Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a lovely "salty" service used condition German WWII Heer Army Artillery Enlisted Herring Bone Twill (HBT) constructed Drilljacke or Drillichjacke (Drill Work Jacket), with a fantastic broken-in look. This was set up for use by the POA Soviet Liberation Army, one of several "volunteer" groups aligned with Germany during the Eastern Campaign. These were comprised from local conscripts who set against the Soviet Union, and these often were outfitted with used and obsolete uniforms and accessories.

During the reorganization of the army in April 1933, a new grey drill uniform or "Drillichanzug" - a direct descendent of the Reichheer's "Moleskinanzu"- was released. The new outfit was composed of off-white, at times greyish linen tunic (Drillichjacke) and trousers (Drillichose) with just the rank insignias on it. It was used by all recruits in quarters and was used exclusively as the working and campaign uniform by the troops. The tunic was furnished with five buttons, had a closed collar and two lower, no flap, bag pockets without buttons. It was hung by means of the inside waist strap. Originally, the design was meant to go over the standard service uniform, and protect it from getting dirty, but that concept was quickly abandoned.

Because of the conditions on the many fronts and the fact that conflicts quickly flared up across much of the Greater Germany landmass, the gray color of this fatigue uniform didn't really match the new camouflage concepts, especially because when in service it would fade to an off white color. By an order of February 12th, 1940 orders were issued stating that these drill uniforms had to be manufactured in green. This new version was very popular at the front during the summer months as a cooler alternative to the combat jacket and also as an overall.

At this time, the drill uniform began to be used showing the same insignia and emblems as that used with the combat jacket, in open contravention of regulations. It was a completely practical uniform that moved the Army Ministry to demand a new, specific, summer tunic in early 1942 for combat and duty job fashioned after the 'Feldbluse'. Apparently, the advent of the new 1944 uniform affected the 'Drillich' although there is no record that an eventual summer version of this late uniform was ever developed.

Here we have a very nice "salty" condition green colored HBT Drilljacke Tunic, which has two chest pockets with no waist pockets, and appears to be one of many different variations with various different pocket configurations. It features a six button front closure, with pebbled non-magnetic buttons that all appear to be maker marked. These are all secured by circlips under a flap inside the right side, as are the buttons for the pocket flaps. The interior is unlined, but features gray rayon reinforced areas around the sleeves and down the sides to support the waist belt hooks, which are not present. The only pocket on the inside is the right side bandage pocket, and we were not able to see any markings.

The tunic is outfitted with all of the insignia usually seen on the field uniform. The upper right chest features a BeVo machine embroidered Wehrmachtadler Eagle, which is the triangular shape and gray on green color introduced in 1944. There are EM/NCO litzen collar patches on each side, which are woven from gray and green threads, and are installed on green backgrounds. They do not have Corps Color stripes, as in 1938 they were removed from EM/NCO collar insignia to save time.

The tunic is equipped set of large WWI style Mannschaften Schulterklappen (Enlisted Shoulder straps), which are a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) color with hochrot (deep red) piping around the edges. While one might assume these are for artillery, these are actually the style and size used for foreign volunteers later in the war. With these, the color of the piping indicated where they were from, and the deep red color were for Cossack volunteers, which were mostly from the Don Cossack group. Turkish volunteers had light blue piping, while volunteers from Azerbaijan were green.

Attached to the left sleeve is a printed P O A Soviet Liberation Army shield insignia, which would be correct for a Don Cossack volunteer. They comprised a good portion of the members of the unit. It is in very good condition, and is hand stitched to the sleeve with olive thread.

The Drilljacke shows wear, and definitely has some frayed and torn areas, consistent with long service during the war. It has a fantastic "been there" look that makes it perfect for any type of WWII display.

The Russo Liberation Army (ROA/POA), also known as the Vlasov army after its commander Andrey Vlasov, was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Soviets, that fought under German command during World War II.

Vlasov, a Soviet general, agreed to collaborate with NSDAP Germany after having been captured on the Eastern Front. The soldiers under his command were mostly former Soviet prisoners of war but also included White Russo émigrés, some of whom were veterans of the anti-communist White Army from the Russo Civil War (1917–23). On 14 November 1944, it was officially renamed the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russo, with the KONR being formed as a political body to which the army pledged loyalty. On 28 January 1945, it was officially declared that the Russian divisions no longer form part of the German Army, but would directly be under the command of KONR. In May 1945, members of the ROA switched sides and joined the anti-NSDAP Prague uprising.

