Before World War I the Imperial German Landsturm essentially existed only on paper.At the beginning of the war, the Landsturm was organized to serve mostly as a kind of home guard providing local security.Shortly thereafter however of the 334 Landsturm battalions established, 142 were designated “mobile” and sent mostly to the Eastern front.Battalions were formed and named after their nearest town, such as:Landsturm I Battalion, Schneeberg.

Initially there were acute shortages of all types of uniforms, field equipment and weapons, but these were gradually overcome as the war continued. Shortages were so acute that some units had to wear civilian clothing with a white armband to identify themselves as Landsturm soldiers. One example:The standard Landsturm headgear was supposed to be an oilskin cap. This was known as a Wachstuchmüzte and came in several forms.In 1914, there were not enough oilskin caps to go around. So they reverted to old Landwehr shakos!

Severely paraphrased from George Wylie and Joe Robinson’s Landsturm web page dated20 March 2009 on http://www.pickelhauben.net/articles/Landsturm.html
No attempt was made to place these photos in chronological order. Battalions, brigades and corps have been identified where possible. Some mis-identification is DEFINITELY possible!

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This explanation of the various classes of military service, including Landwehr and Landsturm, comes from our Planetfigure member, Ulrich Biroth.

From 1890 to 1899, German men were obligated to serve between 17 and 60. From 1900 to 1918, the upper age limit was reduced to 45.
During the 'Kaiserzeit', from 1875 until 1918, German men had the following active service requirements.

Active Service - 2 to 3 years, depending on the unit in which the man served
Reserve 1 - starting as early as 19 years of age
Reserve 2 - and ending at about 33
Landwehr 1 - starting at about 33
Landwehr 2 - and ending at about 39
Landsturm 1 - starting at 39
Landsturm 2 - and ending at about 45 years of age, except for those entering service from 1890 to 1899.
Landwehr units were really often fighting units during WW1.
Landsturm units garrisoned POW camps and were used as guards in the support zones on both fronts.

All the best,
Dan

Nice one Dan ....... a few references here for Jon Smiths excellent range
Cheers
Derek

Hadn't thought of it that way Del, but absolutely! Jon's a great guy and has helped me often in the past with sculpting problems.

All the best,
Dan