A Collection Of Identified French Infantry Uniforms From World War I

A World War I uniform set that belonged to Lieutenant Lépisser. It includes his “Horizon Bleu” tunic marked with the 131st Infantry Regiment (131st IR), identified by gold-plated brass collar numbers. A complete set of painted flaming grenade buttons and a pair of lieutenant’s rank stripes adorn each sleeve. Faint manufacturing marks are visible on the white cotton inner lining. The 1915-model Adrian infantry helmet retains approximately 95% of its original paint and is complete with its leather chin strap and first-model black leather liner, featuring its original madder-red fastening strap. The helmet is accompanied by a separate spare helmet comb, pierced by a bullet hole, suggesting that it was replaced by the one on the helmet but kept as a souvenir. Officer’s gear: horizon blue gaiters, combat belt, and leather belt. Horizon blue M2 gas mask pouch—an unusual privately purchased item—designed to be attached to the belt. Regulation white cotton underpants dated 1909 and a field cap. A beige cotton haversack bearing the “9th RTA” issue stamp, along with a 2-liter canteen (in poor condition). Three photographs of Lieutenant Lépissier and his comrades, each with a description on the back, dating from 1915 to 1917.

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Battalion Commander André Lépissier, from his time at the Fontainebleau Military Preparatory School in 1903 until his recall in 1940 as battalion commander. From the family collection. LÉPISSIER André Bernard (1887–1972), the son of a gendarme, entered the Fontainebleau Military Preparatory School in 1903 and volunteered in 1905 for the 131st Infantry Regiment (Orléans), where he served as sergeant major in August 1914; Wounded on August 31 at Fossé (Ardennes), he was assigned to the 82nd Infantry Regiment, then promoted to second lieutenant in the 80th in 1915. He returned to the 131st Infantry Regiment in 1916, was taken prisoner in March 1918, assigned to the 9th RTA in 1920, then served as a captain in the 1st RTA and the 9th Zouaves in 1928, and as a battalion commander in the 4th and then the 1st RTA in 1933. Recalled to active duty in 1940, he was a Knight of the Legion of Honor and died in 1972.