Insignia
National Emblem: or
The visual acknowledgement of the newBreast eagle
On tunics this took the form of a cloth patch about 9 cm (3⅝") wide worn on the right breast, above the pocket. For enlisted uniforms it was jacquard-woven ("BeVo") or sometimes machine-embroidered in silver-grey rayon, for officers machine- or hand-embroidered in white silk or bright aluminum wire, and for generals hand-embroidered in gold bullion. The backing was "badge-cloth" (), a close-woven velvetish fabric; this was originally grey, but in late 1935 the renamed changed its color to a dark blue-green called (bottle-green). The war brought several variations to the breast eagle, although it should be kept in mind that none of them was replaced or de-authorized, and all were being worn side by side at war's end. When hostilities began in 1939, on the enlisted or field blouse the eagle was changed from silver-white to matte grey for reduced visibility; and in 1940 backings began to be produced in field-grey (). Another version appeared with the advent of the Model 1944 Field Blouse, which used a triangular backing for speed and simplicity of manufacture. Very late in the war some were simply printed on thin fabric. There were also versions for other uniforms: both white and grey variants on black for the Panzer uniform, and in dull grey-blue on tan backing for theHeadgear
Caps and helmets bore two common insignia elements, in various forms: theBelt buckles ()
Belt buckles for enlisted men were of box type, made of aluminum or stamped steel and bearing a circular device with a version of the called the Army eagle or (an eagle with downswept wings clutching an unwreathed swastika) surmounted by the motto ("God with us"). For field wear these were usually painted field-grey to reduce visibility and had a smooth finish; on the other hand, dress buckles were silver-washed with a pebbled surface surrounding the . Officers' field and service buckles were of a two-pronged frame type. With dress uniform officers wore a belt of silver braid with a circular silver-washed or -plated aluminum buckle, in the form of an oakleaf wreath surrounding a . Generals' were the same but gilt or gold-plated. With the tropical uniform and its belt of cotton webbing, officers wore a buckle identical to the dress buckle but painted olive-drab.Collar patch (, )
In 19th century German armies, Guard and other elite regiments wore lengths of double braid () encircling all or most of the collar as a mark of distinction. By the middle of World War I these ornate collars had been reduced to an embroidered representation of short lengths of braid joined at the ends, sewn to patches worn at the front of the collar. When the was established in 1921 as Germany's first national army were prescribed as the universal collar device for all personnel other than generals, and the Third Reich continued the practice. For clarification, however, a distinction must be made between a "collar patch" (german: Kragenpatte or Kragenspiegel), and NCO braid ( or – the badge of rank of all German NCO ranks), encircling the collar of the uniform tunic. An NCO wore both collar patches and the braid encircling the collar.Design and versions
On both collar points of any uniform jacket there was a collar patch. Each patch consisted of the padding, and two parallel facings (german: Patten), the so-called , symbolising the double braid of the 19th century. The padding of full-dress collar patches showed the wearer's (corps color). The dress tunic version was embroidered in fine aluminum thread on a patch of ''badge cloth'' (german: Abzeichentuch). The backing also showed through in the space between the two parallel facings of the collar patch, and formed so a colour center stripe. On field – and service uniforms, beginning in late 1935, the collar patch was dark bottle-green to match the collar; the "showed through" (in fact colored cord was sewn into) the center strip of each braid, the . For enlisted men, service ''collar patches'' were machine-woven in silver-grey rayon; COs' were embroidered more elaborately in white silk or aluminium thread, and were somewhat larger to match their higher collars. NCOs (german: Unteroffiziere) wore standard enlisted collar patches but were distinguished by a strip of 9mm silver-grey diamond-woven rayon braid (, NCO-), sewn around the collar, except on the dress, where the NCO- was bright aluminum. However, the aluminum-embroidered NCO- on dress uniforms (german: Ausgangsuniform, Paradeuniform) encircled the collar's upper edge, the simpler NCO- on service – or field uniform encircled the collar's lower edge.Universal design from 1938
By 1938 the fast-growing had found that it was impractical, for the enlisted field uniform, to manufacture and stock a multitude of collar patches in assorted which also had to be sewn on and frequently changed by unit tailors. Accordingly, new universal collar patches were introduced with the and woven in dark green to match the backing patch, and which could be applied at the factory; was now displayed on the shoulder-straps, which simply buttoned on and were easily switched. With the wartime change to lower-visibility insignia enlisted collar patches were woven in matte "mouse-grey" stripes, which were at first sewn to green collar patches as before but increasingly directly to the collar, which beginning in 1940 was made in like the uniform; grey collar patches were never produced. The troops however preferred the green patches (and collars) if they had or could get them, especially on "clean" uniforms for walking-out; and long-service veterans took particular pride in pre-38 versions. In contrast, officers' service uniform collar patches never changed. While most officers in the front lines wore the enlisted field uniform as per wartime regulations, many opted to have their green-and-silver collar patches added instead of (or on top of) the factory versions. On olive tropical uniforms the collar patches were tan with dull grey-blue for all personnel; officers again sometimes added their green collar patches. Tropical NCO collar were copper-brown, or sometimes olive drab.Armored vehicle uniforms
