The Uberzug
Joe Robinson
|
| I have been tracking some information
on Uberzugs for a while. There are many holes in this article
and research. It is intended to be a continuation of the research
in references. As was once said in a recent book by
Trawnik, no book can get it all without mistakes or
holes. I like to think of it as standing inside the
fire, at least we are making an attempt to clarify. |
| |
The original covers were allegedly authorized
by an AKO dated 8 May 1884. The purpose of this was
to have some way of marking sides during maneuvers.
The solution that was used was to equip one side of
the maneuvers with a white cloth cover. There is an
example of this cover located in the museum in Rastatt. |
|
| |
 |
The problem is that there was no AKO in 1884 that
authorized these Uberzugs. Therefore, I do not know whether
the authorization extended throughout the army, just
for the Kaiser maneuver, or only for a specific group.
They surely existed, and they surely were for maneuver
purposes, but there was no AKO. |
| |
On
17 May 1892, there was supposedly an AKO that authorized the creation
of an Uberzug. It does not however exist. This would be the Uberzug, as
is generally known. There were some color changes to the body color as
the probe items improved, and at this time there are no markings or
unit designations. This new style cover was made of gray green cloth
that covered the entire helmet to include the visors. It was used by
all branches of the German army. The cloth cover used for leather
pattern spiked helmets was shaped in the form of the helmet. The
rounded front and back halves were sewn together along each side. The
top had a hole through which the spike protruded a cone shape (or round
shape for artillery units) bag that was linked to the cloth body by
four cloth bands covered the helmet spike. Issue covers were fitted to
the edge of the front and rear visor with five metal hooks, three
front, and two in the back. These fit over the visors edge. It was very
common to find the issue marks on a cover similar to helmet depot
marks. Cover hooks came in many styles. Hooks were attached with
separate cloth and was attached to the helmet. Hooks were generally
made of white metal or brass. Most Bavarian hooks were made of steel,
lacquered black and were therefore magnetic. There were generally five
hooks for issue Uberzug, with the exception of mounted troops that had
four hooks.Slits appeared along the rear spine of some for ventilation
starting in 1895. So somewhere between 1892 and 1897 soldiers started
wearing unmarked Uberzugs on a regular basis. |
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
There
seemed to be a large number of different ways that hooks were attached
to the cover. These methods seem to have changed with time and corps
areas.
|
 |
| |
 |
Most
private purchase covers were available and were form fitted. No hooks
were used but rather the visors were fitted into hardened pockets. A
common marking found on private purchase style covers or the letters
DRP, which stands for Deutsches Reich Patent or DRGM, Deutsches
Reichsgebrauchsmuster. Some private purchase helmet covers had hooks.
Remember at this time there were no numbers or markings on the outside
of the Uberzug.
|
| |
There was allegedly another AKO of 28 January 1897
that supposedly authorized numbers and letters to be
placed on the Uberzug. A copy of the AKO is included
to the right. Nothing is mentioned in the AKO about letters
or landwehr crosses. It does not detail the color of
the Uberzug; however it does authorize numbers to be
worn by line infantry regiments. Regiments of the Prussian guard,
Grenadier Regiment 89 from Mecklenburg, the Bavarian
Lieb Guard Infantry Regiment, and the 109th Baden Guard
Regiment reportedly did not wear numbers on their helmet covers but it is not specific in the AKO.This special "rule" for guard units is oft repeated in references, does not hold up to scrutiny and is not part of the AKO.
There are many wartime pictures of the 109 Regiment with numbered helmet covers and at least one of the 89th. I have a Bavarian Lieb Guard picture with a unique private purchase cover containing the unit's symbol.
|
This
example from the Peault collection shows numerous problems with our
understanding of the AKO and Probe system. Not only is this cover from
JR 109 matched to a similar helmet. But the numbers are stenciled
instead of cloth. Many sources state emphatically that all red numbers
are cloth. The misunderstandings seem to trace all the way back to the
1930s, where an article by Doctor Klietmann and Pietsch in a renowned
journal seems to have made several errors in fact. Nonetheless this is
still somewhat controversial as modern references continue to cite
Pietsch in error, and others consider this to be an a priori argument based on a lack of understanding of Probe during mobilization.
