e PUBLISHING The SA 1921-45: Hitler's Stormtroopers 'h\ 2 LAP vid Littlejohn • Illustrated by Ron Volstad Men-at-Arms • 220 The SA 1921-45 Osprey PUBLISHING David Littlejohn • Illustrated by Ron Volstad Sa- f: editor Martin Windrow First published in (h eal Britain in 1990 by Osprey Publishing, Finis Court, Chapel Way, IJotley, Oxford OX2 9LP, United Kingdom, Fin ail: i n f b@ospre y p ublisl li n g. c< >n 1 © 1990 Osprey Publishing Ltd, Reprinted 1991, 1994 (twice), 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001 All rights reserved. Apart from any lair dealing lor the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under die Copyright Designs and Patents Art, 1988. no part oJ tins publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission, of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers. Series Editor: MART 1 N W 1 ND ROW British Library Cataloguing in Publication Da l a Littlejohn, David, 11)24— The Sturmahteihuig; Hitler’s stormtroopers 19 2 t —45. — (M e 11 - a t-arms s e ri es; 2 20). 1. Gcrmanv. Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Ar 1 >eiter — Partci. SturmaJ>teiI ung,1921 1945 U 'Title II. Voistad, Ron III. Series 943-085 I SUN 0-85045-944-3 Acknowledgements I he author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of: John R. Angolia, Klaus Benseler, Josef Chari la, A11 d 1 e\v Molio, K a r 1 () r t ma 11 n. UI ri c tA E ngla nd, Andrew S. Walker, Stewart Wilson. Ml: 1 he credit. 'Walker Collection* refers to the collection of the laic Andrew Walker now in the Imperial War Museum, London. Andrew S* Walker (listed above) is no relation. Artist’s Note Readers may care to note that the original paintings Iro 1 n whieli 111 e eoktur p 1 at.es in this book were prepared are available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the publisher. All enquiries should be addressed to: Ronald 11. Voistad P.O. Box 2730 Can mo re, Alberta Canada TOL OMO The publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter. Fi I i nset in Great Britain Primed in China through World Print Ltd, F() R A C AT A LO CUE 01 ALL B < X > KS PUBLISH E H J1V Osprey Military and Aviation please contact: The Marketing Mail a get; Osprey Direct UK T PC) Box 140, Wellingborough, Non hams, NN8 4ZA, United Kingdom. Email: inft>@ospreyditeci.eo.uk I he Marketing Managet; ()sprev Hi reel USA t c/c > M <) t o rb 00 k s 1 n ter n a donah PC) Box 1 , Os ce< > I a, W L 54020-0001, USA. Email: inl<)@ospi eydirect usa.com V 1 s 1 1 Osprey s webs ite a r. wvv wu >spr eypublishi ngxom t ii 19 i q Ad o If' Hi tier j oined 1 h e tin y German Workers' Party (DAP) in Munich, becoming its leader the following year and adding 'National socialist’ to its title. Thus the NSDAP, popularly known as the Nazi Party, was born. All political parties had strong-arm squads to protect their meetings from disruption by rivals, 11) e N S 1 ) AI > w as n o ex c e p t i o n, In A ug u s t i q 2 i -naval Lieutenant Hans Ulrich Klintzsch took mmand of the NS 1 )APL 'Defence and Propa- < 1 a l to t) p' w 11 it :h. the f o 11 o wi n g m o n t h, w a s re - ed the SA {Sturm able thing — Storm De Lac li¬ nt , That November the SA had its baptism of when the Communists attempted to break up a meeting iri the Hofbrauhaus in Munich; ugh outnumbered, the SA gave their adver- a bloody nose. iq22 the NSDAP created a youth section dbund) for males between the ages of 14 and bears. It was sub-divided into two age groups, elder of which, for 16 to 18-year-olds and titled term Adolf Hitler, was in effect a junior SA. Tts r, the Hitler Youth, remained under SA nd until May 1932, inallv conlined to Munich, the SA made its important sally outside that city when, on October 1922, it took part in a 'German Day' rg which resulted in a pitched battle with munists who held sway there. The 'Battle g’ succeeded in breaking t he hold of the t in the city, and the press coverage which ent ac 1 1 ieved serve1 11 o 1 riake Hitler's name 10 a wider public. t ’national' rally of the NSDAP was held anuary 1923 when some 6,000 SA men ;vm y * :•' ..•kw.v < i :,.y. A;: I;,Uy Capt. Rohm wearing first design S^afesdio/ patches; twin gold oak leaves. paraded before Hitler, who presented Standarien ( standards: to four recently formed SA units: \ I s Miinchen, Munchen II, Niirnberg and Landshut. A 'batth 1 flag' iSturmfaline) was, at the same time, conferred upon an SA company from Zwickau — the first SA unit to be formed outside Bavaria, On 1 March 1923 SA Regiment Munich was ft jimccl. In l he same m o nth co 1 n rn a 11 d o ft he S A passed to Hermann Goering after Klintzsch, a 3 mmi Nuremberg, September 1923; tlic SA parade in the grey uniform of the period, (J, R, Angolia) member of Cap Lain Ehrhardt’s Freikorps, was recalled by his chief following a quarrel between Ehrhardt and Hiller over their differing reactions L o F re 11 c h o c c u p a l i o n of t he R uhr. C»o e r i n g 1 > r o u gh 1 with him the prestige of a hero of the First World War hut was. by nature, indolent and sell- indulgenl. The true moving force behind the SA was Ernst Rohm, a staff officer at Army headquar¬ ters in Munich. Ii was Rohm who persuaded the military to supply the SA with arms, thus transforming it into one among several Wehrver- hande [ofiicially tolerated L armed groups 1 - witlimit exce ption an ti- Comm u nis t). In September 1923 Hitler succeeded in creating a hampjbund (Fighting Union) of sonic 70,000 men, mainly SA but also Bund Obey land (a Freiknrps unit and Reichs-Kriegsjtagge (an armed formation unii- mantled by Rohm). On 9 November 192 ; Hhlei attempted to use this force to overthrow the Munich government. The badly planned, badly executed operation ended in humiliating defeat. Ill e pc dice opened fi re on i he demonstrators, killing 16 and wounding many more. Hitler was arrested; Goering, wounded, escaped to Aust ria, The SA was banned; those of its leaders who managed to avoid arrest fled to other (iemian states w here Bavarian law could not touch them. Hitler was given a five- year prison sentence but was released under an amnesty in December 1924, Rohm, protected by his armv masters, received nothing worse than a 4 sc:\re re re j > ri m and \ The failure of the Putsch^ far from destroying the SA, served rather to spread it to other German regii>n>. Refugees from Munich sen up clandestine V\ in 1 ricr the name Fronibamt . Hitier did not lail to draw the correc L ex me hisions iVom this disaster. Armed insurrection against a government wlii h co mm an els 1 1 le lo y a 11 v of the police a n d a nn y 4 is foredoomed. Henceforth he would employ only leeal methods. When the SA was reactivated in February 1925 Hitler categorically forbade it to bear arms or function as any form of private army. The days of the SA as a Wehrverband were over. Its purpose was to clear the streets of his political enemies. Hitler's % j c w of the SA’s r 61 e w as bo 1 1 y ex >11 tested b y R d h m, .ho envisaged it as a citizens 1 army, part of Germany's secret re-armament. The disagreement «■ between the two became so bitter that Rohm resigned from the Party in April and in 1928 quit Germany lor a military adviser's post in Bolivia. The SA remained without an overall command sis various units each being accountable to their •a Gauleiter) until November 1926, when Hitler imed himself Obersle SA Fuhrer ;Supreme SA rader). The actual executive leadership was aed in the Chief of Staff [Chefdm Staffs) Film post en t rus Led to a p rorn in cn 1 Freikorps I eade r, Franz Felix Pfeffer von Salomon 1 who sea about krzanising the SA along military lines, ll was now ■rmed into: pm e pen [the smallest unit) Slandarten {Regiments) \rupps (roughly platoons) Brigaden (Brigades) Erw 1 roughly companies) Gamiurme (roughly Divisions) Gait sturm corresponded exactly to an NSDAP I August 1927 die SA numbered some 30,000 1. Two years later that strength had doubled. In Motor SA was established to give greater ity and allow a quick mustering of strength, pile his success in expanding the SA and ising its efficiency, Pteller ceased to enjoy s conlidlncc. It became apparent that 's concept of the S A differed little from that of Hitler discovered that Pfeffer had been v attempting to involve the Army in the ^military training of the SA. In August 1930 dismissed Pfeffer and telegraphed Rohm in asking him to return and take charge ol the fcolini was batik in Germany before (Ihristmas pfficially assumed duty as Chef ties Stabes on 5 1931. He revised the structure of the SA, ■hiding it into: ;msr Salomon sot iiuktl Jewish, he profbrrcd lobe known Ycr or, incorrectly. [''ran/ von PibfitT. Wilhelm Schepmaim as an Ohergruppenfuhrer, (Josef Chari la) Scharen : 1 he former Slandarten Gnippen) Untergruppen (the former Trupps Gamiurme) Sturm e Gruppen Stunnhanne Under Pfeffer the highest SA formation, the Gamturm* had been subordinate to the Parly leadership; but the new Gruppe had no NSDAP counterpar t as it extended o ver sevcra 1 Gaite, and its leader {Gruppenfuhrer) was thus answerable only to Rohm or, of course, to Hitler himself On 17/18 October 1931 a Token mobilisation 1 of the Nazis' forces took place in the town of Brunswick, with around 104,000 uniformed parti¬ cipants. It was an impressive display of strength, but ils very success alarmed the Weimar author¬ ities. In December they imposed a ban on the wearing of all political uniforms. This proscription remained in force until the following June, by which lime ii had been demonstrated to have had 5 litlle practical effect. The Nazis simply adopted a civilian uniform' of white shirt and black tie, and carried on as before. In July 1932 Rohm created a yet larger SA agglomerate - the Obergruppe. of which t here were, at this stage, five. I he SA now dominated the streets, disrupting the meetings of its rivals, and terrorising its opponents. Without actually chal¬ lenging the government to a head-on confronta¬ tion, 1 lit hr was able to blackmail and intimidate it with the size and discipline of his brown-shirted army. On 30 January 1933, as a result of a combination of victory at the polls and back-stairs intrigues. Hitler was apj>0inted Chance 11□ r (Priine Mi] lister) of Germany. The burning of the Reichstag building the following month was blamed on the Commu¬ nists and used as the pretext for pushing through an enabling law which gave Hitler virtually dicta¬ torial powers. Goering, Minister of the Interior for i h(M.Q c. 1937 of SA find (in black kepis) SS men. ’Note diversity of 'uniforrat (Ulric of England) ■' V V pSSIll 6 Prussia, authorised the SA to act as a polit auxiliary and to sweep all 'enemies of the state' ini a c o nc (‘ n t ra t i o n i :a n 1 p s. At the Party Day oI Vietory at Nurember g tha Sept ern b er, some 12 o, 0 00 u n i I b r m e d m e participated. Rohm was made a member of the Reichs cabinc as Minister without Portfolio, The number oi SA Obergruppen had increased to ten by January 1934 But time was running out for the SA’s mosi celebrated Chiefof Staff. Rohm made no attempt tc conceal his differences with Hitler over the role o: the SA; an advocate of She second revolution’, he wished to transform i( into an armed force tc. supplement, even replace, the regular Army. Hitler, on the contrary, felt that the SA had already fulfilled its task of crushing its political opponents a nr I now, wit 11 i is ro wd v he h a vio u r, was becomi n e j j o someth i ng of an em barrassmen t. He already looked ahead to a future war of conquest lor which a fully professional army was essential. The Army, for its " £ ■■ part, regarded the SA with undisguised contempt as bn)wn sc uin , a n d was eager to cr:>-< >pcra te wIth Hitler in expansion and re-armament. Recklessly foolhardy, or naive to an incredible degree, R6hm continued publicly to voice his criticisms of his leader and to back them with scarcely veiled threats. Matters came to a head in the spring of 1934 when Hitler learned that Rohm was secretly arming his Staff Guards, something he had expressly forbidden. During June the SA was ordered to take a month s leave. On 30June Hitler cut down its entire leadership in a single decisive blow. Dozens of SA men (and others; were shot dead by SS squads working from death lists prepared by Hitler and Goering. Rohm was arrested and, in prison, offered the chance to shoot himself. When he refused, he was shot through the window of his cell he his SS miard. if Cjl in Rbhm’s place Hitler appointed a loyal but colourless SA Obergruppm/uhrer^ Viktor Lutze, like all previous incumbents of the post a former Army officer. Lutze had to preside over the emasculation of the SA. Or _ ! . , SS. until this time subordinate to the SA Supreme Command, was Vr.in 1 r(: in incm :jende:;ce. I he M« ar.>j SA was hived off and amalga mated with its Junior partner’ the NSKK to become a separate body. The Flu get SA w as inv y - the German Air ' ikior Lutzcin Oslo, 1942, with officers of Quisling's Rikshird [Norwegian counterpart of the SA). Note black collar to p^eaicoat and long-service rings. (Josci Char it a) ko I i .shed; all com missioned ranks had either gold or silver piping [as button colour). 