Military insignia are present on the uniform of military personnel and indicate the corresponding personal rank, a certain membership in one of the types of armed forces (in this case, the Wehrmacht), the type of army, department or service.
Interpretation of the concept of "Wehrmacht"
These are the "defense forces" in 1935-1945. In other words, the Wehrmacht (photo below) is nothing more than the armed forces of Nazi Germany. At the head is the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces of the country, in whose subordination there were ground forces, Navy and Air Force, SS troops. They were led by the main commands (OKL, OKH, OKM) and the commanders-in-chief of various types of armed forces (since 1940 also the SS troops). Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht - Reich Chancellor A. Hitler. A photo of the soldiers of the Wehrmacht is shown below.
According to historical data, the word under consideration in the German-speaking states designated the armed forces of any country. It acquired its usual meaning when the NSDAP came to power.
On the eve of World War II, the Wehrmacht totaled approximately three million people, and its maximum number was 11 million people (as of December 1943).
Varieties of military signs
These include:
- buttonholes;
- shoulder straps;
- epaulettes;
- sleeve and badges (chevrons, stripes);
- signs on buttonholes, epaulets, epaulettes, headgear (emblems, cockades, asterisks);
- stripes and piping.
Wehrmacht uniforms and insignia
In the German army there were several varieties of uniforms and clothes. Each soldier had to independently monitor the state of their weapons and uniforms. Their replacement was carried out in accordance with the established procedure or in case of serious damage during the training. The military uniform very quickly lost color due to washing and daily brushing.
Soldiers' shoes were thoroughly inspected (bad boots have always been a serious problem).
Since the formation of the Reichswehr (German armed forces in the period 1919 - 1935), the military uniform has become unified for all existing German states. Its color is "fieldgrau" (translated as "field gray") - a wormwood hue with a predominant green pigment.
A new uniform (uniform of the Wehrmacht - the armed forces of Nazi Germany in the period 1935 - 1945) was introduced along with a new model of steel helmet. Ammunition, uniforms and a helmet did not outwardly differ from their predecessors (existing back in the Kaiser era).
At the whim of the Führer, the elegance of the military was emphasized by a large number of various elements of heraldry (emblems, signs, stripes, piping, badges, etc.). By applying black-and-white-red imperial cockade and a three-color visor to the helmet on the right, allegiance to National Socialism was expressed. The appearance of the imperial tricolor dates back to mid-March 1933. In October 1935, on the outfit it was supplemented by an imperial eagle holding a swastika in its claws. At this time, the Reichswehr was renamed the Wehrmacht (photo was shown earlier).
This topic will be considered in relation to the Ground Forces and SS forces.
Insignia of the Wehrmacht and specifically the SS troops
First, some points should be clarified. First, the SS troops and the SS organization itself are not identical concepts. The latter is the combat component of the Nazi party, formed by members of a public organization that are simultaneously carrying out their core business activities (a worker, a shopkeeper, a civil servant, etc.). They were allowed to wear a black uniform, which since 1938 was replaced by a light gray uniform with two shoulder straps of the Wehrmacht type. The latter reflected the SS ranks.
As for the SS troops, it can be said that this is a kind of security detachment (“reserve troops” - “Dead Head compounds - Hitler’s own troops), which were exclusively accepted as members of the SS. They were equated with soldiers of the Wehrmacht.
The difference in the ranks of the members of the SS organization on the buttonholes existed until 1938. The only uniform (on the right shoulder) was placed on the black uniform, by which it was possible to find out only the category of a particular SS member (ordinary 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 - shoulder straps of the Wehrmacht type.
The insignia of the SS and the military, and members of the organization are the same. However, the former still wear a field uniform, which acts as an analogue of the Wehrmacht. There are two epaulets on it, outwardly similar to the Wehrmacht ones, and the military insignia of their ranks are identical.
The system of ranks, and hence the insignia, underwent changes many times, the last of which occurred in May 1942 (they did not transform until May 1945).
The military ranks of the Wehrmacht were indicated by buttonholes, epaulets, galloons and chevrons on the collar, and the last two insignia also on the sleeves, as well as special sleeve patches mainly on camouflage military clothing, various stripes (gaps of a contrasting color) on trousers, and the design of hats.
It was the field SS uniform that was finally installed around 1938. If we consider cut as a comparison criterion, then we can say that the Wehrmacht uniform (ground forces) and the SS uniform were no different. In color, the second was a little grayer and lighter, the green tint was practically not visible.