The opinion of this author is that the existence of
pictures and examples provide prima facie evidence that the selected
Probe examples did not always follow the AKO. This becomes even more
obvious if the critic were to consider the AKO that gives Probe
guidance on 3 February1897. |
|
| |
 |
The
Uberzug was marked clearly with the regimental number for infantry
regiments and reserve infantry regiments starting in 1897. There is no
specific mention of other branches or helmet types. The assumption is
that they were authorized at the same time. There is a general
understanding that the letter R was used for reserve units. Without reserve units existing in peacetime there is no need for a helmet cover. There are
many questions about what is on the helmet of landwehr or Landsturm. We
have to remember that Landsturm did not have a helmet authorized and
therefore needed no Uberzug. The landwehr did not have a helmet
authorized until September 1899. The "L" was authorized first in Feb.
1900. This is in direct contravention of the 1930s article by Doctor
Klietmann and Pietsch which attributed this change to the AKO of 28
January 1897. |
 |
 |
| |
 |
From
1897 until 1914 red numbers were in vogue. These numbers were either
sewn on with some sort of red cloth or stenciled with paint. Remember
that reserve units and Landwehr units existed only for a short time and
not in all regiments. These units appeared to get the hand-me-down's.
Here are two different examples of private purchase JR 119 covers. On
the one below, you can clearly see the square corners of a Württemberg
officer's Uberzug. and a patch that covered up the old JR 123 markings.
|
| |
 |
|
| |
 |
 |
| |
|
In 1901 umpires at maneuvers were authorized white
armbands and helmet covers.
The picture below shows the maneuvers of IX Corps in
1900. Clearly the white armbands were used in this instance
prior to the AKO. |
 |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
This
Bavarian is reversible with an umpire whiteside and a normal, wear
greenside. There are two sets of hooks one for each direction.
|
| |
Maneuver bands were provided for the participants
in the Kaiser maneuver in 1908. This denoted the "red
team" and was so successful that it was extended
to the entire army in 1909.
|
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
 |
| |
So for maneuvers you had one team with an uncolored
Uberzug, the red team with a red band around the Uberzug,
and umpires in a white Uberzug. |
 |
| |
 |
The
red bands came in two distinct types. They were either permanently
attached to the cover or applied temporarily through a separate loose
band. Some of the private purchase helmet covers were reversible and
had the band sewn on one side. The example below has hooks to attach
the maneuver band to the helmet cover. It connected to small threads on
the outside of the cover.
|
| |
 |
 |
| |
 |
This
example of FAR 46 comes from the Trawnik collection and is a private
purchase cover that has hooks. While the maneuver band is built-in and
reversible, there are buttonhole type adaptions that you can see to the
left that allows the hooks themselves to be reversible. |
| |
Red bands applied to other types of head
gear. |
 |
| |
|
| |
WAR |
| |
|
In addition to the massive mobilization required in
August 1914, almost immediately the red numbers fell
out of favor and were replaced by green numbers. This
happened so quickly that it is worth putting it into
perspective. The map on the left reprinted with permission
of the West Point history department shows the advance
into Belgian with the German red lines marked clearly
on the 17th. They had barely entered Belgian at all.
The left most red arrow is from the 20th of August at
the city of Brussels. The AKO below changed the numbers
to green on 15 August 1914 and the red eliminated on
19 August 1914. The driving force was to eliminate the
red numbers gave great target locations and intelligence
information at a distance to the enemy. |
| |
 |
| |
Red numbers had to be removed. Of course this did not happen instantly and it was left to lower headquarters to determine how to do it. It is not clear to me how this was done nor how fast. Were patches used to cover red numbers??? |
|
| |
 |
| |
During this short period of time between the start
of the war and the onset of green numbers, there
were some comical adaptations to remove the red
numbers. The helmets shown below actually have the
numbers cut out and patch sewn over the hole.
|
 |
| |
 |
Green numbers replaced red as quickly
as possible. while green cloth was optimal in some
cases numbers were stenciled or even hand painted
on. helmet covers with green numbers, reserve helmet
covers with green numbers and landwehr helmet covers
with green numbers were abundant. Other types of troops
to include artillery and pioneers also wore green
numbers.
