On November 26TH 1938 the first pattern, pointed tip, shoulder straps without waffenfarben, (Branch of Service Color), piping, utilized by EM/NCO’s were replaced with a rounded tip shoulder strap that included the branch of service waffenfarben. Originally these second pattern straps were manufactured in blue/green badge cloth until regulations in May 1940 altered their construction to field-grey wool. These second pattern shoulder straps were worn for the duration of the war although a third and final pattern was introduced in September 1944. The different branches of service within the German army were allocated a specific, identifying, waffenfarbe, (Branch of Service Color), with white being chosen for, Infantry personnel which was generally displayed as piping on the shoulder straps.

Check Out Print Email to a friend

The first helmet covers introduced to the German armed forces were those given in 1937 to the men of the Deutschland Regiment of the recently formed SS-Verfügungstruppe.  On 3 February 1937 a patent was issued to none other than Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler for the production of a reversible cloth cover with both spring and fall pattern camouflage. 
The first cloth covers were developed by SS Sturmbahnnführer W. Brandt who was also a Ph.D. in Engineering.  The design was later enhanced by Joahnn Georg Otto Schick of Munich who jointly applied with Himmler to patent the design.  Of interest is the fact that Himmler wanted to own the patent to insure that the German Army could not duplicate the design.  In addition he wanted to ensure that he would become wealthy from the mass production of helmet covers for his growing army of SS men.  The helmet cover was produced in both "oak" and "blurred edge" camouflage cloth of the type only produced for the Waffen-SS. 
The first helmet cover pattern included four "rocker clips" that ensured that the cloth cover would remain attached to the helmet shell.  These four clips were positioned on the front, back, and sides of the cloth cover.  This design was changed during actual production to include only three clips.  The forth clip was removed from the design and was replaced by a slip or pocket for the metal visor of the helmet to slide into.  The metal rocker clips were produced in both steel and aluminum1.
First pattern helmet covers did not include loops for attaching foliage. However in 1942 all helmet covers were manufactured to include these cloth attachments on the front, sides, and rear.  Of interest is the fact that many wartime photographs taken after 1942 depict the Waffen-SS with a larger proportion of "first pattern" cloth helmet covers as opposed to those with cloth loops described as "second pattern" covers.

WW1 Imperial German  set of M1915 pattern sew on shoulder straps for the 204th Infantry Regiment. Straps show some mothing but otherwise excellent condition. 

The concept of a police-type occupation of Germany arose from the consideration of plans for the most efficient employment of the relatively small forces available.

The speed of redeployment in the fall of 1945, and the certainty that the occupational troop basis would have to be reduced speedily, dictated the utmost economy in the use of manpower. The basic principle of the police-type occupation—that the lack of strength in the forces of occupation must be made up for by careful selection, rigid training, and high mobility—cannot be attributed to any single individual, or indeed to any single agency. Before any plans were worked out for the organization of the United States Constabulary, units of the United States Army assigned to occupational duties in Germany had experimented with the organization of parts of their forces into motorized patrols for guarding the borders and maintaining order in the large areas for which they were responsible. In September 1945, the G-2 Division of European Theater Headquarters put forward a plan, which was carried into effect towards the end of the years for the organization of a special security force known as the District Constabulary. In October 1945, the War Department asked European Theater Headquarters to consider the feasibility of organizing the major portion of the occupational forces into an efficient military police force on the model of state police or constabulary in the United States.

Ideas crystallized rapidly. At the end of October 1945, General Eisenhower, then Theater Commander, announced to the proper authorities that the population of the United States Zone of Germany would ultimately be controlled by a super-police force or constabulary. In early November, the strength of the proposed constabulary was announced as 38,000. Planning was well advanced by the end of 1945, when the European Theater Headquarters notified the War Department that the constabulary would be organized as an elite force, composed of the highest caliber personnel obtainable under the voluntary re-enlistment program, and that it would be equipped with an efficient communications network, sufficient vehicles and liaison airplanes to make it highly mobile, and the most modern weapons. During the paper stage, the organization was known by a series of names. "State Police" was discarded for "State Constabulary." Then it was thought that "State" would be confusing, as the main United States Zone of Germany had been divided, for purposes of civil administration, into three states, or Länder. Then the organization emerged from the planning stage, it as known as the "Zone Constabulary," but before it became operational it was named "United States Constabulary."

The NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party), was originally founded in Munich as the DAP, Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (German Worker’s Party), on January 5TH 1919. When Adolf Hitler joined the DAP in the autumn of 1919 he was to reform what was basically a debating society into an active political party. Appointed as the first chairman of the party on July 29TH 1921 Hitler was to restructure it along para-military lines in a hierarchy of four levels of government consisting of the Reichsleitung, (National Level), the Gauleitung, (Provincial/State Level), the Kreisleitung, (District Level), and the Ortsgruppenleitung, (Local Level). The NSDAP had utilized the basic identifying swastika armbands as early as 1922 to be worn by party members at all rallies or political functions. Shortly afterwards, (circa 1923), Political Leader’s began wearing a new pattern armband with additional stripes that indicated functional positions within the party. In 1939 a second pattern of Political Leader’s armbands were introduced which denoted administrative or operational functions and level of government. Of Note: In late 1934 items manufactured for the NSDAP, came under the quality control of the RZM, Reichzeugmeisterei, (National Equipment Quartermaster) and as a result were marked with the RZM logo when appropriate. Of Note: The RZM was official founded in June 1934 in Munich by the NSDAP as a Reich Hauptamt, (State Central Office), and was based on the earlier SA Quartermaster’s Department. The functions of the RZM were not only to procure and distribute items to Party formations, but also to approve chosen designs and to act as a quality control supervisor to ensure items manufactured for the Party met required specification and were standardized.

Check Out Print Email to a friend