This extremely rare shovel was manufactured in Germany, most probably in 1910, by order of the Turkish army. During the Balkan war the shovel was captured by Bulgarian soldiers and used as Bulgarian military equipment. After WWI the shovel was kept in a military store house where the metal part was covered with some kind of black pitch, obviously for better preservation. That's the reason why this shovel survived the communist regime and now collectors can enjoy a very well preserved tool. The dark splashes, seen mostly the edges of the metal part are traces of the pitch used.
On the metal part can be noticed the producer’s stamp: a shield with crossed shovel and pickaxe; as well the letters "H D G. V". We suppose these last stands for the German military factory Hermann Dahlm, the biggest producer of such equipment. On the other side of the shovel there can be noticed the Turkish army stamp: Half moon with Star.
Shovel is 53 cm/ 21 inches long.
Shovel goes with original rare leather carrier with a stamp of the factory – a shield with crossed sabers swords and abbreviation "H.B.S.W." The carrier is in worn condition - has a torn place as seen on pictures.
Extremely rare item / a find plantiful of history - it will appeal to all military collectors! Great authentic condition!
History background: In 1908 young officers set up coup in the Turkish empire which had already started to fall apart. This coup is known in history as the Young Turk Revolution.
This revolution affected mainly the Turkish army. There were started a lot of reforms, one of which is supplying the army with new equipment in terms of weapons.
In 1909 and for some time afterwards, the Turks made big orders of military equipment. Almost all of them were completed in Germany. The new models were especially made for the Turkish army.
In 1912 Royal Bulgaria, together with Serbia, Greece and Montenegro declared war on Turkey. This war is known as the Balkan war. The Bulgarian army managed to enter the Turkish territory and won a lot of battles. The most significant of them is the taking over of the Odrin stronghold. There were seized a great number of weapons and military equipment. Later, the Bulgarian army made use of those trophies during WWI.
view full size
