Cases from the Ardennes

[BrodieBartfast]

Hello folks.

Having blown a fair bit more than I was supposed to on militaria this month, I'm a bit short of money. As I often do when this happens, I've trawled fleaBay for cheap tidbits and have come up with a few small relics. They're nothing special in the grand scheme of things, but they are still history.

Presenting: A collection of American and German shell casings dug up in the Ardennes forest, likely artifacts from the Battle of the Bulge. The German casings have a wide variety of dates, from 1934 to 1944. The one 1944-dated case appears to be made of steel, going on the levels of corrosion. The others are brass. The American casings, of .30-06 caliber, are all dated 1942. They bear the headstamp 'R.A', which I believe to be for Remington Arms. All the American casings have been fired. A couple of the German ones have unstruck primers, but are otherwise inert.

Also of interest, included for free as part of the deal, is what appears to be the bottom arm of an Iron Cross. The '1939' is hard to see in the photos, but is definitely there. It appears to be some form of trench art, made crudely of lead, but otherwise identical in size when compared to a regular EK II. There are two holes on the back, presumably for whatever attachment hardware was once affixed to it. An interesting little item, but one that will forever remain a mystery.

A nice little collection of relics. Nothing special, but history all the same.

Regards, B.B.

[MAP]

Nice relics. Part of the history. These little bits and bobs are perfect a compliment when displayed next to the "bigger" items.

[zwerge]

The German ones look interesting,try to clean the headstamps up so we can read them....Pete.

[BlackCat1982]

BB you need to save your pennies, take a holiday and pick them up for yourself. Nothing beats it.

[robin morley]

Hi BB nice relics. Late war casings due to shortages of material were made from laquered steel. They were notorious for jamming once the rifle/ LMG warmed up from firing.

[BrodieBartfast]

Thanks for all the comments! Trying to figure out the best way to clean them. I'm thinking warm water and a damp rag might be the best way. I want to avoid any heavy or invasive cleaning methods.
Most of the headstamps are visible under the dirt, but a few are too far gone to be able to read. All of the .30-06 casings appear to have the same markings. I'll photograph them all individually today, but I may have to wait until tomorrow to post them here.

B.B.

[BrodieBartfast]

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to give up with providing photos.
My current camera is entirely incapable of clearly photographing individual headstamps. I've tried all kinds of techniques and different levels of light, to no avail. They can be read clearly with the naked eye, but not in any photos I've taken.

Instead, I'll type out the lettering on each headstamp, where readable:

S* | 38 | P131 | 38

123 | 35 | P | 35

44 | d?? | S* | S*

34 | P | S* | 208

P249 | S* | 19 | 37

?5 | 38 | P | S*

The question marks represent a character that I could not make out. Two of the cases are too far gone to read.
As a side note, 'd??' appears to be a three letter manufacturer's code, but only the first letter is readable. Possibly 'dbo'.

Regards, B.B.

[AZPhil]

Very nice selection there BB.

This site might help you ID some of the other German rounds.

Headstamp Codes - International Ammunition Association

Semper Fi
Phil

[Pureg60]

Hey if you ever come by koln ive got some relics you can have all from Ardennes and hurtgenwald if you want.