German Colonial Uniforms


Bayonets of the German Colonial and Overseas Forces

	A collection of Imperial German Bayonets Photo © A British Collector	The Imperial German army, navy and colonial forces used several different models of bayonet. On this page are shown a selection of bayonets used by the colonial and overseas forces from private collections. Of particular interest are the various unit markings showing them to have come from the Seebatallione, Schutztruppe, Polizeitruppe and the East Asian Expeditionary Corps. Please respect the generosity of the owners in sharing these copyrighted photos with us by not reproducing them without prior permission. Special thanks to the British Collector for providing additional information on each bayonet in this very specialised field of study. Recommended External Link- Bajonett Recommended Reading- "German Bayonets Vols. 1 & 2" by Anthony Carter (published by Tharston Press) and "The Collector's Book of German Bayonets 1680-1945 Pt1 by Roy Williams (available from this link) (Click on the pictures to enlarge)

An S98aA (or first pattern) bayonet from the III. Seebatallion Photo © A British Collector

This S98aA (or first pattern) bayonet shows typical markings for German bayonets from the Imperial era. The marking across the hilt shows the unit number and initials, company number and weapon number ("Waffe Numer"). In this case "III.SB. 2.66." for the III. Seebatallion, 2nd company, weapon number 66. Unit markings were often also put on the scabbard. The date of manufacture or inspection was usually marked on the blunt side of the blade. These markings showed the crown and first initial of the reigning monarch and the last two numbers of the year. In this case "W00", W for Wilhelm II, and 00 for 1900. The name or abbreviation of the maker or factory was usually marked on the flat of the blade, in this case Erfurt.
The blade and scabbard of this bayonet look similar to the other S98aA bayonet shown below. This bayonet has its original wooden grips and leather scabbard.

An S98/05aAS bayonet from the III. Seebatallion Photos © A British Collector

The markings "III.SB. 5.11." show this bayonet to have been issued to the 5th (Mounted) Company of the III. Seebatallion based at Tsingtao. It also has unidentifiable scratched out markings "KU 1645" from a previous issue. This bayonet was made at Erfurt in 1909 (marked "W09"). Note that this bayonet like several others on this page, has a serrated back edge to double as a saw. The frog is of an older pattern originally for a larger bayonet and has been altered to fit this bayonet. This bayonet has wooden grips and a leather scabbard.

An S98aA bayonet from the III. Seebatallion Photos © Dow Cross

The markings "III SB 5.1.33" show this bayonet also to have been issued to the 5th (Mounted) Company of the III. Seebatallion. This bayonet has a sawback blade, wooden grips and a leather scabbard.

An S98 bayonet from the depot unit of the III. Seebatallion Photos © Dow Cross

The markings "III. St SB. 342" show this bayonet to have been issued to the depot unit ("Stamm") of the III. Seebatallion based at Cuxhaven in Germany. Note the maker's mark, a crown with "Erfurt" can clearly be seen on the blade. This bayonet has wooden grips and a leather scabbard.

A kS 98 bayonet from the German South West African Schutztruppe Photos © A British Collector

The markings "KS4892" show this bayonet to have been issued to the Kaiserliche Schutztruppe (of German South West Africa). This bayonet was made at Erfurt in 1912 (marked "W12") and has its original leather grips and steel scabbard.

A kS 98 bayonet from the German South West African Schutztruppe Photos © Nate Freidlander

The markings "K.S.11067" show this bayonet to have been issued to the Kaiserliche Schutztruppe (of German South West Africa). The frog is the integral frog of the Schutztruppe mounted equipment (see Schutztruppe Mounted Equipment Page). This bayonet has leather grips and a steel scabbard. Also seen in this photo is an original NCO bayonet knot ("Troddel") in imperial colours as used by the Schutztruppe.

A kS 98 bayonet from the German East African Schutztruppe Photos © A British Collector

The markings "_ch. D.O.A. 404." show this bayonet to have been issued to the Schutztruppe Deutsche Ost-Afrika. This bayonet was made at Erfurt in 1910 (marked "W10") and has a sawback blade, its original leather grips and a steel scabbard. Note that the top of muzzle depression has been filed or possibly machined flat. One possible explanation is that it may have been altered to fit a captured rifle such as the British Lee Enfield or the Portuguese Mauser Vergueiro many of which were used by the German East African Schutztruppe during the First World War.