A major exception to the wearing of was the "panzer wrap" (german: Panzerjacke), the double-breasted jacket worn by crews of tanks and other armored vehicles. When the were established in 1935 they were issued a distinctive black uniform and as a badge the or Death's-head, versions of which had formerly been worn by the Imperial tank corps and various cavalry units. These skulls took the form of white-metal pins attached to black which were edged in piping. In mid-1940 crews of assault guns () received a uniform of their own, identical in cut to the but in standard field-grey, which they wore with red artillery piping. Over the course of the war a bewildering and changing series of regulations governed the uniforms and insignia for assault guns, tank destroyers, armored cars and self-propelled guns (SPG). Depending on the unit and the date either the black or grey wrap or the standard might be authorized, and on the grey "assault gun" jacket the regulation collar patches could be black with skulls, or grey with skulls, , or no device at all. The result in practice was chaos; wartime photos show a mix of uniforms and insignia worn not only in the same battalion, but even in the same vehicle. Officially both colours of panzer wrap were working and field uniforms to be worn only in or around the vehicle; this regulation was universally ignored. were issued standard uniforms for service-dress and walking out but rarely wore them, much preferring their unique jackets. In North Africa, AFV crews wore the same tropical uniform as the other branches, including collar patches; many tankers however pinned their badges to their lapels.In June 1939, the Wehrmacht Heer wanted to renew its ties with the Old Army tradition by introducing a new uniform for its most prestigious unit: which was renamed Infantry Regiment "Großdeutschland". The new dress uniform for I.R. "" had an elongated collar patch with single for NCOs and two for enlisted. Although shown to the press, this new uniform was not provided to the unit due to the outbreak of World War II and was placed in depot storage.
General Staff Corps Officers
were officers carefully selected and trained to represent the German General Staff Corps in both command and staff functions. They ranked from (captain) through (colonel). All were, before 1939, graduates of the Military Academy, the . On division staffs they held the position of Ia (operational chief of staff) or Ib (chief of the rear echelon). In the higher echelons, the intelligence and training staff sections were most of the time in the personal charge of General Staff Corps officers. The General Staff Officers had their own distinctive Litzen called (old Prussian), or ("lobe-embroidery"). These were the same whether on carmine dress or green service patches; colored were unnecessary. General Staff officers assigned to the supreme headquarters (the , later theGenerals
From 1900 and on Prussian generals had worn ornate collar patches embroidered in a style called , which had first been worn in the 18th century by the ; the and the continued the tradition. These devices, sometimes called (arabesques), were embroidered in gold bullion or golden synthetic on (scarlet) backing. Field Marshals wore the same as generals until April 1941, when they were authorized a longer variant with three rather than two iterations of the repeating pattern, for a total of six "prongs". In some cases GFM did not bother to replace their generals' tabs, or did so only on their dress uniforms. General officers of the Special Troop Service ( – TDS) and of the specialist careers (medical, veterinary, ordnance, and motor park) wore the same insignia until April 1944, when they were ordered to exchange their scarlet for tabs backed in their respective * – TDS administrative; * – medical; * – ordnance; * – motor park; * – veterinary; * – TDS judiciary. In October 1944, the wear-out period of the scarlet backing color for Generals of the specialist careers was extended for an undetermined period. These arabesque collar patches are still worn today by general officers of the present-day= Chief
= In the , upon retirement, certain senior German generals were awarded the honorary post of (Chief) of a regiment, much like the Honorary Colonel in the British Army. It was a German custom dating from the late 18th century. These generals were authorized to wear the tunic and insignia of an officer of the regiment, including ordinary officers' . Field MarshalShoulder-straps () and shoulder boards ()
Enlisted men