1 he two colours listed under Piping 1 were those worn around the collar and/or collar patch as detailed previously. S ta fT of Grupp en : 11 right red coll a r p a Lc 11 es w i t h silver piping. Subalterns (until 1938): bright red w i l h red / wh i tc pi pi n g, thereafter s i 1 ver, Stall of the GSAF: carmine patches with silver piping. Subalterns (until 1938): carmine with ca mi i n e/ w h i le piping, 1 h ereaf ter sil ve t. Stabschef: bright red collar patches with gold piping. The SA unit in the General Government (of Poland) wore grey collar patches piped in white with *GG* on right side. Personnel, up to the rank of Qherfiikrer, on service outside Germany during the war wore brown 9 Summary of collar patches, piping, etc., as in May 1933 Gruppe Abbr. Collar patch Number Piping Button colour Rank 'bars' Os t land Ost. dark wine red w black/white g silver /black i Westfalen Wf. dark wine red w black /white s silver/black 1 Niedcrrhcin N rh. black w black/white 8 silver/ black Be din - B r a n de n b 1 \ rg B black w black/white s silver/black Pom mem P apple green w black .'white 1 £ silver/black he -^3 r_ L Th. apple green vv red / vv Id te s silver/red Wes tin ark WM dark brown w black/white s silver/black Niedersachsen Ns. dark brown vv black/white g silver/black Sachsen Sa. emerald green w whitc/grcen s silver/black Nor dinar k Nm . emerald green w black/white £ silver /black 1 Mine Mi. orange yellow b black/white 8 silver/black i Slid west SW orange yellow b black/Yellow • j s black /yellow Schlesien S sulphur yellow w black/white s silver/black Franken Fr. sulphur yellow b blue/'white g black/blue Hoch land Ho. light blue vv blue/white s silver/blue Bavr. Ostmark r‘ BO light blue vv blue/white g silver/blue Oesterreich Oc. steel green w red /white 1 s silver/red Nordsee No. si eel green w black/white g silver/black Hansa Ha. navy blue w light blue/yellow 8 silver/light blue 1 0 1 lessen He. navy blue * w light blue/red s silver/light blue 1 0 Ostmar k One pink b black/white g siivcr/black Kurptalz KP pink w r black/white 1 s silver/black Notes w = while b = black s = silver g — gold In die above, under Rank ‘bars’, the first mentioned colour is that of the bar, the second that of the central stripe. Thus silver/black = silver/black/silver. The names of the Gruppen are given in their German form: Sachsen - Saxony, Oesterreich — Austria, etc. cues pip eel i1 i vv hite (silver 1 or o nice rs ) . Members of Hilfsivtrk JCordwest (a unit of Austrian Nazi exiles in Germany) wore russet collar patches with l NW 5 in white; the piping was red/ white. Shoulder Straps Introduced in 1933 and, at this stage, worn on the right only, they were as follows: (a) Non-commissioned grades: four strands in two colours (as per "Piping on an underlay in Gruppe colour, (b) Sturmfiihrer to Stunt hauptiii/irer: four strands of silver or gold (as button colour) 011 underlay in Gruppe colour. (c) Sturmfiihrer to Standarlenjukrer : three strands of intertwined silver or gold abc) on underlay in Gruppe colour. 10 Summary of collar patches, piping, etc, Gruppe Abhrm Tannenberg 1 Westfalen VV f, Ntfcderrhcin Nrh. Berlin -Bran d en burg B Oder Sudmark Pom mem Thiiringcn Mittehhein Niccler sachsen Sachsen Nordmark Elbe Neckar Schlesien I ran ken Hochland Bayern w a. Id i* Nordsee Kurpialz Hansa Hessen Donau All >enland Sudeten Weichsd Wart he Oberrhein Bdhmen-Mahren I lollemi a - M ora v i a ) B y i <)■ j 2 a 11 c o liar pa te h n u mbc * 1 r s we re w h i te, [ 0 b e rjiih re r 1 o 0 b erg ruppenj Hit re r\ inter w o v e n t w (> strands of cord—one silver, one gold. Underlay: irufipe colour, e Stabschef { Rohm): as (d) but with six-pointed gold metal star. Underlay: bright red. as in 1940-5 Collar patch Piping dark wine red vellow dark wine red white black yellow j black white pink yellow pink white apple green yellow j apple green white dark brown yellow dark brown white emerald green while emerald green vellow j orange yet low yellow J orange yellow white sulphur yellow white sulphur yellow vellow light blue white light blue vellow steel green yellow steel green white navv blue yellow navv blue white russet brown yell ow russet brown white bluish grey yellow bluish grey white cornflower blue while cornflower blue yellow unknown (f) Stabschej' ( 1934-9): lh rec i n terw oven gold strands. Gold metal oak leaf cluster. L nderlay: bright red. On 1 J une 1939 underlay colour was changed for all ranks to the military concept of Wajjenfarhe (a i 1 O Sire Sa. N m. E N S F r. Ho. BW No. K P . I la. He, Do. Al. Su. W Wa. Orb SA collar ranks. Worn on the left side only by ranks up to Standarten-fukrer, thereafter on both sides. (i) SA Mann (after 1938; SA Sturmmann) (2) Sturmman (after 1938: (Obersturmmaii), (3) Kottcnfubrer (4) Scharfuhrer (5) Oberscharfulirer (G)Truppfulirer (7) Obertruppfiihrer (8) Trupphauptfuhrer (this rank, introduced in 1938, is sometimes called Haupttruppfuhrer} (9) Sturm fii hr er (10) Oberslurmfuhrer colour (it) Sturmhauptfiibrer Two colour piping discontinued hi 1938, thereafter silver or gold as button colour ( ia ) Sturmbannfuhrer (13) Obersturmbannfiihrer (14) Standartenfiibrer (13) Oberlubrer (16) Brigadefubrer (17) GruppenHihrer (18) Obcrgruppeniulirer (19) Brigadefiihrer (20) (jruppenfiiihrer (21) Obergruppcnfubrer Second design, 1944-45 (22} Stabs chef (Rohm) (23) Stabs chef (September 1934 to *945) ( 2 4) Stand a rtetigeldver waiter: senior officer in SA Finance Department, 1931-1933 colour which indicated branch of the serv ice) a follows: Signals units lemon Equestrian units orange Pioneer units black Jtiger jtichiitzen green Medical units royal blue Marine SA navy blue # T oot units 1 grey Gruppen stalls bright red OSAF staff carmine At this stage only the underlay was changed, the rest of the strap being unaltered except in the case of non-com missioned grades, who now had brown/ white upon an underlay as above. m i a c Shoulder straps Upper row 7 : 1932—1939 JLower row: period 1939“ 1945 abc — according to button colour (or former button colour) (a) Upper: SA Mann to Obertruppfiihrer: twin colours of SA Gruppe piping on an underlay is same colour as collar patch. (a) Lower: brown with small silver Vs on Waffenfarbe underlay (b) Upper*. Sturmfuhrer to Sturmhauptfuhrer: silver or gold (abc) cord on underlay in collar patch colour (b) Lowen “Silver 1 " (matt aluminium) or gold (abc) on Waffenfatrbe underlay. (c) Upper*. Sturmbannfiihrer to Standartenfubrer: three strands oi silver or gold (abc) interwoven cord on underlay in collar patch colour. (c) Lowen As above but underlay in tVa ilcnfarbe (d) Uppers Obcrfiihrer to op Obergruppenluhrer: two strands (one silver, one gold) of interwoven cord on underlay in collar patch colour. (d) Lowen Three strands (sliver/gold/silver) on bright red underlay. (e) Upper. Stabschef (Rohm) as above but with gold metal star, bright red underlay. After July 1934 the star was replaced by an oak leaf cluster. (e) Lower: Stabschef (Lutre/Schcpmann); gold cord, gold star, bright red underlay. On theouLbreak of war in September 1939 there w a sadia nge i n 111 e s 1 y I e o I s ho u 1 d e r s t ra p s b ri n gi 11 g them (for ollicer grades) more in line with military practice. They were now as follows: (a) Brown decked with silver Vs (two strands up, two strands down). •(b) Eight strands of silver or gold according to the former button colour ( button colour' was discon¬ tinued in 1938), (c) Three interwoven strands in silver or gold. ' * O (d) Three interwoven strands—two silver, one gold. (e) Four interwoven gold strands and gold me La oak leaf cluster. 12 K.-K-E . . . . ...•. >!-i- i'i ..V',.;.-.. r?:. v . ., V ■. V J. ' .11 I I II *3 y‘- ■■■ Headgear [ he kepi as introduced in 1925 had one (or two) ilver button (s) on the front, otherwise no insignia. 11 was the same for all ranks until August 1929, hen a red side panel (piped in silver) and silver piping around the crown was authorised for Standartenjukrer and above. In 1929 a cap badge was created—an eagle holding a wreathed swastika; below it only one button was worn. In 1931 piping in silver or gold "according to button colour 1 (hereafter abbreviated to abc) around the llap and crown of the kepi was authorised for all officers. In March 1933 side panels in the Gruppe colour 1 were addeel to aII kepis. Piping lor con1 rnissioned grades was now revised to: Subalterns: two-colour piping in the Gruppe Jours around the crown only. Middle ran king officers: piping in silver or gold abc 1 around the crown only. , / | i i i Sen Io r office rs: si I ver or gold (abc) pi pin g around the crown with the two-colour piping of the Gruppe around the upper edge of the flap. In addition, silver or gold (abc) Tresse braid was added to the upper edge of the flap below the two- colour piping* Width varied, to, 15 or 20mm with ascending rank* After 1934 all such braid was silver except for (a) Stabs chef: 20mm gold 'Tresse, bright red sick 1 panel; (b) Chiefs of Staff at Gruppe 1 1 c ad q u a r t e rs: \ 01 n n 1 wi cl c go I d 7 resse interwov e 11 with red thread, bright red side panel; (c) Section Heads ( Ahteilungschefs) at the OSAF: 101 run gold Tresse, carmine side panel* In 1934 the cap badge was redesigned as a larger version of the j)receding \sharp-wi 11 ged eaglc. In 1 936 two new versions were tried out: one, with the eagle's head facing left, was quickly discontinued, the other was adopted for use by both SA and Political Leaders. In 19 38 t wo-colou r piping was d i scon t i 11 u ed. A 11 o 11 ice r g rad e s h ad si I ve r o 1' go 1 el (abc); o n e y e a r 1 a t e r Wartime kepi of Stab&chef Lutzc: bright red top with gold braid* (Adrian Forman) Kepi of a subaltern of Gruppe Pomerania: light green side panel with black/white piping, gold button and silver 1929-34 type cap badge* silver became standard — only the Slabs chef had gold* In addition to the kepi the SA had a brown forage cap. the LagermiHze (camp cap), with a single silver or gold (abe) button on the from and, on the left side, a triangle in the Gruppe colour upon which was an eagle-and-swastika badge normally woven, but also found in metal. The badge was, at first, of the 1929 design, later replaced by (lie 1936 type. Officers had gold or silver (abe) piping around the upper edge of the flap. In the Marine SA the Lagermiltze was of the same design but in navy blue < > r w h i t e acco r d i n g to the o r d e r 0 I'd re ss, The 'Italian * 1 type of LagermiHze worn by the SA Wekrm.annscha.flen is described hereafter* In SA (rruppe Hochland (High!ands) an Ecl < k I weiss was worn on the side of the kepi or LagermiHze ^ normally in metal but rarer cotton versions exist. At first this was the flower head only; later a swastika was added to the centre; finally a version with flower head, swastika and stock was created. This was usually worn on a e.loth rhombus in the Gruppe colour. Cap ba dges were a 1 w a y s 'si I ver : w h i te m e t a I or aluminium) and did not correspond to button colour 1 . Bullion versions for officers existed, but were rarer Belt Buckles Be 1 fo r e 19 3 3 s e v e r a 1 u 11a u l ho r i sed d es i g ns o 1 ' b u c k I c s were produced and worn. Even after the institution oi an official design — rectangular, with an eagle and wreathed swastika upon a circle whose Lower hall is oak leaves — minor variations were common. In April 1934 a two-claw buckle was authorised lor wearing with the tunic. A brocade belt with a round buckle for senior officers was created in j r)3H; it features the SA monogram on the chest of a closed-wing eagle with, at the base, an oak leaf wreath and, at the Lop, Uriser Fiihrer , wiser Clauhe ('Our Leader: our Faille). A'..: I?*?':* : * ■ : ;• •- ; ; vftiy .. .... ... ■ ,■: ; : : ■ = ‘ : Belt buckle; there are several variants, some with a ^mobile* swastika* (Karl Ortmann) Cuff Titles Certain SA Standurlen were permitted to wear, on the lower left arm 13111m above the cuff, a 30mm- wide black band bearing the name of a fallen SA O man. Over 50 such cull titles exist, most to little- known individuals; only a few names. e.t>\ Horsl / • Cj 7 odt an d l 7 k l0 r L u tz e (a w a id e d a 11 e r his death to Siandarle 99), arc generally familiar. 1 he type of lettering can be Gothic, senii-Golhic or Stiller tin (German hand-writing script) the las! being the rarer, possibly earlier, form* In addition to personal names there were also a few commemorative titles of great distinction. Pre¬ eminent among these is Stosstrupp Adolf Hitler , awarded U> veterans of the Fiihrer' s original bodyguard. Almost equally illustrious were SA- Regiment Milne ken iQmp and Der Kommandeur SA - R eg it run l Mtin ch m igs 9. 