Hitler's Defeat on the Eastern Front

by Ian Baxter

  Appendix Four

  Combat Uniforms of the Wehrmacht 1943–45

  Wehrmacht Uniforms

  The main service uniform worn in the Wehrmacht was the Model 1936, which was specifically issued for battlefield conditions. This service uniform was field-grey in colour and manufactured from wool/rayon mixed material. It had four box-pleated pockets with a single metal finish button sewn to each of the four three pocket flaps. There were also five metal buttons sewn down the front of the tunic. The collar of the tunic was faced with dark blue-green material and sewn into this was the German Army collar patch indicating NCOs and other ranks. The shoulder straps made from dark blue-green material were sewn into the shoulders of the tunic at the arm end and positioned at the other with a single metal button. This allowed easy access to unpin the shoulder strap in order for the soldier to remove and replace it, pending of course on the wearer's rank as well as his branch of service. The shoulder strap could also be used to hold the soldiers military equipment in place on the shoulders.

  The ends of the sleeves of the tunic were not cuff turned and were specially cut in order that the sleeve ends could be wrapped tighter around the soldier's wrist and this allowed it to be buttoned into position.

  Stitched on the right of the tunic above the breast pocket was the national emblem of Germany. This silver emblem consisted of an eagle with outstretched wings clutching on its claws a wreath containing a swastika. Another item of cloth normally sewn onto the uniform was the German Army rank chevron and occasionally the specialist insignia, trade and specialist badge. These items were sewn directly onto the left sleeve of the field service uniform without any backing cloth. All types of arm rank chevrons and specialist badges were worn on the upper left arm of the uniform tunic, the service and field service tunics as well as the greatcoats.

  The Model 1936 service uniform was worn throughout the war but by 1942, with still no sign of the war coming to a victorious conclusion, the manufacturing industry began to lack the basic uniform materials needed to support the clothing of millions of soldiers on the battlefield. As a result of these problems forced upon the overstretched German economy manufacturers designed a new model service tunic called the Model 1943 or M1943. The design of the M1943 uniform no longer had box-pleated pockets, nor did it have dark blue-green collar material. Instead it was made in field-grey cloth. Generally though the uniform was very similar to that of the M1936, but the quality was poor. The wearer also complained that the tunic was not well insulated and became very heavy when subjected to sustained down pours of rain.

  In spite of the shoddy appearance of the new M1943 service uniform, it was generally hard wearing and was worn by thousands of soldiers during this period of the war. However, by 1944 with the German Army embroiled on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, manufacturers became even harder pressed to mass-produce service uniforms with the pressures put on them by the constant economic restraints of the war. Despite these problems by September 1944, a completely revised style of field service uniform was rushed into production, the model 1944 or M1944.

  The M1944 service uniform was radically different from the traditional German Army uniform worn, and designers had actually adopted the style very similar to that of the British Army uniform blouse. The colour of the uniform was grey-green. The jacket had two large pockets without pleats but with pocket flaps, which was fastened by a single metal button. There were six buttons worn down the front. The German national emblem was still worn on the right breast above the pocket. There were shoulder straps displaying the wearer's rank and the cuffs to the sleeves were designed very similar to that of the standard German army service tunic. The collar was of the same material as the blouse and was in the late pattern mouse-grey colour.

  The M1944 became a very popular service uniform during the last year of the war and was worn by both the German army and the Waffen-SS. Non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers including Generals did wear the M1944, but these slightly differed from the standard design. Non-commissioned officers rarely wore any rank braiding around the edge of the collar, and the only indication of their rank was their shoulder straps. Generals though wore the collar patches and normal rank insignia. However, their M1944 uniforms differed slightly in style, which included two breast patch pockets that had box pleats and curved edges to the flap pockets, and the buttons were not visible down the front of the blouse because it had been made with a fly front.

  One of the last items of clothing to be worn during the war, which was regarded as a service uniform, was the reed-green denim field service uniform. This was introduced in the summer of 1944 and was a very successful and popular uniform worn by soldiers on the front lines, but could also be worn by non-commissioned officers as well. Both the jacket and the trousers were lightweight and hard wearing and were of matching reed green herringbone pattern denim. The jacket had four patch pockets and ten field-grey metal buttons, six of which were positioned down the front of the jacket and one to each pocket. The garment carried the normal insignia. The trousers to the uniform were in the normal field-grey colour and were in the same style and quality to that of the jacket.

  WINTER UNIFORMS

  For the second winter of 1942 a German Army reversible winter uniform was manufactured and supplied to the front lines. When the troops were issued with these garments in October and November 1942, they found the clothing extremely warm and comfortable. The uniform also provided the wearer with greater freedom of movement, especially with personal equipment. This uniform not only helped combat the severity of the cold, but helped prevent overheating during physical exertion.

  The reversible clothing itself consisted of a heavy reversible double-breasted over jacket that was designed for extra frontal warmth. It had double buttoned overlaps to the flaps of the jacket to the front, which when closed were wind resistant. The bottom edge of the jacket had drawstrings attached, and the ends of the cuffs were also adjustable as well. The trousers worn were thick, as was the jacket, and was completely reversible. They were shorter in length to normal standard issue uniformed trousers but could be either worn over the top of the leather marching boots or tucked inside. The ends of the trousers were gathered in by drawstrings and tied in around the boots.

