Matte Bullion General Officer Insignia

(as worn during the war)

German Generals had several different choices of insignia to wear during the course of the war. In the early stages of the war, all of it was made of hot-gilded gold in either a bright or matte bullion cord. Later in the war, a nylon substitute called “celleon” was created to reduce the cost of materials and increase wearing periods. This was also available in matte and bright surfaces.

The original gold bullion shoulderboards were made of German silver or brass with pure hot-gilding of 15/1000 gold, which gradually would turn a darker shade as it was exposed to the outdoor elements and air (and of course today they all look quite dark). This is noticeable in period photos of field Generals. Matte gold for Generals (and matte silver/aluminum for officers) was used in the field as it was less reflective than bright gold or silver, which is an issue at the front where enemy snipers are a always a concern for officers. The brighter gold and aluminum insignia was typically used more often on the dress uniforms worn away from the front and for more formal occasions.

Below is a study of this matte gold bullion insignia from period photographs of Generals and Field Marshals. As you’ll notice, the shoulderboards and breast eagles in matte gold were more common than the collar tabs, and quite often the insignia would even be mixed together. In regards to the Waffen SS, we know from the various surviving uniform examples that it was more common for WSS Generals to wear these matte bullion shoulderboards, perhaps because so many of them served at the front in comparison to their Wehrmacht counterparts.

GFM Rommel with matte shoulderboards	GFM Sperrle with matte shoulderboards, tabs and eagle (notice the bright swastika on the breast eagle)

Luftwaffe General Ramcke with matte shoulderboards	GFM von Rundstedt with matte shoulderboards

Matte shoulderboards, bright collar tabs and eagle	Matte shoulderboards, bright collar tabs and eagle

Matte shoulderboards, bright collar tabs	Matte collar tabs

GFM Kluge with matte shoulderboards and breast eagle and bright collar tabs (with matte highlights)	General Sperrle with matte shoulderboards

General Sperrle with matte collar tabs and bright breast eagle	General with matte shoulderboards, bright breast eagle and what appear to be two tone collar tabs

GFM Keitel with matte shoulderboards	General with matte collar tabs and bright breast eagle

Luftwaffe General with all matte insignia and Heer General Dietel with matte collar tabs and bright shoulderboards	Luftwaffe General with matte shoulderboards and bright collar tabs

Luftwaffe General with matte shoulderboards and bright collar tabs	Luftwaffe General with all matte insignia

Two Luftwaffe Generals…left General has matte shoulderboards, right General appears to have a mix of insignia	GFM Milch with matte shoulderboards

Two Luftwaffe Generals serving in the tropics wearing matte gold shoulderboards and collar tabs.

Waffen SS General Gille with matte shoulderboards	Waffen SS General Phelps with matte shoulderboards

Waffen SS/Police General with matte shoulderboards	Waffen SS General Steiner with matte shoulderboards