1 4 Adjutants* Insignia At first SA adjutants wore a ‘wolf-hook' (hooked b a r in si 1 ve r hulli on or metal on both col I ars—on carmine pal dies for adjutants to the Stabs chef] on bright red tor other OSAF adjutants. A gold wolf- hook was worn only by Hitler's adjutants. In 19331he eustomary way ofindicatirig 111e r61 e of adjutant — an aiguillettc (looped ornamental cord worn from the right shoulder) replaced the wo If-ho ok collar device. Adjutants now wore normal rank insignia on the collar. Status was indicated by diflerent colon red aiguillcites: Gold silk: Hitler's adjutant (1 old cord: S A Slabs chef adj u t an t Silver cord: other OSAF adjutants S c a r 1 e t / go Id: Gruppen a d j u 1: an ts ([ 9 3 3 8} Brown /si 1 ver: Gruppen ad j u tan ts (1939 4 3) Adju t a n t s o 11 th e S t a f f o f' a B rigade , S tan da rie or Sturmbann wore aiguillettes in the intertwined colours of their Gruppe, c.g. red /white for Thuringia and Austria; white/green for Saxony, etc. f 2 mm ring 9 Veteran Service Chevrons and Stripes In February 1934 all SA personnel who had enlisted prior to 1 Jan nary 1933 were granted a gold chevron with two red stripes down the centre to be worn on the left upper arm; but in September of the same year this was discontinued and replaced by a scheme of rings worn around each cuff to indicate the actual year of joining. The rings, in silver-grey aluminium wire, were of two widths, 4mm and 12m m, a 1 icl s c rvi ce w as i nd i c a ted thus: Year 192 b 1927 2 — 1928 1 2 1929 1 1 193° t — 193 1 — 2 1932 (to 30/1/33) - 1 1 he above was unique to the SA; other uniformed formations continued to employ the chevron as the symbol of an 'old fighter 5 . The rings were worn round the cuff of all SA uniforms, i n cl u ding th e great c o a t. 4mm ring 2 1 Daggers The SA dagger, introduced on 13 December 1933, On a less lofty plane were those which mereh iiratecl function or membership of a particular formation, c.g. Ehrensturm ('Honour Company', /. hslandarle ('Bodyguard ’—worn by SA Rrigade 83 of (kuppe Hochland) or Slurmbannz.b. V. USturmbann 1 or special duty') followed by, for example, VjWj No. 5 Westphalia). Members of the OSAF had a armine cuff title with Oherste SA-Fuhnmg, ' V dagger with standard 4 All for Germany’ motto, (Andrew Motto) ' SA Sturmffihrer with SA dagger with first type suspension, l 933 * (J‘ R * Angolia} is sometimes referred to as the : lloibein dagger on account of its resemblance to a 1fith-century Swiss dagger as shown in a painting by Hans Holbein. Its p re sen t a tio n, o n co mp 1 e t i o n o f p ro b a tio r i a r y service, indicated acceptance as a full SA member. The blade was normally inscribed A lies fur Deutschland, but those who had joined before 31 December 1931 received daggers inscribed In herzlicher Freundschafi (Tn heart-felt friendship") Ernst Rohm. Some 125,960 daggers so in scribed were issued. After Rohm s murder all were either withdrawn or had their inscriptions erased. A rather more ornate version for senior officers was created in 1935, with oak leaf ornamentation on the cross-guard and pommel, gilt (instead of silver) sheath and hilt fittings, and an oak leal’ c 1 us t e r a b o v e a n d b e 1 ow t h e w<) rd i n g o 111 h e b 1 ad t 1 . Its overall length is 37mm, A second version, 42 mm 16 1 o ng, w as d ev i s e d i n 19 3 7. T his h an gs 1 f om a d chain suspension of links alternately marked wi swastika and the SA monogram. Dasrsrers carried bv the Marine SA had wooden grips and sheaths (all others were brov. their metal parts being gill (all others silver), I versions, a metal SA monogram is inset at the to the hilt and a metal eagle-and-swastika versions as per first and second design cap badj inset in the middle of the liilL Pommels and cr g u ard s were freq u c nil y i nd ivid uall y nu m be ret lettered. Privately presented daggers often had t blades inscribed with a suitable dedication. On occasion of his 47 th birthday (28 December 19 % * High Leaders dagger (1937) with double chain suspensi ( c Old Brigade *) rdr ■' > : : :„Hv ; i I . •: :. : ■: v i ''' £5. :Kv . SH :. • k -■ ■ • ; .■ ■ ■ ; e- \ ; y.; ■ ■ ■ ■ • ■.;/.» ■ y M ■■ : : «£;■ i. v-iV ■ yi\ vv ■ -i v' \-V • ■ . ■ • - ■ »■ - ' ■ > ■; ■ ; ■ ■ ■; ■ y..: yv_; :SV:.C i:-.; ; ;■s t < yv lyiVV-rT-' v ■ t ■; t :>■: yy.w>: x: ■■ •: y j:-V'-y.y i; aa;£ :jv > £ V. 1£ ,!• •; :• ; •; ;■ v • • •; ■: ; y.;; • %-fv mv •. v • \ wSrf : mm • •• ■;> : s-::yi : : ; ■:■■■ :■ ■ : : ■ • • • ■ .:: • • •••.. =: . - • • v . - 1 " ' • • • • ;.v ;; 5-:'> ••• " ■■ ■: >*•> ■ • v • •• vvisv: ■ • • • ■ ■ ' ■ •: .•: y ; ... ' . . ■oqv;::. ; . . . :■ .• • ;• ■ •:••• •. y:......... ■ ■ ■ . . •' . .. . : -.qqqqv;: . . . . .■ '.v • •••. •• ;• 0,: , : . to SSk-ty y. ;ivy-' SVv 1 ri’i iv."iv.'., v,-’ - ivy-.■ 1 ••,• \ -. r S*. • ■ Vj - V?'&' ;■ ■■ ■ ■■ ■: ■ ■: r-;-i •; yy > .v ft S wW a ' •• ■ • ; ■ ■ ; .......... ivi-w.-Iav -;v :■ cy : ;.; • ■ ft v ft vy v r A r ■. v X *. .■ ■ W ■. > ■ ■vftSVvi;.•.•• ;/ .•; .;.; "■ ■ (ijft y»; ftv ‘;,y ; ;1 y yy < y 4 ;1 ft: : ■ ft ,■ C y--v ,JS } ™ x gg:| " 'Si y v wx 1 Hi sit Leaders dagger as worn by Lutze?. (J. Charita) Lutze was presented with a specially designed dagger by officers of the Feldhermhalle. (Later, daggers of the same pattern were awarded to a number of high FHH leaders.) On his 50th birt 1 1 c 1 ay Lutze was given an ho 11 our v<:ision oi lts dagger by the Army, a unique feature of which was iis elaborate hanger with the YVchrmacht eagle mbroidered upon a scarlet cloth shield. Flags and Banners I he Party flag was a black swastika in a white circle on a red field, thus combining the old Imperial lours. (The national colours under the Weimar Republic, as today, were black, red and gold.) The first SA Slandarten (banners) were presented four SA Regiments on 28 January 1923, ' -mewhat reminiscent of the ancient Roman military banner, these took the form of a pole surmounted by a flying eagle holding a wreathed > v\ as t i ka, be I o w w hi cli vv as m on n ted a recta n gu I a r box’ with, on the front, ‘NSDAP', and, on the ■verse, a place name (in September 1933 this was versed: place name on the front, "NSDAP on the rear). From this "box’ was suspended a red banner ith a black swastika placed ‘square’ on a white ci re I e and die mo 11 c > Deutschland Erwache ( L Ge r m a ny Ii lilhrir iih.)lie dagger. (Andrew Mollo) 17 The flag of a recently formed Standarte is ‘consecrjitcd’ by contact with the ‘Slvud Flaij; 5 , 1931* SA Standard-bearer’s gorget* Awaken"}; the inscription on the reverse was Nat. > r.z. Deutsche A r better par lei Sturmahleil ung. Th e banner had a red/white/black fringe* In Nazi usage Standarie meant both a banner and a regiment, thus when an SA unit achieved roughly regimental proportions ii was awarded a banner h ich, i n a pseud o-rel i gious eeremony* was 'coust c rated 1 by cont act with the THond F kig — the flag carried du ring the abortive Putsch of N ovem her :u >3 and stained with the blood of its fallen bearer, A Sturmfahne (the Hag of a Sturm) was red with a lark swastika (often placed 'square") on a white ircle. In the upper left corner was a Faknenspieget, a rectangle in die Gruppe colour with the unit numeral (s). This was originally outlined in the twin colours of the Gruppe (as per the collar piping; but later tills was changed to silver or gold (abe). A single Sturm fahne could be used for several Slur me (including Reserve ones), thus a number of such rectangles could appear (one above the other)* In addition, the name of a fallen comrade could be woven into the fabric of the Hag on a level with the Fahnenspiegd and to the right of it. Later this practice was dropped in favour of a streamer with the man’s name attached to the flag-pole* Vddilional names of fallen comrades from the same unit could be added to the flag-pole in the form of silver ri n gs, i y m m w id e, at t a t hed b e 1 ow t11 e lev e 1 o I the flag and bearing rank, forename and surname in Gothic lettering. If the fallen man had been a standard-bearer the ring was gold* The banner of a Motor or Equestrian Standarie differed in that it hung from a wooden bar at right angles to the flag-pole and was without the NSDAP/place-name ‘box, Instead the unit desig¬ nation appeared on the Fahnenspiegd. Standard-bearers wore a metal gorget upon which was a 'star' with, in the centre, a facsimile of the centrepiece of the SA belt buckle (variants exist). The SA did not follow the military practice of having a standard-bearer’s arm badge, although, pre-1933, unofficial arm badges were, on occasions, worn. Command flags in the shape of rigid pennants on flag-poles were carried as unit ‘markers’ at large parades or, in slightly smaller versions, flown from the left-hand bumper of staff ears. These were square for a Stabs chef (lour consecutive designs) and senior leaders at the OSAF, Gruppe and Standarie level; triangular tor Untergruppe j Brigade and Sin rm h arm c o m in a n c 1 e rs. (i) Flieger (Flying) SA In i 930 the SA established a flying branch; one year later the 8S (still under SA command) did the same. As a sort of semi-civilian counterpart, the NSFK (National Socialist Flying Corps) was set up in 1932, but unlike the Flieger SA/SS, it was not regarded as a Party organisation. Each SA Gruppe had its Flieger stajfel (flying squ ad mi 1) su b-di vided in to Fliegersturme and Flieger trupps* Each Fliegersiurm embodied at least one Lehrtrupp (flying training flight). Members of the Flieger SA wore standard SA uniform with a winged propeller on the right collar patch in silver or gold (a be). A combined SA/SS pilot’s badge w as devised incorporating the SA and SS monograms on silver 'wings with an eagle-and- swastika in the centre. Later a more apposite (and less odd) badge replaced this. It features a silver wire circle with black dots (representing a propeller boss) with, In the centre, a black swastika, on either Combined SA/SS pilot’s badge* (Andrew Walker} side silver bullion wings, the whole on a khaki hackground. J h e badge 1 br other aircr e w r n enibers h the same except that the central circle is red with white dots. in September 1933 the Flieger SA was absorbed into the German Air Sport Association (DLV). Former Flieger SA/SS members could wear on the upper right arm of their DLV uniform a combined SA/SS monogram within a circle—both in silver bullion (gold for senior officers). around the collar patch, this was royal blue/white* The gold metal anchor on the right patch was, after 19^9? discontinued. A single-breasted navy blue tunic was intro- d need in r 934 on which (as on other forms of dress) silver long-service rings might be worn—these should not be mistaken for rank insignia which, in 1 l ie Marine SA, was exactly the same as in the rest of the service. A white moleskin smock with trousers was worn (2) Marine SA in 1930 the SA formed Mannestiinne (Naval companies), but it was not until 1934 that these became a separate entity. Originally the Marine si Ur me wore the same colour of collar patch, shoulder strap, buttons, etc., as their parent Cruppe, but were distinguished bv: ( a ) Navy blue peaked cap in place of a kepi. (1)) X avy b I u e. i n j) I ace of 1 >rovvn, brceches. { 1 j A 1 ou 1 ed a nchor i n si 1 ve 1 or go 1 d : a be) on r igh t collar patch. With the creation of the Marine SA in 1934 all c o liar p a t c h es bee a m e j 1 a v y I ) l u e, all r ank insignia, buttons, etc., gilt. Shoulder straps for ratings were navy blue/while, those lor officers gilt, the underlay lbr bo ill 1 )cing navy bI ue. Tn 1939 shou Ider straps of Marine SA ratings were, as in the rest of the SA, brown flecked with silver Vs (on a navy blue underlay). During the time that two-colour piping was worn around the collar and (for subalterns) also Ami badge worn by iormer SA/SS men incorporated into as working dress by ratings. This was w ithout collar patches, rank being indicated by a scheme of red Tars’, chevrons, and stars. 1 lie working headgear for ratings was either the normal SA Lagermutze in navy blue (white for 20 summer) or the traditional German sailor’s flat cap - iill a tally in cornflower blue on which appeared die unit designation in silver lettering (after 1938, Id lettering), I11 warm weather a white top could be worn with tills or with the peaked cap. Swallows' nests' for Marine SA musicians were Uuvy blue with gold 'bars'. I here were several variants of the cap badge, D . ring 1930-7 it was the first design eagle-and- psastika in silver within a gilt oak leaf wreath — d re are at least four variants of the wreath. After 1937 the gilt wreath (at least two variants) it ■ >rpo rated the SA monogram; above the wreath lias the second design eagle-and-swastika in gilt metal. Ill ere were several trade badges—a red cog- v heel for technicians, a red blitz for telegraphists later changed to silver or gold according to level of skill g crossed red and while signal Hags for signallers, etc. As in the German Navy, an Officer of ihc Watch clipped a gold metal badge, in the form 1 fa fouled anchor within an oval wreath of oak leaves, to his left upper pocket while on duty. The Marine SA was not restricted to Germany's -ea coast; lakes and rivers often provided an opportunity to Hearn the ropes’. Marine. SA units were also formed on board ocean-going German merchant vessels—the unit commander was not necessarily the ship’s captain, or even one of its ►dicers. St aff, both commissioned and Petty Officers, at a Marine SA sports school wore a double-breasted Marine SA officer’s cap badge, final design, (Ulric o( England) y=$ • 1 ■ Up I Spp y.;4 ■ xi s j • :• • • •: :■ •! !• ■ ■ t". "11 ••. ■ • , Hi 1 a ■. j j. v /■...■ ■! ; .y.% .•!.