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Officers who paid for their own clothing were relatively slow to accept uniforms. Many branches did not try to display unit designations on disks at all; for example, ordnance, medical or quartermaster. Critical to our understanding of the evolution of manufacture styles are those new branch designs that did not exist during the Second World War and thus needed to be newly manufactured.

Austrian Infantry of the Seven Years War. Ballou Company of East Providence, Rhode Island began producing clutches in 1942 and received its first patent on them in 1943. US MILITARY UNIFORMS OF THE VIETNAM WAR The Vietnam war witnessed the use of new materials. A met metal pin-on breast eagle was worn with the officers' Doppellitze, circa 1900 WWI officer with Litzen In 19th century German armies, Guard and other elite regiments wore lengths of double braid Doppellitze encircling all or most of the collar as a mark of distinction. The result in sol was chaos; wartime photos show a mix of uniforms and insignia worn not only in the same battalion, but even in the same vehicle. Thus every day we were seeing knowledge drip away as these little pieces of our history are often discarded as 'interesting but unidentifiable'.

Archival storage boxes and manikins are available for purchase. There was no direct Anglosphere equivalent; perhaps the closest examples of the time would be the British Royal Navy's and United States Navy's ranks of Warrant Officer. Could be advanced directly to Gefreiter. Dylan has interviewed over 250 people, from WWII veterans to classic Hollywood actors.

The Changing Face of Female Military Uniforms - Was this page useful? Badge design Some designs relate to the function of the corps or regiment that the badge belongs to.

The German Army of the Nazi era inherited its uniforms and rank structure from the Reichsheer of the Weimar republic 1921—1935 , many of whose traditions went back to the Imperial Army of the German Empire and earlier. The Reichsheer was renamed in May 1935. There were few alterations and adjustments made as the Army grew from a limited peacetime defense force of 100,000 men to a war-fighting force of several million men. These ranks and insignia were peculiar to the Heer and in special cases to senior Wehrmacht officers in the independent services; the , Luftwaffe and uniforms and rank system were different. The also had its own series of. Tropical The 's visual acknowledgement of the new reality came on 17 February 1934, when the ordered the Nazi Party eagle-and-swastika, now Germany's National Emblem, to be worn on uniform blouses and headgear effective 1 May. 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 Feldbluse or the eagle was changed from silver-white to matte grey for reduced visibility; and in 1940 backings began to be produced in field-grey feldgrau. Another version appeared with the advent of the , which used a triangular backing for speed and simplicity of manufacture. Very late in the war some Hoheitszeichen were simply printed on thin fabric. Machine-embroidered Panzer Hoheitszeichen There were also versions for other uniforms: both white and grey variants on black for the , and in dull grey-blue on tan backing for the uniform. A stamped metal pin-on breast eagle was worn with the officers' Doppellitze, circa 1900 WWI officer with Litzen In 19th century German armies, Guard and other elite regiments wore lengths of double braid Doppellitze 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 Reichsheer was established in 1921 as Germany's first national army Litzen were prescribed as the universal collar device for all personnel other than generals, and the Third Reich continued the practice. For enlisted men service Litzen were machine-woven in silver-grey rayon; officers' were embroidered more elaborately in white silk or aluminum thread, and were somewhat larger to match their higher collars. Accordingly, new universal Litzen were introduced with the Litzenspiegel and Mittlestreife woven in dark green to match the backing patch, and which could be applied at the factory; Waffenfarbe was now displayed on the shoulder-straps, which simply buttoned on and were easily switched. NCO tunic with post-1940 insignia 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 Kragenpatten added instead of or on top of the factory Litzen. Tropical On olive tropical uniforms the collar patches were tan with dull grey-blue Litzen for all personnel; officers again sometimes added their green Kragenpatten. Tropical NCO Tresse was copper-brown, or sometimes olive drab. When the Panzertruppe were established in 1935 they were issued a and as a badge the Totenkopf or Death's-head, versions of which had formerly been worn by the Imperial tank corps and. These skulls took the form of white-metal pins attached to black Kragenpatten which were edged in Waffenfarbe piping. In mid-1940 crews of assault guns received a uniform of their own, identical in cut to the Panzerjacke 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. 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 colors of panzer wrap were working and field uniforms to be worn only in or around the vehicle; this regulation was universally ignored. Panzertruppen 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 Litzen; many tankers however pinned their Totenkopf badges to their lapels. The new Waffenrock for I. Although shown to the press, this new uniform was not provided to the unit due to the outbreak of WWII. Instead, it was placed in depot storage. General Staff Corps Officers as Oberst im Generalstab. They ranked from Hauptmann im Generalstab captain through Oberst i. 