Re: purchase

[timeout]

I have bought some mixed tags found by a guy with a metal detector, I have not got them yet so cant supply a photo. However there are 3 xEM tags in the lot. Two hales which I can not read from the pic and one full one. The full one is H.Ma.Ludwig sort So I am trying to make sense of it I get H= Army Ma= Masse= Bulk Mass and as for the rest....well who knows. Where could I go to find the info on Ludwig sort. I wish to learn how to do this. thanks ...Paul.

[Rik.S]

It is Heeres-Munitionsanstalt Ludwigsort. If you look this up on internet you will find the info.

Regards, Rik

[timeout]

Thanks for that Rik.... I did look on the net and found tags which were H.Ma.LT How do you know Ma is Munitions worker? I have a few books which in the abbreviations list Ma as Masse= Mass/Bulk that is in Michael Burroughs book Collecting WWII German Military Identification Discs. In Dan Mackay's book Extreme Relic Hunters Guide to German Dogtags Ma is listed as Mass/earth/ground. In Jean Hoidal book Ma is listed Masse. It looks like i was barking up the wrong tree! I could not see any info on Ludwig sort. I notice that you wrote it as one word where it is two on the tag. What reference do you use or is it years of collecting? I also found a wikipedia page listing all the ammo sites that the Germands used. I did not see a reference to Ludwigsort. I am still a youngish what ever but at this rate I will no hair left to pull out..... Thanks again Rik....paul.

[Rik.S]

Hi Paul, I will try to clear some things up for you but I am at work and don't have acces to my books. I will provide you with the info I have acquired online.
First about the abbreviations in the books. I have two of Jean Hoïdals books and they are a wealth of info regarding abbreviations, but still to this day abbreviations will turn up that are not yet in any book. A lot of info comes from other collectors or people who are well educated on this matter and this info is available online, for example on forums etc. It may take some time and effort but you will be able to find what you might be looking for. It happens more then often that I end up on some russian forum or German website.

Regarding your emarke, I have seen multiple examples from Heeres-Munitionsanstalt Ludwigsort stamped in a different way. I will post them here:

(Photo credit: forum-antikvariat.ru)

As you will see, three varieties of stamping but all are of the same Munitionsanstalt. On one emarke it may look like Ludwigsort is stamped like Ludwigs Ort and I don't know the exact reason for this, still for me nothing to be worried about.

Ludwigsort was the German name for the now Russian city Laduschkin in Oblast Kaliningrad. Til 1945 or 46 Ludwigsort was part of Germany (Ost-Preussen) and the military district was Wehrkreis 1 Königsberg. Here is a list of Munitionsanstalten of this Wehrkreis:

Wehrkreis I Königsberg
Munitionsanstalten:
Heeresmunitionsanstalt Königsberg in Preußen
Heeresmunitionsanstalt Stablack
Heeresmunitionsanstalt Powayen
Heeresmunitionsanstalt Mielau
Heeresmunitionsanstalt Ludwigsort

Nebenmunitionsanstalten:
Heeresnebenmunitionsanstalt Königsberg-Ponrath
Heeresnebenmunitionsanstalt Insterburg
Heeresnebenmunitionsanstalt Allenstein
Heeresnebenmunitionsanstalt Arys
Heeresnebenmunitionsanstalt Lötzen
Heeresnebenmunitionsanstalt Bartenstein
Heeresnebenmunitionsanstalt Gumbinnen

It is a lot of info and I hope I said it in a way you will understand, as English is still not my native language.

[BlackCat1982]

Look forward to seeing what you've added to your collection Timeout. Münitionsanstalten would have used forced labour as well as German nationals.

[timeout]

Rik.... that was "clear as a bell"..... Thank you I could get into this but not at the expense of my pow tags...! Blackcat I will post photos when it arrives. no doubt it will take weeks before I get it as the guy will not ship outside of Russia so it has to sent to a friend in Russia and then shipped out.

[Rik.S]

Paul, I have been going through my books as I was sure I had seen the abbreviation of the Heeres-Munitionsanstalt somewhere. I did find three of them in Jean Hoidal's book, they are as follow:
HMA
H.Ma
H.M.A

Regards, Rik

[toot]

this subject is most informative and intriguing! keep it up/going.