Good afternoon CGN,
For a while now I have been wanting to pull together the firearms and equipment of Imperial Germany that I have been collecting for the last two years and form a display dedicated to my great grandfather and his comrades, many of whom still lie in the fields of France, Belgium, and Russia.
When I had the chance to visit some of the battlefields in France last year, including the Newfoundland memorial and Vimy Ridge, seeing the trenches, walking on no-mans land and noticing the shell holes dotting the preserved landscape really allows you to connect to the past and catch a glimpse of what life in those conditions really was like. I admittedly spent more time on the German side of the lines in both areas as you do not hear or read much about what the German soldiers had to go through. I also continuously wondered what life every day was like for my great grandfather. I decided from that point on, my collecting would focus almost exclusively on WW1 German firearms, equipment, and personal items.
In keeping with my goal, I picked the best representative firearms and equipment, that I have, from the period of WW1, and grouped them all together. Every piece you see here was pulled together one bit at a time over the last two years. Many of the pieces here are part of my re-enactment kit that I am building up for completion for the 2014 Remembrance day.
I wish to share this with everyone on CGN in hopes of advancing knowledge and cultivating interests. Perhaps you too will look into your family history, after reading through this thread, and decide to collect in a similar way.
So without further adieu, I dedicate this display to my great grandfather, Robert Blodau, and his comrades that shared the hellish experience of "The Great War".
Robert is on the left side of this photo, the only photo I have of him in uniform.
The display, you may recognize many of the items here but I will identify them for those that aren't familiar.
A selection of personal equipment is present.
Here is an m16 helmet just behind a German WW1 scope for a Gewehr 98, a belt with wartime belt buckle, and two ammo pouches dated 1915 and 1914 left to right respectively.
Here are two of the longest blades you would find on a German soldier. The one behind is an Seitengewehr (or S for short) 1898 pattern aka "The Quillback". This one is unit marked. The one in front is a S.1871, a very well made bayonet that is also unit marked.
Here we have a close up of the personal items from before. They include: an early M88 ammo pouch, Gewehr 88 en-bloc clip, Gewehr 98 charger clip, ammo pouch clips for use with the carry pack, uniform buttons, a detachable "trench" magazine, and a 3cm artillery shell dated 1918 inert (yes I know, not a personal item
).
Here we have two bayonets atop a Maxim MG ammo can. The shorter bayonet is a 71.84 bayonet that was modified to the shorter S.84/98 pattern. For all of you who have Kar98ks and the blued bayonets of WW2 that they use, this S.84/98 is the granddaddy to your WW2 bayonet. The second bayonet is the iconic "Butcher blade" S.98/05 and my favourite of the bunch. The scabbard has many dings in it from use, just makes you wonder how they got there ?
Now we get to the fun part. Both firearms here are of the "early" pre-war style with your walnut stocks and high degree of workmanship, the negative effects of the war were not yet reflected in these firearms when they were made. The top Gewehr 98 is dated 1916 at the Mauser Oberndorf plant. The bottom is a Kar 98 from Erfurt in 1916. She is a vet bring back with battle damage including some shrapnel hits and a bullet strike on the stock.
One of my favourites, the Mauser automatic pistol aka "C96" in the collector market. Made at Oberndorf sometime between 1910 and 1914 and is in 7.63 Mauser. This is one of the arms that my great grandfather may have carried into WW1 in 1914.
Moving over to the other side of the display, we have some more bayonets on top of another Maxim MG ammo can. The one on the left is a Bavarian marked and issued S.71/84 bayonet that has blood pitting all over the blade surface and on some of the metal end bits of the scabbard that certainly leaves a chill going down your spine. The second is another S.71/84 bayonet, this one was issued to a Machine gun detachment and saw heavy use. I can imagine the MG gunner with this bayonet on his belt while firing at lines of walking infantry on the Somme, it does leave a bit of a bitter taste in your mouth.
On to the other firearms in the display, here we can see the late war patterns where the negative effects of war and of the naval blockade really made it's presence known in the arsenals. The top Gewehr 98 is a vet bring back with battle damage in a beech stock, dated 1907 at Spandau. The bottom is another Kar 98 made in 1918 at Danzig used post war in Germany and saw service during WW2. Makes you wonder how she survived all of that and how she ended up here ?
Another iconic German side arm and my favourite of all of my German firearms. The Luger was certainly carried by Robert during WW1. This example is 1914 dated at DWM (Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken) in Berlin.
At the top right corner of the display, we have the Gewehr 71.84, Germany's first repeating rifle and last of the large caliber, black powder rifles for the military. This example is dated 1888 at Spandau.
Last, but not least, we have a Gewehr 88.05, one of the real work horses of the German military before and during WW1 and the military's first small caliber smokeless powder rifle. A quick browse through training photos of German troops almost always shows Gewehr 88s being used. This particular example is dated 1891 at Spandau and saw use with Turkey in the post war years.
There you have it everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the display. Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post.