Cossacks
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Orthodox Christian people group originating in the steppes of Eastern Europe. They were a semi-nomadic and semi-militarized people, who, while under the nominal suzerainty of various Eastern European states at the time, such as the Russian Empire or the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, were allowed a great degree of self-governance in exchange for military service. The Cossacks were particularly noted for holding democratic traditions.

They inhabited sparsely populated areas in the Dnieper, Don, Terek, and Ural river basins, and played an important role in the historical and cultural development of both Ukraine and Russia. The various Cossack groups were organized along military lines, with large autonomous groups called hosts. Each host had a territory consisting of affiliated villages called stanitsa. The Cossack way of life persisted into the twentieth century, though the sweeping societal changes of the Russian Revolution disrupted Cossack society as much as any other part of Russia; many Cossacks migrated to other parts of Europe following the establishment of the Soviet Union, while others remained and assimilated into the Communist state. Cohesive Cossack-based units were organized and fought for both Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.

Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks or Donians, are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they have been located within what was the Don Cossack Host, which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic in the present-day Southern Russia and the Donbas region of Ukraine, from the end of the 16th century until 1918. As of 1992, by the presidential decree of the Russian Federation, Cossacks can be enrolled on a special register. A number of Cossack communities have been reconstituted to further the Cossack cultural traditions, including those of the Don Cossack Host.

Don Cossacks have had a rich military tradition, playing an important part in the historical development of the Russian Empire and participating in most of its major wars.

Don Cossacks in World War II
On 20 April 1936 the previous ban on Cossacks serving in the Red Army was lifted. Later the same year two existing Red Army cavalry divisions were re-designated as Don Cossacks. By 1939 a number of these regiments had been issued with traditional Cossack uniforms in ceremonial and field service versions. The dress of the Don Cossack units included the broad red stripes on dark-blue breeches, which had been their distinguishing feature prior to the Revolution. The Don Cossack Cavalry Corps saw extensive active service until 1943, after which its role diminished (as did that of the other remaining horse-mounted units in the Red Army). However Don Cossack cavalry was still in existence in 1945 and participated in the Victory Parade in Moscow.

During World War II, the Don Cossacks mustered the largest single concentration of Cossacks within the German Army, the XVth SS Cossack Cavalry Corps. A great part of the Cossacks were former Russian citizens who elected to fight not so much for Germany as against the Soviet Union. The XVth SS Cossack Cavalry Corps included the 1st Cossack Division and the 2nd Cossack Division. The majority of the Cossacks remained loyal to the Red Army. In the earliest battles, particularly the encirclement of Belostok Cossack units such as the 94th Beloglisnky, 152nd Rostovsky and 48th Belorechensky regiments fought to their death.

In the opening phase of the war, during the German advance towards Moscow, Cossacks became extensively used for the raids behind enemy lines. The most famous of these took place during the Battle of Smolensk under the command of Lev Dovator, whose 3rd Cavalry Corps consisted of the 50th and 53rd Cavalry divisions from the Kuban and Terek Cossacks, which were mobilized from the Northern Caucasus. The raid, which in ten days covered 300 km and destroyed the hinterlands of the 9th German Army, before successfully breaking out. Whilst units under the command of General Pavel Belov, the 2nd Cavalry Corps made from Don, Kuban and Stavropol Cossacks spearheaded the counter-attack onto the right flank of the 6th German Army delaying its advance towards Moscow.

The high professionalism that the Cossacks under Dovator and Belov (both generals would later be granted the title Hero of the Soviet Union and their units raised to a Guards (elite) status) ensured that many new units would be formed. In the end, the Germans during the whole war only managed to form two Cossack Corps, while the Red Army in 1942 alone had 17. Many of the newly formed units were filled with ethnically Cossack volunteers. The Kuban Cossacks were allocated to the 10th, 12th and 13th Corps. However, the most famous Kuban Cossack unit would be the 17th Cossack Corps under the command of general Nikolay Kirichenko.

During one particular attack, Cossacks destroyed up to 1,800 enemy soldiers and officers, they took 300 prisoners, seized 18 artillery pieces and 25 mortars. The 5th and 9th Romanian Cavalry divisions fled in panic, and the 198th German Infantry division, carrying large losses, hastily departed to the left bank of the river Ei.

During the opening phase of the Battle of Stalingrad, when the Germans overran the Kuban, the majority of the Cossack population, long before the Germans began their agitation with Krasnov and Shkuro, became involved in Partisan activity. Raids onto the German positions from the Caucasus mountains became commonplace. After the German defeat at Stalingrad, the 4th Guards Kuban Cossack Corps, strengthened by tanks and artillery, broke through the German lines and liberated Mineralnye Vody, and Stavropol.