  The winter reversible was normally mouse-grey on one side and winter white on the other. The soldiers wore the reversible garment pending on the terrain. If the area was snow covered the wearer wore the uniform on the winter white side out, and during operations where the was no snow, it was worn mouse-grey side out. However, there were other variations of the reversible, which included the green splinter pattern and the tan water pattern.

  The reversible uniform was designed large enough to be worn over the service uniform, including personal equipment. However, troops did favour wearing most of their equipment over the winter jacket.

  For the next four years of the war the German soldier was seen wearing these popular winter camouflage garments. By the early winter of 1943, the winter reversible had become one of the most popular items of winter clothing worn by the troops. Soldier survivability had actually increased, in spite of the major military setbacks. In the winter of 1941 more than half the cases of casualties were caused by the extreme sub-zero temperatures like frostbite. By the end of 1942, this figure had reduced considerably. A year later in the winter of 1943, it was less than a quarter of the casualties.

  PANZER & ASSAULT GUN UNIFORMS

  The Panzer uniform remained a well-liked and very popular item of clothing and did not alter extensively during the war. However, in 1942 a special two-piece reed-green denim suit was issued to Panzer crews in areas of operations where the climate was considered warmer than normal theatres of combat. The new denim suit was hard wearing, light and easy to wash, and many crews were seen wearing the uniform during the summer months. The uniform was generally worn by armoured crews, maintenance, and even Panzergrenadiers who were operating with half tracked vehicles, notably the Sd.Kfz.25
1 series. This popular and practical garment was identical in cut to the special black Panzer uniform. It consisted of the normal insignia, including the national emblem, Panzer death head collar patches and shoulder straps.

  Apart from the uniforms worn by the Panzer arm, crews of the armoured antitank units also initially wore the Panzer black uniform. However, with the increased need on the battlefield for self-propelled assault gun and tank destroyer units in close support of infantry, it was considered that the black Panzer uniform was unsuitable as crews were more exposed on the battlefield when they left their armoured vehicles. A special uniform was introduced for both Sturmartillerie and Panzerjäger units. The uniform was specially designed primarily to be worn inside and away from their armoured vehicles, and for this reason designers had produced a garment that gave better camouflage qualities than the standard black Panzer uniform. The uniform worn by units of the Panzerjäger was made entirely from lightweight grey-green wool material. The cut was very similar to that of the black Panzer uniform. However, it did differ in respect of insignia and the collar patches.

  The Panzerjäger uniform was a very practical garment and it was identical to the cut of the to the Sturmartillerie uniform, but with the exception of the colour. The uniform was made entirely of field-grey cloth, but again differed in respect to certain insignia. The collar patches consisted of the death's head emblems, which were stitched on patches of dark blue-green cloth and were edged with bright red Waffenfarbe piping. However, officers did not display the death head collar patches, but wore the field service collar patches instead. No piping on the collar patches were used either.

  Like the summer two-piece reed-green Panzer denim suit worn by Panzer crews, both tank destroyer and self-propelled assault gun units also had their own working and summer uniforms, which were also produced in the same colour and material.

  With both the Panzerjäger and Sturmartillerie uniforms black leather marching boots were worn. The ends of the long trousers were worn over the boots and tied in around the lower calves. Short black ankle boots were also worn with the uniform.

  Apart from the basic issued items of clothing worn by crews of the Panzer, tank destroyer and self-propelled assault gun units, crews were also issued with various items of clothing to protect them against the harsh climates. The first item issued was the standard grey-green greatcoat. Other items worn especially during the winter periods and when there was a heavy snowfall, was the winter white camouflage smocks. However, during the first winter of 1941/42 Panzer crews found both the camouflage smocks and Greatcoat difficult to wear, especially in the small confines of an armoured vehicle. Consequently, by the winter of 1942/43 the German Army had developed a new revolutionary item of clothing for the armoured crews called the parka. The parka was a well-made item of clothing that was well-padded and kept crews warm. Initially the parka was first designed in field-grey with a reversible winter white. But by late 1943 a new modification was made by replacing the field-grey side with a camouflage pattern, either in green splinter or tan water. The coat was double-breasted with the interior set of buttons being fastened to provide additional protection.

  STEEL HELMET

  The M1935 helmet evolved a number of times throughout war and the changes were primarily based on the growing wartime economic demands. Each modification resulted in a slightly newer variation although each helmet retained the basic design. At least three other models were manufactured exclusively for combat. However, the standard army issue steel helmet was the M1935 and later the M1943. The M1943 was more or less the same design as the M1935, but the shape of the helmet was slightly different and appeared larger around the base.

  Generally the steel helmets issued to all German soldiers were usually field-grey in colour and were manufactured either in matt or semi-matt finishes. However, in hotter climates like North Africa, Italy and even during the summer months in southern Russia, soldiers over-painted their steel helmets in a sand base colour. Some helmets were painted very crudely, but this still ensured better camouflage than the standard field-grey appearance. In snow, soldiers found it necessary to apply white paint over the steel helmet. Initially, during the first winter of 1941, many troops did not attempt to apply their steel helmets with any type of white camouflage, often leaving them in the field-grey. However, some did attempt to find a solution in order for them to blend in with the local terrain. A number of soldiers found that chalk was very useful and applied this crudely over the entire helmet. But it was whitewash paint that became the most widely used form of winter camouflage. The use of whitewash paint was a very popular solution to winter camouflage and its idea came from the whitewashing of tanks and other armoured vehicles. Other forms of camouflaging steel helmets, pending on the season of course, were also used extensively by the Wehrmacht.

  Ranks