Also, if we describe the insignia of the SS (specifically the patch), 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 the Wehrmacht eagle was sewn on the field uniform )
Also a distinctive feature, for example, on the SS tank uniform, was the fact that the buttonholes, like the Wehrmacht tankers, were in a pink fringing. 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 on ranks, and in the right one they could either have 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 tankers was placed there - skull with crossbones). On the collar there were even buttonholes, the size of which was 45x45 mm.
Also, the Wehrmacht insignia include how battalion numbers or companies were squeezed out on buttons of the uniform, which was not done in the case of the military uniform of the SS.
The shoulder strap emblem, although it was identical to the Wehrmacht one, was rarely encountered (the exception was the first tank division, where the monogram on shoulder straps was regularly worn).
Another difference in the system that accumulates SS insignia is the fact that the soldiers who were candidates for the title of SS navigator wore a cord of the same color as their edging at the bottom of the shoulder strap. This title is an analogue of a gefreyter in the Wehrmacht. And candidates for the SS Unterscharführer also wore a nine-millimeter-wide galun (braid sewn with silver) at the bottom of the shoulder strap. This title is an analogue of a non-commissioned officer in the Wehrmacht.
As for the ranks of the rank-and-file composition, there was a difference in buttonholes and sleeve stripes, which were located 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 on it never had any insignia in ranks, but they preferred to issue collars with their buttonholes over this camouflage clothing .
In general, the discipline of wearing uniforms in the Wehrmacht was significantly 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 prevent this kind of violation, even on the contrary, often made similar ones. And this is only a small part of the distinctive features of uniforms of the Wehrmacht and SS troops.
If we 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.
Ranks of the ground forces
They were presented as follows:
- privates;
- non-commissioned officers without a sword belt (a galloon or belt strap for carrying a mashine, cold steel, and later firearms);
- non-commissioned officers with harnesses;
- lieutenants;
- captains;
- headquarters officers;
- generals.
Military ranks extended to military officials of various departments and administrations. The military administration was divided into categories from the youngest non-commissioned officers to noble generals.
The military colors of the ground forces of the Wehrmacht
In Germany, the military branch was traditionally indicated by the corresponding colors of fringes and buttonholes, hats and uniforms, and so on. They changed often enough. At the start 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 rims, buttonholes and stripes.
- Raspberry or carmine red - non-commissioned officers of the veterinary service, as well as buttonholes, stripes and shoulder straps of the Main apartment and the General Staff of the Wehrmacht Supreme Command and ground forces.
- Pink - anti-tank self-propelled artillery; edging of tank uniform details; gaps and the selection of buttonholes of official service tunic officers, gray-green jackets of non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
- Golden yellow - cavalry, reconnaissance units of tank units and scooters.
- Lemon yellow - liaison troops.
- Burgundy - military chemists and courts; smoke curtains and multi-barrel reactive "chemical" mortars.
- Black - engineering troops (engineer, railway, training units), technical service. The sappers of the tank units have a black and white edging.
- Cornflower blue - health personnel (except generals).
- Light blue - edgings of motor parts.
- Light green - military pharmacists, huntsmen and mountain units.
- Grass green - motorized infantry regiment, motorcycle units.
- Gray - army propagandists and officers of the landver and reserve (edging on shoulder straps of military flowers).
- Gray-blue - registration service, the ranks of the American administration, specialist officers.
- Orange - military police and officers of the Academy of Engineering, recruitment service (color edging).
- Violet - military priests
- Dark green - military officials.
- Light red - quartermaster.
- Blue - military lawyers.
- Yellow is a konepas service.
- Lemon - field post.
- 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 (ordinary composition) were made of simple cloth, but with the presence of edging, which had a certain color corresponding to the type of army. 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 braid (width - nine millimeters).
Until 1938, there was a special army epaulet exclusively for field uniforms, which were worn by all ranks below the officer. It was entirely dark blue-green with a slightly tapered end to the button. The edging corresponding to the color of the military branch was not fixed on it. Wehrmacht soldiers, to highlight the color of the military branches, embroidered insignia on them (numbers, letters, emblems).
The officers (lieutenants, captains) had narrower shoulder straps that looked like two interlocking strands made of flat silver “Russian braid” (the strand was woven so that finer threads were visible). All strands were sewn onto the color valve of the military branch, which is the basis of this epaulet. A special bend (U-shaped) of the braid at the place of the button hole helped to create the illusion of its eight strands, when in fact there were only two of them.
