I.e.m.g.k.xv.a.k.73
 

Good evening.....thought I would share a recent find..

It's a Bavarian MG unit, you can tell by their ski boots but look at their holsters. There are not PO8 Luger holsters, they are M1907 Dreyse holsters. I had never seen that before. So I did some research from the information on the back of the card. Wrote in May 1916 and with the post stample info:


http://i40.tinypic.com/2w5svic.jpg


http://i42.tinypic.com/2zqa2wi.jpg

On page 96 of Jeff Knoll's book it shows that Dreyse M1907s were issued to Ersatz MG Kompanies in both XV Korps and the 18th Korps. Now further investigation is so:

The 39th Royal Bavarian Reserve Division was a reserve infantry division of the Imperial German Army in World War I. It was raised to division status on October 2, 1914 from an ad hoc unit, "Brigade von Rekowski", and named "Division von Rekowski". On December 8, 1914 it was renamed the 39th Reserve Division. It was heavily made up of Bavarian units and on December 26, 1916 it was again renamed the 39th Royal Bavarian Reserve Division.



SO!!! at the beginning of the war, it was the 39th Inf Div and that Div was part of the XV Army Corps and they are the same MG unit and later when they were reverted back to the 39th Royal Bavarian Res Div, they still carried their pistol of issue in 1916 as the date of the photo shows, the M1907 Dreyse.



How I love research when it all comes together

Does anyone know why a few units in 1914 were issued M1907 Dreyse pistols and not PO8 Lugers?

nope, no idea but cool to do research :)

wonder which cigarette company was fronting this photo op..

I.e.m.g.k.xv.a.k.73

line 4 of the dmv eye chart :)

Great postcard!
No wonder every prewar German holster I have smells like tobacco smoke!:evilgrin:


Bob

Have you ever notice that cigarettes are in almost every photo and sometimes studio shots, cigars too but.......ya never see the smoke!!!! Must have been E-cigarettes.

Cool photo!

Attachment 37568

It was ever thus! :thumbup:

Best Regards,

Gunny John

(PS. Thanks, Bill.)

(PPS. And Happy 238th Birthday to all us Jarheads.)

Happy Birthday...junior branch!!!! :thumbsup: