The firearms and accouterments that were used by the various German military organizations from before the time of its adoption of the bolt action metallic cartridge rifle (1871) to the end of the First World War (1918) bear unique historical signatures.   These signatures, in the form of regimental markings stamped into the metal can give the collector and historian a good idea of whose hands grasped the rifle or bayonet in question, where it saw combat, and the history associated with the piece.

However, these signatures are of value only to the extent that one knows how to read them.  Our intent here is to provide a rudimentary introduction to these markings and their significance.   However, it cannot be stressed enough that the study of the formations that made up the Imperial German military forces is a tortuous and complex discipline in and of itself.   And now, without further ado, let's examine the markings:

Upon first glance at a piece, one is struck by a confusing jumble of numbers and letters that may look something like this:
 

22.R.6.114

As can be seen there are four portions of the marking; the number preceding the lettering, the letter or letters themselves, the first set of numbers following the lettering, and finally the second set of numbers following the lettering.  Let's look at each portion of the marking individually.

The Regimental Number

22.R.6.114

This is the first number, prior to the lettering, and indicates the number of the regiment that the piece of equipment belonged to.

The Regimental Type

22.R.6.114

The lettering indicates the type of regiment the piece of equipment belonged to.  The letter R, stamped alone, indicates an infantry regiment.  By the regulation of 1877, R.R. indicated a reserve infantry regiment.  The marking regulations were amended in 1909 so that a single italicized R. indicated a reserve infantry regiment, while the earlier R.R. now indicated the recruiting depot of a reserve infantry regiment.  R.R., by the 1909 regulations, indicated the recruiting depot of a regular infantry regiment.

The two R.R. marks can be differentiated by the numbers following the letters.  A single set of numbers indicates a recruiting depot, while two sets usually indicate a reserve infantry regiment.   Just to keep things interesting, however, some reserve infantry regiments had more than one recruiting depot, and thus might have a depot number preceding the last number, thus looking very much like the markings for a reserve infantry regiment.

The Company Number

22.R.6.114

The company number is the first number following the letter, and indicates the number of the company to which the piece of equipment was assigned.

The Weapon Number

22.R.6.114

The last number is the inventory number of the individual piece of equipment.

Read completely then, 22.R.6.114 would indicate that this was weapon number 114, assigned to the 6th Company of the 22nd Infantry Regiment.

Regimental Type Markings
Armies were not composed solely of infantry regiments.  Below is a partial list of markings and their significance.
 

Marking	Significance
A.	Field Artillery Regiment
A.F.	Foot Artillery Regiment
B.A.	Clothing Depot (Bekleidungsamt)
B.T.	Bridging Train
Ch.	Chevauleger Regiment (Bavaria Only)
D.	Dragoon Regiment
E.	Eisenbahn Regiment (Railway Protection Troops)
E.	Ersatz - when used with other marks
E.A.	Railway Workers (Eisenbahn Arbeiterkompagnie)
E.B.	Eisenbahn-Betreibskompagnie
F.	Fernsprecher-Abteilung (Field Telephone Unit)
G.	Guards Infantry Regiment (1909 Regulations)
G.d.C.	Gardes du Corps
G.F.	Guards Fusilier Regiment (1909)
G.F.R.	Guards Fusilier Regiment (1877)
G.G.	Guards Grenadier Regiment (1909)
G.G.R.	Guards Grenadier Regiment (1877)
G.J.	Guards Jager Battalion
G.K.	Guards Kurassier Regiment
G.M.G.	Machine Gun Company of a Guards Regiment
G.P.	Guards Pioneer Battalion
G.R.	Guards Infantry Regiment (1877)
G.S.	Guards Sharpshooter Battalion
G.U.	Guards Uhlan Regiment
H.	Hussar Regiment
H.L.Z.	Hilfslazarettzug (Hospital Help - Bavarian Only)
J.	Jager Battalion
L.	Landwehr Infantry Regiment
L.	Landwehr (used with other marks)
L.	Landsturm
L.A.	Airship Unit
Ldst.	Landsturm
L.Z.	Lazarettzug (Hospital Unit - Bavarian Only)
M.	Ammunition Column
M.G.A.	Machine Gun Unit
P.	Pioneer Battalion
R.	Infantry Regiment
R.	Reserve Infantry Regiment (1909)
R.	Reserve, when used with other markings
R.R.	Recruiting Depot for an infantry regiment (1909)
R.R.	Reserve infantry regiment (1877)
R.R.	Recruiting Depot for a reserve infantry regiment (1909)
R.M.G.	Machine gun company of a reserve infantry regiment
s.R.	Heavy Cavalry (Schweres Reiter Regiment)
s.R.R.	Reserve Heavy Cavalry Regiment
T.	Telegraph unit (Prussia, Saxony, Wurttemberg, Bavaria)
T.	Train Battalion
T.B.	Field Bakery Column (Train-Bataillon, Feldbackereikolonne)
T.F.	Supply Column ( Train-Bataillon, Fuhrparkkolonne)
T.L.	Field Hospital (Train-Bataillon, Feldlazarett)
T.P.	Provisions Column (Train-Bataillon, Proviantkolonne)
T.S.	Sanitary Company (Train-Bataillon, Sanitatskompagnie)
U.	Uhlans

Any of these markings may replace the "R." in the example above.

Note:  Data for this month's trivia page was gathered from:

Walter, John, The German Bayonet, Arms and Armour Press (London, 1976) ISBN 0-96904-861-0
 

The German Bayonet  is available from IDSA Books.  Click on the image to order:

 

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