Military insignia are present on the uniform of military personnel and indicate the corresponding personal rank, a certain affiliation to one of the branches of the armed forces (in this case, the Wehrmacht), branch of service, department or service.
Interpretation of the concept of "Wehrmacht"
This is the "defense force" in 1935-1945. In other words, the Wehrmacht (photo below) is nothing but the armed forces of Nazi Germany. At the head is the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of the country, in whose subordination were the ground forces, the Navy and the Air Force, the SS troops. They were led by the main commands (OKL, OKH, OKM) and the commanders-in-chief of various types of the Armed Forces (since 1940 also the SS troops). The Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht is Reich Chancellor A. Hitler. A photo of Wehrmacht soldiers is shown below.
According to historical data, the word in question in the German-speaking states denoted the aircraft of any country. It acquired its usual meaning when the NSDAP came to power.
On the eve of the Second World War, the Wehrmacht numbered approximately three million people, and its maximum strength was 11 million people (as of December 1943).
Varieties of military signs
These include:
- buttonholes;
- shoulder straps;
- epaulettes;
- patch and badges (chevrons, patches);
- signs on buttonholes, shoulder straps, epaulettes, headgear (emblems, cockades, stars);
- stripes and piping.
Wehrmacht uniform and insignia
The German army had several varieties of uniforms and clothing. Each soldier had to independently monitor the condition of his weapons and uniforms. Their replacement was carried out in accordance with the established procedure or in case of serious damage during the exercise. The military uniform faded very quickly due to washing and daily brushing.
Soldiers' shoes were carefully inspected (bad boots were a serious problem at all times).
Since the formation of the Reichswehr (the armed forces of Germany in the period 1919 - 1935), the military uniform has become unified for all existing German states. Her color is "feldgrau" (translated as "field gray") - a wormwood shade with a predominant green pigment.
A new uniform (the uniform of the Wehrmacht - the armed forces of Nazi Germany in the period 1935 - 1945) was introduced along with a new steel helmet model. Ammunition, uniforms and a helmet outwardly did not differ from their predecessors (existing back in the Kaiser era).
At the whim of the Fuhrerthe smartness of military personnel was emphasized by a large number of various elements of heraldry (emblems, signs, stripes, piping, badges, etc.). By applying a black-white-red imperial cockade and a tricolor shield on the helmet on the right side, devotion to National Socialism was expressed. The appearance of the imperial tricolor dates back to mid-March 1933. In October 1935, it was supplemented by an imperial eagle holding a swastika in its claws. At this time, the Reichswehr was renamed the Wehrmacht (the photo was shown earlier).
This topic will be considered in relation to the Ground Forces and the Waffen SS.
Insignia of the Wehrmacht and specifically the SS troops
First of all, some points should be clarified. First, the SS troops and the SS organization itself are not identical concepts. The latter is the militant component of the Nazi Party, formed by members of a public organization who, parallel to the SS, carry out their profiling activities (worker, shopkeeper, civil servant, etc.). They were allowed to wear a black uniform, which since 1938 has been replaced by a light gray uniform with two Wehrmacht-type shoulder straps. The latter reflected the SS-wide ranks.
As for the SS troops, it can be said that they are a kind of security detachments (“reserve troops” - “Dead Head” formations - Hitler's own troops), which only accepted members of the SS. They were equated with Wehrmacht soldiers.
The difference in the ranks of the members of the SS organization by buttonholes existed until 1938of the year. On the black uniform there was a single shoulder strap (on the right shoulder), by which it was possible to find out only the category of a particular SS member (private or non-commissioned officer, or junior or senior officer, or general). And after the light gray uniform was introduced (1938), another distinctive feature was added - Wehrmacht-type shoulder straps.
The insignia of the SS and military personnel, and members of the organization are the same. However, the former still wear a field uniform, which is an analogue of the Wehrmacht. She has two epaulettes, outwardly similar to those of the Wehrmacht, and their military rank insignia are identical.
The rank system, and hence the insignia, has undergone many changes, the last of which occurred in May 1942 (they did not transform until May 1945).
The military ranks of the Wehrmacht were designated with buttonholes, shoulder straps, galloons and chevrons on the collar, and the last two insignia were also on the sleeves, as well as special sleeve patches mainly on camouflage military clothing, various stripes (gaps in a contrasting color) on trousers, decoration of hats.
It was the SS field uniform that was finally established around 1938. If we consider the cut as a comparison criterion, then we can say that the uniform of the Wehrmacht (ground forces) and the uniform of the SS were no different. In color, the second one was a little grayer and lighter, the green tint was almost invisible.
Also, if you describe the insignia of the SS (specificallypatch), then the following points can be distinguished: the imperial eagle was slightly higher than the middle of the segment from the shoulder to the elbow of the left sleeve, its pattern differed in the shape of the wings (there were often cases when it was the Wehrmacht eagle that was sewn onto the SS field uniform).
