German Army General Dr. Hans-Joachim Barnewitz
German Army General Dr. Hans-Joachim Barnewitz General Barnewitz’s Shoulder Board with the medical cypher.
German Army General Dr. Hans-Joachim Barnewitz General Barnewitz’s Visor Cap
Generalleutnant Erich Schopper uniform
General Friedrich Fangohr Friedrich Fangohr (12 August 1899 – 17 April 1956) was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the I. Armeekorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Friedrich Fangohr was captured in 1945 and was released in 1948.
General Friedrich Fangohr Beautiful piped tunic named to Knights Cross winner General Friedrich Fangohr. Uniform was just purchased from a house cleaner who found the uniform, along with the US veteran's original uniforms (Ike jacket and long sleeve shirt), and his dogtags. Entire group was stored in a plastic tub, and has survived intact with no mothing or stains. In the photo you can see Generals Spiedel, von Weichs, Busse, and Fangohr (far right).
General Friedrich Fangohr
General Friedrich Fangohr
General Friedrich Fangohr Note How the Gold Wire Breast Eagle on the Fangohr Uniform has darkened with age, but the swastika in celleon thread has stayed bright gold.
General Friedrich Fangohr
General Friedrich Fangohr
General Friedrich Fangohr Close up Photos of Generalmajor Fangohr’s Uniform Breast Eagle and Collar Tab insignia.
Army Generalmajor Beelitz tunic
Army Generalmajor Beelitz tunic
Army Generalmajor Von der Lochau’s Waffenrock Uniform
Army Generalmajor Von der Lochau’s Waffenrock Uniform
Army Generalmajor Von der Lochau’s Waffenrock Uniform
Generalmajor Hermann Balck Hermann Balck (1893 - 1982): Lieutenant in 1914, Lieutenant Colonel and Commander of the 1st Rifle Regiment in 1938. On 3 June 1940, he was awarded the Knight's Cross for the breakthrough across the Maginot Line and the advance to Dunkirk. In 1942 he was promoted to Generalmajor and given command of the 11th Panzer Division. On 20 December 1942, he was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross. On 1 January 1943, he was promoted to Generalleutnant (Major general). On 4 March 1943, he was awarded the Swords to the Knights Cross. On 1 November 1943, he was promoted to General (Lt. General) and given command of the 43rd Panzer Corps. On 3 August 1944, he was given command of the 4th Panzer Army. On 31 August 1944, he was awarded the Diamonds to the Knights Cross. On 21 September 1944, he was given command of Army Group G, and on 23 December 1944, command of the 6th Army or Army Group Balck.
Generalmajor Hermann Balck Generalmajor Hermann Balck’s summer uniform. A field tunic of sand-coloured linen with dark green collars, golden buttons, and medal loops. Red collar patches with the golden Larisch embroidery. Sewn on shoulder boards with woven round gold and flat silver cord and red backing. A gold wire embroidered Breast eagle on a dark green background. Riding breeches of the same material with grey leather trim, and in the back pocket there is the tailor's tag, "Nase Döbeln" also bearing the owner's name written in pencil, "Gen. Major H. Balck...1942".
Generalmajor Hermann Balck Generalmajor Hermann Balck’s summer uniform.
Generalmajor Hermann Balck Generalmajor Hermann Balck’s summer uniform.
Generalmajor Hermann Balck
Afrika Korps Tropical Generalmajor Uniform
Afrika Korps Tropical Generalmajor Uniform
Afrika Korps Tropical Generalmajor Uniform
Afrika Korps Tropical Generalmajor Uniform
Afrika Korps Tropical Generalmajor Uniform
Afrika Korps Tropical Generalmajor Uniform
Unnamed Generals Uniform Tunic
Unnamed Generals Uniform Tunic
The German Army (Heer)
The German Army (Heer) Generalfeldmarschall Insignia Since the early days of organized warfare there have always been leaders on the battlefield and in the war room whom have utilized some form of ultimate authority over the direction of their armies during wartime. The ranking system evolved out of the need to direct and manage varying numbers of men and equipment and as the armies expanded, so did the need for higher authority. In modern warfare, the highest military rank recognized is that of Field Marshal or its equivalent of General of the Army (Fleet Admiral or Grand Admiral in the Navy). The German Army of World War Two arguably created the most fame and notoriety of the position of Field Marshal as any army throughout time having a total of 19 different men attaining this rank. As such, the crossed batons insignia of the German Generalfeldmarschall is symbolic of great military power and might.
