General Officer Rank Insignia
WW2 Germany
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Please note: The information
shared here is merely opinion-based criteria resulting from decades of study
as an enthusiast and collector of this genre. It is not definitive, nor offered as “expert”
opinion. There is still much we
do not know and may never know about the manufacture and variants produced
during WWII, and without surviving documentation, speculation will always be
a part of this hobby for some material.
I present this merely as a guide based on examples and information
that I am comfortable with and use in my own collecting criteria. |
The German Army (Heer):
Shoulderboards
The German armed forces in World War Two indicated
General Officer rank via insignia located on the shoulder and collar. The shoulderboards
began with a base pattern of intertwined gold and silver cording, this base
pattern, un-adorned with rank pips designated the lowest General officer rank
of Generalmajor (equivalent to a Brigadier General in
the U.S./British forces). From this
base board pips were added consecutively as the rank increased up to a maximum
of three pips for the rank of Generaloberst (Colonel
General).
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Generalmajor Gold bullion cording with silver inner cord, no rank pips on a bright red underlay. |
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Generalleutnant Gold bullion cording with silver inner cord, single rank pip on a bright red underlay. |
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General der
Infanterie, etc. Gold celleon (nylon) cording with silver inner cord, two rank pips. |
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Generaloberst Gold celleon cording with silver inner cord, three rank pips positioned in a triangle. |
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Generalfeldmarschall
– 1st Pattern, 1936 - 1939 Standard General officer shoulderboards in gold bullion
and silver inner cord with Imperial era style silver crossed batons. |
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Generalfeldmarschall
– 2nd Pattern, September 1940 Standard General officer construction of two outer gold bullion cords and silver aluminum inner cord over a red underlay, with crossed baton devices in the 2nd pattern design with highly detailed crossed, silver batons which bore resemblance to the actual Heer Marshal’s baton. |
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Generalfeldmarschall
– 2nd Pattern, April 1941 In April of 1941 a new regulation required the replacement of the inner silver cord with gold cord so that all three braided cords were in Gold (either bullion or celleon) continued use of the highly detailed crossed, silver batons. |
Collar Tabs
The collar tabs show marked difference
between the German armed forces in the designation of General Officers. The army had one basic pattern for
General Officer until 1941 when a separate pattern was designed exclusively for
Generalfeldmarshall. The basic German Army General’s tab is reflected in
the design below.
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Generalmajor
through Generaloberst Gold bullion or celleon embroidery, no rank pips. This particular example is a later war example perfectly embroidered in gold bullion wire and is from the uniform of General Hans von Salmuth. |
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Generalfeldmarschall Gold bullion or celleon embroidery, of
a different, elongated design using three center ‘leaf’ patterns
rather than the two for other Generals. This particular example belonged to
Generalfeldmarschall Keitel and is embroidered in fine gold wire. |
For further study of additional examples of original Army
Generals insignia;
Exploring the Variations of Army Collar Tabs
I am always looking for good, quality photographs of General
officer insignia to use on this site.
If you have some examples you’re willing to share, please see the submitting photos page.
