WW1 German Bavarian officer field blouse Königlich Bayerisches 22. Infanterie-Regiment

Description

Beautiful and hard to find WW1 field dress tunic ‘Feldgraue Waffenrock’ for combat service. Buttons and shoulder boards indicate this was a Leutnant of Königlich Bayerisches 22. Infanterie-Regiment „Fürst Wilhelm von Hohenzollern“. Jacket has an Iron Cross 1914 and Bavarian service medal attached to the buttonhole and has one pair of loops, probably for an Iron Cross 1st class. Besides a few damages on the sleeve, the jacket is void of holes and tears and remains in very good condition. Complete with all buttons attached.

The regiment fought on the Western Front in 1914, in the East and in Serbia in 1915, in the West again in 1916, then on the Eastern Front and in 1916/17 in Romania. In 1917 it returned to the western theater of war. On July 22, 1918, the ongoing heavy fighting at Soissons had decimated it to the point that it consisted of only eight officers and 160 non-commissioned officers and men. It was therefore formed into a company (military). At the end of July 1918, the three battalions were reorganized and shortly afterwards three companies and a machine gun company from the disbanded Reserve Infantry Regiment 13 were incorporated. During the fighting at Westroosebeke in Flanders, the III. Battalion was almost completely taken prisoner on September 28, 1918.