Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely classic Army Officer's "Dove Head" Sword, made by the well-known firm of Alcoso Werke in Solingen, Germany, complete with the correct steel scabbard. This piece is a real treasure as it is not constructed from the later war aluminum, but rather is made of solid brass, which was originally fully gilt. Since then it has been cleaned several times, and now shows a lovely lightly oxidized brass color. The dove head and backstrap are engraved with oak leaves and acorns, a common decoration used on German ceremonial edged weapons, and these extend onto the side tabs as well. The "flat" P guard repeats this motif, which is present on the grip ferrule as well.

The chappe/langet features an open-wing Wehrmacht eagle, which shows excellent detail to his breast feathering, wing feathering, and mobile clutched swas. The reverse langet has a shield-shaped field, where the sword would sometimes be personalized, but this one is blank. The grip of this example is a black celluloid over a carved wood base, wrapped with three pairs of twisted wires, with the center pair being a bit larger. The celluloid is still in great condition, without any cracking or major damage, and the wrapping is in very good shape, still in place on the grip and showing just a bit of oxidation. The hilt is still mostly tight on the blade, with the back strap just a bit loose.

The blade of this example is in very good condition, showing a bit of light oxidation spotting across the blade, but no major flaking or rust issues. It measures 32 1/4" in length, and does show some light damage and denting to the edge, probably from being used post war. There is also a bend / dent at the very tip of the blade. The leather blade washer is still in place, showing some age.

The reverse ricasso is stamped with the trademark Alcoso used from 1936-1940. It depicts the scales with the firm's initials, ACS interspersed. Above is the firm's name in an arc, ALCOSO, and below the town of business, SOLINGEN, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany.

Alcoso is a trade name of Alexander Coppel & Co. KG, Stahlwarenfabrik, located in Solingen, the legendary German "City of Blades." Per J. Anthony Carter's work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, the company was a major manufacturer of edged weapons and tools from the end of the 19th century up until the WWII period. Unfortunately, as NSDAP-control increased, brothers Carl Gustav and Dr. Alexander Coppel, the Jewish owners of the firm, were forced out. In 1936 the firm had been "Aryanized", and started using the name ALCOSO to hide the Jewish family name. By the end of 1936 the brothers were ejected from their Solingen offices, and by 1940 the brand trademark initials ACS were changed to AWS to reflect the change in ownership and name: Alexander Coppel Solingen to Alcoso-Werk Solingen. Carl Gustav Coppel committed suicide in Solingen in 1941, and Dr. Alexander Coppel was arrested in 1942 and sent to Theresienstadt Prison camp, where he died August 5th 1942. The factory itself was destroyed by Allied bombers in November 1944.

The scabbard of this example still has a very good black enamel finish, it is retained at over 95%, though there is a dent on the left side by the drag, and some denting on the right side below the hanger ring. There is a lovely pattern of checking and crazing in the enamel, and we do not see any evidence that it has ever been repainted. There are a few areas of finish loss where it has oxidized, but overall this is one of the better examples that we have seen. There is some wear near the hanger ring, through to the base metal as is typical, and the rectangular ring for "hitching up" the sword is still intact.

Overall a very nice example of a German Army Officer's Dove Head sword, from a maker with a somber back story.

Specifications:
Overall length: 37”
Blade length: 32 1/4”
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Guard dimensions: 5" width x 4 1/2” length
Scabbard Length: 35 7/8"

The German Army (German: Heer, was the land forces component of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, from 1935 to 1945. The Wehrmacht also included the Kriegsmarine (Navy) and the Luftwaffe (Air Force). During World War II, a total of about 15 million soldiers served in the German Army, of whom about seven million became casualties. Separate from the army, the Waffen-SS (Armed SS) was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. Growing from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, it served alongside the army but was never formally part of it.

Only 17 months after AH announced publicly the rearmament program, the Army reached its projected goal of 36 divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938, four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the Anschluss in March. During the period of its expansion by Adolf AH, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground (Heer) and air (Luftwaffe) assets into combined arms teams. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and the "battle of annihilation", the German military managed quick victories in the two initial years of World War II, prompting the use of the word Blitzkrieg (literally lightning war, meaning lightning-fast war) for the techniques used.

The German Army entered the war with a majority of its infantry formations relying on the horse for transportation. The infantry remained foot soldiers throughout the war; artillery also remained primarily horse-drawn. The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the main reason for the success of the German invasions of Poland (September 1939), Norway and Denmark (April 1940), Belgium, France and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941) and the early campaigns in the Soviet Union (June 1941). However their motorized and tank formations accounted for only 20% of the Heer's capacity at their peak strength.