German WWII |
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German military insignia were intended to establish clear differentiation between ranks and types of service, and at the same time to encourage individual combat efficiency and proficiency in military arts. Direct appeal was made to vanity and to the human tendency to show off military prowess with insignia and decorations. |
WAFFENFARBE |
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The Waffenfarbe was a color code system to identify branch of service i.e. WHITE was the color of the Infantry. The Waffenfarbe was used on head gear either as Soutache or piping, or on the uniform of collar patches, epaulets and on certain uniforms piping on the collar. | |||
Color | Description | Heer Branch | Waffen-SS Branch |
Bright Red | Generals, Artillery, Heavy AntiAircraft | Artillery | |
Crimson | General Staff Corps, Veterinary | Veterinary Corps | |
Pink | Armor, Armor Reconnaissance | Armor, Anti-Tank | |
Orange Red | Military Police | Replacement Services, Engineer Officers | |
Wine Red | Specialist Service | NA | |
Orange | Ordnance | NA | |
Gold Yellow | Reconnaissance, Cavalry | Cavalry & Motorized Reconnaissance | |
Lemon Yellow | Signal | Signal & Propaganda Troops | |
Light Green | Mountain & Light Infantry | Mountain Infantry | |
Grass Green | Armored Infantry | Rifle Regiments of SS Police Divisions | |
White | Infantry | Infantry | |
Light Blue | Transport & Supply | Supply & Technical Services | |
Dark Blue | Medical | Medical | |
Black | Combat & Construction Engineer | Engineers | |
Gray Blue | Specialist Officers | NA | |
Light Grey | Propaganda Troops | General Officers | |
Brown | NA | Concentration Camp Guards |
RANK INSIGNIA | ||||||
HEER |
US
Equivalent Heer Waffen-SS |
WAFFEN SS | ||||
Collar | Epaulet | Left Sleeve | Collar | Epaulet | Left Sleeve | |
NA NA Reichsfuhrer-SS |
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General Officers (Generale) | ||||||
General of the Army Generalfeldmarshall NA |
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General General SS-Oberstgruppenfuhrer |
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Lieutenant-General General der (arm) SS-Obergruppenfuhrer |
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Major-General Generalleutnant SS-Gruppenfuhrer |
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Brigadier-General Generalmajor SS-Brigadefuhrer |
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Field Grade Officers(Stabsoffiziere) |
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NA (Considered a Senior Colonel) NA SS-Oberfuhrer |
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Colonel Oberst SS-Standartenfuhrer |
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Lieutenant
Colonel Oberstleutnant SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer |
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Major Major SS-Sturmbannfuhrer |
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Company Grade Officers | ||||||
Captain Hauptmann SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer |
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1st
Lieutenant Oberleutnant SS-Obersturmfuhrer |
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2nd
Lieutenant Leutnant SS-Untersturmfuhrer |
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Non-Commissioned Officers (Unteroffiziere) | ||||||
Sergeant
Major Stabsfeldwebel SS-Sturmscharfuhrer |
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Master
Sergeant Oberfeldwebel SS-Hauptscharfuhrer |
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Sergeant
First
Class Feldwebel SS-Oberscharfuhrer |
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Staff
Sergeant Unterfeldwebel SS-Scharfuhrer |
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Sergeant Unteroffizier SS-Unterscharfuhrer |
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Enlisted Men (Mannschaften) | ||||||
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Administrative
Corporal Stabsgefreiter NA |
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Senior
Corporal Obergefreiter (>6 years) NA |
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Corporal Obergefreiter (<6 years) SS-Rottenfuhrer |
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Lance
Corporal Gefreiter SS-Sturmann |
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Private
First
Class Obergrenadier,Oberfusilier SS-Oberschutze |
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Private Grenadier, Fusilier SS-Schutze |
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Examples of Collar Insignia Placement | |
Heer | |
Officers: Some officers had quality hand-embroidered silver bullion made for their tailored uniforms. The Waffenfarbe was embroidered into the collar patch. The red Waffenfarbe indicates an artillery officer. Occasionally, officers would outline the collar patch with piping of their Waffenfarbe. This example depicts an officer who has been awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. | |
NCOs: The Non-Commissioned Officers were distinguished by a wide piping of collars & epaulets, this is called Tresse. The Continental Army collar patch is the same as enlisted men. Typically the Waffenfarbe was not worn but in this example we show an artillery NCO. Rarely, senior NCOs will have their Tresse and collar patches hand-embroidered. | |
Enlisted Men: The enlisted men had the simplest markings of the Continental Army collar patch. The junior enlisted rarely wore the Waffenfarbe. The collar was later made of the same material as the uniform due to material shortages and simplifying manufacturing. | |
Waffen-SS | |
The
SS followed the tradition of their civilian "SA" counterparts by
using the collar patch to distinguish rank. The example
depicts a SS-Schutze or Private. NCOs & Enlisted Men wore the famous SS runes on the right collar and their rank on the left collar. Certain units were identified by replacing the SS runes with unique insignias i.e. the Wiking Division had a Nordic long-boat with dragon's head. The NCOs also were marked by the Tresse. Officers in the rank of Colonel or greater wore the same rank patch on both collars (the right was a mirror of the left patch) and silver piping along the outline of the collar patch. Lt Colonel and below wore the SS runes or division patch. |