Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Interwar period Triple Etched Reichswehr Army Artillery Officer's sword, complete with the original scabbard. In existence from 1919 to 1935, the Reichswehr would be come part of the Wehrmacht after the NSDAP takeover, and after this their officer swords had the hilts redesigned to bear NSDAP symbols, however they were otherwise identical to the swords produced during the 1930s.

The hilt on this example is the classic gilt brass alloy, and still retains much of the original finish. It has a great golden color to it with a lovely patina of age. The design consists of a finely detailed lion head cat with engraved backstrap and "P" guard. The Lion does not have jeweled eyes, and there is nice detail throughout his whiskers, chin, and muzzle. The handwork is beautifully rendered throughout the hilt. The backstrap and side tabs have a lovely high relief foliate design, and the guard has a similar design with acanthus leaves and other standard ornamentation. The ferrule displays a "Greek Key" motif, and the front langet has the "crossed cannons" insignia for artillery. The reverse has a small plate where a monogram is sometimes added, though this example is blank.

The grip is a very nice black celluloid-over-wood base, and does show some wear such as small chips and dents. It is wrapped with a skein of 4 aluminum wires, the center two of which are twisted. This is well retained except on the lower two channels, where only one strand remains, probably torn off at some point during storage. The hilt components are still tight to the blade, with no wobble we can detect.

The triple-etched steel blade is 30 3/4 inches long, made from high quality steel, however it has unfortunately suffered oxidation and been cleaned repeatedly, which has made the original etched design very faint. From what we can see, there doesn't appear to be any kind of unit marking that would help identify the sword in the etching. The edge is correctly unsharpened with no denting or other damage, and the needle-point tip of the blade is still intact. The original leather blade buffer is still present and in very good condition.

The included scabbard is in very good condition, showing no major dents or other damage, just a slight bending in areas towards the middle of the scabbard, which does not interfere with sheathing the blade. The black enamel paint of this scabbard is still in good shape, retained at about 75%, showing wear and oxidation from use and age. There is light checking and crazing throughout, only possible due to years of age, and there are a few areas of lost paint, which now shows oxidation. The scabbard still retains the original hanger ring and flat loop to hook on the belt hanger.

Overall a lovely example of an interwar German Artillery Officer's Sword. Ready to research and display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 30 3/4"
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 36“
Guard dimensions: 5" width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 31 4/6”

The Weimar Republic (German: Weimarer Republik), officially the German Reich (Deutsches Reich), also referred to as the German People's State (Deutscher Volksstaat) or simply the German Republic (Deutsche Republik), was the German state from 1918 to 1933. As a term, it is an unofficial historical designation that derives its name from the city of Weimar, where its constitutional assembly first took place. The official name of the republic remained the German Reich as it had been during the German Empire because of the German tradition of substates.

Although commonly translated as "German Empire," Reich here better translates as "realm" in that the term does not necessarily have monarchical connotations in itself. The Reich was changed from a constitutional monarchy into a republic. In English, the country was usually known simply as Germany, and the Weimar Republic name became mainstream only in the 1930s.

The Reichswehr (English: Realm Defense) formed the military organization of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was united with the new Wehrmacht (Defense Force). At the end of World War I, the forces of the German Empire were disbanded, the men returning home individually or in small groups. Many of them joined the Freikorps (Free Corps), a collection of volunteer paramilitary units that were involved in suppressing the German Revolution and border clashes between 1918 and 1923.

The Reichswehr was limited to a standing army (Reichsheer) of 100,000 men, and a navy (Reichsmarine) of 15,000. The establishment of a general staff was prohibited. Heavy weapons such as artillery above the caliber of 105 mm (for naval guns, above 205 mm), armored vehicles, submarines and capital ships were forbidden, as were aircraft of any kind. Compliance with these restrictions was monitored until 1927 by the Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control.