Tunic and Equipment display, late war set up.

[Stahlhelm]

I rarely have my items displayed in a grouping, and decided to set up a display for the last Etobicoke show. The pictures my dad took at the show weren't the best, so I took some additional pictures at home before dismantling everything again.

The M07/10 Foot Artillery tunic is dated 1915 and V Korps marked for Posen. The collar is a period upgrade M1915 model usually seen on the M15 Bluse. The shoulder boards are the only items not original to this tunic. The tunic shows signs of extensive field wear and exposure to the elements, with some small patches and repairs here and there.

Items and dates:

K98a, Erfurt 1915 (1915 or 16 dated sling)
M84/98 nA sawback bayonet, Erfurt 1915
Cavalry Y-straps, Berlin 1915
Bread bag, Hannover 1915
M1911 Cavalry ammo pouch, 1915
Modified M15 (first model) gas mask carrier bag/contents, Berlin undated
Spare GM17 11-C-11 filter carrier pouch, markings illegible
M15 canteen, undated
M1916 Cavalry ammo pouch, 1918
M18 Steel Helmet, (after August 1918)
Prussian belt and buckle, 1910

Although most of the items chosen are dated 1915, the display is meant to represent a late war set up, most notably represented by the M18 Stahlhelm.

 

[Stahlhelm]

Some additional shots of the tunic.

 

[Wyliecoyote]

Fine display! It would be hard to say what I like best. I don't know as much about tunics as I'd like. I have some know-not questions:

Is that an M1913 Landsturm tunic?

Feld Artillerie of Fuss Artillerie unit?

Why is the piping on the cuffs black?

Why did some tunics have green collars and some not?

Geo :dontknow:

Thanks for posting the pics!

 

[Stahlhelm]

The Landsturm tunic point is a good one, something that was pointed out to me recently on another forum. The M07/10 tunics were apparently simplified in 1913 for the Landsturm in that interior pockets, waist adjustment ties, etc, were omitted. This design was then universally used in wartime manufactured tunics. Mine is an example of this simplified version.

Technical troops such as Pioniere and Feld-Artillerie (as far as Prussia was concerned anyway) had black piped Swedish cuffs, while Fuss-Artillerie tunics like mine had black piped Brandenburg cuffs.

As for the green collar, this tunic in many ways represents a transitional piece, if an unusual one. I find it surprising that M07/10 tunics were still being produced in 1915 just prior to the introduction of the M15 Bluse because the Vereinfachter Feldrock with plain cuffs was already widley used by then. Neither the Vereinfachter Feldrock nor any other version of the M07/10 tunics were manufactured with these badgecloth green collars, only the M15 Blusen and Greatcoats, with the exception of Bavarian models. As stated, this collar was a personal choice wartime upgrade.

I have a great deal left to learn about these tunics, and any additional information or clarification is more than welcome.
Hans

 

[Tony without Kaiser]

Is that an M1913 Landsturm tunic?

Explained HERE

 

[Wyliecoyote]

Stahlhelm, thanks for the info & the splendid pics!

Tony, thanks for the link, I actually went to the Bunker after I posted the questions. What a great reference sight Kaiser's Bunker is. Thank You T!

Geo

 

[Tony without Kaiser]

Oops, in case it looks like I was YELLING, I was not, I make all links in bold and in capitals. Hans, nice looking set, the gas mask bag is very difficult to find, and would you say the Feldrock was repaired with the green collar?

 

[Stahlhelm]

We all need a good yelling at sometimes Tony, even if that wasn't your intention. The link was extremely informative as usual and much appreciated. Thanks.

I've handled very few WW1 field grey tunics and unfortunately don't yet have nearly as much experience as you can only get from hands-on inspections. My impression has always been that the collar was a wartime upgrade the soldier decided upon either for comfort, looks or whatever. I doubt very much that the tunic was issued with this collar. The three hook and eye closure was certainly more comfortable than the single (?) version these tunics were normally issued with, and it's possilbe that the collar upgrade may have had something to do with his promotion to Gefreiter. Just speculation on my part, based mainly on the fact that the slits in the collar for the button loops are very finely made.

The carrier bag shown above in the display was an extremely lucky local find. Knowing how rarely these things come up for sale in any condition, I recently went temporarily mad and paid a stupid amount for the complete set below. The Segeltuchtaschen made from this reddish-brown cloth are extremely rare. This shade somewhat resembles the pre-war or early war breadbag cloth. I'll start a new thread on the set some day.
Hans

 

[Tony without Kaiser]

Hans, M10 Feldrock were gathered and sent to repair depots as you know. There, they had new sleeves, cuffs, collars, patches applied and were re-issued. These are fascinating tunics in my mind; I saw one once with completely replaced sleeves. Have you considered the possibility that this M10 was repaired after 1915 and it had the green collar applied? This would also explain the M15 straps. Often, you see these M10s with replaced barrel M15 cuffs, often identified as being Vereinfacht, when they are actually repaired after 1915. At any rate, very nice to see correct M10 black piped Fußartillerie Brandenburg cuffs.

 

[Stahlhelm]

Tony, I've considered this as well, but wonder how much input the soldier had with this higher, 3 hook and eye style of collar. In other words, was it maybe more of a personalized upgrade as opposed to a depot repair? I don't know if this type of collar was commonly used on EM Blusen, having seen mostly 1 or 2 hook closures. Aside from 2 or 3 small repairs, the collar is the only part of the Feldrock to be upgraded or altered, the cuffs and tails being left as they were. On the few M15 Vereinfachte Feldrock or altered types I've seen in books and elswhere the opposite is true, and none had the M15 Bluse collars. I've also wondered if the Bekleidungsamt date could indicate that the tunic may have been issued in time to originally have M15 boards. Just my thoughts.
Hans