< Marine SA with first design cap badge. (Ulric of England) jacket in the style of a kriegsmarine officer with, on 1 he right cuff, the equivalent of the rating’s cap tally, i.e. the place-name in white upon a cornflower blue band. (3) Motor SA Molortrupps and Motorstimne were created within the SA in April 1930, although it was not until the following year that the term Motor SA came into use.Just as theNSFK was ei 1 visaged as a n<>n-Jbirty back-up to the Flieger SA, so the NSKK Soz* Kraftfaiirkorps) was conceived as a civilian auxiliary to the Motor SA, The fol I owin g diflerences from normal uniform characterised the Motor SA: (a) An M on the right collar patch, fb: Black for navv blue) breeches. (c) A driver's badge on the left cuff. This last, introduced in 1931, was a driving wheel Members of an SA Motor^turm (possibly of Gruppe Franconia), early 1933* (Ulric of England) upon which was an eagle-and-swastika, all on a black rhombus* The placing of the M on the collar indicated whether the wearer belonged to: (i) Molorstandarte: an M and single large numeral, vvor ri bv ineinbei s of Si ail. wf (ii) Motor sturm within anon-motorised Standarte : an M and numeral in front of the oblique stroke, (iii} Motorsturm vvithin a A f oldrstandarte : ai \ M a 11er the oblique stroke (he. in front of the Standarte num her)* On 23 August 1934 the Molar SA was amalga¬ mated with the NSKK. which was now raised to the s ta l us o! an i n d ependen t par iy lormation. (4) Nachrichten (Signals) SA The first Signals units of the SA were formed in O 1930, Every Standarte was required to have one. 1 1 raining inc 1 uded the use ol' sigi\al lamps, mo r se e (:> d e, w i re less tel e g ra p h y, a n d m e ss e n ge r - d og handling. At first: members of Signals units wore, on the right collar patch, Aa' i Naehrichleri) , but in 1933 this was replaced by a blitz (lightning flash) in the b u 11 on colo u r. Aft e r the i n trod notion < >J Wajjenjarbe the blitz was discontinued and membership of a Signals unit was indicated by lemon yellow underlay to the shoulder straps. As from 1933 holders of a Signaller's Oenilicate wore on the left cuff a red blitz on a brown oval, but in September 1939 the blitz was altered to silver or gold according to whether t he man held one, or all t h ree q ua I i flca tion oer tifioa uts — {i; VV i r eless, (ii) Tel egraphy, (i i 1} Messen gei -d og handling. 1 he German army and police still employed A ieldehunde (messe 11 ge 1 -d ogs). T hosc of the S A 1 1 a< I yello w d og- jaekets with the SA monogram on either side. A Signals Officer on the Staff ol'a Gruppe wore a itz at a 45-degree angle on his right collar patch, of the National Signals Training School had a white-outlined black blitz on a carmine right collar patch (also placed at a 45-degrcc angle). 1 J 11L (5) Plainer (Pioneer) SA Among the several specialist units formed in 1930 was a Pioneer (or Engineer) branch* Its members were, initially, distinguished by Ti (Pionier 1 on their right collar patches, but in 1933 this was replaced by a crossed pick and shovel in the button colour- With the introduction of Wqffenfarbe this was discontinued and replaced by a black underlay to the shoulder straps. Every Standarle had at least one Pimierslurm, and ■ h ere were even en ti re Pionier standarle (Pio n cer Regiments). Holders of a Pioneer's Certificate wore a silver pick and shovel device on a dark brown ova! on the left cuff In March 1939 a gold class was added. An interesting, and unique, award to a Pioneer unit was the cuff title emsland awarded to Pionier standarle 1 o of Gruppe .A iordsee in recognition ol is outstanding contribution to the land reclam¬ ation scheme in that region. Emsland (around the River Ems) is close to the border with Holland, arid the German government copied the Dutch xamplc and sponsored an enterprise to convert the marshes into (arming land. 6) Reiter (Equestrian) SA The year 1 930 also saw the setting up of equestrian units of the SA based on riding clubs, or in agricultural communities where riders provided their own mounts. After 1933 the Reiter SA was greatly expanded. It no longer relied on private horse ownership; every Gruppe was required to set up its own riding facilities. Members of the Reiter SA wore, on the right collar patch, gold or silver (abc) crossed lances. Staff of the Reiifuhrerschule (Equestrian Leaders School) in Berlin had gold crossed lances set at a 45- degree angle on a black collar patch. With the introduction of Wajfenfarbe the lances badge was discontinued and replaced by a bright yellow underlay to the shoulder straps. In March 1936 a National-Socialist Riding Corps (NSRL) was set up, theoretically separate from the Reiter SA; though its National Leader Reicksimpeklor) SA 0 hergruppenfiihrer L i t z mann was directly subordinate to the SA Chief of Stalf. It may have been that the NSRL was intended to be for those who, for reasons of age or occupation, were ineligible for full SA membership. Certainly the NSRL remains a somewhat shadowy organisation with no (known) insignia of its own. (7) Reserve SA Althc >u gh in semi-official existence for some two ears previously, a Reserve SA was not formally set up until March 1929. It was for men over 40 years of age, or men precluded from full active membership by the nature of their employment. Reserve duties involved some three hours’ attendance per week plus a fortnightly exercise. Prior to 1933 the Reserve amounted to only around 20 per cent of the SA's total manpower, but after Hitler’s accession its size and composition altered dramatically. In November 1933 it was divided into: S A R es e rv c l (SAR T ]: m e n b e tw e e n 35 a n d 45 vears. SA Reserve II (SAR II): men over 45. These two reserves absorbed die bulk of older members of the two principal war veterans leagues—Steel Helmet and the Kyffhauserhund. Members of these organisations under 35 were transferred to the active SA—a transfer in theory voluntary, but since refusal might be construed as unpatriotic, it was seldom resisted. Following the 'Blood Purge 1 of June 1934 the structure of the Reserve was again changed. The SA was by now so vast and its services so little in y demand drat it was deemed expedient to remove even some of its younger element to the Reserve. The new structure comprised: Active Reserve I: men between 18 and 35. Active Reserve II: men between 35 and 45. Inactive Reserve: men over 45. In practice these age demarcations were not strictly adhered to, certainly not for officers. When SAR I was formed its ex-Steel Helmet members continued to wear their former uniform with the addition of an SA kepi, brassard and collar patches. On the right collar they had a metal 'R‘ and unit numeral. A chain-stitch T< appeared on the collar patch of all Active Reserve units. If placed before the Sturm number this indicated a Reserve Sturm of an active Standarle, 1 f placed before the Standarle number, ii indicated that the entire unit was Reserve. I) u 1 i ] 1 g t li e e xistei 1 c e of S A R II (N o vcm be r 19 3 3 to August 1934) members wore the SA brassard with grey edges. Staff of the Departmental Chief of SAR II wore grey collar patches with, on the right, T)IT (Oberlandesfuhrer) in white. In March 1937 there was a modification to the type ol’ R' worn by Active Reserves I and IT. I a ry e r fo rni a t i o 11 s St ii rme , Stu rm b a n n e ., Slanda rt en) 23 had a Roman script L R', smaller ones [Settamt, Trufips ) an ang 11 1 ar Lype o 1 ' R ), Ac uve R cscrye T ibrmations cou I d be as 1 arge as Brigade strength (and had "R.Brf on the right e o 11 a r). A rtive R e se r v e I i w e re on] y u p Ue Stan da rl e 1 evel (witli an £ R 1 before the Standarte numI>er) .In both eases the collar patch was in the Gruppe colour. 1 nac live Reserve membe rsh i p was indicated, not by an L R\ but by silver-grey collar patches, shoulder strap underlay and kepi side panel. (8) Sanitats (Medical) SA With violence frequently accompanying SA meet¬ ings, it was, from the very beginning, essential to have medically qualilied persons on hand. Until 1932 s u ch inch v i d u als wc re i d e n ti I led b y either a 1 \ arm band or, more usually* a gornm circular cloth badge worn above, or in place of, the brassard. Doctors had a red cross on white; those with first- aid or ambulance experience had a white cross on red. In October 1932 violet coloured collar patches were introduced for medically qualified personnel. Doctors with the rank of Standartenfuhrer and above wore an Aesculapius staff (a snake around a stick) on both collars; 0II1cers be 1 ow this rank on the rig 111 collar only. The same applied to pharmacists except that their emblem was an A' (Apotkeker), When coloured panels were added to the kepi die medical colour was, as above, violet, as was the underlay to medical shoulder straps. Late in 1933 collar patch emblems were discontinued. In their place badges were worn on the left lower arm with the lb 11 ow i ng sy m hols: (a) Doctors: an Aesculapius sta : b) 1 3 h armacisis: a Gothic L A 1 (in sum e cases Lat in L \ v\ J l i (c) Dentists: a Gothic *Z' {palmar.zt ), (d) Veterinary surgeons: a snake (without the staff). All the above were gold wire (more rarely, gill metal) upon a violet oval piped in gold. Medical orderlies wore, as before* a white cross on a red circle on the upper left arm. In 1934 there was a further change—a reversion to collar patch emblems, but this time placed behind both collar patches (which vvei e \\< >w n the Grufipe colour). The symbol ism was as ah' a v • \ < 4 c that the £ A’ and the L Z’ were Ladn script. The eolo u r ofthc em 1 > 1 ems correspo ruled to the buttu t colour and they were normally metal, lev If eq uently bu I lion. Semi-q u alifiecl doctors and denlists (students in their final year) wore 011 the lei cull a 40mm brown circle with, in white cotton, respectively an Aesculapius stall and a Gothic L In November 1937 there was yet another alteration. The Nazis had bv now decided that their medical symbol should henceforth be the so- called life runek Medical speciality was, as before, indicated by a badge worn on the lower left arm. Since all medical personnel had the'life rune 1 , their particular skill was indicated by the shape of the backgro u n cl as foliows: (a) Doctors: oval. ( b) D c n t i s ts: rec t a n g u 1 ar. (c) Veterinary surgeons: a triangle pointing downwards. (d) Pharmacists: a triangle pointing upwards. All the above were in silver bullion on -brown. Medical orderlies had a red life rune on a khaki oval, also a metal 'life rune' in the button colour on the right collar patch. On the march, orderlies wore a w h i t e b r a ss a r d w i t h a re dll fe rune', cl oc t o is t h e same but with red edges top and bottom. With the introduction of Waffenjarbe, the underlay of medical branch shoulder straps became royal blue. Staff and students at the National Medical School at Tubingen wore, on both collars, a carmine patch with a white-outlined black 'life rune'; officers had this patch piped in gold. Other Specialist (1) Musikeinheiten (Music Units) Every Standarte had its marching band {Mimkzug), every Sturmbann its fife-and-dnim corps (Spielmannzug). Following long-established practice, bandsmen wore a i b rm of ’ sho u Id er orn am en t a t ion k no wn as "swallows’ nests’ Schwalbennester), These were in the colour of the Gruppe with silver or gold (abc) vertical braid "bars’. Ostland was an exception, v 1 ill black TasT. m a pink background. Initially all membt i ofa 4/ ■ k had a short hinge at the end ■ f’their -walk>ws' nests, but this was altered in 1933 A 1: Gruppenfukrer, 1928 2 ; Scharfiihrer, Untergruppe Hamburg, 1932 3: Oberscharfiihrer, Gruppe Nordmark, 1933 m 1 / ■’< iy.yi t : ■:•: -L »:■: ■ 7 k v tv. K. * . •; ,v*< .V ’A,' St,*,' ■ ■? r %_■ t, *1 -j 5 * - rX'WAV Ei® S»» vt> “*■ 3 S 1 MvIv^A'V u Tb i -'* *■ - ,V'- .* v « • 1 _ * ! fc -, • L* *• I -1 • ! 1 t I . , , , . u - - ™JLjr 'y ■ * rl« * l - i . * • # 5 »_"»- i - - • E it 1 - i - . *“*.#* S&ftXa w 5 hB' SSI; Si: i : /X *%\S 5 R QV 1 * ■ * 4 "fc < £4K JH FV .VI'. 1 - - •_ *• r &M V j%fr-VO& ’jK’ 1 1 - ■• J Mj f& ®/> 5 ! 