Any info on these unit markings?
 

Could someone shed some light on the markings on this 1916 DWM Luger and is there a way go gather any history?

Let me give a stab here and see just how close I get.

From what little I do know, but am learning I think this is from the 9th company of the 139th infantry regiment. I'm lost on the "C.". I wanna say if it was a number, it would be the weapon number, but not real sure being a letter.

Well, thats my first time taking a first stab at calling what it says. Did I make a passing grade folks. Tell me if I was going in the right direction. I'm curious!

Thanks
Skeeter

Thanks Skeeter. I think you did well for a first stab at it, but coming from me that holds little weight as I have no knowledge of this at all.
My best guess was 139th regiment and that the "c" perhaps stood for cavalry, which from some info I found was active from 1914-1919 when it was disbanded.
Guess we'll find out eventually how close or far from correct we both are.

Sounds more like a Weimar marking, but this is definitely different w the c on the end.

Non standard markng. I read it as
139 Inf regiment 9 company stab John

Thank you Ed and John for taking a crack at it. Hopefully someone with more definitive info will chime in on this.

As a rookie regarding all this, could you educate me a bit as to Weimar and how it's distinguished from other Lugers/era's. All I know of is the Weimar Republic which was established in 1919 so not sure how that could relate to my 1916 Luger.

The "C" indicates Compagnie. The German use of "C" rather than "K" was still common in the early twentieth century. The marking is typical of war time unit markings both in format and nonstandard dies or stamps.

Thanks for the lesson George.
So does this simply mean it would just be 139th infantry regiment, 9th company and is there anywhere I could find any history on them?

Infantry Regiment 139 was from Saxony and was part of the 24th Infantry Division, 19th Army Corps. They fought in the first Battle of the Marne in 1914 then were in Flanders through 1915. In 1916 they fought in the battle of the Somme. Again in 1917 they were in Flanders. In 1918 they fought once more at the Somme then at Picardy, Avre, Laon and St. Quentin. This information comes from "Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-one Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War" from the General Staff of the American Expeditionary Forces.

Because of the later unit marking on your pistol it may have been a "company weapon" that was issued to selected members of company trench raiders or maybe Stosstruppen.

I would have an interest in buying that if you ever decide to sell it depending upon it's condition. It would go good with my 139 Regt 2nd Company issued picklehaub and my 139 Regt 6th Company beerstein.

Ed

George, thank you very much for the information; much more than I ever expected. I think knowing some of the history makes looking at and holding the gun a whole different experience.
I looked up the book you mentioned and found that on archive.org from the Cornell University Library are digital copies available in a number of formats; not the same as holding an actual book in hand, but an alternative. Here’s the link: http://archive.org/details/cu31924027835317

@Ed: Thanks for the interest but currently I’m not looking to sell and not sure if I ever will, but I will keep you in mind if I ever decide to. Only thing wrong I can find with the gun itself is a mismatched number on the rear toggle link, hoping to eventually locate a #85 to match. If you’re interested in seeing some photos you can visit one of my other threads here. http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=30245

Do appreciate that................:cheers:

You can track down copies of the book on ABEbooks

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...ted+in+the+War