12 German Trade Cards: German Infantry and Navy of the 1930s, issued 1933

Description

Offered here are 12 German trade cards (two complete sets of 6) on the German Reichswehr (Military), issued 1933 by the Erdal Shoe Polish Co. for the album
Unsere Reichswehr
(Our Military). Pictured here are:
Series 88 (German Infantry), Picture 1:
The Reichswehr has 21 Infantry Regiments that make up 7 Infantry Divisions. Each regiment is composed of three field battalions and one training battalion. Each field battalion has three rifle companies and one machine-gun company, while the training battalion is composed of three companies with fewer men than the field battalions. Each regiment also has a mine-thrower company. Officers and common soldiers are equipped with a rifle and sometimes also a pistol. Our picture shows the 5th Prussian Infantry Regiment, drawing men from Stettin, Neuruppin, Rostock and Greifswald, on parade. The third man of the first row carries a light machine gun. Each soldier has an insignia on the left side of the helmet that signifies the soldier’s home district/state (not visible in our picture).
Series 88 (German Infantry), Picture 2:
A Line of Infantry Moving Out. Modern warfare no longer uses concentrated troop formations in battle, as was the case earlier. The infantry, for example, moves forward in a loose line or chain. Here, the light machine gun plays a significant role. In today’s Reichswehr (German Army) each infantry group is composed of rifles companies and light machine gun groups. In our picture we see the First Prussian Infantry Regiment (from Königsberg, Insterburg and Gumbinnen) move out on the attack. Prominently featured in our picture is a soldier carrying a machine gun over his shoulder with the base in his left hand.  Apart from the field uniform and the steel helmet, an infantry soldier also carries in the field an equipment belt, a cartridge case, sidearm holster, knapsack, rations bag, canteen, gas mask, etc. He normally carries a rifle, sidearm and perhaps another small pistol. The total weight of the soldier’s equipment is about 53 or 54 pounds.
Series 88 (German Infantry), Picture 3:
Infantry in Position. Pictured on this card is a unit of the 19
th
Bavarian Infantry Regiment (from Munich, Augsburg, Kempten, Lindau and Landshut) in position on the edge of a hill with a heavy machine gun. The white and blue insignia on the helmet identifies the soldiers as Bavarian. Each soldier has a colored area on his uniform that identifies his branch of the army: infantry wears a white patch, cavalry wears a golden yellow patch and artillery units wear a red patch. The machine gun in this picture is hidden from enemy observation planes with camouflage netting. The corporal on the right of our picture is busy loading his weapon. Today’s infantry is also trained in the less difficult aspects of building fortifications, such as digging trenches, etc., since the few engineering companies that are permitted by the Versailles Treaty are not sufficient to perform all such duties.
Series 88 (German Infantry), Picture 4:
A Heavy Machine Gun in Position. The most effective weapon of the infantry is the heavy machine gun. During a march it is usually transported on a horse-drawn wagon. The machine gun is automatic; the recoil from firing is used to load the next rounds that are fed in a belt of cartridges into the gun from the right. The gun fires the cartridge then pushes the belt out the other side and expels the empty cartridge shell. A heavy machine gun can fire 400 to 500 shots per minute, but it can also fire single shots. Because of the fast firing rate, the muzzle gets very hot and has to be water-cooled. Many of the parts of the gun are easily replaced with spare parts. Our picture shows a machine-gun company of the 10
th
Saxon Infantry Regiment (from Dresden, Bautzen and Löbau.
Series 88 (German Infantry), Picture 5:
Mountain Troops on Patrol. The 3
rd
Battalion of the 19
th
Bavarian Infantry Regiment in Kempten and Lindau, the 4
th
and 6
th
Battery of the Seventh Bavarian Artillery Regiment in Landsberg (Lech) and smaller technical and supply units have been trained as mountain troops. The 2
nd
Battalion of the 17
th
Infantry Regiment in Goslar has been trained for service in the Mittelgebirge (Central Mountains)The uniforms and equipment of such troops is suited to their task: a cap similar to that of skiers, a mountain coat, leather-trimmed pants, leggings, mountain shoes and a backpack. These troops are also trained in mountain climbing and skiing. In our picture the 10
th
company of the 19
th
Bavarian Infantry Regiment (based in Munich, Augsburg, Kempten, Lindau and Landshut) has taken up positions to open fire. The leader of the company is a staff corporal identifiable by the stripes and star on his left sleeve.
