Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Heer Army Infantry officer M35 Waffenrock dress tunic for the rank of Oberleutnant, distinguished by white Infantry branch piping and a Gebirgsjäger Edelweiß sleeve badge on the right upper arm. The tunic is constructed from fine field gray Feldgrau whipcord wool and retains its original officer insignia, eight button front, French cuffs, and dagger hanger opening. Overall condition is very good, with light service wear and stronger wear to portions of the interior lining.

The base material of the uniform is made of feldgrau colored wool, with a very a very fine "whipcord" weave texture. The wool shows signs of light use, with no mothing or tears we can see, just some light wear and staining. It features eight pebbled buttons on the front closure, which are all in very good condition. The buttons are all magnetic, made from aluminum tops on steel backings, and all are maker marked on the back. They are sewn directly to the fabric, and we can see that some have probably been replaced. The collar features an additional two hook and loop clasps at the collar.

The interior is lined with light brown satin fabric, probably rayon or a rayon cotton blend. There is a horizontal slash pocket on the left interior chest, as is standard, and we can see where a maker label used to be on the back, but it is no longer present. The sleeves are lined with beige rayon fabric. It looks like there was the usual internal belt to help give it a better profile, however it has been removed, leaving loose stitching and an openings at the seam where it was installed. There is a large eyelet on the lower left waist for a dagger hanger. We checked the interior thoroughly, and were not able to find any type of markings.

The Waffenrock is adorned with the usual rank and branch insignia used on German tunics. The breast features an early pattern hand embroidered silver bullion thread eagle on a dark bottle green wool backer. The eagle is very neatly hand stitched to the chest in a fashion typical of wartime German tailor work. It does show some fraying and damage to the silver bullion and flatwire embroidery.

The collar is wrapped in a flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) "badge cloth" wool, and features three clips on the interior for a collar protector, though none is installed. The base material of the two bullion officer's dress litzen on each side of the collar opening is Weiß (white), which was the Waffenfarbe (corps color) during WWII for infantry and motorized infantry. The collar, front closure, and other areas of the tunic bear piping of the same color. The two litzen themselves are woven from a fine silver flatware thread. The collar and its insignia are without any noticeable damage or mothing.

The lower French style cuffs of the sleeves have the correct green wool base, and are adorned with the correct white piping and litzen matching the collar. The “sew-in” style Leutnante Schulterklappen (junior officer shoulder straps) of this Waffenrock are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping and have the correct white bases that protrude around the edges. There is a single gold rank "pip" installed, for the junior officer rank of Oberleutnant, equivalent to a U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant. We can also see seven thread loops on the left chest for attachment awards, no longer present.

There is a Gebirgsjäger Alpen-Edelweiß (Mountain Noble White) 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.

Overall condition is very good. The exterior retains strong color with no obvious moth damage or major tears, showing only light wear and staining from service. The principal exterior condition issue is fraying and damage to the bullion breast eagle. The interior shows heavier wear, including fraying and holes to the lining, removal of the internal waist belt, and separation of the left sleeve lining seam from the chest lining for approximately half of its circumference.

With its Infantry white piping, Oberleutnant rank shoulder boards, early officer bullion eagle, right sleeve Gebirgsjäger Edelweiß badge, dagger hanger opening, and largely intact M35 Waffenrock configuration, this is a distinctive Heer officer dress tunic with evidence of mountain troop association. The damaged bullion eagle, removed internal belt, missing collar protector, absent awards, interior holes and fraying, and separated sleeve lining seam are all fully disclosed. It would fit especially well in a Heer Infantry, Gebirgsjäger associated, officer dress uniform, or advanced German WWII tunic collection.

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 9"
Shoulder to sleeve: 24"
Shoulder to shoulder: 17"
Chest width: 18"
Waist: 18"
Hip: 23"
Front length: 31"

The M35 Waffenrock dress tunic was introduced for wear by all ranks on June 29TH 1935 as the walking out, parade and ceremonial dress with the piped, stone grey long pants. The design of the M35 dress tunic was based on the Imperial German army’s service tunic but was a different color and generally of much higher quality. Originally all personnel were issued two M35 dress tunics but manufacture was discontinued in late 1939 or early 1940 and was to be reinstated at the successful conclusion of the war. Regulations of March 21ST 1940 stated that the M35 dress tunics that were no longer suitable for dress wear were to be modified and reissued to personnel of the replacement and reserve units for every day wear. Officers and certain senior NCO ranks were responsible for purchasing their own uniforms and as a result were allotted a clothing allowance through the army’s Kleiderkasse, (Clothing Account), system. The Officers and certain senior NCO’s could choose to purchase their uniforms from the armed forces clothing depots or to privately purchase garments of higher quality. Although enlisted personnel were issued their uniforms from government supplies they were also permitted to purchase privately tailored uniforms although the price may have been restrictive.