2-691-900 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

German signallers outside the Fortress of Vaux, Verdun, northern France, c1914-c1918. Signallers from the Signals Detachment of the German Army's 3rd Guards Uhlans. Two of the troopers wear M1897 Tschakos (Shakos - Helmets) with an Uberzug (cloth helmet cover), and the man in the centre is wearing a M1907 Feldmutzen (enlisted man's field or forage cap). All wear field grey tunics and trousers, and the man furthest right is wearing a greatcoat. The soldier holding the signalling mirror also has a M1915 mess tin hanging from his belt. The men have no rifles with them, or much of any other equipment, indicating that they were in what they considered an area secure from French snipers or artillery. The fort fell to the Germans on 7 June 1916. Photograph from a series of glass plate stereoview images depicting scenes from World War I (1914-1918).