Superb photo of Stormtroopers with Long P.08s
 

Greetings all. It took a good bit of effort but brought this over from Germany. Came from a household sale in Kreuztal near Siegen Nordrhein-Westfalen. On the reverse is in a Latin cursive penciled mark from his mother in German translated, "In memory of your brother, Karl". Karl is identified on the far left, from his sibling, markings of which were removed digitally for this scan.

To remember Karl and his fellow soldiers, I uploaded this to Wikipedia Commons and now is in public domain. It is the clearest photo I have seen of this particular weapon being used in this time period. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you can gather from these men.

I see all have Iron Cross class 2, one has a class 1 pinned to chest; they were experienced when it was taken. No holsters present, but I heard they were hard to come by till the end of the war and usually ditched in the field. Thank you for the internet platform to present this photo.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ery_Lugers.png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormt...ery_Lugers.png

What a great photo. Thanks.

The man with the first class iron cross looks to have a 'pommel' hanging on his belt his left side. Pommels were used for daggers. Maybe he was awarded a dagger for his service?

It looks to me like they all have daggers in their belts. I find the lack of holsters/magazines strange and wonder if they all put their guns in their belts for a staged photo showing off the guns.

KFS

All these men are wearing trench "daggers" in the form of Extra-Waffen Edged Weapons. The fellow with the Iron Cross 1st Class is wearing an Officer knot (Portepee) on his while the fellow to his right is wearing a NCO knot (Troddel).

Nice photograph!

A great photo! ...although Karl's "trigger finger etiquette" leaves a bit to be desired. Also the guy on the other end.

Yes, to the staged photo.:D

Not a "pommel", but Portepee; a pommel is the upper end of the grip or knob on many daggers/bladed weapons.

The trooper with an actual iron cross on his tunic has what appears to be a bayonet? It has a button at the top.

The two the right appear to have trench fighting knives..they have wooden round tops with diagonal lines on the handles.

This photo is a little sanitary compared to a lot of trench raider photo's. No lanyards, stick grenades or pockets full of magazines..No dirt & mud..these guys in back look like newbies. GREAT photo though! Thanks for posting.

This is an excellent photo ... the Artillery's stuffed in the waistbands and belts makes for a dramatic staged photo ... thank you uhlster. :thumbup:

Traditionally the LP 08 holster did not come with 'belt' loops but shoulder strap loops to wear the gun, holster and stock board from around your shoulder and neck. Wearing an entire LP 08 rig from your belt was too heavy and unwieldy.

Attachment 85827

These shoulder straps could be simply threaded through the loops provided on the back of the holster or threaded though the holster AND it's shoulder stock board provided to make the LP 08 act as a carbine. The rig was much easier to carry around than the K98 rifle used by the Army.

Attachment 85829

Attachment 85830

A few LP 08 holsters from my collection.

Attachment 85833

If one clicks on the link in the post the photo can be enlarged quite a bit, plainly showing the subjects, their pistols, and their awards.

Jack