For a while now I have been wanting to pull together the firearms and equipment of Imperial Germany that I have been collecting for the last two years and form a display dedicated to my great grandfather and his comrades, many of whom still lie in the fields of France, Belgium, and Russia.
When I had the chance to visit some of the battlefields in France last year, including the Newfoundland memorial and Vimy Ridge, seeing the trenches, walking on no-mans land and noticing the shell holes dotting the preserved landscape really allows you to connect to the past and catch a glimpse of what life in those conditions really was like. I admittedly spent more time on the German side of the lines in both areas as you do not hear or read much about what the German soldiers had to go through. I also continuously wondered what life every day was like for my great grandfather. I decided from that point on, my collecting would focus almost exclusively on WW1 German firearms, equipment, and personal items.
In keeping with my goal, I picked the best representative firearms and equipment, that I have, from the period of WW1, and grouped them all together. Every piece you see here was pulled together one bit at a time over the last two years. Many of the pieces here are part of my re-enactment kit that I am building up for completion for the 2014 Remembrance day.
I wish to share this with everyone on CGN in hopes of advancing knowledge and cultivating interests. Perhaps you too will look into your family history, after reading through this thread, and decide to collect in a similar way.
So without further adieu, I dedicate this display to my great grandfather, Robert Blodau, and his comrades that shared the hellish experience of "The Great War".
Robert is on the left side of this photo, the only photo I have of him in uniform.
The display, you may recognize many of the items here but I will identify them for those that aren't familiar.
A selection of personal equipment is present.
Here is an m16 helmet just behind a German WW1 scope for a Gewehr 98, a belt with wartime belt buckle, and two ammo pouches dated 1915 and 1914 left to right respectively.
Here are two of the longest blades you would find on a German soldier. The one behind is an Seitengewehr (or S for short) 1898 pattern aka "The Quillback". This one is unit marked. The one in front is a S.1871, a very well made bayonet that is also unit marked.
Here we have a close up of the personal items from before. They include: an early M88 ammo pouch, Gewehr 88 en-bloc clip, Gewehr 98 charger clip, ammo pouch clips for use with the carry pack, uniform buttons, a detachable "trench" magazine, and a 3cm artillery shell dated 1918 inert (yes I know, not a personal item
).
Here we have two bayonets atop a Maxim MG ammo can. The shorter bayonet is a 71.84 bayonet that was modified to the shorter S.84/98 pattern. For all of you who have Kar98ks and the blued bayonets of WW2 that they use, this S.84/98 is the granddaddy to your WW2 bayonet. The second bayonet is the iconic "Butcher blade" S.98/05 and my favourite of the bunch. The scabbard has many dings in it from use, just makes you wonder how they got there ?
Now we get to the fun part. Both firearms here are of the "early" pre-war style with your walnut stocks and high degree of workmanship, the negative effects of the war were not yet reflected in these firearms when they were made. The top Gewehr 98 is dated 1916 at the Mauser Oberndorf plant. The bottom is a Kar 98 from Erfurt in 1916. She is a vet bring back with battle damage including some shrapnel hits and a bullet strike on the stock.
One of my favourites, the Mauser automatic pistol aka "C96" in the collector market. Made at Oberndorf sometime between 1910 and 1914 and is in 7.63 Mauser. This is one of the arms that my great grandfather may have carried into WW1 in 1914.
Moving over to the other side of the display, we have some more bayonets on top of another Maxim MG ammo can. The one on the left is a Bavarian marked and issued S.71/84 bayonet that has blood pitting all over the blade surface and on some of the metal end bits of the scabbard that certainly leaves a chill going down your spine. The second is another S.71/84 bayonet, this one was issued to a Machine gun detachment and saw heavy use. I can imagine the MG gunner with this bayonet on his belt while firing at lines of walking infantry on the Somme, it does leave a bit of a bitter taste in your mouth.
On to the other firearms in the display, here we can see the late war patterns where the negative effects of war and of the naval blockade really made it's presence known in the arsenals. The top Gewehr 98 is a vet bring back with battle damage in a beech stock, dated 1907 at Spandau. The bottom is another Kar 98 made in 1918 at Danzig used post war in Germany and saw service during WW2. Makes you wonder how she survived all of that and how she ended up here ?
Another iconic German side arm and my favourite of all of my German firearms. The Luger was certainly carried by Robert during WW1. This example is 1914 dated at DWM (Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken) in Berlin.
At the top right corner of the display, we have the Gewehr 71.84, Germany's first repeating rifle and last of the large caliber, black powder rifles for the military. This example is dated 1888 at Spandau.
Last, but not least, we have a Gewehr 88.05, one of the real work horses of the German military before and during WW1 and the military's first small caliber smokeless powder rifle. A quick browse through training photos of German troops almost always shows Gewehr 88s being used. This particular example is dated 1891 at Spandau and saw use with Turkey in the post war years.
There you have it everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the display. Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post.
