Simon127 Posted 26 January , 2020 Share Posted 26 January , 2020 (edited) Hello all, I have had these discs for a very long time, going right back to my early collecting days. In spite of having had them all this time, I've never really known what their markings denote. If anyone has an idea what they might indicate I'd be very grateful. The M1914 is more of a mystery to me than the other one, which is a bit more straighforward. Best wishes, Simon Edited 26 January , 2020 by Simon127 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1418 Posted 26 January , 2020 Share Posted 26 January , 2020 Hi I think it’s Name Otto Hofmann Date of birth 12.06.1886 ??????? Saxon Ers - ersatz Battalion Jäger Regt 114 3 company Number 224 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 26 January , 2020 Share Posted 26 January , 2020 No, Otto Hofmann 12.6.86 Zöschern Preussisch Sachsen Ersatz-Bataillon Infanterie-Regiment 114 3. Kompagnie Nr. 224 Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 26 January , 2020 Share Posted 26 January , 2020 The other ID disc (17. Bavarian Infantry Regiment 12 Company 745) belongs to Johannes Ruppert (10 April 1889) from Ludwigshafen who served from July 1915 until 4 December 1916 when he was sent home to work in the Badische Anilin und Sodafabrik. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1418 Posted 26 January , 2020 Share Posted 26 January , 2020 (edited) 54 minutes ago, AOK4 said: No, Otto Hofmann 12.6.86 Zöschern Preussisch Sachsen Ersatz-Bataillon Infanterie-Regiment 114 3. Kompagnie Nr. 224 Jan Not far off the J and I are a point of confusion and I’ve translated it into English as the OP is I believe from England. I’d be interested to know what Zoschern translate to in English if it has a direct translation Edited 26 January , 2020 by Dave1418 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 26 January , 2020 Share Posted 26 January , 2020 11 minutes ago, Dave1418 said: Not far off the J and I are a point of confusion and I’ve translated it into English as the OP is I believe from England. I’d be interested to know what Zoschern translate to in English if it has a direct translation It can't be translated, it's a place name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon127 Posted 26 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 26 January , 2020 Gents, Thanks so much for your input. I really appreciate it. I went for a long time being completely baffled by the 'J' markings on German equipment; there I was thinking I had all this rare Jaeger stuff until someone on here set me straight... I'm really impressed that it's possible to tell me the individual man that the M1914 tag belonged to. I couldn't possibly have hoped for detail like that. Jan, could I ask what your source for the info on the M1914 tag was? I really had no idea that it was possible to link this type of tag to an individual man, although I'd always imagined that records must have been made for the final number to correspond to. Best, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 27 January , 2020 Share Posted 27 January , 2020 The source is the Bavarian Kriegsstammrollen of the unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 27 January , 2020 Share Posted 27 January , 2020 (edited) Hello! Zöschern is a town near Merseburg. Today in Sachsen-Anhalt. In the imperial age, we had a Kingdom of Saxony and a so-called "Prussian Province Saxony" (Preußische Provinz Sachsen). You will find "Mersebg." next to the town "Halle" below "ANHALT" (IVth Army Corps). By the way: The colours of the army-corps (roman numerals) are the colours of the infantry-shoulder-straps. The colours surrounding the army-corps-colours are the colours of the cuff-pipings. Edited 27 January , 2020 by The Prussian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon127 Posted 28 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 28 January , 2020 Hello gents, Many thanks indeed for the further information. I had NEVER heard anything about the Prussian Province of Saxony, the concept of which I find quite fascinating, so this is a very interesting revelation for me. I have some other tags in my collection, some of which were found in France. I have some photos somewhere, but I'm not sure where they are. I believe I have interpreted them correctly but let me now if not. I think their markings should be translated as follows: 1.) M1914 type marked 'Ers. Batl / Pi. Regt 20 / 1268' - Ersatz Pioneer Battalion 20, individual soldier's number 1268. 2.) M1914 type marked Ers. A.F.A R 47 / 2B / 50' - Ersatz Foot Artillery Regiment 47, 2nd Brigade (?), individual soldier's number 50 3.) M1914 type marked 'ERJR 49 / 5125' - Ersatz Reserve Infantry Regiment 49, individual soldier's number 5125. If anyone can provide more information about these individuals I would be very interested indeed. Best wishes, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 28 January , 2020 Share Posted 28 January , 2020 Hi Simon! A few corrections... 1) Ersatz-Bataillon of Pionier-Regiment N° 20 2) Ersatz-Abteilung of Feldartillerie-Regiment N°47. 3) Ersatz-Bataillon of Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment N°49 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon127 Posted 28 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 28 January , 2020 (edited) Danke Sehr! I always appreciate when someone sets me straight on something. I always thought I had a rough idea of what the markings meant, but now they're much clearer. It would be wonderful to be able to identify the individual men that these belonged to, but I imagine that there are no records that survive. Simon Edited 28 January , 2020 by Simon127 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 28 January , 2020 Share Posted 28 January , 2020 The only way are the casualty lists. Do you know it? http://des.genealogy.net/eingabe-verlustlisten/search/index Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon127 Posted 28 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 28 January , 2020 Hello again, No, I have never seen this before. I did not realise such a thing existed. As I do not have a name, do you know which number from the tag I use to search? Thanks, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 28 January , 2020 Share Posted 28 January , 2020 The number doesn't help you. You need the name and if possible the unit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 28 January , 2020 Share Posted 28 January , 2020 We also have a missing-in-action list: http://des.genealogy.net/wk1vermisste/search/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark holden Posted 29 January , 2020 Share Posted 29 January , 2020 I hope I am not hi jacking Simon's thread but I have this ID disc in my collection that belonged to Paul Hahn, who lived in Hamburg at Zeughausmarkt 15. He was born in December 1899. I think his units are 3rd Machine Gun Company Infantry Regiment 76 1st Ersatz Machine Gun Company 9th Army Corps? Roll number 346. Is there any more information available on this soldier? Many thanks Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon127 Posted 30 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 30 January , 2020 No objections at all from me, as I am a regular 'thread hijacker', but I'm afraid I can't shed any light on it myself! I wonder what the hand-stamped cross on the lower portion might mean. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon127 Posted 30 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 30 January , 2020 Andy, I forgot to thank you for the wonderful links to the MIA and wounded lists. As you say, without the names it's difficult for me to identify who the tags might have belonged to, but I do have some other named items in my collection. It would be fascinating to run some of these items through the searches and see whether I can find a link. Best, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prussian Posted 31 January , 2020 Share Posted 31 January , 2020 Well, sometimes if you're a name the regimental histories could help. They are expensive, but here you can buy a lot of them pretty cheap on pdf: https://military-books.lima-city.de/hp20/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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