The shoulder-straps to enlisted men (german: Mannschaften) were very similar to those of World War I, made of uniform cloth with pointed or "gable" button ends. In December 1934 the material was changed to grey badge-cloth () and in September 1935 changed again to dark bottle-green (). These "first pattern" shoulder-straps were not edged in piping. In 1938, simultaneous with the removal of from field-uniform collar patches, new shoulder-straps were issued. These "second pattern" straps had round rather than pointed ends, and were edged on three sides with wool (later rayon) piping in . This pattern would be used through the end of the war, although in 1940 manufacture reverted to field-grey uniform cloth, and as usual alternate versions were made to go with the Panzer uniform (black), tropical uniform (olive cotton) and HBT summer uniform (reed-green twill). were not worn with the fatigue uniform, nor with camouflage smocks and parkas which used an alternate system of rank insignia. For junior enlisted men (), rank insignia if any was worn on the left sleeve. However the epaulettes did indicate the wearer's unit (usually regiment or independent battalion) together with his sub-branch if any, machine-embroidered in branch-color. For example, a with rose-pink piping and number "4" would indicate the 4th Panzer Regiment; but if it carried a pink number "4" and letter "A" it would indicate the 4th Armored Reconnaissance () Battalion. The German Army used a very large assortment of Latin initials, Gothic initials, script ciphers, Arabic numerals, Roman numerals and symbols to designate all its various service branches and installations. Before the war, shoulder-buttons were embossed with the number of the wearer's company as well, this practice was discontinued "for the duration." Beginning in January 1940, shoulder-straps with unit insignia were (supposed to be) phased out as a security measure, and removable fabric loops with devices were issued instead. In May 1944 the embroidery was changed from to light gray.NCOs
Non-commissioned officers (german:Officers
Officers' shoulder boards were constructed from "Russia" braid, an aluminum-thread double piping. Company-grade officers ( through ) wore epaulettes constructed by wrapping two side-by-side lengths of braid around the buttonhole and back, giving the appearance of eight parallel cords; the whole was sewn to an underlay () of badge-cloth. Until 1938 the underlay was of the same outer dimensions as the braid, and only visible edge-on; in that year the underlay was made wider, so as to create the impression of edge piping like the enlisted shoulder-strap. Rank was indicated by zero to two gilt-metal rank stars; unit designators were also of gilt metal. Field-grade officer () shoulder boards were made by plaiting together double widths of Russia braid and looping them to form a buttonhole, sewn to a underlay; rank again was displayed by zero to two gilt stars. Once the war began, dull grey aluminum braid appeared, but bright aluminum continued in use.Generals
* 1 (Shoulder strap from April 1941) * 2 (Shoulder strap prior to April 1941) * 3 * 4 * 5 * 6 Generals' shoulder boards were constructed similarly to those of field-grade officers, but comprised a length of silver Russia braid between two braided cords of gold bullion or . Since the resulting combination was wider, generals' boards were plaited in four 'loops' rather than five. Their buttons were gilt, and rank was indicated by zero to three silver rank stars, or crossed batons in the case of field marshals. The underlay was scarlet, except (from 1944) for generals of staff corps, who were instructed to wear instead. In April 1941, epaulettes were changed to incorporate a central gold cord instead of silver. Colonels-in-chief wearing that uniform wore gold generals' shoulder boards underlaid with the of the regiment rather than scarlet; GFM von Rundstedt sometimes simply pinned his crossed batons to an infantry colonel's epaulettes.Retired personnel
By order of Marshal Hindenburg in March 1932, soldiers who retired after 15 years of service received the right to wear the uniform of the unit they left. The shoulder boards and shoulder straps of retired soldiers had a bridle 1.5 cm wide attached under the middle.Other insignia
Denim insignia
During the winter of 1938, certain rank were issued insignia to the wear with the denim uniform (german: Drillichrock).Smock/parka rank insignia
When wearing uniforms without epaulettes, such as smocks, parkas and mountain windbreakers; generals, officers and NCOs instead wore sleeve rank insignia. These were made up of bars & oak leaves and were introduced by the late summer of 1942. The ranks were used by the army and theTassels
First introduced in the Prussian army in 1808, the coloured sidearmRanks and rank insignia
Rank tables
Enlisted personnel ()
Non-commissioned officers ()
: was not a rank but an appointment: the administrative and mustering NCO of a company and the commander's logistical assistant. He was therefore roughly analogous to a Company Sergeant-Major or First Sergeant, although his duties did not usually involve combat leadership. or , as he was called, was not necessarily the ranking in the company, especially since typically two of the platoons were commanded by senior NCOs rather than officers. A however had to be of grade; a junior NCO filling the role was a , "one doing duties." The insignia for a was a pair of NCO encircling each lower sleeve, nicknamed "piston rings;" he also carried a leather or report-case tucked into his tunic front.Senior non-commissioned specialist officers
In two specialist career paths it was possible to attain rank above : fortifications engineers () and farriers (). They were actual NCOs with command authority, not (uniformed Army civil servants). There was no direct equivalent in the English-speaking world; perhaps the closest examples of the time would be the British Royal Navy's and United States Navy's ranks of Warrant Officer. These men wore shoulder boards braided in a unique pattern, orange-red and silver on black underlay with Gothic "Fp" for fortress engineers, and gold-yellow and silver on carmine with a horseshoe device for farriers.Officer candidates ()
