{"product_id":"prussian-infantry-regiment-60-markgraf-karl-oberleutnant-shoulder-board-red","title":"Prussian Infantry Regiment 60 Markgraf Karl Oberleutnant Shoulder Board Red","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis is a single original officer's shoulder board (Schulterstück) of an Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) of Infanterie-Regiment \"Markgraf Karl\" (7. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 60, a line infantry regiment of the Prussian Army. The rank is fixed by the flat officer's braid carrying a single gilt star, which denotes Oberleutnant, one grade above the starless Leutnant. The regiment is identified by the combination of the red underlay and the gilt numeral 60, which is the documented shoulder-board configuration of this regiment; its boards were red bearing the number 60. One honest qualification belongs here: a red underlay was also the branch color of the field artillery, so on the images alone Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 60 cannot be entirely excluded, and the collar, cuffs, or tunic would confirm the branch beyond doubt. The weight of the evidence, given the documented red-and-60 pairing for the infantry regiment, favors the identification above.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe board is built of flat silver officer's braid (Tresse) laid in parallel runs and turned in a rounded loop at the head, worked in the herringbone weave standard to Imperial officer boards, over a scarlet-red wool underlay (Unterlage) that frames the braid as a narrow border on the face. A gilt metal numeral 60 is fixed to the lower braid by prongs, and beneath it sits a single gilt metal rank star (Stern) with a rayed field and a corded center. The reverse retains the standard removable-board mounting: a worked button slit (Knopfloch) at the head and a dark blue cloth tongue running the length of the board, the tongue that tucked beneath the cloth bridge on the tunic shoulder. The dark blue of that tongue indicates the board was worn on the peacetime dark blue dress tunic (Waffenrock) rather than the later field-grey service tunic, placing its wear in the pre-war or early-war dress configuration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eHistorically the regiment is a substantial one. Raised in Brandenburg in 1860 and transferred to the annexed territory of Alsace-Lorraine after 1871, it was garrisoned from 1897 at Weißenburg (Wissembourg), on ground made famous by the opening battle of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. It formed part of the 31st Division and served under the XV and later XXI Army Corps. In the First World War the regiment fought first on the Western Front in 1914, transferred to the Eastern Front in January 1915, and returned west in late 1917 for the German spring offensives of 1918 before demobilizing at Staßfurt in January 1919; it lost 173 officers killed over the course of the war. The honorific \"Markgraf Karl\" commemorates Margrave Karl of Brandenburg-Schwedt, the regiment's namesake patron.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe German terms are confined to the rank and branch system carried in the insignia. Schulterstück is the officer's shoulder board, distinct from the enlisted man's cloth strap (Schulterklappe); Oberleutnant translates as first lieutenant; the numeral 60 is the regimental number. No inscription, engraved name, or maker's mark is present to attach the board to a particular officer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eIn condition the board is complete and honest. The silver braid remains bright and full with no unraveling, and the gilt numeral and rank star are firmly seated and cleanly legible. The scarlet underlay has faded unevenly to a softer red with darker toning toward the base and edges, as is normal for aged wool exposed to light and handling, and the reverse shows expected soiling and age around the button slit and along the blue tongue. There is no visible moth loss to the braid, and no element is missing. As a single board rather than a matched pair, it is offered for the shoulder from which it came.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eFor the collector, a named and numbered Imperial officer's board is a firmer acquisition than an anonymous one, because both the rank and the regiment are established rather than inferred. Plain, unnumbered single infantry officer boards trade near the sixty-dollar range at retail; a board carrying a clear regimental numeral, an Oberleutnant's star, and a tie to a named Alsace-garrison regiment with a full documented war record stands well above that baseline. It suits a collection built by regiment, by Brandenburg or Alsace-Lorraine service, or by Imperial officer rank insignia, and the dark blue mounting tongue adds the further appeal of demonstrable peacetime dress-tunic wear.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50228036698351,"sku":"23-14","price":149.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/9169\/5855\/files\/23-14_1.jpg?v=1784850947","url":"https:\/\/derrittmeister.com\/products\/prussian-infantry-regiment-60-markgraf-karl-oberleutnant-shoulder-board-red","provider":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}