For sale is a original French made mle 1866 Chassepot rifle bayonet “Tulle 1868” mfg. Captured during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), thousands of these bayonets were taken by German and her new Nation. These would be stored, with some of the French rifles being issued to some degree, a German alteration is the replacement of the scabbard frog loop with a German style hook. But these would not see combat until the outbreak of WW1. With millions of men being called upon, there was a heavy shortage of weaponry seeing many old arms being issued. Many of these bayonets were issued to reserve units, such as the Landwehr, which were older conscripted soldiers that would form second and third line units. Though these units were not intended for heavy combat, most ended up seeing major action from the wars’ beginning. This bayonet exhibits black paint which is typical of German re-issued bayonets like this one. This bayonet is unit marked to the 7th Landwehr, and here is a brief description of the units history from Wikipedia.

Photograph your local culture, help Wikipedia and win!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

7th Landwehr Division (7. Landwehr-Division)
Active	1915-1919
Country	Württemberg/Germany
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Approx. 12,500
Engagements	World War I

The 7th Landwehr Division (7. Landwehr-Division) was a unit of the Prussian/German Army.^[1] The division was formed on January 27, 1915, out of two formerly Mixed Landwehr Brigades (55th and the 57th). The division spent the period from its formation to early 1917 on the Western Front, mainly involved in positional warfare in Upper Alsace, after which it went to the Lorraine front. It was transferred to the Eastern Front in the Spring of 1917, where it remained after the 1917 armistice on that front. In 1918, it served on internal security missions in Ukraine, where it was located when World War I ended. Allied intelligence rated the division as a fourth class division. The division was disbanded in 1919, during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.

The 7th Landwehr Division, like the 55th and 57th Brigades before it, was raised in the Kingdom of Württemberg. As a Landwehr division, it was primarily composed of older soldiers who had already fulfilled their regular and reserve service obligations.