|
| |
A new kind of helmet cover showed up with the letter
E on it. These were for the Ersatz Infantry Regiments. While this should be readily identifiable. It
was in no way universally used. Pictures of Uberzugs
with such a letter are relatively rare. Seems to me to be a Saxon thing. |
 |
| |
 |
Here you have two individuals from the same Ersatz
unit that had different helmet covers. |
| |
Here we have an ersatz unit with spikes on their helmets
and some with long handled shovels and others not. Are
they infantry or pioneer? There is an Ersatz Inf. Reg. 24....Saxon. |
|
| |
 |
Landsturm units on mobilization had their own headgear
problems. The landsturm was originally supposed to have
an oilskin watch cap. Initially there were problems
getting this kind of headgear alone. Landsturm troops
are often seen in older shakos. There were Uberzug's
for the watch caps. They do not seem to have been universally
issued. |
| |
|
| |
An AKO of 14 April 1915 seems to be the introduction
of the Maltese cross for the Landsturm.
|
 |
| |
 |
This added another layer of confusion to the identification
of the Uberzug. Underneath the cross was supposed
to be the battalion number. The identification of
a battalion, without the identification of the corps
makes photograph or artifact identification very difficult.
Landsturm units did not just jump into the cross.
There are other landsturm units that have both the
corps and the battalion identification on them. |
| |
Corps units that did not have battalion
numbers assigned, in some cases, had only the corps
on the Uberzug. |
 |
| |
 |
28 June 1915, an AKO allegedly changed the field cover
to the M15 model with removable spike. This would make a
lot of sense and corresponds allegedly to the changing of the
helmet itself. The problem is that there was no AKO. This
is called a two-part Uberzug. The two parts are: 1.
the body with half moon shaped slits to allow the chin
strap to pass through and be shown in the front. 2.
A removable spike or ball cover that can be placed on
the hemet and attached through an elastic type band.
Conventional wisdom generally places any helmet strap
visible over the cover as a two-part Uberzug. This also
allowed the helmet to be worn without the spike and
still be covered by the Uberzug. Paragraph 15 of the
21 September 1915 AKO requires all helmets and tschapskas
to have removable tops.
This is the only AKO in the 1915 AVB that relates to the M15 style helmet.
Old myths die hard.
|
| |
 |
| |
Landsturm units continue to wear Corps markings occasionally |
 |
| |
 |
Sometimes it was the cross and the battalion number.
As you can see from the two pictures below, patches continued in existence with the two-piece Uberzug and the green numbers. |
| |
 |
 |
| |
|
| |
Helmet covers were often unmarked both in the one
piece and two-piece Uberzug. There is an alleged AKO
on 27 October 1916, which eliminated all of the numbers
and letters except for the cross for Landsturm regiments.
As you can see from AKO 735 there was no mention of Landsturm.
|
 |
| |
 |
With helmets worn without the top, it is not clear
whether the spike was never issued, removed before deployment,
or stored at some central location. The hole on top
of the helmet cover allowed the bayonet stud on the
top of the helmet to protrude. You can see the location
of the front hooks on this picture. |
| |
Reportedly
on 3 December 1914, an order from the commander of the 91st Reserve
Infantry Regiment placed the green numbers on the back of the field
covers. While this was a local order, it is a variation that was
done by several units. This unbelievable example from the Trawnik
collection shows such a number on the back. Unlike the 91st Reserve
Infantry Regiment, this example is a two-part Uberzug used for the M15
helmet. This would indicate that the number on the back was still in
use in some units in mid- 1915. You can see that the helmet cover is
attached properly and that the ventilation slit is on the back just
above the numbers.
Infanterie-Regiment
von Horn (3. Rheinisches) Nr.29 Was in the 16th division throughout the
war. They were on the Western Front for the entirety of 1914 to 1915. |
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
Private
purchase covers also adopted two piece construction. There were holes
for chinscales as well as the standard cardboard slip-ons, however the
spike was a separate peace and was totally removable. |
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
| |
Don't
get comfortable there is always an anomaly |
| |
 |
Here we have the letter D. used by the Hessian 24th Dragoons. |
| |
This looks like an M15 helmet with the chinstrap.
The sign then says 1914 and the backside of the card
is dated 1914. A very careful search will find that
the sides of this Uberzug are rolled up. |
 |
| |
 |
Clearly an M15 helmet, but where is the chinstrap? |
| |
Three helmets from the same unit. one clearly landsturm
one reading 256 and one with no markings. What is the
possible connection? Why do they have guard litzen? |
 |
| |
 |
Look at the lack of ventilation for this model. There
was apparently an early time when there were red numbers
but the spike was not attached with four pieces of material.
