Original German WWII Heer Colonel General’s Shoulderboard and National Eagle – Generaloberst Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice set of German WWII Heer Generaloberst’s (Army Colonel General’s) insignia, consisting of a correct Schulterstücke (Shoulderboard) with three “pips” and a Gold Bullion Hoheitszeichen (National Eagle), also known as the Wehrmachtsadler (Armed Forces Eagle).  A “Col. General” is equivalent to a U.S. Army Four-Star ‘General’, and is only below a “Field Marshall” in rank.

The Shoulder board is in great shape, with vibrant red felt backing, with just a bit of moth nipping in the nap of the fabric. The silver Russia braid is excellent, with great color and held between between two braided cords of gold bullion, which have faded slightly.  The Eagle has fared a bit worse, and while it still does have a lot of the original paper backing, some of the hand-embroidered gold bullion is now loose.  Still, this is a great set of hard to find insignia, ready to spiff up that Generaloberst uniform that is missing a shoulderboard.

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.