Original Item: Only One Available. The Ordnungspolizei, abbreviated Orpo, meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in NSDAP Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organization was absorbed into the NSDAP monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favor of the central government ("Reich-ification", Verreichlichung, of the police). The Orpo was controlled, nominally by the Interior Ministry but its executive functions rested with the leadership of the SS until the end of World War II. Owing to their green uniforms, Orpo were also referred to as Grüne Polizei (green police). The force was first established as a centralized organization uniting the municipal, city, and rural uniformed police that had been organized on a state-by-state basis. Eventually the Police were divided into eight assorted branches of service, with each branch having a distinguishing truppenfarbe, (Branch of service color) that was displayed on the uniforms including the piping on the visor caps.

The Gendarmerie (state rural police) were tasked with frontier law enforcement to include small communities, rural districts, and mountainous terrain. They were issued uniforms with Orange-gelb (Orange-yellow) truppenfarbe piping and insignia. With the development of a network of motorways or Autobahnen, motorized gendarmerie companies were set up in 1937 to secure the traffic. The German Police had no enlisted ranks, with the lowest rank being an Unterwachtmeister (Junior Watch Master), which was equivalent to the German army rank of Unteroffizier. The highest NCO rank was that of the Meister (Master), or Warrant Officer, which did not have an armed forces equivalent, but was higher than an army Oberfeldwebel (Master Sergeant).

This lovely late pattern Gendarmerie Rural Police Oberwachtmeister NCO's M-36 tunic is made of fine quality police-green wool gabardine twill, and in form is more or less identical to the Army Heer tunic except for the colors used. This example is depot issued, and is dated Po / 1944 on the inside of the front closure on the left side, which is just over the size and maker markings:-

42 110 45
69        64
BRAGO    

The tunic features four pockets with button-closed square flaps, with the two chest pockets pleated, and the front closure has six buttons, with a "hook and loop" fastener for the collar. The buttons on the tunic are sewn directly to the fabric, not attached with metal circlips. They are all non-magnetic and in very good condition, showing wear to the olive paint.

The interior is partially lined with lovely olive tan brushed cotton, while the sleeves on this "field tunic" are unlined. There are no internal pockets save for the bandage pocket" on the inner right bottom. It features four straps for belt hooks, though none are installed, which is correct for a police tunic, as they did not use the suspensions straps that the Army did, but would carry a fair amount of weight on their belts.

As this is a later war "field tunic", the brown "badge cloth" collar and sleeve adornments, as well as the piping, are not present. It features field style machine-woven police NCO's litzen collar patches on each side, made from light gray thread with Police Orange-gelb (Orange-yellow) stripes, the Truppenfarbe (Troop Color) of the Gendarmerie. As this is a Police tunic, there is no Wehrmachtadler breast eagle, and instead the uniform has a high quality machine embroidered Civic Police Eagle badge sewn to the left sleeve. As it is post 1941, there is no district marking, and it also is light gray on a police green background, which could be used for any branch.

The button attached style NCO schulterklappen (shoulder boards) of this tunic are unique to the rank of Oberwachtmeister, and are bordered with a single row of of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping around the edge, with police chocolate brown chevrons woven into the design. Inside this is a row of brown double piping, and there is also bar of silver piping at the edge, closing in the brown. These are shoulder boards for the police rank of Oberwachtmeister (Senior Watch Master), equivalent to an SS-Scharführer or U.S. Army Staff Sergeant. They have the correct orange-yellow base material and straps for the Gendarmerie.

This is a great example of a genuine late WWII German Gendarmerie (Rural Police) Oberwachtmeister’s uniform!

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 11"
Shoulder to sleeve: 25.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17"
Chest width: 21.5”
Waist: 19"
Hip: 21"
Front length: 29.5"

Field Tunic (Feldbluse) Model 1936
Terms such as M40 and M43 were never designated by the Wehrmacht, but are names given to the different versions of the Model 1936 field tunic by modern collectors, to discern between variations, as the M36 was steadily simplified and tweaked due to production time problems and combat experience.

When the NSDAP came to power in early 1933 the Reichswehr, the armed forces of the Weimar Republic, were near the end of a two-year project to redesign the Army Feldbluse (field-blouse). Beginning in that year the new tunic was issued to the Reichsheer and then the rapidly growing Wehrmacht Heer, although minor design changes continued to be made until the appearance of the standardized Heeres Dienstanzug Modell 1936. The M36 tunic still retained the traditional Imperial and Reichswehr uniform color of grey-green "field gray" (feldgrau) wool, but incorporated four front patch pockets with scalloped flaps and pleats (on Reichswehr tunics the lower pockets were internal and angled). The front was closed with five buttons rather than the previous eight, and the collar and shoulder straps were of a dark bottle-green instead of the Reichswehr grey. Compared to the Weimar-era uniforms the skirt of the feldbluse was shorter and the tailoring was more form-fitting due to Germany's adoption of mechanized warfare: soldiers now spent much time in the confined space of a vehicle and a shorter jacket was less likely to pick up dirt from the seats. It also included an internal suspension system, whereby a soldier could hang an equipment belt on a series of hooks outside of the tunic. These hooks were connected to two straps inside the lining, which spread the weight of equipment without having to use external equipment suspenders. The M36 was produced and issued until the very end of the war, though successive patterns became predominant.

SS field uniforms were of similar appearance externally but to fit their larger patches had a wider, feldgrau collar, and the lower pockets were of an angled slash type similar to the black or grey SS service-dress. The second button of an SS Feldbluse was positioned somewhat lower, so that it could be worn open-collar with a necktie. Due to supply problems the SS were often issued army uniforms.