Clearly from a ventilation perspective, this is unacceptable. |
| |
Here is another this time from the Loree Collection.
Private purchase 61 Arty Uberzug. It has a reversable
red band. What is the white cloth and hook for? Isn't
it shown in the picture from the Kostel collection
below?
|
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
 |
This
one is quite unusual. This is a Landsturm soldier from Landsturm
Infantry Regiment number 13. It had previously been 2nd Landsturm
Infantry Ersatz Battalion Ulm. XIII14. Somehow when it was changed to
an infantry regiment this Uberzug existed. it uses the unauthorized
Landwehr "L" and the Landsturm unit identification. |
| |
While letters and crosses were generally placed above
the numbers in some rare cases like this picture of
a RJR78 soldier from the Kostel collection they preceded
the number. You can clearly see how the chin strap is
lifted up around the cover not through slits.
There are also the extremely rare pictures of numbers and letters in reverse order.
|
 |
| |
 |
Landwehr soldiers also adopted the side treatment
in rare cases. |
| |
Here we have a Landsturm cross but no collar numbers
and no numbers on the Uberzug |
 |
| |
 |
Here in this picture from the Kostel collection we
get a low low placement of the number. |
| |
In the realm of you can buy anything here is a Bavarian Uberzug with a really big number six. |
 |
| |
 |
This
gentleman wears a 50 mm metal Landwehr cross that is normally found on
an oilskin cap. The picture below shows a 25 mm Landwehr cross.
|
| |
This
gentleman is wearing his Uberzug inside out. You can see the hooks on
the front visor, and he chose not to thread the chinstrap through the
slits on the side. Was he hiding the numbers? |
 |
| |
 |
This cover has a makeshift number. It almost looks like it was put on with a magic marker. |
| |
The
numbers on this seem to be something other than red or green -- white?A
Belgian collector named Karel pointed this one out to me, which I
subsequently bought. Yellow! There are air vents on the side as well as
the Arabic number six on the left side. There are some black stampings
on the back but I cannot decipher them.
For those who will say that the thread has faded from red, there are no cloth or thread markings. There is yellow paint for three different numbers. Why yellow? I have no idea. |
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
|
 |
| |
|
Looks like duct tape! |
| |
Bavarian Leib Regiment--private purchase. I know of no other example. |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
The
knowledge of use of the Uberzug on the shako seems far less developed
then on the pickelhaube. At least one source says that pre-war shakos
did not have numbers. They certainly did during the war. However, I
cannot tell you when use started. I also cannot give a start date for
the numbers. |
Somehow
they started the war with red numbers. When the change came down to
green in August 1914 this was not adapted very quickly by the Jäger and
apparently not at all by the other shako wearing troops. The Marines
had and continued to wear blue numbers that were very large. Notice the
unique number one below.. |
| |
|
|
| |
There
seems to be some confusion about the use of numbers and battalion or
regimental designation. While I have some data, I do not know enough
yet. A difference between Arabic and Roman numerals??? According to an
older article the M60 type shako that came from the Landwehr and was
used extensively by the Landsturm was worn without an Uberzug.
|
 |
| |
 |
Also Security minded the Shako clad troops in this
picture covered their unit identification with paper!
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
The use of numbers is also confusing on Shakos. This
picture of the officers of RIR15 includes one member
wearing the shako of his original unit. |
| |
 |
 |
| |
Similar
to the example above almost all of these covers were in one piece with
no holes or the chin strap. However, as you can see from the example
below there were some examples with the ear holes. |
|
| |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Thanks to the teaching of someone named Mr. X. we
have an example here of two different Uberzug's from
a Saxon shako wearing unit. One is made of cloth and
the other is made of oilskin. |
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
I have many people to thank for contributions
to this article. Glenn Jewison and Dr. Buchholz provided all of the AKOs
and the pictures of RJR 15. Randy Trawnik provided most
of the pictures of artifacts, either from his collection
or pictures he took at the Museum in Rastatt. He also
guided me through series of phone conversations. Mr.
X provided the Saxon pictures of a helmet in his collection.
Max Chafotte provided a picture of a Uhlan (what else!)
wearing an Uberzug. Brian Kostel provided the last picture
of the Saxon oilskin and many more. Brian Loree Provided
the 61st Arty berzug and the DRP. James LeBrasseur gave a great deal. Without that kind
help of these people this project would be nowhere. |