2 a ^ '• MhjSSJ f^r ■ . t . B c ',*>7, TV > 1; Sturmfuhrer, Motor SA, Gr. Mnken, 1933 2: SA-Spielmaim, Gr. Hansa, 1934 3: Standartenfuhrer (medical), Gr. Westmark, evening dress 1 1; Obergruppenfuhrer, SA Gruppe Staff, 1939 2: Obersturmbannfiihrer, OS AF, summer uniform 3: Haupttruppfiihrer, Gr* Sudmark, 1940 G 1: Hauptsturmfiihrer, Wehrmaimschaft, Gr* Nordsee, 1942 2: SA-Mami, Wehrmaimschaft, Gr. Niederrhein, 1944 3: SA-Mann, Wfehrmannschaft, Styria, 1945 H a nd l h ereafte r on I y t lie d ru m m ajo r of a M usikrug or Spielmannzug had a fringe (rather longer than before—about 7mm), The bandmaster, or conduc¬ tor (Musikzugfuhrer) did not wear swallows 5 nests, nor did any officer whose function was that of director of music. Swallows' nests were detachable, being clipped to the end of the shoulder by metal hooks and were worn only during music-making. In addition to their swallows' nests, SA musicians were, in 1931, granted a collar device—a Greek Ivre. Between 1931 and 1933 musicians' collar patches were piped in the twin colours of their fiuppe (a practice normally restricted to sub¬ alterns). No rank insignia were worn by non- < im missioned grades during tliis period; in its place a large metal lyre (in the button colour: was displayed on the left collar and the unit number on die right. The Mudkzugfiihrer wore the three stars of a Sturmfuhrer (and also a small lyre). After 1933 musicians wore the lyre on the right with standard rank insignia on the left. n No size for a Musikzug was laid down; a spielmannzug usually comprised about 2 \, men. .:_vX£v:j 2) Jager and Schiitzen Units Jdger 1 he word Jager in (ferman means both a huntsman md a light infantryman. It is appropriate that this should be so, since the light infantry component of the German and Austrian armies was traditionally drawn from professional huntsmen and foresters. The SA sought to maintain the Jdger tradition in t} 1 ose parts of Cier 1 n a 11 y and Aus L ri a from w hieh 111 e former Jdger-Regimen ten had been drawn. I he traditional Jdger green was used for the l J' which appeared on the right collar patch, its shade contrasting with the Gruppe colour of the patch- light green on dark patc hes, dark green on light ones. In May 1915 Mountain Light Infantry Regi¬ ments [Gebirgsjdger-Regimenten) had been created as pan of the German Alpine Corps. I his tradition, mo, was carried over by the SA for units raised in - the mountainous regions ol soul hern Germany and Austria. Their right collar patch had a green L GJ as above in contrasting shades). Some SA (r t h irgsjdg e r-St a n da r ten in A u s t r i a wo re lor a ti m e a n Ldelweiss (head and stock) on their right collar natch before this was replaced by the L GJ' patch. SA bandsmen, C.1931 Sdmtzen A Rifle (or Sharpshooters) Battalion [Schiitgen- Bataillon ) sometimes formed the third battalion of a German infantry regiment, often functioning in a semi-independent capacity. Again, this tradition was adopted by the SA. On their right collar patch SA Schutzen-Standarten had an ’S' in a shade of green, as before contrasting with the Gruppe colour. I he SA also raised Gehirgsschulzen-Standarlen (Mountain Rifle Regiments) in an attempt to combine the skills of alpinism and marksmanship. These units had L GS' on the right collar—again in a shade of green which contrasted with the Gruppe colour. With the introduction of Waffmjarbe the shoulder strap underlay tor all the above was changed to green and, a little later, the green lettering on the collar patch was altered to white. These 'mountain' formations of the SA had the right to wear an Edelweiss on the left side of their caps. Ski-in g i n si rue lion fort n cd part of l he rn ou n tai n training, and the SA had its own 'mountain tunic (Bergrock) for this and rock-climbing. It: was generally similar to the normal tunic except that Badge warn on left upper arm, in place of brassard, by senior SA leaders during the war: gold wire on carmine backing. (J* R. Angolia) the lower pockets were concealed (only the flaps showing : and the culls were elasticated to fit closely to l hc vv r ist, a I i owi n g gloves lobe w or n <) v er them. I’he trousers worn with the Bergrock were tapered a n cl c i o sc-1 i t ti n g a 11 h e a n kies, vv here the y 1 a c ed u j 3 so that heavv climbing boots could be secured over them. Originally some J tiger collar patches featured a hunting horn, but this practice was lorbidden by an o rd c rof A u g u s t \ 9 3 4 vv Inch slat ed t h at the use of a la 2d horn as a collar device was 'unauthorised 1 and o that it had to be rep 1 acecI I y y a L J'. As in the rest of the SA, no unit was actually armed. For training purposes small-bore rifles (us u a 11 y I 'rom existing gun cl u I is} were I lurrovv ed. (3) Leibstandarte In Munich an SA unit known as the Ltibsiandarte (Bodyguard; was stationed. It was not for Hitler's personal protection (that was the exclusive pre- ro £>’a t i v e n f t h e S S, but a c e re rno ni a 1 fo r m a t io n possibly intended to carry the tradition of the former Royal Bavarian Bodyguard Regiment once quartered in that city. On their right collar, members wore a script X on the light blue patch of G rupp e 11 ochla n d. German custom, the regiment was better known bv the name of its comm and e r, t h us i t w as po pul arl v referred to as Infantry Regiment List. Although a Bavarian regiment, its 4 tradition" was awarded to Sla n da rte 16 o f ’ Gruppe Berlin - B ran dm h u rg . M e m her s of this unit wore a block type X 1 in while on the b I ac k c ol I ar patch of their Grupp e . {5) Finance Department* 1931^3 No one in the SA, apart from a lew senior officers, was paid, but that is not to say that the SA was nconcerned with financial matters. A Financial Administrative Branch {Geldverwaltung) was estab¬ lished in 1931 with special collar devices for its members. Ranks were: (i) Gruppengeldverwalter: a silver laurel leaf on a red patch on both collars, piped in silver. (ii) Untergruppengeldverwalter: silver or gilt (abc) laurel leaf on left, Untergruppe abbreviation on right coll a r, p i p e d i 1i g o I d o r si I v e r (a b c). (iii) Standardengeldv e rw a her: fou r sil v e r 1 h re e - p oi n t e d s t a rs o n 1 e ft si d e, o n ri gl 11 Stan da rt e n u m e r a I. C o 1 1 ar patches in Gruppe colour, piped in silver. (iv) Sturmbanngeldverwalter. three silver three- pointed stars on left collar, on right Sturmbannj Slandarte numerals. Collar patches in Gruppe colour, piped in twin colours oi Gruppe. (v) Sturmgeldvem■alter : two silver three-pointed stars on left, on right SturmjStandarte numerals. Unpiped patches in Gruppe colour. (4} Standarte List During the First World War Hitler served in the 1 (i tli : Reserve ) T nfantry Regimen L Foilo w i ng 34 (6) Administrative Officials In May 1933 the above collar devices were .Cv-Xv ^ tjj-X ftig' fA pyi Instructors at the SA Spurt School at Hamm wearing the special (Jhungsa.nzug uniform. (J. R. Angolia) discontinued and the Finance Department was absorbed into a broader general Administrative Branch. New ranks such as Oberverwallungsfuhrer and Slabsrechnungsfilhrer were dreamt up, but quickly jettisoned in favour of the more logical use of existing SA ranks prefixed by Verwaltungs \dministrative), thus an SA Obertruppjuhrer in this branch became an SA Verwallungsohertruppjukrer. Commissioned grades wore silver shoulder straps n a light blue underlay, non-commissioned ranks four parallel strands of light blue cord on a light blue underlay. All collar patches were light blue ith silver insignia. The kepi side 1 panel was likewise light blue. In March 1934 there was a major revision. All collar patches, insignia, kepi side panels* etc., reverted to normal SA practice of Gnippe colour— administrative function was now indicated by a metal ‘V s (occasionally bullion) worn behind the >11 ar patch on both sides. In 1937 the A was dropped and the Administrative Branch had light blue piping around all collar patches (in the case of officers, the blue was the inner colour, gold or silver the outer piping). In October 1941 the use of blue piping was discon ti n tied. (7) RZM (Reichszeugmeisterei) Tn 1929 the SA set up a Quartermaster’s Department to regulate uniform and provide it as economically as possible. After Hitler’s accession to power a National Quartermaster’s Department f R e ich szjug fa e is tern) w as es t a b 1 i sh e t S w h i c h h ad legal powers to control all NSDAP uniforms and their costs. Only firms granted an RZM contract could supply Party insignia, thus ending the flow of unofficial or semi-official pieces. All official items were now RZM marked or labelled. RZM personnel had special collar ranks de¬ scribed (in an order of October 1932) thus: (i) Reichszeugmeister a ‘ golden seal I oped lea f (goldenes gezacktes Blati) on both collar patches* in gold. rstands der ^eugmeistereien (Directors of QMe ;}: a golden scalloped leal’ on left patch, golden 7M on right, piping gold. 35 (iii) Angeslellle der gjugrneistereien (employees at QM depots): normal SA ranks on left, gold 'ZM on right. The following year the 'golden scalloped leaf was replaced by the oak leaf of a Slandarlen/uhrer, In [ 929 the collar patch colour was blue, but in 1933 this was changed to carmine. (8) Eisenbahneinheiten (Railway Units) Railway units of the SA existed bi icily i 11 Austria. Their right collar patch featured a winged railway wheel. One unit had an E' (Eisenbahn) interwoven with the number V 011 its right collar com¬ memorating the shoulder insignia ol a former pro ini nen t A us t ri a n rai I way lb rmation. (9) Reichsautozug Deutschland (RAZ) Hitler was so impressed by the work of SA Siurmjiihrer Schaffer with his loudspeaker vans during the election campaign of 1933 that he placed him in charge of a special mobile propaganda unit known as Reichsauiozug DeuIsch¬ ia n d [ N a t i o n a I M o to r S q u a d (> e r man y). M c m b c rs ol this small formation had, as their working uniform, a brown boiler suit with two breast pockets, worn open-necked with a khaki shirt and black tie. The normal SA brassard was worn with, below this on the culf, a black band with Reichsauiozug Deutschland i 11 whitc. Hca d gear was a brown beret piped in black. Dress uniform was standard SA with red collar patches and shoulder strap underlay. On the right collar RAZ' was displayed in white, on the left normal rank insignia. Both patches piped in white. 1 n \ 93 7 1 1 1 i 1 R AZ w as disband ccl. (1) Stabswachen One of the tasks of the SA had always been the protec tion of Party meetings and speakers, but it was not until 1933 that regular security units, known as Stahsivachen (Staff Guards} were formed. In these, service was full-time with a minimum enlistment of 1 2 months. Members wore normal SA ■ . v Senior* Leaders belt buckle with motto ‘Our Leader, our faith 7 , (J. R. Angolia) uniform with one of’the following cull bands on the lower left arm: Slab sc hr/: gold Sii tterlin script on carmine with gold cd ges (R 61 irn s personal bod y guard). Stabswacke: white Sii tterlin script on bright red for gu ards a t Gruppe and 0 bergruppe 1 tead cj ua ri crs , Stabswacke'. Gothic script in colour of collar patch lettering on band in colour of collar patch for guards at any headquarters below Gruppe level. The a hove exis Led be l w een 1 e br ua ry 193 3 a n d March 1934; thereafter and until the elimination of Rohm in June '34, the following were used: Slab sc kef Rohm: gold Gothic script on carmine band with gold edging. Adolf 'Hitler: grey Gothic script on black with grey edges for members of SA Standarte 'Adolf'Hitler'. Sta bs waeh e G 0 ring : s i 1 v e r Got 1 1 i c s c ri p t o n b ri g h t re cl band with silver edging. Sta bs wach e: Gothic scrip! i r 1 col o u r of c ol l a r p a tc h lettering (with edging in same colour) on a band in colour of collar patch, e.g. black lettering on a yellow band with black edges: Headquarters guard of SA Group Franconia. The right collar patch for OS Ah stall guards was p I a i n c a rrn i n e; th a l fo r Si a bs u mch e G bring , plain red; others in Gruppe colour with Gruppe abbreviation. On duty a steel helmet could be worn. (2) Streifendienst The SA had its own police or 'patrol' service, the Streifendienst, under the control of a local area < :o n 1 m a n d c r (St undo rlj iih re r ). O n d u t y m e m b c r s wore, at first, a i iomm-wide yellow brassard with, in black, Skindorlfiihrer Sireifendienst ; later a fix mini- wide black cufTband with, in white or gre\ Gothic lettering, Der Standortfuhrer, below this a place name, e,g. Blankenburg a. H. (am Havel), Half¬ width (30mm) versions also exist, e.g. Standortfuhrer-Grunstadl (grey on black, no edging;, and Der Standorlfuhrer Sloe kadi (grey on black with orev edges':. O f '-J / (3) Hilfspolizei/Feldpolizei of Berlin- Brandenburg After Hitler attained power in January 1933 he appointed Goering Minister of the Interior of Prussia, Since Prussia controlled some two-thirds ol Germany, it was a post of considerable power. Goering ordered die police to act ruthlessly against ■all enemies of the state'. To assist them in this task he created, in February 1933, a Police Auxiliary Hilfipoiizei) from among the SA/SS. At first they wore only their existing uniform with a hiufspolizei brassard (various designs), but the following month, now renamed Field Police of the Bcrlin-Brandenburg Group [Feldpolizei der Gruppe Berlin-Brandenburg ), their SA/SS uniform was modified in the following manner; a) On right collar patch a silver Prussian police vtar. b) A similar star in place of button on kepi, c A blue police greatcoat in place of brown SA one, d A police gorget (worn on duty). Collar patches were black, piped in black/white, 1 he gorget was silver with the Prussian police star in the centre and a swastika in either corner. When the gorget included the unit number (riot all did) this appeared below the police star. 4) Feldjagerkorps (FJK) In October s 933 the Feldpolizei was renamed the SA Feldjagerkorps (roughly: Military Police) and given a distinctive olive-brown uniform, comprising a police-style tunic, breeches and brown top boots. Belt and cross-strap were brown leather, the buckle being of the SA variety—gilt with a silver centrepiece. The greatcoat was olive-brown but with a dark brown collar (senior ranks had also dark brown re vers). Headgear was an SA kepi in the same colour as the tunic with a white side panel and, on the front, a gold police star beneath a silver eagle-and-swastika. Collar patches were white with, on the right, a gold police star, and were piped in gold for senior officers, in black-and-white lor subalterns, unpiped for others. Rank, ori the left patch, was standard SA with gold