| Commonly
known as Waffenfarbe, these colors indicated to which branch an individual
belonged. This color manifested itself in the piping found on the
uniform.
Unfortunately these colors changed during the war and can become very
confusing, most of all for recce troops.
The most common colors were:
Infantry
|
white |
Jäger
(light infantry)
|
light
green |
Mountain
troops
|
light green |
Panzer
Grenadiers
|
grass
green |
| Cavalry
|
golden
yellow |
Armor
|
pink
(actually it should be called rose), except:
- Pz Reg 24 of 24PzDiv: Golden Yellow
- 2/(gp) Führer Begleit (GD) White
|
| Antitank
in Pz or PzGren Div. |
pink |
| Armored
reconnaissance |
1939:
golden yellow for most, except
-
1,2,4,5 PD: pink
- newly formed units : copper brown
1942: pink, golden yellow and copper brown seen
March 1943: pink (official), golden yellow (unofficial)
November 1944: pink (unofficial), golden yellow (official)
(At
least that's the best I could make of it.) |
| Motorized
reconnaissance |
copper
brown |
| Recce
in infantry & mountain div |
1939:
golden yellow
September 1943: white |
Pionier |
alternating
black/white on black uniform, black on Feldgrau uniform |
Artillery
|
bright
red |
Observation
in Artillery |
pink
or red |
| Smoke
units (Nebelwerfer) |
bordeaux,
sometimes bright red |
Signals
|
lemon
yellow |
|
StuG
|
1939:
bright red
March 1943: bright red, unless in infantry unit (white) or panzer-grenadier
unit (grass green) |
|
Transport
|
bright blue |
"Doppellitzen"
were worn on the collar of all Wehrmacht units (except those wearing
"Panzer Skulls") . The colors changed during the war, the
Litzen themselves varying between silver, aluminum, white or gray.
It is my belief that in this scale the difference is rather academical.
The model for officers always had a centerline in Waffenfarbe (difficult
to see in this scale), while the other ranks only had this stripe
until 1940. On the parade uniform it was worn on a background in Waffenfarbe
(more noticeable). On this uniform, the collar was also piped in Waffenfarbe.
Remarks:
- Generals
had gold piping, and bright red for the underlay of the shoulder
boards, collar patches and for the trouser stripes.
- Staff
officers had crimson WF, and crimson trouser stripes.
- Exceptions
existed, due to historical affiliations of some units, especially
in the reconnaissance units. A well known example is the Panzer
regiment of 24 PzDiv who used golden yellow due to its cavalry traditions
(also reflected in the unit emblem). Another one is the use of pink
by I./Panzer-Artillerie Regiment 73 of 1 Pz.Div.
- Waffen
SS generally used the same colors, except for their Panzer Grenadiers
who used white WF.
- All
subunits of Grossdeutschland used white until GD was expanded to
divisional status. Grenadiers in GD continued to prefer white, even
when expanded to a Panzer Division.
Disclaimer:
I am sure this article can be vastly improved upon, so I would invite
anyone with superior knowledge to contact
me.
|