Original German WWII Army Heer Officer’s Lion Head Sword by Max Weyersberg with Steel Scabbard – WMW Waffen Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a beautiful classic Lionhead German WWII Army Officers sword, made by Max Weyersberg – WMW Waffen, of Solingen, Germany, complete with its original scabbard. The all brass plated aluminum alloy hilt consists of a finely detailed lion head cat with engraved backstrap and “P” guard. The Lion is fitted with lovely blood red faceted “jewel”, both of which are in fantastic condition. There is nice detail throughout his whiskers, chin, and muzzle. The handwork is beautifully rendered throughout the hilt. The backstrap and side tabs bear the iconic German iconic German “Oak Leaves & Acorns” motif, also seen outside of the guard and the grip ferrule.

The cross guard has a spread winged eagle which looks to the viewer’s right. The breast area of this eagle, as well as the wings, have been hand-enhanced. The reverse has a small plate where a monogram is sometimes added, though this example is blank. The hilt still retains much of the original gilt finish, with some areas worn down to the the underlying brass and aluminum.

The grip is a very nice black celluloid-over-wood base. It is wrapped with multiple twisted brass wires, which are still fully intact. The celluloid is still tight to the wood, and is quite shiny, without any cracking or chipping. The hilt overall does wobble, common for dress swords of this age, especially since the original leather blade buffer is missing.

The 32 1/2 inch blade of this example is in very good condition, with only some light scuffing in areas. It is fully nickel plated, which is retained quite almost completely, showing scattered areas of flaking and oxidation. The edge is still fully blunt, as originally issued, though there are a few small dents on the edge and on the spine.

The reverse ricasso is stamped WMW Waffen trademark logo, which is unfortunately covered by the chappe/rainguard:

WMW
WAFFEN

Max Weyersberg, Waffenfabrik (Weapons Factory), was founded by a member of the larger Weyersberg family of blade makers. The company was located at Katternbergerstrasse 176 in Solingen Germany, the legendary “City of Blades” in Western Germany. Per J. Anthony Carter’s fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS, this company was founded in 1920, and registered with authorities in 1933 as a maker of cutlery, hunting/sporting knives, and edged weapons. WMW WAFFEN was their main trade name, and was originally pierced with a sword. However later in the period the WMW / WAFFEN marking with the enlarged “M” was used, such as on this later war example.

The scabbard of this example still has good original factory black enamel, which is retained at about 75%. Sighting down the scabbard shows that it is straight, without any major dents or bends, making this really a nice example. There is chipping, scuffing, and moderate wear, but nothing out of line with service. It does not look to have been refinished at any type, confirmed by the crazing and checking in the black enamel finish.

Overall a very good condition high quality sword from a well-known German sword maker, based in Solingen, the “City of Blades” in Western Germany. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Overall length: 38 1/2”
Blade length: 33 1/2″
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Guard dimensions: 5″ width x 4 1/2” length
Scabbard Length: 35 1/2″

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.