stars and silver ‘bars’. The Fuhrer des Feldjagerkorps had a 15mm gold Tresse around the turn-up of Ills kepi. All ranks wore a white lanyard and, when on duty, a gorget similar to that of the Feldpolizei which normally featured an ‘A (Ahteilung) followed by a Roman numeral T to 4 VI b' for one of the eight Abteilungen (main units). Below the centrepiece star an Arabic numeral denoted the Hereiischq.fi (or sub¬ unit of around 60 men). Headquarters was Abkilling Ill b in Berlin. A white cuff title with /// B Berlin in gold exists (there may have been others). All FJK personnel wore the standard SA brassard. ! he sports singlet emblem was a police star with two swastikas above iL and 'FJK’ (Gothic script) below. As ‘police 1 the FJK were allowed to carry revolvers and a dress bayonet, officers a ceremonial sword. On dutv a steel helmet was worn. Goering latterly lost interest and, on 1 April 1 9351 handed the FJK over to the Prussian Sehidzpolizei. Thereafter it ceased to have any connection with the SA. {5) Standarte ‘Feldherrnhalle 1 After the death of Rohm the various Stab swae hen were disbanded and replaced by a single SA Wachsiandarte (Guard Regiment). At first con¬ ceived simply as a ceremonial formation, it was, after March 1935 and the re-introduction of compulsory military service, envisaged as an elite regular body which would provide para-military training for the rest of the SA. Any man who had belonged to the SA tor at least six months was allowed, if he so wished, to do his two-year conscript service in this unit. In September 1936 the name was c hanged to AVI Standarle '‘Feldherrnhalle' (from the historic building in Munich which embodied a shrin e to I a 11 e n N a z i s o f N < >v e ni b c r 19 2 3) ♦ On i 2 Januarv 1937 n to celebrate Gocring's 441 1 1 birthdav, Lutze nominated him Honorary Comm and er-in-Chief of the S/ Standarte Luftwaffe as an Air-Landing Battalion (later Parachute Regiment), into the army as a battalia: of Infantry Regiment 271. In August 1942 Grenade r (the new term for Infantry) Regiment 271 was! granted the title ''Feldherrnhalle'. In June 1943 it wa- raised to divisional strength as Panzer grenadier- Division Feldherrnhalle. Badly mauled in the fighting 0n I lie Eastern I ront, 11 was disba 11 ded in Ju I v 194.; A c script on brown was worn by units in the Reich and, after Sept cm 1 >e r 1942, b y Gten a diet Regun en t 271 and i r> successor. I,, July 194 3 z il 1 Geldh errn k a 11 e fo r n 1 a t i o 11s. home-based or Army, were granted the right t< “Feldherrnhalle ". The SAT StabsckeJ'had intended this to be no more than a symbolic gesture, and was more than a little taken aback when Goering incorporated the entire Stand arte into his newly lo r m c d L uft w tiffed For the following two years the Feldherrnhalle • 7 ? ^ operated under a dual command — SA and Luftwaffe — a fact reflected by its uniform: for 'walking out", SA brown with the Luftwaffe eagle above the left breast pocket; for service dress, standard Luftwaffe blue-grey, in both eases with SA collar ranks on the left* The ri ght collar had at first a w hi te G o 1111 e L VV' ( Wadi) o n ca r m i n e, but in 19 3 8 this was replaced by a 'wolf hook" with the SA monogram in the centre. Lutze's v i si o n of the Feld ken n h aide as a t r a i ni 11 g lormation for the SA was never realised, Tt did not function as a single entity but as seven separate Sturm ban tie in different German cities. With the coming of war the bulk of the Feldherrnhalle was incorporated into the armed forces—into the Duty gorget for Feldhcrrnhzille* ,• w y .■' jy «: v ■X2 V. ;' 1 • •• .. ■ • r:::a. v v v .■ uj s;; sy; ttyv: ■ v v • A'i ■■ ;•••;. ■■ ■; ;■ WViO y; - y wy/vr- v >■ i J i :: wear on both shoulder straps the SA monogram on 111 re e hori z on L a 1 K a mpjmn e c ros s ed b y one v e r ti ca 1 one — In brot iz e f br n 1 e 1 1 and j un ior N G O s, s i 1 ver Ib 1 senior X('Os, and gilt for oil leers. The kepi side panels for the Wachstandarte and Feldherrnhalle were carmine, 1 util 1939 shoulder snaps lb r no n - c o rn m i ss i o 11 e d r an k s w e re c armin c w r hi te on an u 11 der lay (for all ranks j t >1 white. W i t h the introduction of Wafjenfarbe the underlay for home-based units was changed to grey; that for Army units was white (while Infantry) and grass gre e n <: j n b e c ( j m i n g I *anz e rgrena dier . A special gorget was worn when on duty, but a standard-bearer wore the normal SA gorget. (6) SA Wehrmannschaften By a. decree of 19 J atm ary 1939 a new branch ol the SA, the ft whrmannschaflen : roughly: 1 Militiamen"), was established, ho undertake the pre- and post- military training of all German males 1 , it was to be responsible for the para-military education of the older age groups of the Hitler Youth and the reservist training of conscripts once they had completed their military service. S A d u t v w a s v{) l u 1 ita r v, mili t a r v sc r v i c e w as n o L: s j j * J thus every male would, eventually, find himself part of a Nazi-controlled organisation. War disrupted this grand design. There were no post- military-service conscripts— those called to the colours remained Tor the duration’, and the pre- mill t a ry t r a i n i ng of the Hi tier Yo u t h w as i ncreas- ingly taken over by the SS. Also, of course, much ol the regular cadre of the Wehrmannschafien was absorbed into die lories. In consequence the Wehrmannschafien functioned mainly as a back-up to the regular forces, for which purpose it was sub- divided into Army, Navy and Air F< wee ma dons, ■ jt as a general 'home front' auxiliary assigned to civil defence, police or any other body as dictated b\ the exigencies of war. Only in northern Yugoslavia did it assume full combat status. After the fall of that country in April 1941 Lower Styria, Garinthia and Upper Carniola were incorporated into the Reich, and considerable partisa 11 unrest Iollowed. In r942 obligatory military service in that region raised a Wehrmann- schaftshataillon Slid which was later expanded from one to five battalions to become Wehrmannschqfls- regiment Uliter steurmark (Militia Regiment Lower Styria). It participated in several major drives against the local partisans. Hie Wehrmamschaften uniform was olive-brown, and comprised a tunic which could be worn open or dosed at the neck, breeches with top boots for officers (trousers and army boots for others}. An unusual feature was the ‘Italian 9 forage cap—a unique example of a German borrowing from its \xis partner. This had, on the front, the SA cockade monogram and, on the left side, an eagle- and-swastika on a triangle, correctly black although Gruppe colour was sometimes used. Rank was standard SA worn on collar patches in the Gruppe colour and piped in yellow or white according to the (former) button colour. Officers 5 shoulder straps were normal SA, but non¬ commissioned grades bad round-ended straps in the same cloth as the tunic and piped in white for mils serving with the Army, in navy blue for those W ehrmannschaft belt buckle* (J. R, Angolia) Model 43 service cap as worn by tVchnnilflflscItaii! units in Styria— see Plate H3. (Ulric of England) w i t h L he Kriegsm a fine , a i id y e 11 o w fo r th os e w i th the Luftwaffe . The Ttalkin' forage cap was often replaced by the Mi 943 field cap. An Edelweiss cap emblem was worn by units in the ‘highland’ Gmppen . All ranks wore the normal SA brassard except the Styrian SA units, which had a brassard featuring the flame-breathing Styrian griffin on equal white and green (the Styrian colours); on active service, the brassard was usually discarded* A special Wehrmannschqfien belt buckle was designed but, in practice, the 'civilian* two-claw type was more commonly worn. During the closing months of the war the Wehrmannschqfien were i n cor po r a ted i n I o t he Volkssturm (the 'Home Guard' raised in October *. ,,, .< \ (7) SA in the General Government (Poland) and Danzig After the defeat of Poland two large regions were incorporated into the Reich—Gan Danzig in West Prussia and Gau Posen (later renamed Gau Wartheland); the rest of the country was styled the ‘General Government’ under a German Governor :Hans Frank). An SA unit ‘General Government' was raised from among the Volksdeutsche (racial German residents). In place ol the word Sturm as normally applied to an SA company, the earlier term Hundertschaft was used. In 1942 the various /iundertschaften throughout the country were re¬ named SA Wehrschulzen-Bereilschaflen (roughly: light infantry readiness companies’). On 20 April 1942 this cumbersome title was abbreviated to -S'. I Wehrbereiischaften, and all male Volksdeutsche be¬ tween the ages of t8 and 65 ordered to enrol in it either for active servic e against the partisans or, for the older men, static: home-defence. SA units in tire General Government wore ‘GO' on a grey right collar patch. A special frontier defence force' was raised in the F ree City of Danzig at the start of the war. Members at this unit wore the SA monogram on a black right collar patch. The rest of the uniform was Army field-grey, [lie Army-style forage cap with an SA cockade on the (rout. Distribution of Standortfuhrcr Gros s -Berlin cuff bund in November 1933. Retired Officers/Acting Officers and Honor¬ ary Commissions (a) Retired SA officers could, on special occasion w ear their former unito mi. Bet ween i 9 3 3 and 1 ty: their status was indicated by a metal A (l 'emhschiedele = " RcUred 5 ) on both collars. In 193 J the military term a.D. [ausser D ten si) was preferred: f or those who had \lelt the servic e'. Cl re v collar patches and grey side panel to the kepi was then tin token of being retired. In 1936 the concept < f "retired officer' was dropped. g ranks were granted to individuals who ;.pf| Mmi 40 although not members of the SA, carried out some specialist function within it. Such persons were k11 ow 11 as Rhrenhalher and wore si I ver-gre y patch es i m less a11achcd U:> the Statt ofat huppe or theOSAF, in which case the patches were red and carmine respectively. e) Officers with no current assignment but immediately available for du.Lv were said to be zur Verfilgung ('available for duty'). Persons on the active reserve but subject to recall in an emergency were zur hesonderen Verwendung kfbr special employ¬ ment'). Such persons wore, respectively, cuff titles with zAh and z.b.V. (gold Gothic lettering on i-' lr i, d) Honorary Commissions were introduced in December 1934 with the creation by the SA of 1 S 7 andarten FJirenfuhrer a la mile\ I bis title, a mixture 4 German and French, was equivalent to the British Army's 1 Colonel-in-Chief to a particular regiment (in the SA\s case, a particular Stand arte ). This unique rank had a unique collar patch — the »ak leaf of a Sla n da rtenjiik rer plus three stars with (on the riglit patch only) the 11 umber oI the Standarte to hich the FJirenfuhrer was accredited. At first this was the sole honorary rank granted, but the following year both higher and lower ranks were awarded. The special collar patch was iiscontinned and holders of SA honorary com- i* missions wore the normal insignia of the rank to which they had been appointed plus an ivory- > loured cuff title with Ehrenjuhrer in gold Gothic ttering, or, for 1 o'wer grades, Rangjuhrer (a Is<> go 1 cl m ivory). If they were gazetted to a particular formation, its number appeared after the word Ehrenflihrer. e.g. FJirenfuhrer Hr. R rj (Honorary Officer of Reserve Brigade 13). Training Establishments . \ X a tio n a I Lead ersh ip School (R eiclufilhrerschule) was opened at Munich in March 1931. Staff wore on their right collar a black 1 \ 1 rune' (runic 'T' j i m tli 1 ted i n vv li i t e on a carmine (1 ale r, bright red) patch. Shoulder straps for trainees and non- i om missioned staff were red/while on (for all trades) a red underlay. On their left upper arm graduates of the School wore a white-outlined black 1 vr rune on red. I11 July 1933 Rohm established a Training Kection {Ausbildunsswesens or AW) as one of the Main Departments of the OSAF. After his fall this was abolished, but was revived in January 1935 with the creation of the post of CheJ des Ausbil- dungsuesms. The AW set up National (Reichs) and Regional (Gruppen) schools for all aspects of SA training—motor, riding, sports, etc. Trainees and staff wore normal SA service dress, but had, for work, a special Ubungsanzug comprising an olive- brown tunic, trousers and kepi (this latter differed from the normal and was without coloured panels). The tunic had a brown collar and concealed buttons (apart from those on the breast pocket flaps). Shoulder straps for trainees and non¬ commissioned staff were red/white on (for all grades) a brown under lav. Staff at the training establishment of one of the SA's specialist branches wore the emblem of that branch at a 45-degree angle on their right collar, e.g. the crossed pick and shovel of the Pionier SA. Where no such emblem existed (as at Motor or S po r Is S ch 00 1 s) a I a rge 1 A ■ (A ush iIdling ) w as w o rn in its place, the patch being in the Grnppe colour. With the Ubungsanzug special collar ranks were worn: one star (both collars; lor Gruppen full rer; two stars (left only) for gugfuhrer\ three stars (left only) for Letter. A cuff title chf.f