UBB.threads Forums Uniform & Accessories Imperial German Uniforms, Orders, and Decorations Kraftfahrer

I got this great Imperial Kraftfahrer Postcard . It is dated 23.3.17 , location given as COELN-SUELZ and states "Eine Rauchpause mit Kraftwagen in Felde" which means : Taking a smoke-break while with the trucks in the field .I think they are out on training .Signed by "Ludwig".

...and a detail shot . You can see the leather tunics , visor caps ,goggles and the small car insignia on their collar tabs . Some smoke pipes and others just cigarettes.

..other close-up of the guys.

...and an other group.

..and an other bunch.

In the background was a truck , but it faded away , only the rear wheels with their chain drive can be made out .

The center bunch one more time ,looks like 2 Sergeants-in-charge and they have their regular uniforms on --and NOT the leather tunics of the men .You can make out the silver tresse around their collars and litzen on the one guys cuffs.

...may be a somewhat clearer shot . The reason I enjoy this photo so much is that my Grandfather was in a Kraftfahrer Unit in WWI on the front near the Ypers and the Iser Frontlines . Hope you like this one also .Bernd

Bernd,

I just returned from vacation and saw your posts. Very nice Imperial goodies!

It is interesting that the Kraftfahrer personnel in the Weimar Republic Polizei continued to wear these leather coats and caps. They did not appear to wear the truck collar insignia but they did wear the same coats.

Thanks for showing your goodies.

George

Bernd, great picture postcard.
Appreciate seeing it. Thank You.

--dj--Joe

Hey Bernd,

Here's a couple from my collection I thought I'd share.

Tim

another

Tim : GREAT photos ! Love the one in the field with what seems drivers and their Mechanic helpers : plus one guy with a Red Cross armband ! The other photo must have been taken just after these guys got their brand new leather jackets --see how shiny they still are ! Taken at their training base in Duesseldorf , --a long ways away from the front ! Thanks again for sharing , Bernd .

Hi Bernd,

Glad you like the pics. The guys in the second one certainly do look like they have nice new leathers. Do you happen to have a collar device you could post? I've never seen one other than in these old photos. Are they cloth or metal?

Here's a couple more. Unfortunately the exposure was quite dark on this first one.

Cheers,
Tim

I like this one, nice to see some autos. He's a Kraftfahrer but I'm not sure he's a "Kraftfahrer" if you know what I mean

I have literally hundreds of pics like these that I have obtained over the years from this place and that.
I often look into their eyes and wonder, "what happened to you? Did you survive the war? Did you have a family?" Stuff like that.
It is truly a sad commentary that mankind hasn't, even yet, learned that war is such a damn waste!
All soldiers of all nations are brave if they can handle war and it's fury.

Hey Lloyd,

I have several thousand photos and I think the same thing when I view them. I like to see the different pieces of equipment, uniforms, bunkers, etc. but it's the faces and the human element that I find most captivating. I often think which ones could you put an "X" through that died, maybe even just a few days after the photo was taken. Knowing that the front lines were subjected to artillery fire so fierce it sounded like a drum-roll and that men and boys were just pumped in to feed the machinery...and entered the storm knowing they and their comrads were going to be killed... That's it, their lives are over, what a waste.

Yeah Tim and I have pictures of myself from when I was in the Army in the early '60s. A young, dumb kid dressed up as a soldier. IF I had re-upped, I would have been in "The Nam" and knowing how dumb I was back then, my name would be on that Wall in Washington!
I recently finished reading, "Frontsoldaten" by Stephen G. Fritz and you see from what the German kids wrote, that they were just like I was, young and dumb but with patriotism as I had.
The only people who lose in a war are the little guys, the "grunts" as it were. The main reason I loved the book above is it is written by regular troops and not some General. There are damn few Generals that wind up dying as the grunt does.
Great pics here and "grunts" too! They KNOW what the REAL war is all about!

Lloyd

Jeees....there are some faces in that last picture only a mother could love .

Interesting post all the same!.

Tim ; I do have the metal collar car insignia that I got from my Grandfather who served as a Kraftfahrer in WW I . I posted a lot of my Kraftfahrer stuff a while back on the wehrmacht -awards , "Imperial Uniforms and Headgear " forum . You can go back on that forum to page 4 and find the following : " K " -for Kraftfahrer Korps " , dated 01-16-2007 , and "Kraftfahrer Visor Cap " ,dated 01-09-2007 ; and " Kraftfahrer-Staffel " armband " ,dated 01-30-2007 . Go and take a look ,--I promise you will find it interesting ! You also will see a photo of my Grandfather in his WW I Infantry tunic. Bernd .