver-blue-silver were acceptable. The Bavarian Kokarde varied widely including smooth edge patterns, serrated edge patterns, ribbon patterns, and flowers. This pattern Kokarde identifies this Schirmmütze as being from 1872 to 1887. By the time the Bavarian Army had adopted the Pickelhaube in 1887, the Kokarde had become more standardized to the familiar Prussian pattern. The Kokarde on this Schirmmütze is the flower type pattern with a silver wash:
The interior of this Schirmmütze is in good shape but no markings remain. Note how wide the leather sweatband is in comparison to newer models:
It is a good match to my Raupenhelm from the same period. The Kokarden match on these two pieces:
John
