Period Photographs
from "Grosser Bilderatlas des Weltkrieges" F Bruckmann, Munich 1919
at University of Wisconsin Digital Collections and WikiCommons

German troops on the March in Georgia
These soldiers appear to be wearing field grey 1915 uniforms with steel helmets. The driver of the wagon on the left has an other ranks peakless field grey cap, he can also clearly be seen to wear puttees with short ankle boots.

German Officers and NCOs talking with local Tartars
The bareheaded NCO in the centre clearly wears a 1915 field grey tunic with lace denoting his NCO rank on the collar. His trousers have leather reinforcement patches, a distinction usually only worn by Storm Troops, showing him (and probably the other figures in the group) to be a member of the 10th Assault Battalion. The Germans all appear to be wearing puttees and short ankle boots.

The officers to the left of the photograph wear peaked field caps. Note the dark hatband of the officer nearest the centre (possibly the Storm Troops black hatband piped in red). This difference between the hatband and cap colour would seem to indicate that the cap is a field grey one. The shade of the cap also matches that of the tunic and trousers, indicating that they are all field grey. The cut of the officers tunics (with both breast and hip pockets) could be seen on either khaki or field grey uniforms.

In the background can be seen another two German soldiers, one to the left has a field grey other ranks peakless cap. The 10th Assault Battalion was a Prussian unit and the cap cockades would therefore be the imperial cockade above the Prussian one (black/white/black). The other soldier in the background further to the right has a steel helmet and badge on the left breast of his 1915 field grey tunic which may be a wound badge or possibly an Iron Cross, first class. He appears to have an NCOs rank button on his collar.

German Troops in Tiflis
These soldiers appear to be wearing field grey 1915 uniforms with steel helmets. Most of the men wear backpacks with tent quarters wrapped around them and canteens hung on the back, some have additional ammunition bandoliers around their necks and one clearly has a red cross armband.

German Troops above Tiflis using what looks like a Movie Camera
From this photograph it is very difficult to be certain if they are wearing field grey or khaki. They both wear peaked field caps, though each looks quite different. The one on the right in the foreground had a dark arm of service hatband, polished leather peak and appears to have a wire retaining loop to hold the top of the cap in place. This would indicate that it is a field grey NCOs cap. The one behind has no retaining loop, giving it a more shapeless appearance, no reflective peak and the hatband appears to be lighter shade, more similar to the cap itself, possibly but not certainly the same colour. The other ranks 1917 field grey cap had a grey leather peak and no retaining loop as did the Asienkorps khaki cap for other ranks. This photograph could show either. Note also the cap of the man in the background has two cockades, the imperial cockade above a state cockade. The state cockade appears quite light in the photograph and is probably the white/blue/white Bavarian cockade rather than the black/white/black Prussian cockade.

Their uniforms cannot be seen very clearly. From the folds in their sleeves it would appear that they are lightweight tunics. Possibly lightweight field grey uniforms as worn in Macedonia. The figure in the background appears to have his tunic buttons quite closely together, indicating that they may be on an eight buttoned field grey 1910 tunic (or a lightweight modified version of the 1910 tunic with plain cuffs) rather than an Asienkorps six buttoned khaki tunic. Note the NCOs rank button on the collar of the foreground figure.

Georgian and German Troops
The Georgians are on the left wearing a mixture of Tsarist Russian uniforms and civilian attire. On the right are some German officers in peaked field caps (and one soldier in a peakless cap) note their state and imperial cockades. The German officers seem to be wearing field grey 1915 tunics with pockets one has Litzen from an elite unit. The figure with the lighter tunic may be wearing an officers Litewka in pale grey with arm of service collar patches. Tropical uniforms did not normally have collar patches or Litzen.

Funeral in Georgia
This is possibly the funeral of Oberjäger Alois Hitzler of the 2nd Company of the 1st Bavarian Reserve Jäger Battalion who died on 8th July 1918). A local undertaker in white leads the funeral carriage.

The German troops behind him wear peaked field caps, the funeral escort would presumably be from the same unit at the deceased and would therefore have both imperial and Bavarian cockades on their caps. As mentioned above peaked field caps for other ranks were made in both khaki and field grey by 1918.

The soldier marching at the front appears to wear a six buttoned tunic, which seems to be lighter than that of the soldier behind him (though that could simply be how the sunlight is falling). Although from the quality of the photograph it is impossible to be certain, this is the strongest evidence I have so far seen for the six-buttoned Asienkorps style khaki uniforms being issued to the soldiers of the Caucasian Expedition. German field grey uniforms did not have six buttons, the 1910 uniform having eight and the 1915 uniform having a concealed front. There is a chance it might be an 1895 cotton fatigue uniform, which had five buttons, but these usually had shorter skirts without pockets (see German Army in Macedonia).

The soldier behind him has a darker uniform with what looks like eight buttons. This probably a field grey modified 1910 tunic.

Rittmeister Jenö von Egan-Krieger, chief of General Staff of the German Mission in Georgia, 1918
He wears a privately purchased white tropical uniform as was often worn by German army officers on overseas postings. It was of the same cut as the Schutztruppe 1896 White Uniform but without the Schutztruppe blue piping. Although privately purchased uniforms varied in cut, it generally had a stand and fall collar, plain turn back cuffs, four buttoned and pleated pockets and six buttons down the front. The buttons were the same as worn by the home regiment (in this case Prussian crown buttons) as were the officers shoulder straps (in this case in Prussian white metallic lace with threads of black and with two pips for the rank of cavalry captain or "Rittmeister"). He wears an Iron Cross first class on his left breast pocket, an Iron Cross second class ribbon in his second buttonhole and another medal that cannot quite be identified from this photograph at his throat.

Photo © Matjaz Voglar

The Georgian Order of St Tamara Medal
A final mention on this page has to be given to the Order of St Tamara. This was a medal awarded to members of the German Caucasus Expedition by the fledgling Georgian Government on 4th November 1918.

It was named after the 12th-13th Century Sainted Queen of Georgia. It consisted of an image of Queen Tamara within a circle containing Georgian lettering and the date 1915 on an eight pointed Brunswick star badge worn on the left breast. It could also be worn as a medal ribbon without the medal (such as on miniature bars). The medal ribbon was dark red with black horizontal bars in the centre.

Less than 5,000 of these medals (some say as few as 1,400) were awarded in total, most of the existing medals were privately made in Germany after the First World War for veterans of the Georgian Campaign.

Recommended External Links- Sections on the Order of St Tamara at The Orders and Medals Society of America, The Gentlemen's Military Interest Club and Wehrmacht Awards and Wikipedia

Organisation of the Caucasus Expedition 1918
from "Imperial German Army 1914-18" by H Cron and "The Caucasus Expedition" at the AHF