Today I have a tough nut to crack for you, which deals with a distinctive detail of German uniforms in the period between 1871 and 1919.

When the German Empire was founded in Versailes on January 1, 1871...



... this "empire" was anything but a monolithic block!

In reality, this empire was an amalgamation of many small and tiny states and three kingdoms (Prussia, Saxony and Bavaria) - and each of these states was formally independent and guarded this independence suspiciously and jealously.




That's why the Kaiser wasn't allowed to be called "Kaiser von Deutschland", but only "German Kaiser"!

And for the same reason, German soldiers always wore TWO different cockades on their helmets until 1919!

On one side the black, white and red cockade of the "German Reich"...



... on the other side (and thus on an equal footing) the cockade of the state in which their respective troop unit was based...:



It was the same with the caps - the Reich cockade was attached at the top, below the respective state cockade...:





Here I have selected a complete compilation of these cockades for you...:



The quiz question is now:

Which of the above shown cockades belonged to which state?

I wish you success!


Cheers

A Prussia
B Bavaria
C Saxony
D Württemberg ?
E Baden
F Hessen
G Mecklenburg
H Württemberg ?
I Sachsen-Weiner
J Braunschweig
K Anhalt ?
L Sachsen - Herzog
M Lippe ???
N Bremen
O Waldeck
P ???
Q Schwarzburg-Rudolfstadt
R Reuss
S Hanseatic

WOW - you are fast, Chris!

And almost everything is correct...:

A Prussia right!
B Bavaria right!
C Saxony (right! but Kingdom!)
D Württemberg ? right!
E Baden right!
F Hessen right!
G Mecklenburg right!
H Württemberg ? wrong! Württenberg cockade was black/red, this one is darkblue/red!
I Sachsen-Weiner right! but Sachsen-Weimar!
J Braunschweig right!
K Anhalt ? right!
L Sachsen - Herzog right! Saxon duchies!
M Lippe ??? right!
N Bremen wrong! Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck belonged to Hanseatic cities (see "S"!)
O Waldeck right!
P ???
Q Schwarzburg-Rudolfstadt right! (And there was another Schwarzburg duchy!)
R Reuss right!
S Hanseatic right!

Cheers