A kS 98 bayonet from the German East African Schutztruppe Photos © A British Collector

The markings "Sch D.O.A. 208." show this bayonet to have been issued to the Schutztruppe Deutsche Ost-Afrika. This bayonet was made at Erfurt in 1907 (marked "W07"). Note that this bayonet is a rare variant with its leather grips replaced with wood secured by three rivets. Leather rotted quickly in the hot, damp climate of East Africa and this bayonet is believed to have been re-gripped locally. Later models changed to wood grips with two screwbolts, then finally in 1914 they where changed to a form of unvulcanised rubber ("Kautschuk") again with two screwbolts. The dry, desert heat of German South West Africa did not seem to affect leather grips in the same way.

An S71/84 bayonet from the German East African Schutztruppe Photos © A British Collector

The markings "Sch DOA 1116"" show this bayonet to have been issued to the Schutztruppe Deutsche Ost-Afrika. This bayonet was made at Weyersberg, Kirschbaum and Co (sometimes abbreviated to W.K.C.) in 1888 (marked "W88"). Note that the date of manufacture or inspection as marked on the bayonet was not necessarily the same as the date of issue. Some bayonets may have been kept in storage in Germany for years before being issued, as is probably the case here as the Schutztruppe for German East Africa were not officially named until 1891. The S71/84 bayonets were issued to fit the askaris' Jägerbüsche 71 rifles. This bayonet has wooden grips as seen above but with two rivets. The scabbard is also a replacement steel version as again leather scabbards rotted quickly in German East Africa. Note the upside down "V" used for an "A" on the "Sch DOA" marking.

An S71/84 bayonet from the Cameroon Schutztruppe Photos © A British Collector

The markings "Sch.K.8559" show this bayonet to have been issued to the Schutztruppe Kamerun. It also has previous issue markings crossed out. They read "62.R.11.132.9" showing it have previously been issued to the 62nd Infantry Regiment ("4. Oberschlesisches Infanterie-Regt. Nr.63") of the regular German army. This bayonet was made in 1887 (marked "W87"). This bayonet has a short fuller (the groove in the blade, added to decrease weight but not strength and also to aid in the gruesome task of "after thrust withdrawal"). From 1889 onwards longer fullers going to the tip were used. This bayonet has wooden grips but still has its original leather scabbard, rather than the replacement steel scabbards more commonly seen. Leather parts rotted quickly in Cameroon as in German East Africa due to the damp tropical climate.

A kS 98 bayonet from the Cameroon Schutztruppe Photos © A British Collector

The markings "S.K.7. 126" show this bayonet to have been issued to the Schutztruppe Kamerun, 7. Feldkompagnie. Both "Sch.K". and "S.K." markings seem to have been used by the Schutztruppe in Cameroon. This bayonet was made at Erfurt in 1904 (marked "W04"). This bayonet has a sawback blade, its original leather grips and a steel scabbard.

A kS 98 bayonet from the Cameroon Polizeitruppe Photos © Nate Freidlander

The markings "PTK. 415.A" show this bayonet to have been issued to the Polizeitruppe Kamerun. This bayonet has a sawback blade, steel scabbard and composition grips designed to replace the original leather grips which as mentioned above rotted easily in the climate of Cameroon.

An S98aA bayonet from the East Asian Marine Detachment Photos © A British Collector

The markings "O.M.D.1 124" show this bayonet to have been issued to the 1st Company of the East Asian Marine Detachment ("Ostasiatische Marine Detachment, 1.Kompanie"). This bayonet was made by Simpson & Co in Suhl, but has no date markings as was common for early naval bayonets. It was probably made around 1900 or 1901 (although the East Asian Marine Detachment was only formed in 1909 many bayonets were held in store for several years before issue). This bayonet has wooden grips and a leather scabbard.