Series 88 (German Infantry), Picture 6:
Firing a Mortar. Each of the 21 Infantry Regiments of the German Army have a mortar company. According to the terms of the Versailles Treaty, these mortars can only be of light or medium caliber (7.6 or 17 cm). Before World War 1 the mortar was unknown to the German Army as a weapon. Only in the trench warfare of WW1 did it become useful and was constantly improved upon. For today’s German Army the mortar is of particular importance, since the Versailles Treaty forbids our infantry to have any heavy weapons, such as field cannons or anti-tank cannons. The picture on this card shows a mortar being readied to fire. It is manned by soldiers of the 13
th
Württemberg Infantry Regiment that is based in Stuttgart, Ulm, Gmünd and Ludwigsburg. The identifying markers of this unit are clearly seen on the uniforms of the mortar crew.
Series 103 (German Navy), Picture 1: The Battleship.
The pride of the High Seas Fleet is the battleship that combines all of the important weapons systems. They are tasked with achieving the decisive blow in a battle at sea. However, because of the Versailles Treaty our battleships are not only few in number, but also militarily and technically quite antiquated. Our picture shows the battleship “Hessen” which was built in the years 1902-04. It displaces 13,200 tons and can achieve a top speed of 18 to 18.7 knots.
Series 103 (German Navy), Picture 2: The Cruiser.
The job of the cruiser in the main fleet is reconnaissance. It must therefore be able to attain a high speed and to have significant firepower. In the current German Navy the most modern ships are its cruisers. Our picture shows part of the cruiser “Königsberg” which was built after World War I. We can see the double forward gun turrets which have three instead of 2 guns, as was previously the case on earlier ships. They are shown here firing a salvo.
Series 103 (German Navy), Picture 3: The Torpedo Boat.
Even before World War I the torpedo was viewed as an important weapon at sea. They are especially useful in night attacks on the enemy. The most important delivery system for the torpedo, the submarine, whose accomplishments are well known to us, was forbidden to Germany through the Versailles Treaty. Thus, the German Navy was limited to using torpedoes only on torpedo boats, which our picture shows at full speed. The German Navy has two torpedo boat flotillas, one based in Wilhelmshaven and one based in Swinemünde.
Series 103 (German Navy), Picture 4: The Mine Sweeper.
A relatively old means of fighting a war at sea is the sea mine, a large container filled with explosives that is submerged under water close to the surface. If a ship strikes the mine, the explosives go off. In order to combat this danger navies employ minesweepers that locate the mines and disarm them. Our picture shows a number of these boats of the Minesweeper Flotilla, based in Kiel, during exercises. In the foreground of our picture one sees a motorboat which is launched by the minesweeper to disarm and collect the mines.
Series 103 (German Navy), Picture 5: The “Niobe”.
The old Romanic notion of sailing on the high seas, which has been lost with the steel vessels of today, continues to live on in the sailing ships  of the German Navy that serve to train officers and crew for future service on today’s warships. Before World War I there were many such ships. However, in the postwar Navy the “Niobe”, pictured on the front of this card, was the last representative of this dying class of ships. Recently, the ship was lost to the Navy when it sank in a storm, which is particularly dangerous for a sailing ship.
Series 103 (German Navy), Picture 6: The Gunnery Target Ship “Baden”.
When the High Seas Fleet holds target practice for their crews they aim at floating targets, which are generally old warships that are out of service. Our picture shows the target ship “Baden”, an old battleship that is outfitted with a large target that can show if shots miss high. During the target practice the target ship is towed by another ship that is attached by a long tow line. We can see in the picture the large impact fountains of water where shots have missed the ship. We can also see the small explosion of a direct hit to the left of the chimney stack.
Each card measures 4 and 1/4 inches by 2 and 3/4 inches.
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