Pre-War / Early WW2 German M31 Breadbag UNIT MARKED & FIELD MODIFIED

[komet45]

I recently found this breadbag at a local flea market in the bottom of a "junk box." It appears to be a mid-to-late 30s era production piece and has been repaired and modified from it's original form but still functions the same. The canvas material has a "blue-greenish" gray tone and shows considerable honest wear - I have left it exactly as I have found it. The original belt retention straps have been lost and replaced with what appears to be a soft, tan duck canvas style material. Of particular interest, the central strap that usually included a belt hanger hook makes use of a WW1 era Prussian tunic belt hanger. The rear side leather tabs and rings have been removed and visible, neat stitching holes can be observed. The exterior leather attachment straps have been removed from the top flap though the two attached to the interior side remain intact. There is a small hole that has clearly been stitched up. The interior of the bag still retains it's leather fastening strap and the aluminum buttons are sewn on with material that looks similar to string. On the interior side of the cover flap is the faint trace of what appears to be a handwritten name and a possible ink unit stamp. The stamp looks to read: "2. / E. J. R. 56;" could this mean "2nd Company of the 56th Infantry Regiment?" I have read that "J. R." is a common abbreviation for "Infantry Regiment," would the additional "E" denote "Ersatz?" The only other "EJR" unit marking I could locate was on this M31 recently offered for sale here: Heer breadbag unit marked 15. (E.). J.R. 69 – fjm44. I also could not find any other "field modified" or "field repaired" breadbags for sale or for reference, does the work on this bag look "War Time" or "Post-War?"

This is my first breadbag and I would greatly appreciate any insights and observations that you would be willing to share!

[komet45]

I posted this breadbag on another forum and a member suggested the rings seen on the top cover flap were repurposed belt equipment rings. I have included these photographs here to show these rings more clearly as well as the distinctly different shape. The belt retention straps have been sewn directly to the rings and make use of what appear to be period 3-hole aluminum buttons. A M31 canteen will still clip into these rings but cannot attach it's secondary retention strap to the cover as the bag's leather retention tabs have been lost. Though this pair of rings performs now carries out two roles instead of just one, each appears satisfied.

[Edward Lionheart]

I also could not find any other "field modified" or "field repaired" breadbags for sale or for reference, does the work on this bag look "War Time" or "Post-War?"

Hello.
To be honest I do not think that these modifications have anything to do with field repairs, because the bread bag doesn't fufill its purpose anymore : the front leather tabs have been intentionally removed, and that means that you cannot strap your mess kit nor your canteen to the bag anymore.
A civilian using such a repurposed piece of gear wouldn't mind, but it would be a major hindrance for a soldier.
Not to mention the WW1 uniform hook that looks like something that was put there by someone who knew that the bag was of german origin, but didn't knew at all when it was made.
I could have considered this a field repair on a WW1 bread bag, but here I'm having some serious doubts, sorry to say.
Let's now see if other members may feel otherwise.

[Kohima]

I feel it is one of those things that will never be known, though I agree with Edward that it doesn’t have any ‘official’ look to the repairs/modification. That said, it is all part of its history and could well have been carried out in the early post-war years for civilian use.
I like it and would certainly recommend keeping it just as it is.
Rob.

[Edward Lionheart]

I agree that it would be pointless to try to reverse it to its initial state, that would be long and complicated to obtain all the required spare parts, and it would look certainly a bit strange in the end, no matter how hard you would try to do it right.
In its current state this bag is way more interesting thant the majority of sad altered wrecks I have seen in attics, flea markets and garage sales over the years.

[komet45]

Thanks all for the replies, was just looking for additional speculation on this interesting piece. Never have had any thoughts about "restoring" it, I leave things in my collection "as found" as much as possible. There's no question that what has been done to this bag was anything but official, making it all the more curious. I'd love to see a photo of one being worn Post-War!

[Danmark]

I'm sure that in a country bombed into submssion and devoid of industry, that a lot of military items would have been repurposed by civilians.....

[Edward Lionheart]

Hello. That's true and it applies also to formerly occupied countries where people lacked many things and saw the appropriation ofr the former enemy's stuff as some kind of retribution.

I'd love to see a photo of one being worn Post-War!

This isn't going to be easy I'm afraid : obviously your breadbag was modified to be worn in the regular way, on a belt, which means that any civilian with this on him will wear on the hip or in the back, and probably underneath a jacket or a coat, making it hard to see, not to say invisible.
I can testify of two different ways bread bags have been repurposed after the war : one Luftwaffe bread bag I bought decades ago at the flea market had several scout badges sewn on it and the name of the kid written on the inner part of the flap, and a great militaria collector I know told me that his dad used to have an early war model " borrowed " during the german retreat in 1944 strapped to the frame of his bicycle until he was to old to ride it.

[komet45]

Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski of Kommerzielle Koordinierung

[Edward Lionheart]

Regarding who's the person wearing the bread bag we can wonder if this is a WW2 item or not.
With that picture it's hard if not impossible to say, but the sling looks exactly like the ones on east-german mapcases.
And maybe it is attached to the front D rings because there are no back rings, a feature that appears on some KVP / NVA bread bags dating from the late fifties.