Military Passes with Freikorps Service

[Brian L.]

I started collecting military passes with Freikorps service a few years ago and have accumulated some with quite interesting service and unit stamps. I decided to start a thread on these and will post these from time to time to draw interest to this growing area of Freikorps collecting.

I'll start with this one with an image from Axis History of the Freikorps Hülsen armoured train.

Freikorps Hülsen, Eisenbahn-Baukompagnie, Panzerzug III (railroad construction company, Armored Train III)

Pionier Hermann Ernst Kleine

Service
12/4/17 - Hannover Pionier-Ersatz-Bataillon 10.
26/5/17 – Hannover Pionier-Bataillon 10.
14/11/17 – Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung 5, Werftkompagnie (Hanger Company, i.e. ground crew)
28/2/18-2/5/18 – Mechanic course at the Oberursel Engine School on Gnome Type U and UR aircraft engines
11/9/18-12/2/19 – Füsilier Regiment 73.
28/3/19-15/4/19 – Freikorps Hülsen, Eisenbahn-Baukompagnie, Panzerzug III (railroad construction company, Armoured Train III)

Battles

Western Front
28/5-3/7/17 – Champagne

Eastern Front
17-22/7/17 – Berezina
24/7-1/8/17 - Ostgalizien
2-6/8/18 – Zbruez u. Sereth
1-5/9/17 – Riga
Western Front
29/9-7/10/17 – Flandern
19/10-9/11/17 Artois

[Brian L.]

1. bayer. Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 41 (Freikorps Epp)

Schützen Peter Anthes

Volunteered for the Vorläufiges (preliminary) Reichswehr at age 19 on August 11, 1919 until November 15, 1919.

While not a particularly exciting pass at first glance, there are some interesting features that make it a little more special. It's these small, but interesting details that make the pass a bit more important, at least in my opinion.

1/ His company commander was Hauptmann Eduard Dietl, later organizer of the 1936 Olympics, Generaloberst and commander of the 20th Mountain Army in Norway and Finland and the first recipient of the Oakleaves to the Knights Cross (1940). There are 2 original blue pencil Dietl signatures in the pass. It also has Dietl's hand-written comment in the same blue pencil on Anthes' behavior, "Sehr Gut".

2/ Reichswehr passes that are this early are rare. This one was issued only six weeks after the Reichwehr was formed at the end of June. Notice that they used existing stores of Imperial German military passes and simply printed and glued a label on the outer cover (Hülle) and pass cover with the words, "Reichswehr=pass".

3/ Anthes was a teenage volunteer for the Reichswehr only, and despite being of age in 1918 (as of March 2), likely wasn't called up, or least didn't make to basic training in time. So, he likely never had any other pass than this.

I suspect he was 'demobbed' in November 1919 after the Reichswehr reorganized in October as the Übergangsheer (Transition Army) after the Versailles Treaty forced the Germans to drastically reduce troop strength. Having to make choices, the German military kept the more seasoned troops and let the raw recruits go.

[Brian L.]

Freiwillige Fliegerabteilung 425

Here's another military pass for an Unteroffizier who served in aviation units during the war and went on to volunteer for Freiwillige Fliegerabteilung 425 which was part of Gotthard Sachsenberg's Geschwader Sachsenberg (officially known as Fliegerabteilung Ost with 50 officers and 650 other ranks) based at Wainoden airfield near Riga and fighting Bolsheviks in the Baltic Campaign.

Here are the details:

Unteroffizier Gotthold Adolf Wilhelm Seiffert

2/11/1915 - Flieger (airman)

1/2/1917 – Gefreiter (corporal)

19/6/1917 - Unteroffizier (sergeant)

As an Unteroffizier, he would have been a ground crew section leader in charge of 8-14 men and 2-4 planes (3 ground crew to a plane).

WWI (air service)

20/07/1915 - Fußartillerie-Regiment Generalfeldzeugmeister (Brandenburgishes) Nr. 3.

2/11/1915 - 04/04/1916 - Flieger Ersatz Abteilung 9 Darmstadt

16/04/1916 - 24/11/1918 - Fliegerabteilung 227 (A)

Freikorps (air service)

30/06 -08/08/1919 - Freiwillige Fliegerabteilung 425. FFA425 was equipped with the Halberstadt CL IV.

09/08 - 30/09/1919 - Hauptflugpark Kurland (main airfield Kurland) – (stamped by Kommandeur der Flieger, Oberbefehlshaber Ost)

1/10/1919 – Polizeifliegerstaffel Gotha. Frankfurt – (stamped by königl. preuß. Fliegerabteilung 37). Seiffert asked to continue service in the police air unit. Likely left service in June 1920 when the police flying units were ordered dissolved.

Participated Actions (Mitgemacht Gefechte)

Besetzung und Sicherheitsdienst in Litauen (Occupation and security service in Lithuania)

Signature

Hauptmann Ernst Dörffler (WWII – Generalleutnant, Luftwaffe)

Abteilung-Führer, FFA 425 (03/05 - 17/08/1919)

Führer, Hauptflugpark Kurland (18/08 - 30/09/1919)

Staffel-Fuhrer Polizeifliegerstaffel Gotha (01/10/1919 - 03/06/1920)

Note:

Ernst Dörffler's career in the Freikorps lines up perfectly with the entries in this Militärpass.
Unteroffizier Gotthold Adolf Wilhelm Seiffert followed Dörffler into FFA 425, Hauptflugpark Kurland and finally Polizeifliegerstaffel Gotha on Oct. 1, 1919, which Dörffler commanded after FFA425 was dissolved at the end of Sept. 1919.

Only, the police were allowed to maintain flying units until sometime in June 1920. Having a reference to continued service in a police air unit is quite scarce.

Interestly, Dörffler was an observer and Seiffert a Flieger (airman) in Flieger Ersatz Abteilung 9 at the same time in 1916. Perhaps this is why Seiffert later volunteered to serve in FFA425 after Dörffler became its commander and followed him into the Polizeifliegerstaffel Gotha.

[naxos]

Excellent passes!

[mchap]

Brian, outstanding research on the fleiger pass! Seiffert appears to be a very capable soldier, its the opposite of some of the various passes we have looked at with disciplinary actions listed.

Its very likely Dorffler and Seiffert were wartime pals, that is a really neat peak into personal history.

Well done, this is great stuff!!