Uniforms of the German Army (1935–1945)

Terms such as M40 and M43 were never designated by the Wehrmacht, but are names given to the different versions of the Model 1936 field tunic by modern collectors, to discern between variations, as the M36 was steadily simplified and tweaked due to production time problems and combat experience.

[citation needed] Uniforms of the Heer as the ground forces 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 and in gold bullion for generals).

Shoulder-straps and, in many cases, collar patches were piped or underlaid in Waffenfarbe, a color code which often identified the branch of service to which the unit belonged: white for infantry, red for artillery, rose-pink for Panzer troops and so on.

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).

It differed from the M36 only in the substitution of feldgrau for the bottle green collar and shoulder straps, which began to be phased out in 1938/39, though most combat examples show this variation appearing in 1940, hence the unofficial M40 pattern.

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.

A variant appeared in 1942 with a two-part "fold" intended to serve as ear flaps in cold weather, secured by two front buttons: this was rapidly overtaken by the M43 field cap.

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.

The semi-rigid band was covered in bottle-green fabric, and the stiff visor came in variety of materials and were made of either black vulcanized rubber, fibre, plastic, or (occasionally) patent leather.

Officers' caps were frequently private-purchase and had covers of higher-quality fabric; these were often interchangeable and included summer white and tropical olive versions as well as feldgrau.

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.

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."

For this reason the officers' Dienstrock did not undergo the cost-saving changes which affected the enlisted M36, and kept its green collar and scalloped, pleated pockets throughout the war.

In the full-dress uniform (grosser Gesellschaftanzug) the Waffenrock was worn with medals, aiguillette (officers), trousers and shoes, the Schirmmütze, gloves, and sword (officers/senior NCOs) or dress bayonet (enlisted).

[7] In 1937 officers were authorized the optional purchase of the "ornamented" (ornamentierte) or "piped" (mit Vorstössen) uniform, to be worn as a less-formal alternative to the Waffenrock for walking-out and some ceremonial occasions.

The Reichswehr "old-style" (ältere Art) model had a stand collar, a six-button front, and plain sleeves; it was authorized for barracks wear, supervising training, and attending sporting events.

The newer model introduced in 1937 had a rise-and-fall collar, an eight-button front, and French cuffs, and was authorized as a summer walking-out and undress uniform.

[8] Vehicle crews in North Africa wore the same olive tropical uniform as the infantry, including collar Litzen; many tankers pinned their skull insignia to their lapels.

[9] Ironically the infamous black Allgemeine SS uniform, familiar from prewar newsreels, was not worn by combat troops; the Waffen-SS wore feldgrau or camouflage.

German civilians back home were called upon to donate fur coats and other winter clothing for the war effort until enough specialized military gear for the extreme cold had been produced.

In addition to the standard-issue snow camouflage, the Germans made extensive use of captured Red Army equipment, especially the fur boots, which provided better protection from the sub-zero temperatures.

[10] German troops took drastic action to obtain their winter uniform and gear from dead Russian soldiers, including even cutting off the legs of the corpses to get off their thick boots.

The M40 Tropical tunics of the Afrikakorps, later authorized for summer field wear in Southern Europe, were basically the same cut as the standard army uniform but with open collar and lapels, and made of a medium-weight olive-drab cotton twill which in service faded to khaki.

For combat situations, standard steel helmets field-painted in a tan color were issued, usually vehicle interior sand-yellow (sandgelb) or exterior brown-yellow (gelbbraun).

It had a long visor, one-piece "false fold" rather than functional earflaps, and two metal ventilation eyelets on each side;[11] for all but the most extreme climate conditions the M40 cap was generally preferred over the pith helmets.

Most recruits previous to 1940 were issued a fatigue uniform (Drillichanzug) for basic training which they kept for work details, weapons cleaning and other duties likely to soil clothes.

In about 1942 the Army regularized the practice: depots began issuing an official hot-weather four-pocket field uniform of feldbluse cut but made of the same reed-green HBT material.