History of 138th German Infantry Regt. ?

[Guest 1913Erfurt]

I have in my possesion a 1913 Erfurt P08 that has been in the family since the Great War. My Dad has told me it was removed from a German officer during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive by my Great Uncle, Clifford Volney Church, who was a Major by rank in the 80th Division US Army.

This P08 unit markings are as follows: R138MGK321

Researching Luger history "R" nonscript= Infanterie

138= Designated Regt

M= Munitions

G= Garde

K= Kommando

321= # of pistol

Or the "MG" in conjunction could stand for "Maschinengewehr"

Any help in the history of the 138th German Infantry would be greatly appreciated

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Your information could very well be accurate. The 138th IR was part of the 42nd Division. This division was opposite the left flank of the American attack after November 3, 1918 which puts the regiment in the vicinity of the 80th U.S. Division.

Any idea on a name of the officer it came from?

Ralph

[Guest Northumberland]

Here's a snippet from

http://www.worldwar1.com/france/portugal.htm

In the northern sector (see attached map for locations), defended by the Portuguese 4th (Minho) [18] Brigade (with the 8th and 20th Battalions in the frontline and the 3rd and 29th Battalions in reserve), the German 42nd Division, spearheaded by the 138th Infantry Regiment, nevertheless faced stubborn resistance by soldiers of the 8th Battalion, which fought a series of valiant delaying actions, joining the 29th battalion in a series of redoubts before the Brigade HQ at Laventie. At 11:00 AM, though, Laventie had been captured, and with it most of the soldiers of the 4th Brigade.

[tintin1689]

The subsidiary title of this Regiment was "3rd Lower Alsace", its garrison town was Dieuze, it was raised in 1887 and the Regimental march was the "Marsch aus Petersburg"

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

Fortunately the U.S. government collected the regimental day reports for the German regiments that faced U.S. units and the copies can be obtained through the National Archives in Washington.

Ralph