| I had originally given this soldier a tentative identification as a member of the Imperial German Seebattalion but he is in all likelihood a member of either the 5th or 6th East Asian Infantry Regiments of the Ostasiatische Expeditionskorps. He's wearing a dark blue Litewka tunic with barley visible red collar patches and the khaki peaked cap issued to these two regiments in place of the straw hat worn by other units. The bold "Auf Wiedersehen!" title on the card mount implies that the photograph was taken just prior to this man shipping out to his overseas posting, possibly the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900). Cabinet Photograph R. Schubert - Photographer Berlin W. Potsdamerstr. 3, Germany c 1900 |