BACKGROUND: The German army utilized a wide variety of long trousers and breeches including the M35 dress pants, the standard straight legged long pants, assorted breeches, drill and field pants, tapered "keilhose" pants and assorted specialized pants designed for specific branch of service personnel such as the Mountain troopers pants and the Panzer and Assault Gunner’s pants. Mounted EM/NCO personnel in all branches of service were issued riding breeches which were worn with the service, guard and reporting dress and by NCO’s with the undress uniform. Originally the riding breeches were produced in stone grey fabric until 1940 when regulations dictated that newly produced riding breeches be constructed in field-grey fabric. Originally the seat and crotch of the breeches were out-fitted with a leather reinforcement panel which was generally replaced, early in the war, with a dual-ply, field-grey wool or wool blend material reinforcement panel due to leather shortages. Officers and certain senior NCO ranks were responsible for purchasing their own uniforms and as a result were allotted a clothing allowance through the army’s Kleiderkasse, (Clothing Account), system. The Officers and certain senior NCO’s could choose to purchase their uniforms from the armed forces clothing depots or to privately purchase garments of higher quality. Although enlisted personnel were issued their uniforms from government supplies they were also permitted to purchase privately tailored uniforms although the price may have been restrictive.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Post-1940 pattern, field-grey wool/rayon blend material construction breeches with a large dual-ply, field-grey leather reinforced seat, crotch and inner legs. The breeches feature a vertical, three button French fly with an additional two buttons positioned on the waistband. The breeches have two, diagonally angled, slash front pockets with single button closures and a small, horizontal slash watch pocket, to the right side of the fly, with a straight edged button down flap. The reverse of the breeches have a horizontal slash pockets with a single button closure to the right seat, two, short, vertical tapering darts and two horizontal, fit adjustment straps with corresponding, blued, toothed, sheet metal, gripper buckles. The seat, crotch and inner legs have a large, dual-ply, field-grey leather reinforcement panel machine stitched in place. The leather panels run almost the full length of the inner legs ending about 2" above the cuffs. The breeches balloon outward at the thighs and taper inwards down to the cuffs. The cuffs each have a short, vertical slash to the outer seams, three stitched eyelets and a ribbed, white cotton twill foot stirrup strap. The foot stirrup straps are complete. The exterior waistband has four, vertical, button down belt loop with one on either side of the fly and two to the reverse center. The interior waistband lining and the internal pocket bags are all constructed in striped cotton/rayon blend material. The waistband lining has four evenly spaced suspender attachment buttons and an additional two vertically extended wool tabs with a single button to each positioned at the reverse center. The waistband lining is well marked with black sizing inkstamps and purple inkstamped sizing and, "E 43", , indicating the trousers had passed through the military clothing depot in Erfurt in 1943. Couple of small holes in the waistband material. The breeches are in overall excellent, unissued condition and still have a partial original paper tag sewn to them. The buttons are a combination of the molded black bakelite, grey glass, natural alloy and sheet metal dish types and most appear to have their original stitching. The breeches are roughly size 30". Superb pair!

GRADE ****1/2                             PRICE $720.00