German Army Armoured Fighting Vehicle Uniforms 1934-1945 

I'm amazed at how many people are commenting on how complicated it was. :-) I suppose if you're living in it 24/7/365 it becomes second nature. No doubt some of the elements were over-complex (the waffenfarbe system was retained in both the Bundeswehr and the NVA, but simplified to something a little more sane). But once one gets into the weeds of the other militaries, one finds a set of traditions and organization nearly as complex.

It's only really complicated if you see it all crammed down into a 15 minute video. Keep in mind most of the changes were subtle and strechted over 12 years or more.

@@HandGrenadeDivision It does become second nature. But, got your socks and your weapon, you roll.

Yes, it is fairly complicated, and the German Army during WW2 was rather strict and discipline was harsh. But remember: as a recruit these details are literally repeated daily, for months. Make a tiny mistake, like forget to do up a button, and you'd get to run 5 or 10 km with a full kit. Maybe your entire unit would be punished. Maybe it was even beaten into you. That is even true in armed forces across the world today. I've been there. That kind of psychology to "make" a soldier. Make him obey ANY command. Make him think like a part of a unit, is especially effective in young men aged 17 to about 25.That is why militaries prefer people in that age group, and why men are conscripted at age 18 to early twenties. They are easier to "mold", so to speak.

Remember that this video covers a whole range of uniforms for different units, over time. You just had to get it right for your own unit, and once you had completed your training. When a German soldier out in the middle of nowhere in Russia, he didn't care mich how his uniform looked (unless the unit was inspected by high ranking officers or states. He just wanted to be recognizable and that he had enough clothes, food and cigarettes.

Change that to british officer uniforms and i"m in!

I appreciate the sentiments. Truth be told, I'm less concerned in growing stats than just providing content that I find of interest, and hopefully others do as well. I am gratified and humbled by the response to the channel and grateful for the kind words.

HandGrenadeDivision no problem. And we're glad we've found a channel that enjoys shat they're doing rather than follow trends and such. But we few 9.8K are glad to be here to make the channel grow

I agree

Nicely followed by the not as well known 'Panzerjazz' score.

Which unit was this?

I recall an anecdote I heard many years ago about a fellow, possibly returning from hospital to his infantry unit, who was in need of a new uniform and all they had was a black panzer uniform. Without a hat. So he wore it into action, got captured, and to pass the time made his own hat out of a blanket. There are lots of stories like that, which don't make it into a lot of uniform books.

@@cheng3580 I don't remember. I encountered it on a forum while trying to do research on my unit. They were put in belgium late war. The same thread talked about units with pre war gear in the beginning of the war.

@@cheng3580 I think Panzer-Lehr Division (which, as the name states, was basically a tank school transformed into an armoured division during the landings in Normandy)

It was a Panzergrenadier regiment of Panzer-Lehr division, not a whole infantry division. I want to collect uniform pieces in the future to make an NCO impression on this lol

And the misconception continues till today.

Depends on suppy, may not have right uniform on hand so issue what was

@88Gibson LesPaul - The Jagdpanther was definitely crewed by Panzerjagers. It is not assault artillery.

Some of these tanks without a turret was used to help the infantry, while others of them was used to help other German tanks. So the first group had grey uniforms like the infantry and the other group had black uniforms, if I understand this video correctly.

By that time trained troops were in short supply, and could have been collected from one of the many disbanded units.

I'm looking forward to your series on German Army menu items, particularly the taste test....

@@HandGrenadeDivision plz no.... haha. I am aware of some WW2 items, but they are few and far between. $400 for a tin of Schokakola is a bit much for 75 year old energy chocolate.

Well, truth be told, I was thinking more of recipes using modern ingredients, cooked in the old-fashioned way (tin cauldron over an asbestos fire), but now that you mention it, seeing you describe the 'mouth-feel' of a 1944 Schoka would be worth the price of admission....

@Marcelo Henrique Soares da Silva I think you mean _Kriegsmarine_

@@chefbradthebluefam1783 I think you mean *Drittes Reich Deutsches Kriegsmarinewaffe* or maybe stop flexing your basic knowledge on genuinely curious people

@@JohnsonTheSecond you should become a super hero Captain Kraut (sorry if it offends) And your side kick can be Blitz Boy.

