Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice early pattern German WWII Heer Army Infantry Hauptmann Officer's M-36 Tunic, which looks to have been worn by a member of Infanterie-Regiment 2 (2nd Infantry Regiment). The tunic shows moderate wear from service and in very good display condition. We checked the interior, and there are no maker markings we can see, and there is not an internal pocket to check either. Almost certainly a bespoke example made at a local tailor for an officer.

It comes complete with a lovely Army Heer Officers 45mm Brown Leather Open Claw Buckle Belt, which has a great service worn look. The leather is still supple, though the finish is cracked, and there are markings on the brass buckle, including an (RZM) stamp and 16, which we were not able to identify. It looks to be a very early example, made just as the RZM designations were in their infancy. It has the name / word OpaLKa written on the inside. The belt is adjustable from 30 ½" to 39 ½" in length.

The tunic is made from lovely "whipcord weave" wool gabardine, in the standard Heer feldgrau (field gray) color. It features four pockets with scalloped flaps and pebbled magnetic buttons, which look to be made from pebbled aluminum tops   with steel backings and eyelets. The front closure features five of the same buttons on the right breast flap meeting an equal number of reinforced buttonholes on the left flap. They were originally finished in green, but that has now worn away partially. All look to be marked with EXTRA FEIN on the rear, and the buttons are sewn directly to the fabric, which does make them a bit more prone to tearing off, however these all look to be original. There are also two hook and loop collar securing fasteners, which are fully functional.

The interior is lined with with a very nice light blue green gray colored rayon cotton blend twill fabric, while the sleeves are lined with striped rayon. There is some light staining in areas, but no tears or other major damage. There is a hanger strap for an officer's dagger on the left side, which matches up with the large eyelet that opens into the left side waist pocket. It also features horizontal slash pockets on the inner left AND right sides.

It is adorned with the usual rank and branch insignia used on German tunics. The attractive Army breast eagle is the correct early pattern officer's silver bullion hand embroidered type on a dark bottle green background, and is stitched to the outer layer of fabric only. The eagle does however show some fraying, as well as overall "white rust" oxidation from the aluminum material. The collar is wrapped in flaschengrün (dark bottle-green) wool, and has officer's field litzen collar patches on each side, which are woven from silver bullion thread with a dark bottle green background matching the collar. It is in good shape, tough there is wear and some holes around the top edge, which is usually one of the first places to show damage from use.

The colored stripes on the litzen are age toned Weiß (white) rayon cord, the Waffenfarbe (Corps Color) during WWII for Infanterie (Infantry) and Motorisiert Infanterie (Motorized Infantry). The collar is in good shape, with wear around the top edge, which is usually one of the first places to show damage from use. The “sew-in” style company grade officers schulterklappen (shoulder boards) of this tunic are constructed with two rows of fine silver flatware "Russia Braid" double piping and have the correct white piping around the edges. There are two rank "pips" installed on both, indicating the rank of Hauptmann, equivalent to a U.S. Army Captain. They also both have golden metal 2 cyphers on them, most likely for the 2nd Infantry Regiment.

The left chest pocket has two pairs of thread loops for award attachment, which definitely show wear, with one of the top pair having torn through. There is a zinc alloy Infantry Assault Badge attached here, which is not maker marked and shows a lovely oxidized patina. We have put it inside the pocket to prevent it tearing the other loop. There is also a War Merit Cross 2nd Class KVKII ribbon installed on the second button hole from the top, and above the pocket there is a 5 award ribbon bar, which looks to have some Imperial German era awards. As best we can tell, it has ribbons for the following:

- Imperial German WWI Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class EKII.
- German WWI Honor Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (Hindenburg Cross) with Swords.
- Imperial German Prussian Long Service Medal
- Imperial German WWI War Commemorative Medal (Austria) with Swords
- Imperial German Austro-Hungarian WWI Pro Deo et Patria Military Medal 1914-1918 with Swords.

Overall condition is very good, showing wear and staining consistent with moderate service. There are some tiny holes and tears, particularly to the lining, but no major damage. The main condition issue is the breast eagle oxidation, which did not affect the litzen or other metal insignia.

A very nice German Infantry Officer's Tunic, ready to display!

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 9.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 24”
Shoulder to shoulder: 15"
Chest width: 18”
Waist: 17"
Hip: 18"
Front length: 30"

Field Tunic (Feldbluse) Model 1936
Terms such as M40 and M43 were never designated by the Wehrmacht, but are names given to the different versions of the Model 1936 field tunic by modern collectors, to discern between variations, as the M36 was steadily simplified and tweaked due to production time problems and combat experience.

When the NSDAP came to power in early 1933 the Reichswehr, the armed forces of the Weimar Republic, were near the end of a two-year project to redesign the Army Feldbluse (field-blouse). Beginning in that year the new tunic was issued to the Reichsheer and then the rapidly growing Wehrmacht Heer, although minor design changes continued to be made until the appearance of the standardized Heeres Dienstanzug Modell 1936. The M36 tunic still retained the traditional Imperial and Reichswehr uniform color of grey-green "field gray" (feldgrau) wool, but incorporated four front patch pockets with scalloped flaps and pleats (on Reichswehr tunics the lower pockets were internal and angled). The front was closed with five buttons rather than the previous eight, and the collar and shoulder straps were of a dark bottle-green instead of the Reichswehr grey. Compared to the Weimar-era uniforms the skirt of the feldbluse was shorter and the tailoring was more form-fitting due to Germany's adoption of mechanized warfare: soldiers now spent much time in the confined space of a vehicle and a shorter jacket was less likely to pick up dirt from the seats. It also included an internal suspension system, whereby a soldier could hang an equipment belt on a series of hooks outside of the tunic. These hooks were connected to two straps inside the lining, which spread the weight of equipment without having to use external equipment suspenders. The M36 was produced and issued until the very end of the war, though successive patterns became predominant.