Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice German WWII Heer Army Artillery Oberst Officer's M-36 Tunic with matching breeches. Both are are made from a rough weave of wool in the standard Heer feldgrau (field gray) color, intended for field use and combat service. The tunic shows moderate wear from service and in very good display condition.

It features four pleated pockets with scalloped flaps and pebbled painted magnetic buttons. The front closure features six of the same buttons on the right breast flap meeting an equal number of reinforced buttonholes on the left flap. All are sewn directly to the fabric, which does make them a bit more prone to tearing off, which it looks like happened to the third button from the bottom, which is a non-magnetic replacement. All the buttons show wear and oxidation, and we cannot see any maker markings. The collar also features two hook and loop collar securing fasteners, which are fully functional.

The interior is lined with with a very nice gray green colored rayon cotton blend twill fabric, while the sleeves are lined with striped rayon, which shows a good amount of wear. There is a single vertical slash pocket on the inside of the left chest closure. It has the correct large eyelet opening into the left waist pocket for attachment of an officers dagger. We do not see any major repairs, just the usual wear and staining from service.

It is adorned with the usual rank and branch insignia used on German tunics. The attractive Army breast eagle is the correct early pattern officer's silver bullion hand embroidered type on a dark bottle green background, and is stitched to the outer layer of fabric only. There is just a bit of fraying and oxidation on the eagle due to wear. The collar is wrapped in flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) wool, and has officer's field litzen collar patches on each side, which are woven from silver bullion thread with dark bottle green backgrounds matching the collar. It is in very good shape, and is usually one of the first places to show damage from use, however in this case it is free from holes, though the fuzzy "nap" of the fabric is mostly worn away.

The colored bullion stripes on the litzen are colored Hochrot (Deep Red) wool, the Waffenfarbe (Corps Color) during WWII for Artillery, as well as General Level Officers. The “sew-in” style Stabsoffizier schulterklappen (Field-grade Officer shoulder boards) of this tunic are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping, which are plaited together to form a loop around the buttonhole. They are in very good condition, and have two rank "pips" installed, indicating the highest staff officer rank of Oberst, equivalent to a U.S. Army Colonel. They also have lovely gilt number 8 cyphers, indicating the 8th Artillery Regiment. We can see multiple thread loops over the left pocket for a medal ribbon bar, which is not present, and also four pairs of thread loops on and below the pocket, where awards were attached in the past.

Overall condition is very good, showing wear and staining consistent with moderate service. There are some small tears and holes, but nothing out of the ordinary for an 80 year old wool tunic. The buttons and the insignia show wear as well, as the "Russia Braid" and bullion is definitely a bit delicate.

The included breeches are in very good condition, made from roughly wool fabric that is almost an exact match in color and texture to the tunic. They have a button fly closure with four hidden buttons and a hook and loop closure at the top. The suspender buttons on the outside of the waist band are all intact. There is a button closed horizontal slash pocket on the right rear seat, as well as the usual diagonal slash hip pockets, which also have button closures. There is a small pocket next to the fly, which is for a pocket watch.

An outstanding German Artillery Officer’s field combat uniform set, ready to outfit with awards and display!

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.