Generalfeldmarschall Insignia Army GFM Shoulderboards 1 st Pattern (1936-39) Generalfeldmarschall shoulderboards in gold and silver bullion with early style crossed batons. This particular example is an early Reichsheer board with a red underlay that is not visible from above. Baton length from end to end is approximately 58mm. 2 nd Pattern, 1940 style (Sept. 27, 1940). The first of two changes to what is referred to as the 2nd pattern of Generalfeldmarschall shoulderboards. This first step altered the design of the crossed baton devices so that they now resembled the actual Third Reich GFM Heer batons and were highly detailed. The shoulderboard remained the basic pattern used for all General officer ranks of gold and silver cords. This is one of the reasons why GFM’s are commonly seen wearing the standard pattern General’s boards of intertwined gold and silver cords as this ‘style’ remained regulation until April of 1941. This particular example is manufactured in celleon gold outer cords with an aluminium inner silver colour braid in the soutache design. Baton length, end to end, is approximately 47mm.
Army GFM Shoulderboards 2 nd Pattern 1941 style (April 3, 1941 - 1945). This second pattern incorporated yet another change; the shoulderboard itself was now altered in that the inner silver cord was now replaced by a gold cord. This beautiful example with all three cords in bright Gold bullion surmounted by silver, frosted batons is from the piped service uniform of GFM Fedor von Bock. (Holzauge Historical collection) 2 nd Pattern (1941 style) Generalfeldmarschall boards with all three gold cords as per the April 1941 regulation change. This example shows all three cords in matte celleon. (Courtesy Kai Winkler collection)
Army GFM Shoulderboards Army style batons Close-up view of the 1940 pattern Generalfeldmarschall batons for the Army (Heer). The Army pattern alternates between the iron cross, wehrmacht eagle and a repeat of the iron cross. This example is from the uniform of GFM von Manstein and is age darkened silver.
Army GFM Shoulderboards Luftwaffe style batons Close up view of the Luftwaffe pattern batons, which is similar to the army except that the pattern alternates between the iron cross, wehrmacht eagle and a Balkan cross. This example is attributed to GFM Milch and is stamped in silver and marked “800”.
Army GFM Shoulderboards Kriegsmarine style batons In contrast to the Heer and Luftwaffe pattern are these Kriegsmarine batons for the rank of Grossadmiral. The pattern on these baton devices alternate between iron cross and fouled anchor, with an intertwining anchor chain separating the two for the length of the baton. These are also quite a bit larger than Heer and Luftwaffe baton devices.
Army GFM Collar Tabs 1939 – 1940 pattern. From the 1930’s until April of 1941 Generalfeldmarschall wore the same standard pattern collar tabs as all other General Officers, which exhibit two ‘prongs’, resembling leaves, in the middle of the tab design and protrude above and below an oval opening. (Ron Richter collection)
Army GFM Collar Tabs 1941 pattern. In April of 1941 an order was issued to create a separate collar tab design specifically for Generalfeldmarschall, adding a third “prong” or “leaf” in the middle of the design. This example is rendered in all gold wire and is from the uniform of GFM Fedor von Bock. This is not the more common tab that was worn, it’s a seldom documented variant. The more common tab is shown below on the Manstein uniform. (Courtesy Holzauge Historical Collection) Generalfeldmarschall pattern collar tab in fine gold wire from the uniform of GFM von Manstein. This is the GFM collar tab design most commonly seen in period photos with its very curly and ornate curled enhancements and the odd, pointed leading edge. It’s entirely possible that one vendor was the “preferred” supplier of these GFM tabs.
Army GFM Collar Tabs 1941 Generalfeldmarschallstandard pattern collar tab embroidered in celleon. thread Generalfeldmarschall standard pattern collar tab produced in a mixture of celleon thread and bullion highlights. (Holzauge Historical)
Army GFM Collar Tabs These collar tabs are attributed to Field Marshal Keitel and are perfect examples of “Version A”, the most commonly encountered collar insignia for this rank, with the spade-like front nose and extremely curly and ornate horns framing the three prongs.
General Officer Rank Insignia WW2 Germany The German Army (Heer): Shoulderboards The German armed forces in World War Two indicated General Officer rank via insignia located on the shoulder and colour The shoulderboards began with a base pattern of intertwined gold and silver cording, this base pattern, un-adorned with rank pips designated the lowest General officer rank of Generalmajor (equivalent to a Brigadier General in the U.S./British forces). From this base board pips were added consecutively as the rank increased up to a maximum of Generalmajor Gold bullion cording with silver inner cord, no rank pips on a bright red underlay. Generalleutnant Gold bullion cording with silver inner cord, single rank pip on a bright red underlay.