aw (possibly carmine on white) exists and may have been for Staff at AW Headquarters, officers the SA also ran con rses for NCOs, the length of which varied from a single weekend for junior grades to two weeks for senior ranks. Graduates were supposed to receive a black chevron (to be worn on the lower left arm) but no photographic evidence of its existence has come to light. During 1935 6 Training Companies [Lehr- slurme) and T rai nin g Battal ions (Lehrs lurmbanne) wore a 22mm If on the right collar in conjunction with the Standarte number (i8nim) and the Sturm or Sturmbann n u mera 1 s (ca eh 12 rnm}, or vv i th a specialist emblem (e.g. Signals Blitz )—in this case placed upright, not at a 45-degree angle. The I f co uld be m e La 1 or cha in-s ti tch, ei 111 er black or w hite (whichever contrasted better with the collar patch colour), but due to a possible confusion with the ‘Lf of the Leihstandarte. which it resembled, it was {liseoni inucd in lavour of an : A ? (asdeLai 1 ed above). One little-known aspect of SA training was its sponsorship of a senior school for boys at Feldafing National Sports Leader, SA Obcrgruppenfuhrcrvon Tscliam- mer und Os ten, in summer uniform with short-lived March 1936 cap badge. (J. Charita) on the Starnbergersee (south of Munich I. Opened in April 1934 with 193 specially selected pupils, known as SA jfungmannen, it was intended to train future SA leaders. On graduation a boy could enter the SA with the rank of Truppfuhrer. Pupils wore SA uniform (shirt, lie, tunic, breeches, brassard, etc.) butin place of the kepi, a brown side cap in the style of the Hitler Youth's camp cap, and, instead of an SA dagger, a bayonet-type side arm with blade inscribed Ehre, Kraft , Frdheii ("Honour, Strength, Freedom 5 ). In February 1936 control of the school passed from SA to Party hands, although even alter this several SA officers continued lobe members of staff, in cl udi n g t he head m aster, S A 0 hergruppenfiihrer Julius Goerlilz. It was not until 1941 that all connection with the SA was severed; thereafter pupils were enrolled in the Hitler Youth, stall in thr NSDAP. The full title of the establishment was, A.' Deutsche 0 her sc hide Starnbergersee. A cuff Lille win this wording exists and may have been worn b pupils, staff, or both. Welfare and Work Gamps During the two or three years before and after Hitler's accession to power, Germany was in th grip of the Great Depression. The ranks of the SA were swelled by thousands of unemployed men. I 1931 it c h a n n e 11 e c iso in.e of its li n 1 i l e d re s o u rces in t the creation of a Welfare Section. Once in power the Nazis were able to devot more time and money to alleviating the plight of th workless. Technical Training Companies ( Tech- n ische Lehrs l iirme ) w e r e s e 1 u p i n ( ) c t o h e r 19 33 U help trained artisans regain skills they had lost as a result of prolonged idleness. But many ol the unemployed were unskilled, and for these, Work G a mp s (H ilfsw erklagern ) w e re cs tablish e 11 i n w 1 ti c 11 practical vocational training was provided. Fhe organisation of the camps was left to the discretion of the individual Gruppe . 1 n some Crupper attendance was obligatory, in others voluntary, and the duration of training could vary from six weeks to 14 months. The term Hilfswerklagern was later replaced by $ehultmgslagern (School Gamps), but. by March 1936 they were wound up due to an easing ol the trade depression, and the fact that re-introduced compulsory military service had taken large 11 urnhers of voung men oIf Lhe streets. J 'TO Stall of the Technical draining Companies wore a silver cogwheel on a light blue rhombus on the left cuff. Otherwise their unilbrm was standard SA. Staff of the Schulungs lager n are reported to have had "Sell. If on their right collar patch, but no pi lotogr a phic evi deuce of t his Is a va i I a I) 1 e, * # ^ Miscellaneous Insignia Ol beers and N GOs could wear a lanyard Irom the m Id d 1 e b u t to \ 1 of t h e s h i r11 u 1 1 1 e r i g h 1 b re as t p octet, attached to a whistle for giving commands. Until 1937 the colour of the lanyard was the same as that of the collar patch, except for J tiger units in Franconia and Hoc hi and who had green inter- woven with the Gruppe colour. After 1937 .ill 1 a 11 vards w err brow 11. «■ Former members of 'Steel l lelmeF incorporated into the SA wore, I or a brief time, a black chevron on the left cuff, but this was replaced by a black cloth rhombus bearing the 'Steel Helmet badge, normally in silver metal, but white cotton was occasionally used. SA personnel who were also members of the Auslands Organisation (Overseas Organisation of the NSDAP) wore, on the left cuff, a white or silver WO’ on a black rhombus, piped in silver. A small number of senior SA leaders during the war years wore, in place of the normal brassard, a gold bullion cagle-and-swastika of the Army type >n a carmine background* . 1 /: .SVf Leader, K)2i Uni fo r m ’ in 1921 2 w as any thi ng b u t s La nd a rd. A grey wind jacket was popularly worn over either civilian or part-military attire, A swastika armband was the only constant feature. A leathVhead was a favourite item of cap adorn¬ ment. The illustration is based on a photo oi H. Lb Klmtzsch, the first SA leader. [2: s^ugfUhrer, 1923 Formal uniform was introduced in January 1923, consisting of a iield-grey tunic and breeches and tan-coloured kepi with the national cockade. Rank ivas signified by white bands around the brassard here, two for a ^ugfuhrer (Platoon Leader) . The SA Sfandarfe (Standard) also made its first appearance in January 1923; at this stage the letters 'NSDAP' appeared on the front. A3: Truppfukrer, Gruppe Fran ken , November 1926 When the SA was re-activated in February 1925 it adopted an all-brown uniform. Rank was still, as previously, indicated on the brassard, but in November 1926 collar patches in different colours ' d en ote cl i 0 ere n t region s w ere i n trod need; on t he left, rank insignia, on the right, the Standard t regimental) number. The regional colour lor Franconia (Franken) was wbite jas iL was for ninc of : : *' .■ > v! sshs sii ■. .■• '■i : :■ • Knight^ Cross winner, SA Gruppcnfiihrer Bernhard Hoff¬ mann; cap badge is final design, (J, Gharita) the other, then, 31 regions). The two stars of a Truppfuhrer were, at this stage, placed parallel (not, as later, at an angle). In inclement weather a grey windjacket could be worm Various designs of belt buckle were worn. Inset: Radge ol the Front-harm. B1: (j mpp enjiih ret , As a token of their high rank, Standarknfuhrer and above had, in 1928, bright red side panels added to their kepis, and also silver piping around its turn-up and crown. A Gruppenjuhrer had bright red collar patches with twin silver oak leaves (the Chief of Staff had the same but in gold). A cap badge was not introduced until the following year. There were no shoulder straps. The brown shirt was, in reality, a brown blouse worn over a genuine shirt (ei t her brown or w h i te). 82: Scharfuhrer, Untergruppe Hamburg, 1932 A government ban on political uniform was 43 mMMm Prince August Wilhelm (right), son of the former Kainser, an SA Hrigadt*{iihrt*r. Note unusual horizontal placing of unit numeral (235) on collar of the Sturnifiihrer, (Ulric of England) imposed in December 1931, When it was rescinded six months later one condition was that the SA adopt 4 a more respectable form of dress'. Its re s p o t i sc vv a s a t u n ic w o r n o v e r a ( t r u e ) s h ir t a n d tic. With this, brown trousers were worn (the SA reverted to breeches and top boots a few months later). This Sell a rj uh re r i s o 11 th e s t a tT o 1 t h c {t hen j Uniergruppe Hamburg and wears its white collar patches with (for staff) its Gothic £ Hg' abbrevi¬ ation. Collar patch piping, brought in at this time, is in the white/green of this Unier gruppe, The cap badge, i n trod need in 19 2 9, is (I rst d esi gi 1, T h e tw i n- claw buckle usually worn with the tunic did not make its appearance until 1934* Bj: 0 bench a rj uh ret , G rupp e j\ 0 rdm a rk , ujg'j Iti 1933 shoulder straps, worn on the right only, were introduced, and side panels in the Gruppe colour (here 'emerald green' for Nordmark) added to the kepi. This Ob ersch a rj uh rer w ears the g o r ge 101 a standard-bearer and carries the Slurmjaline of his unit* The brown 'shirt ( blouse) is here worn over a true shi r t: tli is ord er < jf d r ess was n o w design a ted t he 'traditions', or full dress, uniform 1 Grosser Diensianzug ). Ci: Ohertruppjukrer, Gruppe H demand, igjg In southern Bavaria and upper Austria leath shorts [Lederhosen) were traditional male dress 1: summer. The SA permitted these to be worn wit: thick white stockings ( Wadensiulren) and black < brown shoes, but only in conjunction with th brown 'shirt' (not with the tunic). The Grupj colour tor Hoc hi and was light blue, and a! members were entitled to wear an Edelweiss on th left side of the kepi. C2: SA Mann. Gruppe Mi lie, full marching order , igg For route marches, IVehrsport (field exercises) and certain ceremonial occasions full marching order was worn, consisting of brown 'shirt' with back¬ pack, blanket, mess tin, bread sack, water batik and d ag ge r. T his SA Ad arm b el o r igs to Gruppe M i / (indicated by the orange-yellow side panel of lib kepi). On his right upper arm is a red-ribbed gold chevron denoting SA membership prior to 1933: later this was replaced for an 'old lighter' by long- service rings around both cutis. Cj: Sports kil (Gruppe Oherrhein) On the sports field no distinction was drawn between oil leers and others, thus no rank insignia of any sort appeared on this order of dress which consisted of a while singlet, brown shorts and black shoes ( without socks). I11 the centre of the singlet was the SA logo, Initially brown on white with, encircling the chest, a 30mm-wide band in the Gruppe colour; later die band was discontinued and the logo, in w hite, placed upon a background in the Gruppe colour — here cornflower blue for Oherrhein, At the base of the logo is the Gruppe abbreviation— here 'OR11 . The singlet logo varied in size from 100 to 140mm. A smaller version : 75mm ; was worn on the led breast of the brown track suit. A cloth version of the SA Sports Badge could be worn on the singlet. D1: 0 h e rs l u rmjuh rer. Be I dp 0 1 ig e i , G ruppe Be rl in - Brandenburg. Enro 11 ed as 'lie 1 d pollce' in the wake oft! 1 e Nazi 'seizure of power', SA units in Berlin and Brandenburg wore the dark blue greatcoat of the Prussian Police over their brown uniforms. The Berlin-Brandenburg Gruppe colour was black, with black/white piping. This remained unchanged, bul 44 a police star (silver) replaced the unit numerals on the right patch and the button on the kepi. Subalterns had collar patches piped in black, w hite with similar piping around the crown of the kepi. On dot y a go r g e t \v; t s w o r n, eh a r g ed vv i t h , a police star, two swastikas and die unit number. 1 ) 2 : Feldjdger-Rottenfuhrer, 1934 The Feld]dgerkorps uniform was of a si milar cut to that ol the Prussian Police, but in olive-brown. The unit colour was white (no longer, by this time, used by any SA Gruppe). Rank insignia was as for the rest 1 j I the S A, I hi t a gok I police star lea 1 u red on t h c ri gist o 11 ar pa tch. T here w as wI lite pi ping arou n d co 11 ar, uils and down the front edge of the tunic (although iliis latter was sometimes omitted 1. As police' the I JK were allowed to carry revolvers. A gorget, bmilar to that of the Feldpolizei , was worn on duty. Dp: Sturmmann o f the Feldherrnhalle, tgjq By September 1939 shoulder straps were worn on both shoulders of the tunic and greatcoat (but still mly on the right with brown 'skirt order), The new lesien for those of non-commissioned rank was Cj j row 11 flecked wi 1 h si 1 ver. 1 win-colour piping had seen abolished and collar patches were piped in at her white or vellow according to the (former) aiilon colour. The Fill I had carmine patches and kepi side panel, a special right collar device and a unique duty gorget. A brown cuff title with Feldtierrnhalle in Sitllerlin scr ipt was worn on the left 2 IT. Inset: Emblem awarded in July 1943 and worn n both shoulder straps by home-based and military Fill! units. E1 :Ob ers l u rmfuh re r, AI a rin e SA , / 9 $4 ill dress uniform in the Marine SA. as in the rest of the service, was the brown 'shirt/ (blouse) and breeches (navy blue) with top boots (black), A 1 .:vv blue tunic with a true brown shirt and tic was t c undress uniform ' F 7 riner Diensfan ~ ug). f n place o 1 a kepi a peaked cap with a gold a nd si I ver cap badge (here, the first version) was worm Collar p i pi ng was royal blue / whi te, s u bal te rush a vi ng thi s also around their collar patches. Buttons, rank stars, etc., were gold, E2: Sturmbannfiihrer, Marine SA Sea Sport School* 1934 1 lie tunic worn with undress uniform by the Marine SA was single-breasted, but stall, both tom mis¬ sioned and otherwise, at a Marine SA sea sport school had the more traditional double-breasted jacket as worn by naval officers. With this, navy b 1 ue t rouse r s were worn—in 1 he r est of the Manne SA trousers belonged only to 'office dress , or ‘evening dress'. As at all SA training establish- merits, a branch-of-service emblem (here an anchor) was placed at a 45-degree angle on the right collar patch. On the right cuff a light blue band with the name of the school (here: ' 5/1 Seesporlschule Seemoos*) was worn. The cap badge here is a variant of the first design with a wreath similar to that of the Kriegsmarine. The badge on the left upper breast pocket is that of an Officer of the Watch. Eg: Rottmfiihrer 3 Marine SA , while working uniform D u n n g s e a -goi n g e x c rc i s es Ma rin e. S A rati n gs w o re, like their counterparts in the Kriegsmarine, a white moleskin smock and trousers; headgear was the Lager mutze in navy blue. Rank was indicated by a scheme of red bars, chevrons and/or stars on the j 1 lower left cu If—here the two red bars of a ••4 11 * “ * * * * ^ * * * 1 * 4 * ■ * * * * * « * * * * * * * * 9 * « « i » * ■* * * « & * * * ****** &£*-ri v W* ** Rottenfuhrer, Fi: Sturmjuhrer > Motor SA.. Gruppe Franken, igpj The Motor SA was distinguished by its black breeches and top boots (in place of brown) and by the special crash helmet worn while driving. Here a Sturmfuhrer of Gruppe Franken (Franconia) wears Cuff title of an Ehrenfiihrer of Reserve Brigade 13. (Walker Collection) ■ ■ \ . ...... ■ ■ ■ r: ■ - ■ ' ' - ■ ■ •• * rvf }( E f ■* i. i. • . • ■ ■ ■ v vk. ■ -i, * Ui u V Sf fPKft V C -C ■ -- - -— ■ •s s- fi# ■■■ ■ .