{"product_id":"original-german-wwii-officers-dove-head-sword-by-alcoso-of-solingen-with-scabbard-circa-1940-1944","title":"Original German WWII Officer's Dove Head Sword by ALCOSO of Solingen with Scabbard - circa 1940 - 1943","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe hilt of the sword is the later war style, made with an aluminum alloy base that looks to have been gilt or coated with gold lacquer. This coating is probably retained at 50%, with some areas showing the original color, while the balance is much lighter in color. There are also some areas of bare polished aluminum. All of the details are still there, and we do not see any damage to the design from wear or misuse. The dove head and backstrap are engraved with art deco style 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chappe\/langet features a closed-wing Wehrmacht eagle looking to the viewer's left, which shows excellent detail to his breast feathering, wing feathering, and mobile clutched swas. The reverse langet has a 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, with no cracks or other major damage to the covering, though it does show some age related rippling. It is wrapped with a skein of 6 brass wires, twisted into pairs with the center pair being thicker than the others, and the wrapping is still secure on the grip. The hilt overall has a bit of wobble on the tang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 34 1\/2\" long blade of this sword is the standard nickel-plated spring steel, and still retains the plating well, with no areas of chipping or oxidation we can see. It has correctly not been sharpened, retaining the factory blunt edge, and the needle-like tip is fully intact. There is a bit of scuffing in areas, and some minor areas of roughness on the edge, but nothing more. Really a great blade!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse ricasso is stamped with the trademark Alcoso used from 1940-1943. It depicts the scales with the firm's initials, \u003cstrong\u003eAWS\u003c\/strong\u003e interspersed. Next to this is the firm's name in cursive script, \u003cstrong\u003eAlcoso,\u003c\/strong\u003e and below the town of business, \u003cstrong\u003eSOLINGEN\u003c\/strong\u003e, the legendary \"City of Blades\" in Western Germany. This was lightly stamped and partly worn away, but based on the style we definitely believe it is a later pattern.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to J Anthony Carter's Work \u003cem\u003eGERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS\u003c\/em\u003e,\u003cb\u003e Alcoso\u003c\/b\u003e is a trade name of Alexander Coppel \u0026amp; Co. KG, Stahlwarenfabrik, located in Solingen, the legendary German \"City of Blades.\" 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe scabbard of this example still has good original factory black lacquer, though there is the usual crazing and checking due to age. Overall about 90% of the paint remains, and the scabbard body is straight and dent free. There is a bit of light oxidation in areas where the paint has flaked away. The original hanger ring is present, as is the slot for the hanger hook, used to \"hitch up\" the sword when indoors. The throat is still installed, but we did notice that the securing screws on the narrow sides of the scabbard are missing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOverall a nice example of a German Army Officer's Dove Head sword, from a maker with a somber back story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecifications:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOverall length: 39 1\/4”\u003cbr\u003eBlade length: 34 1\/2”\u003cbr\u003eBlade Style: Single Edged with Fuller\u003cbr\u003eGuard dimensions: 5\" width x 4 1\/2” length\u003cbr\u003eScabbard Length: 35 1\/2\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnly 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45214433083461,"sku":"ONAC25SD0819","price":595.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/FABDE881-95C2-4BC6-9489-1633659FA024.jpg?v=1782500500","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-german-wwii-officers-dove-head-sword-by-alcoso-of-solingen-with-scabbard-circa-1940-1944","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}