Army Officer Breast Eagle

Product Description: This Army Officer Breast Eagle is a nice example of the standard national eagle emblem used on the field gray dress, service and field uniforms of German Army officers from 1934 to 1945. It is intricately hand embroidered using 4 different styles of bullion wire, on a backing of typical dark green wool badge cloth. In some places, small gaps in the bullion stitching reveal the cardboard “Unterlagen” embroidery template. The reverse of this eagle is backed with a thin gray woven fabric. The countless hand stitches used to affix the bullion wire are visible on the reverse, as is typical. This Army Officer Breast Eagle appears to have been removed from a uniform, but is complete, with only very slight age and wear, and no significant damage. The condition rates as excellent.

Historical Description: The German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht), as formed in 1935, and as they existed until the end of World War 2, consisted of the Army (Heer), the Air Force (Luftwaffe) and the Navy (Kriegsmarine). The Waffen-SS fell under the command of the Wehrmacht during the war. Each of these branches of service had a unique eagle design that was worn on both the formal dress and parade uniforms, and the field uniforms, of the members of that branch. These eagles were worn on soft headgear, including service and field caps, as well as on the uniform jacket. In the Heer, the Luftwaffe, and the Kriegsmarine, this eagle was worn on the chest of the tunic; collectors have termed these “breast eagles.” The Heer and the Luftwaffe generally used the same eagle style, though variations in color of the eagle or the backing distinguish between the two. The Luftwaffe used their own flying eagle emblem. The Waffen-SS sleeve eagle (and cap eagle) had wings that came to a distinctive tapered point. The cap, breast and sleeve eagles used by the various military branches were manufactured in many variations. There were machine-woven and machine embroidered versions, usually used by officers and NCOs. Hand-embroidered bullion wire eagles were typically for officers. There were metal eagles, for caps, or for uniforms that were intended to have detachable insignia. There were even eagles embroidered on camouflage fabric, intended for use on special field uniforms. There were also eagles in specific colors for use on tropical uniforms. Some of these eagles were mass-produced and are still common today. Others were, and are, very rare.

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