Medics of WW1 - Photos, Gear, etc.

[RelicHunter]

Just got this in the mail today

http://greatwarcollection.weebly.com...uch-right.html

My new Krankentrager right side pouch, dated 1915 with content label intact.

Did these have any dividers in them at all, or were they empty when no contents were inside? I know these right side ones held mostly bandages.

[Chip M]

The Krankenträger right side pouch only contained two triangular bandages and seven would dressing packets. The pouches with liquids did have an insert, but are rarely found with them intact. Most of the pouches that made it to the States were used by the troops as carry-alls, so the inserts were discarded.

Chip

[90th Light]

Originally Posted by Chip M

Nice Austrian pouch! They are pretty much non-existent in the States. I have an Austrian field dressing, which appears to be the equivalent of the one the Germans carried in their tunics.

Chip

You are not wrong Chip, very hard to find.

NZEF veteran bring back,

Chris

[90th Light]

This, who ever or what ever he was, had a pistol and he decided to shoot it out with the Kiwis. I got the pistol, holster & belt,

Chris

[90th Light]

......so they over-powered him. beat the living crap out of him and took evey weapon or anything close to a weapon off him. Including his surgical instruments which I also have somewhere,

Chris

[RelicHunter]

Does this Krankenpfleger armband look right for WW1?

[Hans K.]

Carrier tin which held the gas mask for casualties with head wounds. Most of the few other examples I've seen also have had the red cross on the white field scratched off, much like this one. The mask itself is sadly long gone.

[Hans K.]

The instructions are located inside the bottom of the can instead of the interior of the lid on this example.

[Chip M]

Originally Posted by RelicHunter

Does this Krankenpfleger armband look right for WW1?

Relic,

From what I can see, it looks fine. It is just like the one I showed earlier in this thread, except mine has the two ends sewn together.

Chip

[Chip M]

90th light,

That is some fancy armband. I would guess an official of the Austrian version of the RK. I have never seen any reference on this one. Did you get any further information with the set?

Chip

[90th Light]

Originally Posted by Chip M

90th light,

That is some fancy armband. I would guess an official of the Austrian version of the RK. I have never seen any reference on this one. Did you get any further information with the set?

Chip

Hello Chip, no sadly.

In fact the whole thing is confusing because he had an Austrian sidearm and German made & marked surgical instruments. Will look out my notes however and double check what I wrote down at the time when I got it,

Chris

[Chip M]

Originally Posted by 90th Light

he had an Austrian sidearm and German made & marked surgical instruments.

Chris,

The fact that he had German made instruments is not surprising, as for over a century, German made surgical instruments have been the standard world over. Today, we (in the USA) still import most of our high quality hand instruments from Germany.

Chip

[90th Light]

Originally Posted by Chip M

Chris,

The fact that he had German made instruments is not surprising, as for over a century, German made surgical instruments have been the standard world over. Today, we (in the USA) still import most of our high quality hand instruments from Germany.

Chip

Thanks Chip,

the Austrian items that turn up here seem to come predominantly from two sources;

1/ Austrian forces serving with Turkish forces in the Middle East or fighting there as Austrian units in their own right. We came up against them a lot. In fact it might surprise some, to learn that NZ troops was stripped of several battles honours by General Allenby due to what happened in that threatre of the war.

2/ Austrian Sturm units on the Western front of which there were not many. Some how our local unit came up against them more than once.

Regards, Chris

[Chip M]

Chris,

I don't know the exact circumstances, but I think the Americans ran into the Austrians on the Western Front as well.

Chip

[Gran Sasso]

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