Eric, the police were the most diligent in marking their pistols. "History Writ in Steel" by our forum member is very informative in this regard.
By the beginning of the Great War in 1914, rapid military expansion probably made marking weapons a secondary priority. One the great meatgrinder of armed combat with modern weapons and high explosives got into full gear, nobody much cared if your new luger was marked or not. Some very Prussian regimental officers who still thought wars were won by spit and polish may have still have insisted on it. Possibly nobody in the High Command had the time to change the marking directive. Unit marks on weapons do furnish useful information to the enemy when they fall into their hands.
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