The Wermacht's Uniforms

In this post we are going to talk about the Wermacht's ground forces' uniforms.

To start, the Wermacht was the German Army's main ground forces from 1935 to 1945 and served also until 1946 for the Allied Controlled West Germany.

The corresponding German term for tunic is Feldbluse and literally translates "field blouse". The term tunic is likewise incorrect, yet applied by modern collectors to all forms of military clothing

Let's start with the uniform's insignias..

Uniforms of the Wehrmacht were distinguished from other branches by two devices: the army form of the Wehrmachtsadler or Hoheitszeichen (national emblem) worn above the right breast pocket, and – with certain exceptions – collar tabs bearing a pair of Litzen (Doppellitze "double braid"), a device inherited from the old Prussian Guard which resembled a Roman numeral II on its side. Both eagle and Litzen were machine-embroidered or woven in white or grey (hand-embroidered in silk, silver or aluminium for officers). Rank was worn on shoulder-straps except for junior enlisted (Mannschaften), who wore plain shoulder-straps and their rank insignia, if any, on the left upper sleeve. NCO's wore a 9mm silver or grey braid around the collar edge.

The M36 Feldbluse.

When the Nazis came to power in early 1933 the Reichswehr, the armed forces of the Weimar Republic, were near the end of a two-year project to redesign the Army Feldbluse (field-blouse). Beginning in that year the new tunic was issued to the Reichsheer and then the rapidly growing Wehrmacht Heer, although minor design changes continued to be made until the appearance of the standardized Heeres Dienstanzug Modell 1936. The M36 tunic still retained the traditional Imperial and Reichswehr uniform color of grey-green "field gray" (feldgrau) wool, but incorporated four front patch pockets with scalloped flaps and pleats (on Reichswehr tunics the lower pockets were internal and angled). The front was closed with five buttons rather than the previous eight, and the collar and shoulder straps were of a dark bottle-green instead of the Reichswehr grey. Compared to the Weimar-era uniforms the skirt of the feldbluse was shorter and the tailoring was more form-fitting due to Germany's adoption of mechanized warfare: soldiers now spent much time in the confined space of a vehicle and a shorter jacket was less likely to pick up dirt from the seats. It also included an internal suspension system, whereby a soldier could hang an equipment belt on a series of hooks outside of the tunic. These hooks were connected to two straps inside the lining, which spread the weight of equipment without having to use external equipment suspenders. The M36 was produced and issued until the very end of the war, though successive patterns became predominant. It was worn with the same slate gray (steingrau) trousers that the Reichswehr had introduced in 1922. These were high-waisted, straight legged, button-fly trousers with suspenders (braces) and three internal pockets plus a watch-pocket; in the field they were worn tucked into jackboots.

The Einheitsfeldmütze.

Since before World War I German and Austrian mountain troops had worn a visored "ski cap" (Gebirgsmütze) with turn-down ear flaps secured in front by two buttons. A version of this cap with longer visor, false turn-down, and slightly lower crown in olive cotton twill had been issued with the tropical uniform. In 1943 a similar cap in field-grey wool with a visor intermediate in length between the mountain and tropical versions was issued to all troops for field wear only; it quickly became the most commonly seen soft headgear at the front. Insignia was similar to that of the side-cap, although the eagle and cockade were both worn above the turn-up. A black version was issued to Panzer crewmen.

The Officer's Cap "Crusher"

At the same time the M34 side-cap was introduced for enlisted wear, a foldable field cap for officers was authorized. Superficially resembling the Schirmmütze, this cap had a crown of significantly smaller diameter without the wire stiffener, a soft band, and a visor of flexible leather or feldgrau wool. Insignia were jacquard-woven; although no chinstrap was authorized officers often added theSchirmmütze silver cords. This cap was officially replaced by the officers' Schiffchen M38, with a wear-out date of 1 April 1942, but this order was generally ignored and the popular "Knautschmütze"was worn throughout the war, coming to be known as the ältere Art (old style) field cap.

Officers and NCOs in the field would sometimes remove the wire stiffener from the Schirmmütze to achieve the "crush" look, especially tank crewmen (to facilitate wearing headphones); this unauthorized but widespread practice should not be confused with the true "crusher."

The Stahlhelm

 

In 1935 the Wehrmacht adopted a lower, lighter version of the M1916/18 "coal scuttle" helmet; this became the ubiquitous German helmet of World War II, worn by all branches of the Wehrmacht and SS, police, fire brigades and Party organizations. Collectors distinguish slight production variants as the M35, M40 and M42. Heer helmets were originally painted "apple green," a semigloss feldgrau somewhat darker than the uniform color; wartime factory and field painting covered a gamut from very dark black-green to slate-grey to olive-green (and sand-yellow in Africa), increasingly in matte or textured paint to eliminate reflections. The Army began issuing camouflage helmet covers in 1942, first in Splittertarnmuster (splinter-pattern) and then in Sumpftarnmuster (swamp/marsh or "water" pattern); these were never plentiful and individual soldiers frequently improvised helmet covers from splinter-pattern Zeltbahn (tent/poncho) fabric, or less frequently hand-painted their helmets in camouflage patterns. Soldiers would also cover their helmets with netting or chicken wire into which foliage could be inserted.

Prewar and early-war Army Stahlhelme had shield-shaped decals on either side, black-white-red diagonal stripes on the right and the Heeresadler (Army eagle) in silver-grey on the left; in 1940 the national colors and then in 1943 the eagle were discontinued, and existing decals were often covered up during repainting.

Jackboots (Marschstiefel)

The calf-high pull-on jackboot had been the traditional footwear of the German soldier for generations. The Wehrmacht boot was little different from that of World War I: made of brown pebbled leather (blackened with polish), with hobnailed leather soles and heel-irons. Trousers were worn tucked inside. Originally 35–39 cm tall, the boots were shortened to 32–35 cm in 1939 in order to save leather. By 1940 leather was becoming more scarce and issue was restricted to combat branches, and in 1941 jackboots were no longer issued to new recruits. By late 1943 production of jackboots had ceased altogether. However, as late as fall 1944 depots were encouraged to issue Marschstiefel to infantry and artillery, to the extent they were available.

Officers' boots were knee-high and more form-fitting, and (as usual) often private purchases of superior quality. They were to be worn with breeches; however, these technically were not "riding" boots, differing somewhat from the Reitstiefel worn (with spurs) by regiments with cavalry traditions.^[7] By order dated 31 October 1939 most officers in the front lines wore the shorter EM boots with Langhosen or Keilhosen, but some ignored regulations and wore their kneeboots anyway.