Original German WWII Army Officer Dove Head Sword by Peter Daniel Krebs with Steel Scabbard & Leather Hanger Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This Army Dove Head Sword is a very nice patinated example, made by the firm Peter Daniel Krebs of Solingen, the legendary “City of Blades” in Western Germany. It features a very nice nickel plated blade, and comes complete with the correct steel scabbard and a 1940 dated leather fitted hanger clip setup.

The hilt on this example is of the later war gilt & plated aluminum style, which looks to have had the gilded coating applied directly to the aluminum. It now shows a lot of wear and oxidation from hanging on the grip area and back strap, while the guard shows a lot more of the original color. It does appear to have suffered some type of weathering or exposure that has caused parts of the aluminum to oxidize. The overall design is a bit of a departure from the other examples we have seen, which mostly take after the “Field Marshall” series of Carl Eickhorn. The dove head and backstrap are embossed with the classic German oak leaves and acorns motif, which extends onto the side tabs. The “flat” P guard has the same motif, as does the brass ferrule. There are lots of hand enhancing visible, especially on the cross guard area .

The chappe/langet features a raised out “spread wing” National eagle, which shows excellent detail to his beak, eye, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons and mobile clutched swas (hook cross). The other chappe is a blank shield and would often be used for the officer to add a monogram, however this example is still unmarked.

The grip of this example is a black celluloid over a carved wood base, which is still in very good condition, showing some light wear and checking to the material, with no areas cracked or missing. The grip is wrapped with three pairs of twisted wire, with the center pair being larger, and the wrapping is fully intact. There is some dirt and oxidation around the wires, and they show overall oxidation and have moved a bit out of place. The grip is tight to the tang of the blade, though the guard itself wobbles a bit.

The nickel plated blade is 29 3/4 inches long, made of high quality spring steel. The plating is in very good condition, showing only very minor oxidation and a few tiny areas where the plating has degraded. There is a bit of runner wear, and the blade is still correctly unsharpened, with some scattered light denting, probably from someone playing with the sword post war. The original leather blade buffer is still present, showing some wear from age.

The reverse ricasso is maker marked with a “Crayfish” or “Fresh Water Lobster” mark inside a shield, surrounded by PET · DAN · KREBS · SOLINGEN, the maker mark of Peter Daniel Krebs, Waffenfabrikation (Arms Manufacture. This was a relatively well-known maker from Solingen, the famous “City of Blades” in Western Germany, which produced many fine edged weapons. Per J. Anthony Carter’s fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS, this company began trading in 1860, though it did not register until 1899. Krebs is the German word for “Crayfish”, and was originally registered as a trademark by August Krebs. The company was run by his relatives and descendants, and survived post war until 1954, when the company was dissolved.

The included scabbard is still in very good condition, and does not have any major dents or bends that we can detect in the steel body. The black enamel paint is still in good shape, however it definitely does show some light wear and oxidation from age. There is checking and crazing throughout, only possible due to years of age. The scabbard still retains the original hanger ring and flat loop to hook on the belt hanger.

Attached to the scabbard when we received it is a very nice “teardrop” leather sword hanger, of the type that would be attached to a clip on the inside of the tunic, and then fed out through the pocket hole. It is in unissued condition, and we have considered that it may be a high end replica. It is marked on the back with.

JOSEF BAUER
OFFENBACH.A.M.
1940

The aluminum clip itself is marked on the back with F L L in circles, the logo of Friedrich Linden of Lüdenscheid, a city with a large clothing accessories industry. However, it is also marked with the (ᛋᛋ) Doppelte Siegrune (Double Sig/Victory Rune) insignia of the SS, and also with (RZM) 629 / 38. 

Overall a lovely example of a German Army Officer Dove Head sword by a desirable maker, complete with scabbard and hanger. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 29 3/4″
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 34 1/2“
Guard dimensions: 5″ width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 30 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.