The shoulder straps of the Wehrmacht (headquarters officers) were also performed using the “Russian braid”, but in such a way as to demonstrate a series of five separate loops located on both sides of the shoulder strap, in addition to the loop around the button located in its upper part.
The general epaulettes had a distinctive feature - “Russian braid”. It was made of two separate gold strands, twisted on both sides with one silver thread "in the scar." The weaving method involved the visibility of three knots in the middle and four loops on each side, in addition to one loop located around the button in the upper part of the shoulder strap.
Officials of the Wehrmacht had, as a rule, the same epaulettes as those of the army. However, they were nevertheless distinguished by the easy introduction of a dark green ribbon and various emblems.
It will not be superfluous to recall once again that shoulder straps are signs of the Wehrmacht.
Buttonholes and shoulder straps of generals
As already mentioned, the Wehrmacht generals wore epaulettes, for the weaving of which two thickened golden-metal tows and a silver soutache between them were used.
They also had removable epaulettes having (as is the case with the ground forces) a scarlet of red cloth with a special curly neckline passing along the contour of the harnesses (their lower edge). And the bending and sewn in epaulets were distinguished by a direct lining.
The Wehrmacht generals wore silver stars on their shoulder straps, but there was a slight difference: major generals did not have stars, lieutenant generals had one, a general of a certain kind of troops (infantry, tank troops, cavalry, etc.) had two, and general oberst three (two adjacent stars at the bottom of the epaulet and one slightly above them). Previously, there was such a rank as Colonel General in the position of Field Marshal, who was not used at the beginning of the war. The epaulette of this rank had two stars, which were located in its upper and lower parts. Field Marshal General could be distinguished by crossed silver wands along the shoulder strap.
Exceptional moments were also present. So, for example, Gerd von Rundstedt (General Field Marshal, who was removed from command due to defeat near Rostov, chief of the 18th Infantry Regiment) wore the regiment number on shoulder straps from the top of the Field Marshal’s Rods, as well as on the collar of the white-silver ceremonial buttonhole of the infantry officer troops instead of relying on the generals richly ornamented gold buttonholes embroidered on a cloth scarlet color (size 40x90 mm). Their drawing was found back in the days of the Kaiser army and the Reichswehr; with the formation of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany, it also appeared among generals.
Since the beginning of April 1941, extended buttonholes were introduced for field marshals, which had three (instead of the previous two) ornamental elements and epaulets from golden thickened plaits.
Another sign of general dignity is stripes.
The field marshal could also carry in his hand a natural rod, which was made of wood of especially valuable species, individually decorated, 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 serve to be broken into two halves at a certain moment (the hour of death) (the first, where two holes were left on the body of the deceased, and the second half with one hole was given into headquarters).
Wehrmacht soldiers wore this identification mark, usually on a chain or on a neck lace. The following was stamped on each token: blood group, badge number, battalion number, 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 military can be seen in the photo "Wehrmacht Soldier" shown above.
Find in Besh Kungei
According to official figures, in April 2014, a city dweller D. Lukichev in the village of Besh-Kungei (Kyrgyzstan) found a treasure of the Second World War era. When digging a cesspool, he stumbled upon a metal army field locker of the Third Reich. Its contents are baggage from 1944 to 1945. (age - more than 60 years), which was not affected by moisture due to dense insulation by means of a rubber gasket of the lid of the box.
It included:
- a light case with the inscription "Mastenbrille" containing glasses;
- folded travel bag with pockets filled with toiletries;
- mittens, removable collars, socks with footcloths, a wrist brush, a sweater, suspenders and dust covers;
- a bundle tied with twine with a supply of leather and fabric for repair;
- granules of some remedy (presumably from moths);
- an almost new tunic worn by an officer of the Wehrmacht, with a spare sewing on emblem of the military branch and a metal badge;
- hats (winter hat and caps) with insignia;
- military passes through front-line checkpoints;
- banknote of five Reichsmarks;
- a couple of bottles of rum;
- a box of cigars.
Dmitry thought about handing over most of the clothing to the museum. As for the bottles of rum, a box of cigars and a tunic worn by an officer of the Wehrmacht, he wants to keep them on the rights of the legal 25% laid down by the state when finding historical value.