Heer Steingraue Infanterie Hose Markings

[DerFunker]

Hello gents - I found a small surprise tonight! I was photographing bits of my collection for cataloging (this is how I keep track of what I have), and noticed something about these piped infantry trousers. As I was turning the pockets inside-out (never know what you might find) I noticed this:



14th Kompanie - 119th Division? I may be misinterpreting. And my eyes can't make out the first word... 4 years of German lessons in school was many years ago. Geprüft? Anyone?

More pics of the trousers. Thanks for any assistance on the stamp, gents!

[CSW]

Hi mate! The acceptance stamp says Geprüft 14./I.R.119, the unit being the 14th Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 119. The marking was added when this piece was accepted for use by the Kompanie in question. Nice find!

[DerFunker]

Hi mate! The acceptance stamp says Geprüft 14./I.R.119, the unit being the 14th Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 119. The marking was added when this piece was accepted for use by the Kompanie in question. Nice find!

Wonderful, thanks so much for the info! I think this is the first time I've found unit information stamped on the inside of the pocket. It was a pleasant surprise, and a nice little piece of history to go along with an excellent pair of Infanterie trousers. Just goes to show that sometimes you really have to inspect every inch of your collection. Thanks again!

[TWS]

Nice find. CSW is correct on the unit.

Geprüft essentially means "checked" or verified.

Why is that stamp there? Well, it's actually a common practice. When a soldier privately purchased an item of uniform, it was supposed to be checked by his unit chain of command for adherence to regulations. If it passed, then it was stamped "Geprüft" by the unit and the soldier was free to wear that uniform item. I have a good number of items in my collection with acceptance stamps by various units. It's always neat to have them.

I.R. 119 was part of 25. Infanterie-Division, which later became motorized in November of 1940 and even later became 25. Panzergrenadierdivision on 23 June, 1943.

[DerFunker]

Nice find. CSW is correct on the unit.

Geprüft essentially means "checked" or verified.

Why is that stamp there? Well, it's actually a common practice. When a soldier privately purchased an item of uniform, it was supposed to be checked by his unit chain of command for adherence to regulations. If it passed, then it was stamped "Geprüft" by the unit and the soldier was free to wear that uniform item. I have a good number of items in my collection with acceptance stamps by various units. It's always neat to have them.

I.R. 119 was part of 25. Infanterie-Division, which later became motorized in November of 1940 and even later became 25. Panzergrenadierdivision on 23 June, 1943.

Spectacular information, thanks Todd! I've got other privately purchased uniform items, but this is the first (legible) Geprüft I've seen. And you're right - it's always a treat to find these details. It's the little things that sometimes make collecting worth-while.

Great info about I.R. 119 - that'll give me a nice rabbit hole to go down. Thanks again.