Thank you, Jack. I agree that the German Air Force's field divisions are a fascinating study. I doubt I am the one to talk about them as I haven't researched much beyond the basic sources, but they are in the back of my mind. Perhaps if I uncover something really juicy and unique, I will put it up on the channel. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

@@HandGrenadeDivision No problem! If I find anything interesting about them I'll make sure to forward it to you.

Yes, I think one of the editions of PANZER COLORS by Squadron Signal shows the medical tank - a PzKpfw II if memory serves.

There was also some controversy around Heinz Guderian's uniform in various discussion groups, and the question being if he mixed the waffenfarbe - pink piped patches but red underlay on general officer's shoulder boards.

It wasn't the entire German cavalry though which had this as an emblem. It was only one single specific (albeit redoubtable) unit of the Prussian Hussars as far as I know.

I've always confused it with the SS Death Skull from distances. Now I won't get myself confused when I see a Tanker uniform with the Skull.

apparently tank crews that had the deathshead symbol where mistaken by the Russians to be SS and thus were given no mercy

Probably SS?

@@tidepod10yearsago97 no , I think The SS is using their SS rank instead of deathshead symbol

Thanks for taking the time to respond, and the kind words. A number of different software programs for different needs. Believe it or not, artwork begins in Microsoft Paint.

The tank had an internal communications (intercom) system so they could talk to each other. The tank commander/radio operator was also in radio communication with other tanks in the platoon/company.

@@HandGrenadeDivision thanks :)

I suppose it would depend on whether they were in a regimental gun company (usually the 14th Company of every infantry regiment) or the divisional anti-tank battalion. The former would wear white, the latter rosa (pink) arm of service colour.

@@HandGrenadeDivision Thanks for the reply! In any case, would it be correct to assume that one generally would not see towed AT gun crews with artillery's red piping? Only white/rose? I would also assume when it comes to platoon weapons that these were crewed by men in the standard uniform with white infantry branch color- i.e. LeIG 18, heavy machinegun tripods, etc. I have never really been able to find clear info on where the line is drawn between infantry weapons, artillery, anti-aircraft, anti-tank, etc. If you're familiar with source material on this topic I'd be keen to learn more.

@@viarr2893 that would be my general perception, but I've learned never to say "never" when discussing military matters, particularly what the Germans wore....

​@@HandGrenadeDivision Indeed! Thanks for your insight. Just in case for future reference, are you open to communication regarding business inquiries and/or historical discussion? If so, what would your preferred method of contact be? Thank you for your time.

All music is credited at the end.

@Nobody Knows It's not that hard when you learn to recognize them.

I up you Bund Deutscher Mädel, Nachrichten Helferin, Reichsluftschutzbund, Strassenbahn Schaffnerin, and Luftwaffenhelfer!

As I understand it, the usual Army belt buckle (or double claw buckle for officers). They would have worn a sidearm (pistol) on the belt and I believe there was room inside the vehicle to stow water bottles, mess tins and other necessities.

I've seen images of the tank crews wearing standard tropical uniform but with the addition of the panzer skulls placed on the lower lapels. The rest of the uniform was tropical standard, including the blue and copper collar patches. I *presume* that the anti-tank and assault gun crews wore the same tropical uniform. It's a great question though and I haven't researched any of the specific units that used that equipment. I wouldn't doubt that there were some interesting variations.

@@HandGrenadeDivision Yes, it's the different variations and field modifications that make this subject (of uniforms) so interesting although very confusing. I will look into the different units using the panzerjäger in North Africa and go from there but the DAK is truly a can of worms! Thank you for your reply and for the great content you create.

If you send me an email at webmaster@handgrenadedivision.com I'd be happy to discuss with you privately.

I don't find hair-raising stories of alleged Allied atrocities very convincing. I expect the change was rooted in service traditions - similar fights occurred in the Commonwealth forces for example in the same period, as horsed cavalry units were modernized into armoured units. Tank units there had actually begun as part of the infantry branch, yet the traits of rapid movement and exploitation were cavalry traits and so the struggle was to decide which traditions to adopt. It may have been the same for the Germans - the panzer (tank) troops wore the skull as an obvious tribute to the cavalry forces of Frederick the Great who loomed large in German military history. The assault gun troops, however, were probably not seen as the striking, slashing, fast moving force the panzer men regarded themselves to be, making the use of the traditional cavalry badge inappropriate? This is only speculation on my part. The 24th Panzer Division, which I did not mention in the video, actually outfitted their tank crews in black uniforms with the cavalry's golden-yellow branch colour since they were a reorganization of the 1st Cavalry Division.

