Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice early pattern German WWII Heer Army Jäger Light Infantry Hauptmann Officer's M-36 Tunic, which has a machine embroidered officers Jäger badge attached to the right sleeve. These units were legendary in German history for their abilities in forested areas as advance troops. The tunic shows moderate wear from service and is in very good display condition, offered complete with original breeches.

The tunic is made from lovely "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 non-magnetic alloy 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 faintly 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 with a very nice light blue gray colored rayon cotton blend twill fabric, while the sleeves are lined with striped white rayon. There is a horizontal slash pockets on the inside of the left chest, which does not have 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 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, with a leather pad on the inside to keep it from catching on the wearer's shirt. 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 green background, though it may have been replaced, as the stitching goes through to the lining. It is in great shape, showing just a bit of wear on the edges. 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 good shape, though there is wear around the top edge, which is usually one of the first places to show damage from use.

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 is also the ribbon for an Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939 installed on the second buttonhole from the top. The embroidered Jäger badge on the right sleeve is in great shape, made using BeVO style embroidery, and is in excellent condition.

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 jacket.

The included breeches are in very good condition, made from lovely "whipcord weave" steingrau (Stone Gray) wool fabric. They have a button fly closure with four hidden buttons and a strap going to a button on the right waist at the top. We do not see any suspender buttons on the breeches, or any evidence that any were ever present. They feature two slanted waist slash pockets with another pocket on the right seat with a scalloped button secured flap. The bottoms of the legs have zipper closures to fit inside boots, and overall they are in lovely condition.

A very nice German Jäger Light Infantry Officer's Uniform Set, ready to outfit with awards and display!

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 24”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17"
Chest width: 21”
Waist: 21"
Hip: 21"
Front length: 29"

Pants:
Waist: 16"
Inseam: 23"

German Jäger Units -
Jäger (hunter) is a German military term referring to specific light infantry units. In German-speaking states during the early modern era, the term Jäger came to denote light infantrymen whose civilian occupations (mostly hunters and foresters) made them well-suited to patrolling and skirmishing, on an individual and independent basis, rather than as part of a large-scale military unit or traditional line infantry. As a consequence, Jäger was used to describe skirmishers, scouts, sharpshooters and runners.

The German Empire had various different Jäger units, which were disbanded at the conclusion of WWI. The Reichswehr of Weimar Germany did keep their traditions somewhat intact, and during the NSDAP led rearmament preceding WWII, various different Jäger units were reformed, the most famous of which were the Heer Gebirgsjäger Mountain Troopers and Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger paratroopers. Later in the war, Skijäger Ski Troopers and Jäger Infantry units were raised, as well as some smaller units with more specific purposes, such as "Tank Hunters".

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.