A Second War German Identification Tag Belonging to a Military Commander of Serbia

This is a Second War German I.D Tag (Dog Tag) belonging to one of the five Military Commanders of Serbia. The tag is constructed of zink, with “77 Mil. Bef. Serbien” (Militärbefehlshaber/Military Commander) stamped on both sides of the triple slotted tag; measuring 71 mm x 50 mm; in ground-found condition.

Footnote: The military commander was the head of the military administration, and thus the highest representative of the occupying power in the occupied country, but normally did not command any troops deployable at the front, but exercised the rule over the economy and administration of the occupied country as a de facto military governor. The military commander had his own staff and, depending on the size of the occupied area, a number of military administrative units, field commanders and field commanders. During the course of the war, Serbia had six military commanders; Helmuth Förster, Ludwig von Schröder, Heinrich Danckelmann, Franz Böhme, Paul Bader, and Hans-Gustav Felber, meaning that this identification tag belonged to one of these men.