Units

[Matt L]

Hi Guys,

Although I'm primarily a Wehrmacht collector, my several years-long interest in identity discs has lead me to begin acquiring pre-WWII examples, the vast majority of which are from the Great War. My knowledge of Wehrmacht marking practices helps somewhat in deciphering the markings on earlier discs, however there are some parts that still leave me stumped. I'm hoping that maybe you can help me out some. I'm also interested in possibly learning more about these units- to what Division they belonged, where they fought, etc. so suggestions of good references would be most welcome.

Here are the markings:

1) I. E MGK XIII AK 7/80 and 2. MGK. W. J.R. 413
I expect that E MGK is Ersatz MG Kompanie, but what the first 'I', the 'XIII' and 'AK 7/80 are a mystery. Of course the field unit is easier- 2. MG Kompanie, Infanterie Regiment 413, but I'm not sure what the 'W' stands for- 'Württemberger' perhaps?

2)34 RIR, RIR 56, RJR 250
These are Infanterie Regimenter 34, 56 and 250, but what does the first 'R' stand for? 'Reserve'?

3) LDST. J.R. 115
Again obviously Infanterie Regiment 115, but what is 'LDST'?

4) Ldw. J.R. 78
Infanterie Regiment 78... 'Ldw'? 'Landwehr'?

5) L.M.K.i/R.Ai. 157
This one's really confusing- I have NO idea what it means, but it is a proper 1914-type Erkennungsmarke...

6) 5 Rh L R 65
This tag could be pre-WWI- possibly from the 1870/71 Franco-Prussian War. I suspect the Rh L R 65 stands for Rheinlandische Regiment 65, but the '5' preceeding it confuses me- it's not he Bataillon or Kompanie, those are both indicated on the tag as '2 B. 1 C.' Any ideas?

I also have discs marked 10. bay. Jnf. Reg., J.R. 60, ERS. PI. B. 13- there's no difficulty understanding them, but I would love to learn more about the units, so as I said, I'd very much appreciate suggestions of references where I could read about them.

Thanks.

Matt

[AOK4]

Hello,
1. XIII AK is meaning XIII. Armeekorps (Württemberg), 7/80 must be section and number or something. wIR 413 means Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment 413.

2. RIR means Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment

3. Ldst means Landsturm

4. Ldw means Landwehr

5. Leichte Munitions-Kolonne I/Reserve-??? Could you post a scan of this one? It must be something from a artillery unit, I guess.

6. 5. Rheinisches IR Nr. 65 (this was the 65th regiment in the Prussian order, and the 5th of the Rhinekand).

I don't have much time now, but I'll post the divisions to which these units belong this afternoon or tomorrow.

Regards,
Jan Vancoillie

[Matt L]

WUNDERBAR!! Thanks very much Jan- this is exactly what I wanted to know. I look forward to reading what you can tell me about the Divisionen these Regimenter belonged to. I will post a picture of the odd, possibly Artillerie disc shortly.

Matt

[AOK4]

Hello,

IR 413: 207. and 204. Infanterie-Division
RIR 34: 3. and 80. Reserve-Division
RIR 56: 13. Reserve-Division and 121. Infanterie-Division
RIR 250: 75. Reserve-Division
LdstIR 115: 13. Landwehr-Division (1915)
LdwIR 78: 38. gemischte Landwehr-Brigade, later 38. Landwehr-Division
IR 65: 15. and 185. Infanterie-Division
BIR 10: 6. bayerische Infanterie-Division
IR 60: 31. and 121. Infanterie-Division

Ersatz units (Battalions and Companies) from active or reserve units normally were training units and stayed in Germany, although there are exceptions.

Regards,
Jan

[Tony & Kaiser]

L.M.K.i/R.Ai. 157

Licht Messung Kompanie. (Light Measurement Company attached to an Reserve Artillery Rgt) They wore the LM straps and located enemy guns by the gun flash.

[AOK4]

Tony,

I'm sorry but you are wrong. There were Lichtmess-Trupps (smaller than companies) but I'm quite sure they were not attached to a certain regiment. They just were at the front and had to register the enemy gun flashes to see where these guns exactly were located.
I'm quite sure about Leichte Munitionskolonne, but I would have to see the ID first before saying anything about the second part.

Regards,
Jan

[Tony & Kaiser]

Tony,

I'm sorry but you are wrong. Jan

Erk! That would not be the first time. Serves me right for going by memory and not waiting to get home and flip through references. T

[Matt L]

Here's the L.M.K.i/R.Ai(?).t.57 disc- interestingly, only when lightening the image did I realize that it's actually 'Ai.t.57' (there's no dot on the 'i' though). There is definitely a dot atop the 'i' following the 'K' however- so if it is in fact 'leichte Munitionskolonne', the 'i' is confusing...



Thanks for all your help and the great information about my other discs- it is much appreciated

Matt

[AOK4]

Hello,

I think it is Leichte Munitionskolonne der I. Abteilung des Feldartillerie-Regiments 57. I guess the last part is Art and not Ai.t? The disc looks self made and not officially made with the letters and numbers one normally sees.

Jan

[Matt L]

Indeed the disc is self-made- as can be seen, any rounded sections of a character are made with dots and everything else with a single straight line, and even the cord holes are off unequal. I also thought at first that it could be 'Art', however there is definitely a dot between the short vertical line after the 'A' and the 't' after it- just like the dot between the 'R' and the 'A', and the 't' and the '57'. Strange...

Thanks Jens

Matt