Interesting ID tag

[Luftwaffe 1941]

I picked up this EKM half just a few days ago on auction. It has some damage/corrosion, but I found the markings on the reverse to be interesting. It reads 'Deutsches reichsheer' Could anyone shed some light on this tag? I haven't encountered to many double sided EKMs before.

Best regards- Jarret

[BlackCat1982]

Ekm to Pionier-Ersatz-Bataillon 2 formed on 29th August 1939 within Wehrkreis II in Stettin-Podejuch.

The DEUTSCHES REICHSHEER stamp refers back to the Versailles Treaty which limited the size of the army to a maximum of 100,000 men. The remaining stocks of DEUTSCHES REICHSHEER stamped Ekm were used by the first assembled units of the Wehrmacht, from 1935 onwards. Yours is one they found much later.

A good original item.

[Luftwaffe 1941]

Once again you provide outstanding help, thank you BlackCat!

This tag was recovered in Volgograd, so I can only imagine the history it has witnessed. Thanks for explaining the DEUTSCHES REICHSHEER stamp on the reverse. I never knew that the first Wehrmacht units used leftover Reichsheer tags. Very interesting information.

Best regards- Jarret

[Brumbar]

They used a lot of left over stuff Jarret.
Nice find.
Knowledge is a wonderful thing, and there is a lot of it on this forum.