Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely early example of a rare German WWII "Dove Head" Army Cavalry Officer's Sword, made by the famed firm Carl Eickhorn of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in western Germany. While very famous for their Feldmarschall (Field Marshal) series of German officer swords, which contained both "Lion Head" and "Dove Head" varieties, they also did make other styles, particularly early during the NSDAP period. This example is a cavalry officer's sword, bearing crossed cavalry sabers on the langet instead of the usual Wehrmachtadler eagle, which is instead located on the Dove head pommel. This piece is also a real treasure as it is not constructed from the later war aluminum, but rather is made of solid brass. It really looks magnificent, retaining much of the finely gilded finish.

The back strap and side tabs of this design have lovely embossed oak leaves and acorns, with a similar design on the wide P-shaped guard as well as on the grip ferrule. The Dove pommel features a large embossed closed-wing Wehrmachtadler eagle surrounded by oak leaves. The grip is of carved wood covered in black celluloid, which is in very good condition and remains shiny, not showing any cracks. The grip is tightly wrapped with a 4 thread skein of aluminum wires, the center two being twisted together. The hilt is secure on the grip, with no wobble that we can detect.

The blade on this sword is an excellent example. It measures 33 3/8 inches and has the highest quality nickel plating. This plating is still bright with only small spots of wear and oxidation. There is no edge damage, as we often see, making this a really fantastic example, one of the best that we have seen recently.

The reverse ricasso is stamped with the 1935-41 Eickhorn trademark: a seated squirrel holding a sword, with the word ORIGINAL above and the firm's name and location, Eickhorn / SOLINGEN below. Unfortunately the chappe/rainguard partly covers the area, so we were not able to get a complete photograph. The original leather blade buffer is in place, and in good shape.

Carl Eickhorn is a legendary maker from Solingen, the famous "City of Blades" in Western Germany. According to J. Anthony Carter's book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this company was founded in 1865 by Carl Eickhorn, and is arguably the most famous of all Solingen makers. Not only could the family trace their history back 500 years, but they could also demonstrate involvement in the hardening and grinding industries for the same period. Truly the nobility of Solingen Edged weapon dynasties. Eickhorn edged weapons are the most desirable of all makers.

The scabbard of this example is in very good condition, with the steel body still straight with no major bends or dents. The original black enamel paint finish is retained at about 80%, and looks to possibly have been refinished during the WWII Period, as we can see some drip marks. However, even those areas now show some flaking with checking and crazing, confirming that the correct enamel was used, and that it was repainted long ago. There is some overall finish flaking, which has allowed the base material to oxidize a bit.

This is a wonderful looking Cavalry Officer's sword from the most legendary of all makers! If you are looking for an excellent example to hang on the wall, this one should do it!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 33 3/8"
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 38 1/8“
Guard dimensions: 5" width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 32 3/4”

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.