German Bezard Compass • Rare WWII Original Field Kompass and Pouch
Rare German WW2 Original Bezard Kompass Direktion Pouch WWII Large Field Compass
German Bezard compass/kompass is in very good original condition, including the lanyard, see the detailed photos below. The needle moves freely and it is still in its original leather pouch. The lid has two slots set in its sides to allow precision sighting of a target. The compass could be fixed to a staff or a stick to aid taking a special bearing The dial features a label aligned East-West, It comprises a logo containing the words PATENT BEZARD and the initials of the cardinal points at the ends; W for English WEST and O for German OST.
This pouch style is the oldest made by Bezard; black, ribbed, with edge-to-edge stitching. The German Bezard compass was manufactured by the barometer manufacturer Georg Lufft located in Stuttgart. Three different logos were used. The most common ones are the letters G & L together with a drawing compass or the Name LUFFT in gothic fonts. A very seldom used one, and probably the oldest of all, features a flat cylindric shape with an axis and the name LUFFT (seen on older barometers and Bézard compasses as below).
German Bezard Compass Measurements:
- Aprrox. Size: 3in x 3.5in / 7cm x 9cm
- Weight (not including pouch): 171g / 6oz
The German Bezard compass was invented and patented in 1902 by Johann Ritter von Bézard, an officer of Polish origin serving in the Imperial Austrian Army (southern Poland belonged to the Austrian Empire at that time). Bézard taught military survey techniques at the Theresianische Militärakademie in Wiener Neustadt and at the Vienna Kriegsschule (War School) from 1905 to 1910. This compass was also the standard German Army style Bézard Patent march compass used on all fronts during World War II by the Waffen-SS and regular troops of the German Wehrmacht.
