Nice photo.
This chap is a Gefreiter (Private First class), and is wearing his 'walking out' uniform. As noted the date is 1931.This places him in the Weimar period before the Austrian megalomaniac came to power in 1933. The VS number plate = Villingen Schwenningen, a district in South-west Germany. I also note he appears to be wearing cavalry type boots, as opposed to the famous 'jackboots', and would guess he is from a cavalry/recon type unit. At around this time such units were being converted from horses to vehicles and would go on to form the Panzer-Aufklarungs-Abteilung (armoured recon units) of the Panzer Divisions. As Leigh pointed out, the number on his shoulder board designates his regiment.
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