Original German WWII Heer Army Lieutenant General Shoulder Board – Generalleutnant Schulterstücke Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The Heer as the German army and part of the Wehrmacht inherited its uniforms and rank structure from the Reichsheer of the Weimar Republic (1921–1935). There were few alterations and adjustments made as the army grew from a limited peacetime defense force of 100,000 men to a war-fighting force of several million men.

These ranks and insignia were specific to the Heer and in special cases to senior Wehrmacht officers in the independent services; the uniforms and rank systems of the other branches of the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Kriegsmarine (Navy), were different, as were those of the SS which was a Party organization outside the Wehrmacht. The NSDAP Party also had its own series of paramilitary uniforms and insignia.

Generals’ shoulder boards were constructed similarly to those of field-grade officers, but comprised a length of silver Russia braid between two braided cords of gold bullion or Celleon. Since the resulting combination was wider, generals’ boards were plated in four ‘loops’ rather than five. Their buttons were gilt, and rank was indicated by zero to three silver rank stars, or crossed batons in the case of field marshals. The underlay was scarlet, except (from 1944) for generals of staff corps, who were instructed to wear Waffenfarbe instead.

In April 1941, Generalfeldmarschall epaulets were changed to incorporate a central gold cord instead of silver.

Colonels-in-chief wearing that uniform wore gold generals’ shoulder boards underlaid with the Waffenfarbe of the regiment rather than scarlet; GFM von Rundstedt sometimes simply pinned his crossed batons to an infantry colonel’s epaulets.

This is a lovely example of a shoulder board once worn by a Lieutenant General in the German Army during WWII. The scarlet backing is in lovely condition with minor moth nips present. The Russian braids and the bullion is still solid with much of the original colors still visible, however, there is tarnishing present but nothing damaging. The center of the board has a single rank pip.

A wonderful example ready for display.