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. These were the same whether on carmine dress Kragenpatten or green service patches; colored Litzenspiegel were unnecessary. General Staff officers assigned to the supreme headquarters the Reichskriegsministerium, later the and the , the Kriegsakademie, and military attaches were further distinguished by having their Litzen in gold rather than silver. The special golden Litzen were abolished in November 1942. Only Military attaches kept their Litzen as long as they were in their present position. The Führer wanted a closer union between the front and the OKW and OKH. In addition to their collar patches, General Staff Officers wore trouser-stripes, of the same design as generals' but in carmine rather than scarlet. Generals von Reichenau as a Field Marshal From 1900 Prussian generals had worn ornate collar patches embroidered in a style called alt-Larisch, which had first been worn in the 18th century by the 26th älterer von Larisch Infantry Regiment; the Reichsheer and the Wehrmacht continued the tradition. These devices, sometimes called Arabesken arabesques , were embroidered in gold bullion or golden synthetic Celleon on Hochrot scarlet backing. In October 1944, the wear-out period of the scarlet backing color for Generals of the specialist careers was extended for an undetermined period. Chef Shoulderboards and Litzen of von Rundstedt In the Wehrmacht Heer, upon retirement, certain senior German generals were awarded the honorary post of Chef of a regiment, much like the Honorary Colonel in the British Army. It was a German custom dating from the late 18th Century. Field Marshal , Chef of the 18th Infanterie Regiment, wore a big 18 on his shoulderboards, and for everyday wear favored the ornamented tunic of an infantry officer with white piping rather than a general's uniform. Only seven German generals were appointed Chefs: in addition to Seeckt and Rundstedt they were General der Infanterie Chef of the 61st Infanterie Regiment in Munich ; Generalfeldmarschall Chef of the 5th Kavallerie Regiment in Stolp, Generaloberst Chef of the 12th Artillerie Regiment in Schwerin, and Generalfeldmarschall Chef of the 28th Infanterie Regiment in Troppau. Generalfeldmarschall von Blomberg was appointed Chef of I. In December 1934 the material was changed to grey badge-cloth Abzeichentuch and in September 1935 changed again to dark bottle-green flaschengrün. In 1938, simultaneous with the removal of Waffenfarbe from field-uniform collar patches, new shoulder-straps were issued. 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 reed-green twill. Schulterklappen were not worn with the fatigue uniform, nor with camouflage smocks and parkas which used an. For junior enlisted men Mannschaften , 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. 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. In May 1944 the embroidery was changed from waffenfarbe to light gray. An Unteroffizier's corporal's epaulette was edged with Tresse on three sides and an Unterfeldwebel's sergeant's on all four. Senior NCO's Unteroffiziere mit Portepee added one to three pips; in addition, their unit identifiers took the form of white-metal pins rather than embroidery. Shoulder-straps were made in both a standard width 4. There was in addition an extra-large size for the overcoat Mantel. 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 pips; unit designators were also of gilt metal. Field-grade officer Stabsoffizier shoulderboards were made by plaiting together double widths of Russia braid and looping them to form a buttonhole, sewn to a Waffenfarbe underlay; rank again was displayed by zero to two gilt pips. Once the war began, dull grey aluminum braid appeared, but bright aluminum continued in use. Generals Generals' shoulderboards 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 Celleon. 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 pips, 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 Waffenfarbe instead. In April 1941, Generalfeldmarschall epaulettes were changed to incorporate a central gold cord instead of silver. Colonels-in-chief wearing that uniform wore gold generals' shoulderboards underlaid with the Waffenfarbe of the regiment rather than scarlet; GFM von Rundstedt sometimes simply pinned his crossed batons to an infantry colonel's epaulettes. Retired Personnel Generalmajor a. 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 shoulderboards and shoulder straps of retired soldiers had a bridle 1. Headgear Caps and helmets bore two common insignia elements, in various forms: the National Emblem eagle and swastika and the national colors. World War I caps had carried dual cockades or roundels, one in Imperial black-white-red and one in the colors of the particular State within the Empire. The Reichsheer changed this to a single cockade in the Weimar Republic's black, red and gold; almost as soon as Hitler took power he restored the , and ordered the Army to return to black-white-red. 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 Heeresadler. 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. White : infantry, rose pink: armor Rank Translation Approx. Could be advanced directly to Gefreiter. Fahnenjunker Flag- Officer candidate 2nd class See Obersoldat from 1936 Senior Soldier Senior Private or Obersoldat was the generic term; for actual ranks see. Automatic after 12 later 6 months if not yet advanced to Gefreiter. Exempted Historically in German armies, a Gefreiter was an experienced soldier who by virtue of seniority was exempted from more menial duties. Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter Flag-Squire -Exempted Officer candidate 1st class See Senior Exempted Senior Lance Corporal 2d sleeve insignia indicates 6 years' service. Stabsgefreiter from 1942 Staff Exempted Staff Lance Corporal The rank was commonly trusted with positions in food provision supply and duties. In the last years of World War II Stabsgefreiter were often used as group leaders Gruppenführer due to a lack of Unteroffizieren NCOs. Promotions to this rank were suspended in 1934, although existing Stabsgefreiter retained it; promotions resumed in 1942. Non-commissioned officers Unteroffiziere Tropical Rank Translation Approx. Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier Flag- Subordinate-Officer Officer candidate Corporal Unteroffizier epaulette, additional with two silver strips, as on the Fähnriche epaulette below Cavalry, artillery and transport Junior Field Guide Junior Watch Master Sergeant Called Sergeant to 1921. Fähnrich Ensign Officer candidate Unterfeldwebel epaulet, additional with two silver strips Senior NCO's, Unteroffiziere mit Portepee Cavalry, artillery and transport Field Guide Watch Master Staff Sergeant From mid-war an automatic promotion for acting platoon leaders with 4 months' combat experience. He was therefore roughly analogous to a Company Sergeant-Major or First Sergeant, although his duties did not usually involve combat leadership. Der Spieß or die Kompanie-Mutter, as he was called, was not necessarily the ranking Unteroffizier in the company, especially since typically two of the platoons were commanded by senior NCO's rather than officers. Senior non-commissioned specialist officers In two specialist career paths it was possible to attain rank above Stabsfeldwebel: fortifications engineers Festungspioniere and farriers Hufbeschlagschmieder. They were actual NCO's with command authority, not Heeresbeamten uniformed Army civil servants. There was no direct Anglosphere equivalent; perhaps the closest examples of the time would be the British Royal Navy's and United States Navy's ranks of Warrant Officer. Korps Engineering Feuerwerker m. Offiziersprüfung Ordnance Oberfähnrich Unterarzt Unterveterinär Feldingenieur Oberfähnrich Waffen Oberfähnrich Unterarzt Unterveterinär Feldingenieur Oberfähnrich Waffen Senior Ensign Subordinate-Surgeon Subordinate-Veterinarian Sr. Ensign Ordnance Graduate serving as acting lieutenant, ensign or 3rd Lieutenant prior to commissioning as an officer. From May 1944 generals in the various staff corps medical, legal, TSD etc. Officers and NCOs instead wore sleeve rank insignia made up of bars and oak leaves. 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 Militärarwärter 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 Truppensonderdienst or TSD. These were the higher administrative officers Intendanten in ranks from captain to lieutenant general; the lower administrative officers Zahlmeister in the ranks of first and second lieutenant, and the judge advocates Richter 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: Intendant, Direktor, Rat, Vorsteher, Inspektor, Meister, Assistent. This is a complex subject as each branch had its own titles. Wehrmachtbeamten des Heeres An Army Official Assistent. Note that his shoulderboards indicate NCO-equivalent rank, but he wears collar patches with officer-style Litzen denoting membership in a Middle or Elevated Service. Shoulderboards With certain exceptions, Beamten wore shoulderboards 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 shoulderboards which incorporated green chevrons, and those equivalent to officers wore a narrow green stripe between the rows of braid. NCO-equivalent Beamten wore a complex braided shoulderboard made of green, black and silver cords. In nearly all cases the shoulderboard underlay was dark green, and metal pins with the HV Heeresverwaltung, Army Administration cipher were worn. Certain services had insignia of their own: for example the Feldpost Field Post Office wore shoulderboards with gold rather than green elements and the initials FP; and musical officials wore silver-and-red shoulderboards with a lyre insignia. Beamten in the employ of a military government in the occupied territories wore eagle-and-swastika pins rather than HV ciphers. These were classified by the minimum educational requirement, and ranged from Einfacher Dienst Basic Services , for which a grade-school education was sufficient, through Mitteler Middle and Gehobener Elevated Dienst, to Höherer Dienst Higher Services which required a university degree. Officials in the Basic Services wore collar patches similar to but larger than enlisted soldiers', grey Litzen on dark green Patten, but the patch was piped on three sides in Nebenfarbe; similarly officials in the Middle and Elevated services wore officer-pattern Litzen, again with Nebenfarbe-piped patches. Officials of the Higher Services wore unique Kragenpatten with alt-Preussische Litzen in gold like Offiziere des Generalstabs, but on dark green with, again, Nebenfarbe piping. General officer-equivalents wore green patches with generals' arabesques, similarly bordered. These men had needed skills but either did not possess all the qualifications to become full-fledged Beamten, or were effectively drafted from civilian jobs. The matter was further confused by the fact that Beamter a. They received the pay applicable to the position they were holding, but only by virtue of their temporary appointment and without the command or disciplinary powers vested in the rank. Sonderführer wore the standard military uniform but with unique rank and collar insignia, the latter resembling but distinct from that worn by Beamter auf Kriegsdauer; in addition their collars and cap bands were blue-grey rather than Army green. A standard infantry division had nearly 5,000 horses, one for every three soldiers. In the field chaplains wore a Red Cross armband with purple borders. In July 1943 all Panzerschützen and motorized Grenadiere were redesignated Panzergrenadiere.