From what a reenactor was telling me, the skull patches were prohibited due to a lot of SPG crews ripping the skulls off if they were overrun, due to mis-identification by soviet troops who saw a skull and didn't ask questions. If the skull wasn't there, they'd have a higher chance of just being captured.

@@ichigo9919 Even if that is true, it wouldn't explain why tank and anti-tank crews were ordered to keep the skulls.

@Der Kavallerist I don't remember what kind of Army unit it was, but it was near the end of the war where they found a warehouse of SA uniforms. Their regular uniforms were trashed so they put those brown shirts on. They ended up getting captured and of course were mistaken for SA.

@@HandGrenadeDivision this is irrelevant to the discussion but I was wondering, Could you make a video on Afrika korps uniforms next?

Either marching (jack-) boots or the lace up ankle boots. I flipped through the references I listed above and oddly they don't really mention much about footwear. One has a section on underwear, another goes into detail about headsets, but nothing on boots. The British had a special rubber-soled boot for AFV crews, but I don't recall reading that the Germans ever provided one. I think Angolia mentions that they produced a dogtag chain for tank crews, replacing the string that was normally used, since crews often burned in the vehicles, but that was the only 'special' item other than the uniform.

@@HandGrenadeDivision oh thank you my friend

@@HandGrenadeDivision and great video keep up the great work

The AFV jackets used by the SS had rounded lapels and a vertical front closure. I'm not familiar with the entire history of them.

@@HandGrenadeDivision Thank you! At least it's something.

According to Pruett and Edwards, there are reports - unconfirmed - that the panzer branch objected to sharing their insignia with the assault artillery. I can only guess (and Pruett and Edwards say as much), but I suppose their point was that the tanks were inheritors of cavalry traditions (specifically Hussar regiments), which included the skull. For what it is worth, the assault guns were already wearing artillery branch colour (red) so they dropped the skulls - though individual crews liked the skulls and retained them as long as they could. Pruett and Edwards cite Bryan Perret's Osprey book STURMARTILLERIE AND PANZERJAEGER for additional reading.

If this was "stump the band" you would have a big fat prize right now. It's a great question. I'm not sure Edwards included them in his book, I'll have to go back and check. Not sure I've even seen that many photos of Moebelwagen and other SP Flak vehicle crews.

@@HandGrenadeDivision Yeah, I tried looking it up, but didn't get much, plus most of the photos I found of self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles didn't contain the crew, and if it did, only their heads were visible.

A side by side comparison will show the SS skulls had a full mandible (jaw) below the rows of teeth, otherwise they were quite similar. Apparently the first version of the SS 'totenkopf' badge was nearly identical to the panzer skull, but for some reason the SS changed their pattern in 1934.

@@HandGrenadeDivision do they both have roots in Frederik the great era cavalry totenkopf or does that ss totenkopf come from some other way?

I haven't researched the origins of the SS skull so couldn't give an intelligent answer.

@@ninaakari5181 Late but the SS Totenkopf skull was originally meant to be similar to the Prussian Hussar Guards, who wore the same Totenkopf skull.

Part of the trend in the first decades of the 20th Century to move from bright coloured uniforms to earth tones for camouflage purposes. As for the exact shade, that is a good question which predates the Second World War. I honestly don't know.

Ob die Sonne uns lacht,

Der Tag glühend heiß,

Bestaubt sind die Gesichter

Doch froooh ist unser Sinn!

Jä Unser sinn

Honestly, I wouldn't do justice to it. I would love to know more about the German rank system in the First World War, for example, but I don't think I would be doing the topic any great service by just looking stuff up in a book and then cranking out a video on it. Far better for someone with a deep understanding and passion for the subject to take it on. Better for you, better for the community. My focus is mainly the 65th Infantry Division in particular, and the German Army of the Second World War in particular. If someone does cover the World War I era, count me in with yourself among the interested as I think it is a very misunderstood and under-researched area of history.

Before the war, it represented the soldier's branch of service. It was also a throwback to older uniforms. The German Army adopted a number of Prussian traditions, and the lace dated back to the Prussian Army of the 17th century, when every Prussian regiment was identified by the colour of its "facings" (jacket linings were usually done in a contrasting colour to the uniform, and exposed at the collar, cuffs and tails by turning back the material and buttoning it in place). Each regiment had a unique colour of facing, and the Prussians also used distinctive regimental pattern lace sewn around the buttonholes.