An S98 bayonet from the East Asian Expeditionary Corps Photos © Dow Cross

The markings "O.E. 2.241" show this bayonet to have been issued to the 2nd Headquarters Compnay of the East Asian Expeditionary Corps ("Oberkommando des Ostasiatischen Expeditionskorps"). The bayonet has wooden grips and a leather scabbard.

A pair of S98aA bayonets from the East Asian Expeditionary Corps Photos © Nate Freidlander

The bayonet of the left has the markings "6.O.R.5.134" showing it to have been issued to the 5th (Bavarian) company of the 6th East Asian Infantry Regiment ("6. Ostasiatische Infanterie Regiment") and is date marked "W99" showing it to have been made in 1899. The bayonet of the right has the markings "2.O.R.5.15." showing it to have been issued to the 5th (Prussian) company of the 2nd East Asian Infantry Regiment and is date marked "W00" showing it to have been made in 1900. In the photo on the right, the Bavarian bayonet is shown with an other ranks bayonet knot of the 5th company (a white/red/white tassel). The steel scabbard may however be a later addition.

This bayonet was made by Kirschbaum and Erfurt but has no unit markings or weapon number and therefore cannot be proved to be colonial although several clues point in this direction. The tip of the blade has a "Bowie"-style tip (see the comparison photograph on the right between a bowie and normal tip). Other examples with this bowie tip modification have been stamped Sch.K. for issue to the Schutztruppe Kamerun. The frog is also of a type often seen with Schutztruppe bayonets, in that it is for a kS 98 bayonet, in brown leather with tooled edges. The scabbard is of a rare style, being made from a cut down 1866 French Chassepot scabbard (these and are usually found with shortened French 1866 bayonets). The French scabbards have not been noted with colonial bayonets before but bayonet, frog and scabbard have obviously been together for a very long time (note the imprint of frog stud in the leather).

A Portuguese Model 1904 Bayonet Photos from the Museo Militar, Lisbon Portugal

This was the standard short model bayonet issued to Portuguese troops in Europe and East Africa during the First World War to fir the Portuguese Mauser-Vergueiro rifle. Large numbers of these rifles and bayonets were captured from Portuguese stocks and used by the German East African askaris during 1917-18. The markings on this particular bayonet show "F8693" and a small swastika sign (but with the arms going the other way from the later and unrelated nazi symbol). Portuguese bayonets were not marked for individual units but simply showed serial numbers preceded by a letter. The marking on the upper blade shows this bayonet (like many Portuguese models) to have been made by Simson & Co, in Suhl Germany. It seems ironic that so many of them then ended up back in German hands.

One frog has the markings "K.A. 1906" showing to have been issued by the Colonial Office ("Kolonialamt") in 1906. The second has the partially illegible markings "1908" and "....Berlin" and was found on a Schutztruppe kS 98 bayonet. Both frogs fit kS98 bayonets and show tooled edges.

And while we're on the topic of edged weapons, here's a some swords...
A Naval Dress Sword from the depot unit of the III. Seebatallion Photos © Dow Cross

The markings "III. St. S.B. 37" show this oversize or Grosser 1870/1880 pattern Naval sword to have been issued to the depot unit ("Stamm") of the III. Seebatallion based at Cuxhaven in Germany. Note the ornately decorated grip and hilt and the officer's sword knot.

The markings "K.S. 212" show this artillery pattern sword to have been issued for the Kaiserliche Schutztruppe of German South West Africa. The sword was made by Simpson & Co. in Suhl in 1914 (marked "W14"). Some controversy surrounds this sword as although is is marked for the South West African Schutztruppe, so far no artillery pattern swords have been proven to have been used by them (although similar artillery swords were used by the Seebatallione, East Asian troops and the Asienkorps). Also its date marking of 1914 means that although it may have been marked for the Schutztruppe it is quite possible that the First World War broke out before it was ever sent overseas.

The markings "O.M.D.1 3" show this sword to have been issued to the 1st Company of the East Asian Marine Detachment ("Ostasiatische Marine Detachment, 1.Kompanie").

Please contact me here if you have more information or photos on this topic.

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