Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Heer Army M36 field tunic for a Gebirgsjäger Hauptmann, or Captain, distinguished by its partially quilted insulated lining, light green branch color, embroidered Edelweiß sleeve badge, and ribbons for the 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class and Eastern Front Medal. The tunic shows moderate service wear but remains in very good display condition with strong exterior fabric and insignia.

The tunic is made from "whipcord" weave wool gabardine, in the standard Heer feldgrau (field gray) color. It features four pleated pockets with scalloped flaps and pebbled buttons, which look to be made from pebbled stamped aluminum tops on magnetic steel bodies and eyelets. 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 look to be marked on the rear, and the buttons are sewn directly to the fabric, which does make them a bit more prone to tearing off, and we can see that one or two were probably replaced at some point. There are also two hook and loop collar securing fasteners, which are fully functional.

The interior is lined with gray brushed cotton twill, and we can feel a layer of insulation on the front interior area, which is quilted from the about the bottom of the pocket up to the top. This surrounds the horizontal slash pocket on the inside of the left chest, and we can feel the insulation in that area. It has the correct large eyelet opening into the left waist pocket for attachment of an officers dagger, and also has a hanger strap with clip already installed. We also can see an internal buckle on the left side, however the strap on the right side tore away. The sleeves are lined with white stripped brushed bottom. We could not find any markings inside, and we were not able to see any maker marks anywhere on the interior. This means it is most likely a bespoke item made for this particular officer

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 green background, and it is correctly stitched only to the outer layer of fabric. 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. The colored stripes on the litzen are made from hellgrün (light green) bullion type threading, the Corps Color (Waffenfarbe) for Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops), Skijäger (ski troops), and Jäger (light infantry troops).

The “sew-in” style company grade officers schulterklappen (shoulder boards) of this tunic are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping and have the correct light green backing, which shows around the edges. There are two rank "pips" installed on both, indicating the rank of Hauptmann, equivalent to a U.S. Army Captain. The left chest pocket has three thread loops over the pocket for a medal ribbon bar, and there are two pairs of thread loops on the pocket itself, for the attachment of awards. There are also ribbons for an Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939 and Eastern Front Medal installed on the second buttonhole from the top. There are two horizontally arranged thread loops above the left pocket for a medal bar, and there are two vertically arranged thread loops on the pocket itself for an award.

There is a Gebirgsjäger Alpen-Edelweiß (Mountain Noble White) machine embroidered badge on the right sleeve. The Edelweiss was officially authorized for Heer mountain troops in May 1939 and was worn on the right upper sleeve. Surviving examples and specialist references document the badge as a defining insignia of Gebirgsjäger personnel. It has the correct green leaves for an army issued badge, as well as the "rope and piton" border.

The exterior condition is very good overall. The field gray wool retains strong color with little age toning, and the collar shows notably little wear to the nap. No significant exterior tears or moth damage are noted. The insignia show light service wear, including minor fraying and localized loss to the aluminum colored surface of the bullion and Russia braid.

With its Hauptmann shoulder boards, light green Gebirgsjäger branch color, embroidered Edelweiß sleeve badge, Iron Cross and Eastern Front Medal ribbons, officer dagger suspension fitting, and unusual partially quilted insulated lining, this is a strong example of a German WWII mountain troop officer M36 field tunic. The torn internal waist strap, possible replacement buttons, light insignia fraying, and finish wear to the bullion are all fully disclosed. It would fit especially well in a Gebirgsjäger, Heer officer, mountain warfare, M36 field uniform, or advanced German WWII uniform collection.

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 25.5"
Shoulder to shoulder: 18"
Chest width: 19"
Waist: 17.5"
Hip: 22"
Front length: 29"

Gebirgsjäger material is among the most popular of all German WWII items. They were the light infantry part of the alpine or mountain troops (Gebirgstruppe) of Germany and Austria. The word Jäger (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light-infantry or light-infantryman in German-speaking military context.

The mountain infantry of Austria have their roots in the three Landesschützen regiments of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The mountain infantry of Germany carry on certain traditions of the Alpenkorps (Alpine corps) of World War I. Both countries' mountain infantry share the Edelweiß insignia. It was established in 1907 as a symbol of the Austro-Hungarian Landesschützen regiments by Emperor Franz Joseph I. These troops wore their edelweiss on the collar of their uniforms. When the Alpenkorps came to aid the Landesschützen in defending Austria-Hungary's southern frontier against the Italian attack in May 1915, the grateful Landesschützen honored the men of the Alpenkorps by awarding them their own insignia: the edelweiss. Together with the Fallschirmjäger (Paratroopers) they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army.

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.