Buckle Question

[sapper44]

Guys;
A few friends and I are getting together to do WWI German, we all are vet WWII reenactors and have very little knowledge of Imperial stuff, and have some questions. We have decided to do Infanterie Regt.113, 29.Infanterie Division. They were from the Duchy of Baden, and we have been hitting the Internet to get books and other info, but can't find a few answers to basic questions. We are planing to do mid to late war as most of the guys that want to do Allied, want to do USMC.
1. Did Baden have there own belt buckle or use the Prussian one?
2. Did they have any uniform items that were just for them?

Thanks;
Christian

[ir28]

As far as I know the Baden contingent had a different Pickelhaube but as for buckle I don't know.

Ben

[kingkaiser]

Christian,

From what I understand, Baden used the Prussian buckle. I don't believe that they ever had their own distinctive buckle (at least I've never seen one). Also, most of the other states, duchies, and provinces that had their own distinctive buckles began using the Prussian buckle as the war progressed. I don't know the exact reason for this. Maybe, because Prussia was the largest, and most "dominant" state, it was able to help supply the other states with equipment? In the cases of Bavaria and Saxony, their buckles already resembled the Prussian buckle----the only difference was the motto.

I also believe that the distinctive state uniform buttons were also gradually replaced with the Prussian "crown" button. I'm pretty sure that by the mid to late war period, Bavaria began using the Prussian "crown" button instead of their distinctive "lion" button (although, Bavaria had pre-1916 and post-1916 versions of their own uniform buttons and rank collar buttons). In Bavaria's case, this makes sense, since they wouldn't have to put extra effort into making right-sided lions and left sided lions for back belt hooks and rank collar buttons (although, they may have retained their own distinctive rank collar buttons until the end of the war).

Baden, like every other state, duchy, and province, did have their own distinctive rank collar buttons. I'm not sure if they retained them until the end of the war, or if they began using Prussian rank collar buttons.

I hope that this is helpful (and accurate!).

Where in Texas is your unit located?

[CRMichaelis]

So far a quick inquiry backed up the Prussian belt buckle as Nicholas pointed out. Not sure about the pickelhaube, but for a mid- to late-war impression this is not an issue. From what I know of the M1915 Bluse, they were issued with crown buttons on the shoulders for all states except Bavarian which retained the lion motif. From what I remember Bavarian models of the M1915 were manufactured to Bavarian specs and had collars of feldgrau unlike the Prussian style used by all other states, which had green collars. I'll keep looking but it sounds safe so far to go with the most common and most available belt buckle, and Bluse.

Keep us updated on your progress! Great to have another area opening up to WWI.

[kingkaiser]

Baden did have their own wappen for the pickelhaube.

Regarding Bavaria, on the M1915 bluse, like what was stated above, they used a feldgrau collar rather than a green collar. I believe that a 1915 set of regulations switched their uniform buttons to the Prussian "crown" buttons. So, in a "transitional phase", I wonder if some bluses were made with "lion" buttons, and some with "crown" buttons. I assume they retained their own distinctive rank collar buttons.

Unfortunately, these little details are difficult to see on period photos. Hopefully, someone has more information! Very interesting!

[sapper44]

We are located in N. Texas around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Thanks to everyone for the help, I felt like I was beating my head against a brick wall with these questions.
Christian

[oskar2ndchev]

Just a note on the Bavarian uniforming- the Bavarians tended to be pretty frugal and often ignored uniform changes when it suited them (and when they could get away with it) so often times, you'll see the lion buttons used into 1918.

For the 1915 Bluse, the Bavarian version didn't have a contracting collar unlike it's Prussian cousin.

For an excellent reference, I strongly recommend The German Army in the First World War by Jurgen Kraus.