Also a distinctive feature, for example, on the SS tank uniform, was the fact that the buttonholes, like those of the Wehrmacht tankers, were in pink edging. The insignia of the Wehrmacht in this case is represented by the presence of a “dead head” in both buttonholes. SS tankers in the left buttonhole could have insignia by rank, and in the right - either a “dead head” or SS runes (in some cases it might not have signs or, for example, in a number of divisions the emblem of tankmen was placed there - skull with crossbones). There were even buttonholes on the collar, the size of which was 45x45 mm.
Also, the insignia of the Wehrmacht includes the way the numbers of battalions or companies were squeezed out on the buttons of the uniform, which was not done in the case of the military uniform of the SS.
The epaulette emblem, although it was identical to the Wehrmacht's, was quite rare (the exception was the first tank division, where the monogram on the epaulettes was regularly worn).
Another difference in the system that accumulates SS insignia is the way soldiers who were candidates for the rank of SS navigator wore a lace of the same color as his piping at the bottom of the shoulder strap. This title is an analogue of the Gefreiter in the Wehrmacht. And candidates for SS Unterscharführer also wore at the bottom of the shoulder strapgalloon (braid embroidered with silver) nine millimeters wide. This rank is an analogue of a non-commissioned officer in the Wehrmacht.
As for the ranks of the rank and file, the difference was in the buttonholes and sleeve patches, which were above the elbow, but below the imperial eagle in the center of the left sleeve.
If we consider camouflage clothing (where there are no buttonholes and shoulder straps), we can say that the SS men never had rank insignia on it, but they preferred to release collars with their buttonholes over this camouflage clothing.
In general, the discipline of wearing a uniform in the Wehrmacht was much higher than in the SS troops, whose soldiers allowed themselves a large number of liberties regarding this issue, and their generals and officers did not seek to stop this kind of violation, on the contrary, they often allowed similar. And this is only a small part of the distinctive features of the uniforms of the Wehrmacht and the SS troops.
To summarize all of the above, we can conclude that the insignia of the Wehrmacht is much wiser than not only the SS, but also the Soviet ones.
Ranks of the ground forces
They were introduced as follows:
- private;
- non-commissioned officers without belts (braided or belt sling for wearing tashki, melee, and later firearms);
- non-commissioned officers with belts;
- lieutenants;
- captains;
- headquarters officers;
- generals.
Combat ranks extended to military officials of various departments and departments. Military administrationwas subdivided into categories from the most junior non-commissioned officers to noble generals.
Military colors of the ground forces of the Wehrmacht
In Germany, the branch of service was traditionally designated by the corresponding colors of edging and buttonholes, hats and uniforms, and so on. They changed quite often. During the outbreak of World War II, the following color distinction was in effect:
- White - infantry and border guards, financiers and treasurers.
- Scarlet - field, horse and self-propelled artillery, as well as general piping, buttonholes and stripes.
- Crimson or carmine red - non-commissioned officers of the veterinary service, as well as buttonholes, stripes and shoulder straps of the Headquarters and the General Staff of the High Command of the Wehrmacht and the ground forces.
- Pink - anti-tank self-propelled artillery; edging of tank uniform parts; gaps and selection of buttonholes of service jackets of officers, gray-green jackets of non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
- Golden yellow - cavalry, reconnaissance units of tank units and scooters.
- Lemon yellow - signal troops.
- Burgundy - military chemists and courts; smoke curtains and multi-barreled reactive "chemical" mortars.
- Black - engineering troops (sapper, railway, training units), technical service. The sappers of tank units have a black and white border.
- Cornflower blue - medical personnel (except generals).
- Light blue - edging of motor vehicles.
- Light green - military pharmacists, rangers and mountain units.
- Grass Green - Motorized Infantry Regiment, motorcycle units.
- Grey - army propagandists and officers of the Landwehr and Reserve (edging on epaulettes of military colors).
- Grey-blue - registration service, ranks of the American administration, specialist officers.
- Orange - military police and engineering academy officers, recruiting service (piss color).
- Purple - military priests
- Dark green - military officials.
- Light red - quartermasters.
- Blue - military lawyers.
- Yellow - horse reserve service.
- Lemon - field mail.
- Light Brown - Recruit Training Service.
Shoulder straps in German military uniform
They had a dual purpose: as a means of determining the rank and as carriers of a unitary function (fasteners on the shoulder of various kinds of equipment).
The shoulder straps of the Wehrmacht (rank and file) were made of simple cloth, but with the presence of an edging, which had a certain color corresponding to the type of troops. If we take into consideration the shoulder straps of a non-commissioned officer, then we can note the presence of an additional edging, consisting of a braid (width - nine millimeters).
Until 1938, there was a special army shoulder strap exclusively for field uniforms, which were worn by all ranks below the officer. It was entirely dark blue-green in color with the end slightly tapered towards the button. It did not have a piping corresponding to the color of the military branch. Wehrmacht soldiers embroidered insignia (numbers, letters, emblems) on them to highlight the color of the military branches.
