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H072863 INFANTRY OBERLEUTNANT’S SERVICE TUNIC & BREECHES. (Dienstrock und Stiefelhose für Offizier)

BACKGROUND: The Third Reich era, (Circa 1933-1945), Officer’s service tunic followed the basic design of the EM/NCO’s field blouse with the most readily visible difference, besides the insignia, being the turned up French cuffs. The Officer’s service tunic was originally manufactured with a field-grey, badge cloth collar which was altered to blue/green badge cloth as per regulations of 1935. The Officer’s service tunic was to be replaced with the newly developed, Officer’s field blouse on it’s introduction in April/May 1933 although the service tunic proved so popular that the wear-out period was extended to March 31ST 1942. Even after the service tunic’s wear-out period was established it remained in usage, on a limited basis, through-out the war with minor variations. The Officer’s field blouse was very similar to the service tunic and as a result Officer’s could still be easily identified from EM/NCO personnel. The German army originally adopted a slightly modified version of the NSDAP’s, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), national eagle by order on February 17TH 1934, with instructions to have it applied to all steel helmets, visor caps, and tunics by May 1ST 1934. Generally Officer’s ranks utilized hand or machine embroidered breast eagles while EM/NCO’s ranks utilized machine embroidered or machine woven breast eagles. The different branches of service within the army were allocated a specific, identifying, waffenfarbe, (Branch of Service Color), with white being chosen for Infanterie, (Infantry), personnel. On the field blouse and service tunic the waffenfarbe was generally displayed on the shoulder straps/boards and the collar tabs. The German Heer, (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 Trooper’s pants and the Panzer and Assault Gunner’s pants. Regulations dictated that unmounted Officer’s were to wear breeches with the Service, Guard, Parade and Reporting dress and they could also be worn as an optional item with the Field and Undress uniforms. As with the standard issue long pants the unmounted Officer’s breeches were originally produced in stone grey fabric until 1940 when regulations dictated that newly produced breeches be constructed in field-grey fabric. 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 clothing allowances for Officer’s consisted of a singular pay out of roughly, 450.00 Reichsmarks, ($180.00USD), followed by a maintenance allowance of roughly 30.00RM, ($12.00USD), per month. 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. As a result of their obligation to furnish their own uniform items, Officers and Senior NCO’s were permitted to buy optional clothing items that were prohibited for other ranks. As a general, although unofficial rule, Officer’s ranks were usually given more leeway in the pattern and cut of optional clothing items while the Senior NCO’s had to have their private purchase garments inspected and approved before wear. 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. The German army utilized a wide variety of shoulder board/strap cyphers that indicated numerous specific, assorted trades, careers, functions and/or units. Regulations decreed that the shoulder board/strap cyphers were embroidered in the branch of service color for EM’s and Junior NCO’s, in silvered metal for Senior NCO’s and in gilted metal for Officer’s ranks. Originally the shoulder board/strap cyphers for Senior NCO’s and Officer’s used during the Third Reich were a low, flat pattern that had been utilized by the Weimar era, Reichsheer, (National Army, Circa 1919-1933), until regulations of September 10TH 1935 introduced new Wehrmacht, (Armed Forces), pattern cyphers that featured a horizontal ribbed interior and raised outer edges.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Nice quality, slightly mottled, field-grey, wool/rayon blend construction, service tunic features a vertical, six button, front closure with dual, metal hooks and eyes positioned at the forward neckline. The tunic has four, pleated, patch, front pockets with scalloped, button down, flaps. The right breast has a hand embroidered, national breast eagle with out-stretched wings, clutching a wreathed, canted swastika in it’s talons, in bright, silver/aluminum wire threads with bright, silver/aluminum bullion and green accent threads, mounted on a cut-out, dark blue/green badge cloth base with a cut-out, field-grey wool backing. The eagle is neatly handstitched to the tunic and appears to be a replacement. The left breast has five horizontal and three vertical thread loops for wear of awards and a medal/ribbon bar. The tunic has a vertical tapering seam to each