General Officer Rank Insignia WW2 Germany General der Infanterie, etc. Gold celleon (nylon) cording with silver inner cord, two rank pips. Generaloberst Gold celleon cording with silver inner cord, three rank pips positioned in a triangle. The next rank higher than Generaloberst is Generalfeldmarschall
Army General Collar Tabs Standard pattern, very early General officer tab rendered in fine gold wire. This particular example is part of an insignia grouping attributed to Generaloberst von Blomberg, later Hitler’s first Generalfeldmarschall. Note the ‘closed centre’ oval in the middle of the tab. This tab is a work of art and very tightly woven. Craftsmanship like this no longer exists, and cannot be replicated in modern times. (private collection) General tab rendered in fine gold wire. This particular example is part of a pair that belonged to Generalmajor Ebling. Notice the open centre oval surrounded by a gold rope bullion. (private collection)
Army General Collar Tabs If there ever was an example that you could say is absolutely textbook and flawless, this is it. The hands that made this tab obviously had been at it a long, long time and were very good. Almost perfect execution in embroidery. By the very fact that all Generals tabs were hand embroidered, each tab is practically a work of art and tend to take on the personality of the person that embroidered them. Notice how the centre oval is open and surrounded by the ‘rope’ gold bullion cord. Another finely produced example, this one using a highlight material of a different colour to accentuate the inner leaves of the pattern. This could be done in bullion, wire, yarn or celleon.
Army General Collar Tabs A finely embroidered celleon example with bullion inner highlights. Celleon is cellophane based thread and these tabs have some of the finest embroidery and often have some of the best detail. Because they don’t have the rich look of the gold bullion or gold wire they are not quite as popular with the casual collectors. The order to use celleon in place of gold bullion or wire was initiated in 1938 though it never seems to have totally replaced use of the gold and bullion as both continued to be used to manufacture insignia throughout the remainder of the war. This particular example has gold wire highlights, which is visibly noticeable in the darker areas as the metallic thread has darkened with age. (Ron Richter collection) A finely embroidered celleon example with bullion inner highlights. Note this example has the closed centre cord and less defined tail cluster. (private collection)
Army General Collar Tabs An interesting celleon example…in this case the ‘tail’ of the unterlagen became detached during the embroidery process, so it was embroidered as being detached from the base. Surviving loose examples of the unterlagen are often encountered with loose or broken tails. Another nice, tightly woven celleon example from a panzer wrap.
Army General Collar Tabs In this example, the inner oval rope is a highlighted by the use of gold bullion twist wire. This particular example, from an un-named Generals tunic, is another mix of bullion/celleon only in this case the main embroidery design uses bullion wire with celleon being used as highlight on the inner leaves. Note that celleon always remains a very bright yellow-gold colour, as it is a nylon material and does not age. In contrast gold bullion and gold wire will almost always show a darker hue from ageing. Later in the war there was a brite celleon material produced that looks exactly like bullion and will still have a brite finish to it. (private collection)
Army General Collar Tabs Yet another very tightly embroidered, flawless collar tab. Original tabs have a level of quality in the tightness and depth of the embroidery that just cannot be matched. (Ron Richter collection) The precision of the tight wire embroidery in this two-tone gold bullion wire example is another great look at some of the finest handembroidery that ever existed. It is a skill that seems sadly lost to time….
Army General Collar Tabs Heinrich-Hermann von Hülsen (8 July 1895 – 6 June 1982) was a decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded two armoured divisions. Hülsen commanded the 44th Reconnaissance Battalion of 44th Infantry Division into the Invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II, and led this unit until 5 December 1939. He then served as Adjutant in the high command of 1st Army until 1 April 1941, and was promoted to Oberst on 1 December 1940 during this service. On 1 April 1941 he took command of the 2nd Mounted Regiment, which he led into Operation Barbarossa, until he was called back into reserve on 1 December 1941, and was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 2 November 1941. On 25 May 1942 he took command of the 9th Rifle Brigade under 9. Panzer-Division, which he led in the southern theatre of the Eastern Front until 5 July 1942. Taking command of the 9th Panzer Grenadier Regiment until 15 December 1942, he was also named temporary commander of 9. Panzer-Division from 27 July until 3 August 1943 during this service.[1] Called back into reserve on 15 December 1942, he next took command of 21. Panzer-Division on 25 April 1943 in North Africa. After having been promoted to Generalmajor on 1 May 1943, on 13 May 1943 he was captured by British forces in the area of Tunis, Tunisia, and was in captivity until 17 February 1947. From late summer 1944, von Hülsen was interned in Clinton, Mississippi USA. Heinrich-Hermann von Hülsen