■ -S - . .. . .rt. :■£ :■ •: S- . . •; \ i- iU ' ■ k p- yc & ■■ ■ .. 'tfspts';. Sfc.•; •• ^ - ^ r ::hv.'.; •. 45 tha t G ro u p's 4 su i p h u r y c 1 I ow " coll a r pa tubes (whic h re p I a c e d 1 li e lb r m e r w h i te on es in i 9 3 2} w i th ro y a 1 b I uej w hite co 11 a r, a ncl collar pate h, pi pin g, ( ) n h is left cuffis the Qualified Driver's badge, on his left b re as t po cket the c o m m c 1 n o r a t i v e b act ge of t h c S A rally at Brunswick in 1931, F2: SV 1 Spielmann, Gruppe Hans a, igy. This drummer wears the "swallows' nests' of a musician in the navy blue of Gruppe Hama, with collar patches and kepi side panel in the same co 1 o u r * Hi s co Haris p i p e d 1 n ro y a 1 b t u e a n d y el I o w, and his single shoulder strap is likewise royal blue and yellow on a navv blue underlav. He wears ■ d f leather equipment which includes an apron to protect his breeches from friction while marching* Fg: Slandartenfuhrer (Medical Branch )> Gruppe West- mark, evening dress The SA, unlike the armed forces or SS, had no specially devised evening dress* Instead it wop 3 version of its of lice dress' (introduced in Ap 1 933) comprising a brown tunic, shirt and tie w: black trousers piped narrowly in red down t outer seams* Evening dress' differed from "offi dress' only in that the shirt was white* not kha and neither belt nor headgear was worn with Here a medical Slandartenfuhrer (his fundi' indicated by a silver life rune' on his cull 1 wears t chocolate brown patches and shoulder stra u nd e r I ay of Grupp e Weslm a rk . His single s ho u 1 cl strap is twisted silver bullion* G /; Qbergruppenfuhrer on Staff of an SVJ Gruppe , iqg . As a member ofstaifofan SA Gruppe * this officer h. bright red collar patches arid kepi side panel. H senior rank entitles him to broad silver Tresse am silver piping around the turn-up of the kepi am: silver piping around its crown* Around both cull- he has two silver-grey rings, respectively 4mm am 1 2mm wide* denoting service in the SA since 1929 l ire colour ol SA uniform has bv this time beei altered to a slightly darker shade referred to a> 4 olive-brown'* Gs: Obersturmhannjuhrer at OSAF, while summet uniform. In warm weather senior officers could wear a lightweight white tunic, normally without a belt but for ceremonial occasions the d ress bell could (as here} be worn. The suspension chain of the dagger passed through the flap oft he pocket to be attached to a button inside the tunic. The illustration shows an officer with the carmine collar patches and kepi side panel of a member of the OSAF* On his right cull he has a carmine band with £ Obersle SA - Fit lining' in gold. He has the "Tyr rune' of a graduate of the National Leadership School. On his left breast pocket lie wears the SA Wehrahzeichen and German Expert Horseman's Badge. The right collar patch lor members of the OSAF below the r a ilk of Sta n da rlen'full re r w a s b I a n k * Gg: 11 a up l / ruppj ilh rer, Gruppe SlJ.dm.ark, lygo This lla uptl ruppfiih rer (a r a n k c r ea te din 19 3 o ) vv e a r s the pink collar patches and kepi side panel of Gruppe 4b Tunic of a Scharfiihrer of Standarte FeJdherrnhaJle* (Walker Collection) Sudmark. The collar pale lies are piped in while, reflecting the former silver button colour; the second style shoulder straps are worn on both sides* H e 11 as t h e c u if title ' E l illib aid . Stro m b ergef a w a ret e c I to Standarte i ofhis Gruppe. Dressed in a greatcoat, he collects lor the Winter Relief fWKIW) charity a dutv which even the most senior members of the Nazi party were required to perform. Hi: Hauplsturmjuhrer oj ike Wekrmannschafi as Adjutant to Gruppe Nordsee, 1Q42 Hi is officer wears t he 4 olive-brown' uniform and hstinclive 'Italian' forage cap of die Wehrmann- fkajt , with the 'steel green: collar patches of Gruppe Yordsee to which lie is accredited as an adjutant signified by his aiguilleltes). His collar patches are aped in yellow (the former button colour having been gold). He has the special Wehrmannsciia.fi belt, buckle, Hj: SA Mann of Wehrmannschqft in Gruppe .Meder- rkein, ?<)44 a member of Gruppe Niederrhein the man has black collar patches piped in yellow (former button ‘Italian’ forage cap as worn by Wehrmannsclmft, (Walker Collection} colour: gold). In place of the 'Italian' cap he wears the M t 943 cap, by this period in the war the almost universal headgear of die German forces. He has a t w i n - c I a w 1 >e I l h u c k I e (n 1 o re c o t n m on 1 y u s e cl 1 h a n the official Wehrmannsdiajt type). His ski trousers are tucked into black shoes. ()n his left cuff is a black band with' Sturmbann z.b.V: (zur imonderen Verwen- dung = 'for special duty'} plus a place name. This type of cull’tide indicated a unit available for active duty in an emergency. H j: SA Mann of Wehrmannschqft in Slyria , 1345 The collar patch colour of the Styrian Wekrmann- schqft is described as 'raspberry red'. Collar patches and shoulder straps are piped in white. A special white and green brassard with the black griffin of Styria within a white circle was authorised, although often discarded on active service. The g r iffin, pj us a sword, also featured on the left side ol the brown steel helmet. Mountain hoots were worn with thick white ankle socks. 47 INDEX (Rtrfei't’iices Lo iilusLraliom are shown in bold. Plales are prefixed 'pi." with rommeniary locators in brackets, e.g. 'pi. FI (45-1 1 adjuLaiiLn: pJ. Ill (47); 15 August Wilhelm, Entire 44 daggers; pi. C2 (46); 15. IB—I V„ 16, 17 Danzig 40 flags & banners; pi. A2 (43), H3 (44): 3,17-19, 18 Fmnthnmi m . pi. A (’ mwt) (43); 4, 8 Goeririg. Nermann ""p—-4, 6 , [■Mi, 47, 38 Hitler, Adolf 3,4-5,6, 15, 18, 34, 36 Hoffmann, Rem hard 43 Klini/.sch, Hans [ lridi 3-4. 43 (Al) l.uize, Viktoi 6, 7 : 7, 12, 13 16-17, 17,38 Munich f*ulsch 4, 8, 18. 15, 38 N t) i vvirgiai l Rsk&hird 7 N8DAT; pi. A2 (43); 3,5, 17, 13, 35, 42 organisation 5-6, 7, 12. 13, 34 Gntppen 5, 6, 7. 8, % ID, II, 12, 13, 15, ill. pi. A3-H2 (43-47) passim. OSAF 7. 3, 12,13, 15, 13, 36, 46 (G2) s]xxial fi.»1 j y liot is 13-39 adiminis I ra Jion 34 - 35 equestrian units 12, 13, 23 living units 6-7. 13-20, 23 jdgrr units 12, 33, 34, 42-43 Leibstandwte 34 Msmtu- 3A: pi. El-3 {15); 12,14, 16, 20 -21, 21 medical units; pi, F3 (46); 12, 24 motor units: pi. FI (45-46); 5, 6. 10, 21-22. 22, 36 musicians; pi. F2 (46); 24 -33, 33 pioneeis 12.22-23 pirlice 4’ para-miHiai'v units 36—33 Ffidh/rniJmEf' pL D3 / inset (451; 17. 17, 37-38, 38. 46 Fktdjrignrkofp',: pi. D2 (45); 7.. 37 FddpSket pi. D1 (44-45), 37 StubsuHttiwi 36, 37 Strmffiidmisi patrols 36-37, 40 Wehvammeh&fieri\ pi. 111-3 (47); 7, 38-39, 59, 47 [ I uaitemlasicis 35-36 reservists 23-2-1, 41,45 Srhii&■•!< units 12, 33—34 signals units 12, 22 training units 35, 41 —42 Pfeifer, Fran/ 5. 7 Poland 39-40 ranks 7-12,1.2, 34-35. 40-41 Brigfidefitfiw 8. II, 12 44 tlhmifuhw 41„ 45 Gmppaififain pi. BI (43); 8, 11.12, 43 Haupttmppjuhrfr. pi. G3 (46-47); 7, 12 leader; pi Al (43); 9. 16, 17 Obeifthm-R, II, 12 ObergmppenjuJtj pt. pi, G1 (4(4); 6, 7. 8. 11 , 12 OfMn^cJimfiiJtjrr. pi. B3 (44); 7, 12 ( }fxfi x lurtfiltan ftj ti hrer. pE. G2 (46); 8. 10 r 32 Obet s [{irvifuhrer. pI, Dl (14—45), El (45); 7, 10,12 Obersturmtnsinn 7, 12 ObertiUpfifuftirr. pi. Cl (44); 7, 12 Iitiiffwjiihh'i: pi. D2 (45), E3 (45); 7, 12 SA-Mtmm pi. C2 (44) f H2/3 (47); 12 Srhaif iibrn p|. B2 (43-44); 7, 12,46 Stah^kafX 8.9. 11,12. 13. 13, 14, 15, 43 (111) St/mdartmjvhnT, pt. F3 (46); 8, 10, 12, 43 (HI) SfurfdMnfifvJmr. pt. E2 (45); 8. 10, 12 5 iurmfuhrer. pi. FI (45-16); 7 : 10, 12. 18, 44 5il wmhauptfiihiw : pi. 141 (47); 7, 10, 12 Sfurmmami: pi. D3 (45); 7, 12 Truppfiih-reK |>l. A3 (43); 7. 12 Zugfuforr, pi. A2 (43); 8 retired ol I keis 40 Rohm, Ernst 3, 4,5, 6, I 1. 12, 36. 4 I Schepmann, Wilhelm 5, 7. 12 sport: pi. C3 (44), E2 (45); 7, 35, 42 88 : 6, 6, 19-22, 20, 34. 37, 38, 46 (F3) fkdiLtmmer nnd Ostcn, von 42 unilbmis: pi. A-H (4.3-17); 4, 6, 8-19. 3. 10-0 passim, 35 Ixrlt buckles; pi. A3 (431, B 2 (44), Hl/2 (47); 14, 14,36.39 hoots: pi. El (45). FI (45), H3 (47) bleedtes; pi. A2 (43) f El (45), FI (45);8 4 mown shirts’; pi. Rl (13). B3 (44), Cl n (44). El (45); (x 8. 45 (D3j greatcoats: pt. Dl (44), 03 (47) headgear 8, 13—14 i rash helmet: pi. Pi (45); 22 forage cap; pi. E3 (45); l 1 Italian'SLvle; pi. HI (47): 39, 47 kepi: pi. A2 (43); 8, 13, 13-14 side panels; pi. Bl G3 (43-47} passim; 13, 14 M 1943 cap: pi. H2 (47); 39 30 peaked cap; pi. El (45); 21 insignia 8-15, 12-13 see organisation; special formations badges: pi. At (43), B2 (44). El/2 (45) ; 8, 13, 14, 14, 21, U 42, 43 bra^ards: pi. Al/2 (43); 8 rank bauds; pi. A2 (43); 8, 9 collar patches: pi. A3-H3 (43-47) passim; 3,8-0, 9, 10, lh 15, 44 c:iill titles, pi. D3 (45), E2 (45), G2 (46) . G3 (47), 112 (47); 14-15. 37, 40, 45 Edelweiss: pi. C l (44); 14, 33. 30 gorgets: pi. B3 (44), M/3 (45); 19, 10 , 38, 45 (D2) piping; pi. 1U-H3 (43-47) passim; 8, (M0. 10, 11,12, 13-14, 3 4 shoulder straps; pi. B3 (Id). D3 (45), F2/3 (46), C3 (47), 113 (47); 8, 10-12, 12. 43 (Rl) veteran insignia; pi. C2 (44), G3 (46); 15 shoes: pi. Cl, 3 (44), H2 (47) shorts: pi. 0/3 (44) summer uni.form: pi. Cl (44), G2 (46); 42 trousers; pi. B2 (44 :-, E2 (45), F3 (46), 142 (17) uinks; i>l. A2 (48). B2 (14), E2 (45), F3 (46), G2 (46); 8.45 (El), 46 weliarr and work camps 42 COMPANION SERIES FROM OSPREY ESSENTIAL HISTORIES Concise studies of ihe miuivcs, methods and re percti ssntns td human conflict, spanning history firom Ancient times m rhe present day I rich volume.: sindics urn.: msjnr war or arena of war, providing -m indispensable guide to the lighting itself,, rhe people in wived, aud its i.isiitig impact On (he world m round it, CAMPAIGN •Scoouiitti oi history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, lactio;, muvejnerttN ■niU itlitwiK oi the lorces itLrou^hont Lite uruciitl sLa^&s of cadi campaign. Futt-ouloui 1i:lL lie scenes., bdunensional ‘bird’s-eye 'riews 1 , phoLtwiraphs and battle maps puitk 1 the r-aadir Lltron^h cjeh eriu,.i^uriicnI from its origins to its umdustun. ORDER OF BATTLE The gftsa Lf-sL battles i» Tmlnn, Jealuriiiji nisil-by-uniL examinations of the In Kips and their movements as veil, a* analysis ul Lhe commanders' original objectives anil actual achievements. Color maps including a large fold-out base map. urifantsariona] diagrams and photngraphs help lhe reader tu trace the course of the fighting in unprecedented detail. ELITE This series focuses on uniforms, equipment, insignia and unit histories in the same way as Men-at-Arms but in more extended treatments of larger subjects, also mdtiding personalities and techniques of warfare NEW VANGUARD Tin design, development, operation and history of the machinery of warfare through the ages. Photographs, I utll-Luli.su r .irtwnrk and cutaway drawings supyiort detailed evaminatiems of the nttxst signitieaul mechanical innovations in lhe history of human conflict. WARRIOR I nsights into the daily lives of history's fighting men and women, past and present, derailing their motivation, lraining, tactics, weaponry and experiences. Meticulously researched narrative and l iill-cotmir artwork, photographs, and scenes of ha I tic and daily Life provide detailed accounts nf the experiences of combatants through the ages. AJ R C RAF T O F THE AC ES Portraits of Lhe dale julots of ihe 2fl>lih century's major air campaigns, including oniqne interviews with surviving aces k nit listings, scale plans and hi|J-colour artwork comhine with ihe best archival photography available to provide a detailed insight into the experience ul w.ii in lire air. COMBAT AIRCRAFT !"he world’s greatest military nireraft and cuntb.it uniu and [heir crews, examined in detail, lurch exploration of the leading leclinology. men and machines of aviation history is supported by unit listings anti other data, artwork, scale plans, and archival photography.