Although swords were usually kept for
parades rather than active duty all German officers and senior NCOs in
the armed forces were entitled to carry them. As well as German
officers and senior NCOs, some other branches of the overseas troops
carried swords-
Mounted other ranks in the East
Asian Expeditionary Corps
Mounted other ranks in the Tsingtao
Marine Artillery Battery
Junior NCOs from Sergeant upwards in
the Polizeitruppe and Landespolizei
Mounted other ranks in the Tsingtao
Chinese Police
African officers (Effendi) in the
East African Schutztruppe
African Senior NCOs in the East
African Wissmanntruppe
African senior NCOs in the Togo
Polizeitruppe
The type of sword and its decoration
depended on the owners arm of service and rank. Many types of sword
were in service, some are photographed below. The manufacturer and
unit markings on swords were the same as on bayonets and are described
on the Bayonets Page.
Highly Recommended External
Link- Traditionsverband has
four excellent articles by Rolf Selzer on the swords of the Schutztruppe. They are
entitled "Die Offizierseitengewehre in den deutschen Schutzgebieten"
in the "Magazin" section. In the same section are other
articles on Polizeitruppe and Landespolizei swords.
Please respect the generosity
of the owners of these bayonets in sharing their copyrighted photos with us by not
reproducing them without prior permission.
This is the typical kind of dress sword
carried by the Schutztruppe and Polizeitruppe from the mid-1890s until
the First World War. Note the large imperial eagle on the hand guard
and crowned imperial monogram on the grip. This particular sword is
marked as having been made by "Weyerburg Kirschbaum & Cie Solingen".
This is an officer's sword from the East
Asian Occupation Brigade. Like the swords of the Schutztruppe it has
an imperial eagle displayed on the guard.
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").
This Prussian 1852 Infantry Short Sword would seem an unusual item to
be in use with the II. Seebatallion. Aside from the "II.S.B.56"
showing it to be from the II. Seebatallion it has other more
mysterious markings on the other side (see above right). They are
possibly personal markings, with some being crossed out, presumably
from a previous owner. It also has a partial date mark on the hilt. It
looks like the Prussian crown and W (for Wilhelm I) and "7_" with the last year never put
in. In short this sword offers more questions than it answers.
Please
contact me here if you have more
information or photos on this topic.
