argonne
Well-known member
Gentlemen,
First I would like to thank the forum members who were so kind to help me at the beginning of my research to find out the unit and the officer who wore this helmet.(named and marked in the back visor with "F.Krüger 1.7.13"). Now I can say "mission accomplished"
First I had to invest in some good old books, the "Ehrenrangliste der königlich Preußischen Armee" of the years 1902, 1907, 1911, 1913 and 1914-18.
Then it took a lot of time to search and compare.
This helmet could only have been worn in the 7 following units: Garde Füsilier Regiment, 5. Garde Regiment zu Fuß, Garde Pionier Bataillon and Eisenbahnregiment 1,2,3 and 4.
It was my luck that there were no Officers with this name in six of those units. But in the Eisenbahn Regiment 2, there were two Krügers, and both had incredibly the initial "F" in their christian name...Bad case for a researcher!!! Friedrich and Franz...
Well, I think they were brothers. Both were at some different time Regiment Adjutant of this unit and both went to the Militärtechnische Akademie in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
Friedrich was the oldest one (27.1.99 Leutnant, 19.8.09 Oberleutnant, went in pension at the end of 1913 or at the beginning of 1914 as a Hauptmann). He did not go to WWI.
Franz was the youngest one (28.1.04 Leutnant, 27.1.13 Oberleutnant). During WWI, he was in Brüssel at the Militär-General-Direktion der Eisenbahnen and died a few days before the war was over, on the 16.10.1918. He had the posthum rank of Hauptmann.
Now the question: which of both was the wearer of this helmet???
Well, I think the answer is easy, because logical. It was the older one, Friedrich Krüger.
The clue is the length of the spike on this helmet: near 5,5 inch or 14 cm. In Larcades book vol.1 page 22, one can read that the tall spikes began to appear in 1895. An AKO passed on May15 1899 put an end to these by establishing the height of the officer spike at 9.5 cm.
The Leutnant Patent of Friedrich was 27.1.1899 and it is very possible he already wore this private purchase helmet in the year 1898 or even 1897 as a Fahnenjunker.
Logically, Franz could not have ever worn this haube, because of his Leutnant Patent of 28.1.04. Even if he already wore it 1902 or 1903 as a Fahnenjunker, the AKO of May15 1899 would have restricted the height of his spike at 9,5cm.
Philippe :salute:
First I would like to thank the forum members who were so kind to help me at the beginning of my research to find out the unit and the officer who wore this helmet.(named and marked in the back visor with "F.Krüger 1.7.13"). Now I can say "mission accomplished"
First I had to invest in some good old books, the "Ehrenrangliste der königlich Preußischen Armee" of the years 1902, 1907, 1911, 1913 and 1914-18.
Then it took a lot of time to search and compare.
This helmet could only have been worn in the 7 following units: Garde Füsilier Regiment, 5. Garde Regiment zu Fuß, Garde Pionier Bataillon and Eisenbahnregiment 1,2,3 and 4.
It was my luck that there were no Officers with this name in six of those units. But in the Eisenbahn Regiment 2, there were two Krügers, and both had incredibly the initial "F" in their christian name...Bad case for a researcher!!! Friedrich and Franz...
Well, I think they were brothers. Both were at some different time Regiment Adjutant of this unit and both went to the Militärtechnische Akademie in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
Friedrich was the oldest one (27.1.99 Leutnant, 19.8.09 Oberleutnant, went in pension at the end of 1913 or at the beginning of 1914 as a Hauptmann). He did not go to WWI.
Franz was the youngest one (28.1.04 Leutnant, 27.1.13 Oberleutnant). During WWI, he was in Brüssel at the Militär-General-Direktion der Eisenbahnen and died a few days before the war was over, on the 16.10.1918. He had the posthum rank of Hauptmann.
Now the question: which of both was the wearer of this helmet???
Well, I think the answer is easy, because logical. It was the older one, Friedrich Krüger.
The clue is the length of the spike on this helmet: near 5,5 inch or 14 cm. In Larcades book vol.1 page 22, one can read that the tall spikes began to appear in 1895. An AKO passed on May15 1899 put an end to these by establishing the height of the officer spike at 9.5 cm.
The Leutnant Patent of Friedrich was 27.1.1899 and it is very possible he already wore this private purchase helmet in the year 1898 or even 1897 as a Fahnenjunker.
Logically, Franz could not have ever worn this haube, because of his Leutnant Patent of 28.1.04. Even if he already wore it 1902 or 1903 as a Fahnenjunker, the AKO of May15 1899 would have restricted the height of his spike at 9,5cm.
Philippe :salute: