Original German WWII Army Officers Lion Head Sword by E. Pack & Söhne of Solingen with Scabbard Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a beautiful classic Lionhead German WWII Army Officers sword, made by the well known firm of Ernst Pack & Söhne of Solingen, Germany, complete with its original scabbard. The all brass & zinc alloy hilt consists of a finely detailed lion head cat with engraved backstrap and “P” guard. The Lion is fitted with blood red faceted “jewel” eyes. There is nice detail throughout his whiskers, chin, and muzzle. The handwork is beautifully rendered throughout hilt. The backstrap and side tabs bear the iconic German “Oak Leaves & Acorns” motifs, which are also found on the guard and the grip ferrule.

The crossguard has an open wing art deco style eagle which looks to the viewer’s left. The breast area of this eagle, as well as the wings, have been hand-enhanced. The hilt has a some the original plating, but was also touched up with gold paint at some point. It looks to possibly be brass plated zinc, which would have been been gold washed. The reverse has a small plate where a monogram might be added, however it is blank. The hilt as a whole is somewhat loose on the tang.

The scabbard of this example still has excellent original factory black enamel, it is retained at over 95% with no dents that we can see or feel. There is a bit of scuffing and crazing, but overall this is one of the best that we have ever seen. There is some wear near the hanger ring, through to the base steel, as is typical.

The grip is a very nice black celluloid-over-wood base. It is wrapped with multiple twisted brass wires, which are still fully intact, though slightly loose. The celluloid is still tight to the wood, and is quite shiny, without any cracking or chipping.

The 32 3/4 inch blade of this example is in very good condition, with just a few small dents on the edge. It is fully nickel plated, which is retained quite well, with jus a bit of oxidation speckling in areas. The edge is still fully blunt, as originally issued.

The rear ricasso of the blade is stamped with the trademark logo of Ernst Pack & Söhne, which is in excellent condition. This is not possible to photograph, as it is almost entirely under the chappe of the crossguard. The mark shows their trademark “Young Siegfried wielding a hammer” Logo, above:

E. PACK & SÖHNE
SOLINGEN

Per J. Anthony Carter’s book GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this firm used this trademark on Army Officer swords from the early war period to the middle of the war. They mostly made daggers so there is not as much information regarding the swords. The company survived the war, until it was sold in the 1960s to another knife company from Solingen, and the maker mark continued to be used into the 1990s. The original leather blade buffer is still present in the cross guard.

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

Specifications:
Overall length: 37 3/4”
Blade length: 32 3/4”
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Guard dimensions: 5 1/4″ width x 4 1/2” length
Scabbard Length: 34 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.