side of the front closure running from the bottom of the breast pockets down to the top of the hip pockets. The straight cut, non-adjustable, sleeves have deep, fold back, French cuffs. The reverse of the tunic has a small, central, vertical, tail skirt vent. The tunic has sewn on shoulder boards of matte, silver/aluminum Russian braid with a single, silver washed, stamped alloy rank pip and the pre-September 10TH 1935, Weimar Reichsheer era, silver washed, stamped alloy, units numerals, "64", to each, mounted on white wool waffenfarbe bases. The shoulder board retaining buttons are intact. The shoulder boards also appear to be replacements. Of Note: The 64TH Infantry Regiment was originally an integral component of the 16TH Infantry Division until the summer of 1940 when the 16TH Infantry Division was reorganized as the 16TH Panzer Division and the 64TH Infantry Regiment was organized as the 64TH Panzer Grenadier Regiment. The right shoulder has a molded, grey bakelite button, stitched beneath the shoulder board, for wear of a lanyard or aiguillette. The tunic has a lay down, blue/green badge cloth construction collar with tight zig-zag reinforcement stitching to the reverse. The collar features nice quality, hand embroidered collar tabs with matte, silver/aluminum wire thread litzen and twisted, white rayon branch of service stripes. The collar tabs are mounted on blue/green badge cloth bases which show through as the center stripe. The collar tabs are machine stitched to the collar. The interior of the tunic is fully lined in ribbed, grey rayon with grey striped, off-white rayon sleeves. The lining has no pockets and the breast panels have an underlying, internal padding. The lining has a small, horizontal slash to the reverse of the exterior left hip pocket for the dagger/sword hangers. The left armpit has a handstitched, vertical, grey rayon strap with a nickel/silver plated steel, friction clip also designed for the dagger/sword hangers. All three, fold back, sheet metal, collar liner retaining clips are intact. The tunic has no visible size or manufacturer’s markings but the upper back lining has the stylized, handwritten initials that appear to be, "AW". The tunic is in overall fairly good condition with light to moderate chafe wear to the cuff and collar edges, small areas of light to moderate age and usage toning and nap wear a few pin head sized moth nips and about a half dozen, glued patch repairs. The buttons, excluding the bakelite lanyard/aiguillette button, are a combination of the field-grey painted, pebbled, magnetic sheet metal and alloy types and retain assorted amounts of their painted finishes. Most of the buttons appear to have their original stitching although some of the insignia and repairs appear to have been restored. The tunic is roughly size 40", (101.6cm), chest. Also included with the tunic are a pair of nice quality, private purchase, pre-1940, stone grey, wool/rayon blend, construction, unmounted personnel’s breeches with a pronounced whipcord weave. The breeches feature a vertical, four button, French fly with a large, sheet metal hook and eye positioned on the horizontal waistband. The breeches have two, diagonally angled, slash, front pockets with single button closures and a small, horizontal, slash, watch pocket positioned to the right side of the fly. The reverse of the breeches have a single, horizontal slash, pocket with a scalloped, button down flap, to the right seat, two, short, vertical, tapering darts and two, horizontal, fit adjustment straps with corresponding, blued, magnetic sheet metal, gripper buckles to each. The breeches feature exaggerated, outward, ballooning at the thighs and taper inwards down to the cuffs. The reverse of each cuff has a vertical, tapering dart and the bottom 7", (17.8cm), of each cuff are in pale grey rayon. The cuffs each have a vertical, outside seam slash with seven pair of matte grey painted, magnetic, lace up grommets and an additional three evenly spaced, closure buttons to the bottom rayon sections. The interior waistband is lined in light weight, off-white rayon while the internal pocket bags are in a heavier, brushed, off-white rayon. The front pocket bags both have handstitched repairs. The waistband lining has six, evenly spaced, suspender attachment buttons. The breeches have no visible size or manufacturer’s markings. The breeches are in overall good condition with light age and usage toning, a couple of small picks and pulls and a small handstitched repair to the fly. The buttons are a combination of the molded grey and black bakelite types and most of the buttons appear to have their original stitching. The breeches are roughly size 32", (81.2cm), waist.

GRADE ***1/2                             PRICE $1,549.00

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