Uofficers (lieutenants, captains) had narrower shoulder straps, which looked like two intertwining strands made of a flat silvery “Russian braid” (the strand was woven in such a way that thinner threads were visible). All strands were sewn onto the valve of the color of the branch of service, which is at the heart of this shoulder strap. The special curve (U-shape) of the ribbon at the button hole helped to create the illusion of eight strands of the button, when in fact there were only two.
The shoulder straps of the Wehrmacht (headquarters officers) were also made using the “Russian braid”, but in such a way as to demonstrate a row consisting of five separate loops located on both sides of the shoulder strap, in addition to the loop around the button located in its upper parts.
The general's epaulettes had a distinctive feature - "Russian braid". It was made from two separate golden strands, twisted on both sides with a single silver ribbed thread. The method of weaving meant the visibility of three knots in the middle and four loops on each side of it, in addition to one loop located around the button at the top of the shoulder strap.
Wehrmacht officials, as a rule, had the same epaulets as those of the active army. However, they still differed by the slight introduction of a thread of dark green braid and various emblems.
It will not be superfluous to remind you once again that shoulder straps are signs of the Wehrmacht.
Buttons and shoulder straps of generals
As mentioned earlier, the generals of the Wehrmacht wore epaulettes, for the weaving of which two thickened golden-metal harnesses were usedand a silver soutache between them.
They also had removable shoulder straps, having (as in the case of the ground forces) a scarlet cloth lining with a special figured cutout running along the contour of the harnesses (their lower edge). And the folded and sewn-in shoulder straps were distinguished by a straight lining.
The generals of the Wehrmacht wore silver stars on their shoulder straps, while there was some difference: major generals did not have stars, lieutenant generals - one, general of a certain type of troops (infantry, tank troops, cavalry, etc.) - two, Oberst General - three (two adjacent stars at the bottom of the shoulder strap and one slightly above them). Previously, there was such a rank as a colonel general in the position of field marshal general, which was not used by the beginning of the war. The epaulette of this rank had two stars, which were placed in its upper and lower parts. It was possible to distinguish the Field Marshal by the crossed silver batons along the shoulder strap.
There were also exceptional moments. So, for example, Gerd von Rundstedt (Field Marshal General, who was removed from command due to the defeat near Rostov, chief of the 18th Infantry Regiment) wore the number of the regiment on the shoulder straps on top of the field marshal's batons, as well as on the collar the white and silver ceremonial buttonholes of an infantry officer troops instead of richly ornamented gold buttonholes embroidered on a scarlet cloth flap (40x90 mm in size) relying on generals. Their drawing was found in the days of the Kaiser's army and the Reichswehr, with the formation of the GDR and the FRG, it also appeared among the generals.
From the beginning of April 1941, field marshals were introducedelongated buttonholes, which had three (instead of the previous two) ornamental elements and shoulder straps made of golden thickened plaits.
Another sign of a general's dignity is stripes.
The field marshal could also carry in his hand a natural baton, which was made of especially valuable wood, individually designed, generously inlaid with silver and gold and decorated with reliefs.
Personal identification mark
It looked like an oval aluminum token with three longitudinal slots, which served to ensure that at a certain moment (the hour of death) it could be broken into two halves (the first, where two holes were left on the body of the deceased, and the second half with one hole were given to the headquarters).
Wehrmacht soldiers wore this identification mark, as a rule, on a chain or on a neck lace. The following was stamped on each token: blood type, badge number, numbers of the battalion, regiment where this badge was issued for the first time. This information was supposed to accompany the soldier throughout the entire service life, if necessary, supplemented by similar data from other units, troops.
The image of the German soldiers can be seen in the photo "Wehrmacht Soldier" shown above.
The find in Besh-Kungei
According to official data, in April 2014, a resident D. Lukichev in the village of Besh-Kungei (Kyrgyzstan) found a treasure from the era of the Second World War. When digging a cesspool, he came across a metal army field locker of the Third Reich. Its contents are a baggage shipment of 1944-1945. (age - over 60years), which is not affected by moisture due to tight insulation through the rubber gasket of the lid of the box.
It included:
- light case with "Mastenbrille" inscription containing glasses;
- rolled toilet bag with pockets filled with toiletries;
- mittens, interchangeable collars, socks with footcloths, clothes brush, sweater, suspenders and dust covers;
- bundle tied with twine, with a supply of leather and fabric for mending;
- granules of some remedy (presumably from moths);
- almost new tunic worn by a Wehrmacht officer, with a spare sew-on emblem of the military branch and a metal badge;
- headwear (winter hat and kepi) with insignia;
- military passes through front-line checkpoints;
- a banknote of five Reichsmarks;
- a couple of bottles of rum;
- a box of cigars.
Dmitry thought about donating most of his uniform to the museum. As for the bottles of rum, the box of cigars and the tunic worn by the officer of the Wehrmacht, he wants to keep them for himself on the rights of the legal 25%, laid down by the state when finding historical value.
