ID Cavalry Unit

[von thoma]

Can you help me with these cavalry troops ?
Thank you.

[jluetjen]

German Hussars, but I can't tell which regiment. Picture most likely taken before mid-1916 since they don't appear to have been issued stehlhelms yet.

I'll do some checking based on the uniform details and see if I can get any additional information.

[jluetjen]

Definitely German Hussars (that limits is to about 20 different regiments) -- the pennants could suggest Prussian(now down to 16 regiments), but the color of the black-and-white films of the era doesn't always map well -- specifically yellows often appear black. Most likely not the first months of the war since the unit has been issued the Field Gray uniforms and the unit insignias are not visible. The tunic and cuff braid doesn't seem to suggest any particular unit, nor the epilates. The rider looking directly at the camera has a "5" on his busby's cover, but I don't know if that would represent the 5th regiment like it would in the infantry, or something else. The cockades are also non-descript. The rifles appear the be the standard GW98AZ of the period. The belt buckles are just a plain ring.

Here's a picture that I found on-line where the uniforms appear to be very similar, right down to the cuff braiding...

To be honest -- all of the field gray Atillas worn by the German Hussars appear to be the same.

[jluetjen]

I tried to check the official history of the German Cavalry for some representative pictures of Hussars from that time and couldn't find much. I did find this image which is specifically dated and the location identified.

Even at the maximum resolution you can't see much in the way of details.