Officers ()
General officers and marshals ()
In addition to their collar tabs and braided gold epaulettes, general officers' uniforms were distinguished by gold rather than silver cap badges, cap cords, breast eagles, belt buckles and buttons, a pair of 40mm (scarlet) stripes down the outside of each trouser-leg, overcoat lapels faced in scarlet, and dress uniforms piped in rather than . From May 1944 generals in the various staff corps (medical, legal, TSD etc.) were supposed to replace with the appropriate of their branches of service; in practice this directive was imperfectly heeded and a subsequent order extended the wear-out date for scarlet insignia indefinitely.Ranks at the Private/Senior Private levels
Armed Forces officials and
Armed Forces officials ()
Officials in administrative, legal, and technical service positions were usually placed in a category unique to the ''Wehrmacht''. They consist of civil service personnel performing functions within the Armed Forces and are recruited, in part, from former professional non-commissioned officers who became military candidates for civil service (german: Militäranwärter) at the end of their 12-year contractual period of active military service. Up to 1944, none of these officials were classified as soldiers; in that year certain groups were converted into officers in the Special Troop Service ( or TSD). These were the higher administrative officers () in ranks from captain to lieutenant general; the lower administrative officers () in the ranks of first and second lieutenant, and the judge advocates () in ranks from captain to lieutenant general. At this time all personnel of the Field Post Office were made soldiers as well, but formed a corps of their own rather than belonging to the TSD. It was also made possible for qualified reserve technical service officials to become reserve officers of the motor maintenance troops. The officials had titles, not ranks: . This is a complex subject as each branch had its own titles.Military officials
Shoulder boards
With certain exceptions, military officials (german: Militär-Beamte) wore shoulder boards similar to those of soldiers of equivalent rank, but distinguished by the addition of dark green elements: those equivalent to generals had a central cord in their braided shoulder boards which incorporated green chevrons, and those equivalent to officers wore a narrow green stripe between the rows of braid. WO-equivalent ''officials'' wore a complex braided shoulderboard made of green, black and silver cords. In nearly all cases the shoulderboard underlay was a double layer of dark green under , and metal pins with the HV (German abbreviation of , "Army Administration") cipher were worn. Certain services had insignia of their own: for example the ("Field Post Office") wore shoulder boards with gold rather than green elements and the initials FP; and musical officials wore silver-and-red shoulder boards with a lyre insignia. in the employ of a military administration authority in the occupied territories wore MV (German abbreviation of , "Military Administration") pins rather than HV ciphers. Most officials wore in addition to their dark green a secondary colour () denoting their branch: In March 1940 distinct were abolished and replaced with light grey.Collar patches
wore distinctive collar patches; these tabs indicated not the official's rank or title, but rather the "grade" of the service in which the official was employed. These were classified by the minimum educational requirement, and ranged from (Basic Services), for which a grade-school education was sufficient, through (Middle) and (Elevated) , to (Higher Services) which required a university degree. Officials in the Basic Services wore collar patches similar to (but larger than) enlisted soldiers', grey on dark green , but the patch was piped on three sides in ; similarly officials in the Middle and Elevated services wore officer-pattern , again with -piped patches. Officials of the Higher Services wore unique with in gold like , but on dark green with, again, piping. General officer-equivalents wore green patches with generals' arabesques, similarly bordered.In addition to the career , wartime needs led to the creation of "Officials for the duration of the war," or . These men had needed skills but either did not possess all the qualifications to become full-fledged , or were effectively drafted from civilian jobs. The matter was further confused by the fact that did the same jobs and held the same titles as career officials. Nonetheless, wore entirely distinct collar patches. The backing patch was large and piped on three sides like that worn by career , but was light grey edged in green. The device was a rectangle pointed at the upper end with braid down the center, much like a British general's
Military Supreme Court officials ()
Officials of the Wehrmacht who worked in Military Supreme Courts wore shoulder straps without the "HV" and had the secondary colour of Bordeaux red (').(short: Sdf; or Sf) – in the meaning of specialist leader (literal: ''special leader'') – introduced to the Wehrmacht in the year 1937, wore the standard military uniform but their collars and cap bands were blue-grey rather than Army green, with unique shoulder and collar insignia.
See also
* World War II German uniforms *Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
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