Cavalry Regiment No. 18 Wehrmacht Sword

Cavalry Regiment No. 18 Wehrmacht Sword -  "Kavallerie Regt. No 18". This curved sword features a 22 mm wide x 890 mm long steel blade, magnetic, with a dull edge and semi-sharp tip, the blade itself exhibiting beautiful cross graining and light contact and pitting, full-length fuller on both sides, ricasso is maker marked Carl Eickhorn Solingen, with the company's squirrel emblem, ornate engraving on the blade, the ricasso side illustrating right and left-facing eagles, a swastika in their talons, flanking three scenes: a right-facing cavalryman on raised horseback, six right-facing cavalrymen on horseback charging forward and a left-facing officer on horseback, surrounded by ornate lacing and lattice work, the opposite side inscribed "Kavallerie Regt. No 18" in Gothic script flanked by the same ornate lacing and lattice work as that used on the ricasso side, the blade's spine with ornate leafing and complemented with a light brown leather buffer pad. Heavy nickel-plated steel crossguard with quillon, non-magnetic, black synthetic plates with silver wire in the recesses of the ribbed grip, the plates embedded onto either side of the handle and held in place via a long central pin that passes through the supporting guard, that runs from the crossguard and wraps around the pommel, joining on to the opposite end of the crossguard, forming the handle. It weighs 562 grams and measures 1,020 mm in length overall, exhibiting surface wear and gilt loss on the handle, very fine. The scabbard has a durable black painted metal body, magnetic, with flattened u-shaped finial and locket, suspension ring and bracket protruding from the wrap-around loop, weighing 420 grams and measuring 25 mm x 915 mm, exhibiting extensive paint wear and contact marks from active use. A terrific WWII collectible, in very fine condition.Footnote: Cavalry Regiment No. 18 was a cavalry regiment that joined the Wehrmacht (1933-1945), by re-naming the 18th Cavalry Regiment of the Reichswehr (1921-1935). In 1936, it was determined that, in case of war, the reconnaissance battalions of the infantry divisions were to be formed from the cavalry regiments. With the mobilization of the armed forces on August 25, 1939, the regiment was disbanded as intended and was re-introduced as a reconnaissance department for selected infantry divisions, some of which were motorized, along with being an educational and training department.