Uniform and insignia
The Feldgendarmerie wore the normal army uniform with branch specific insignia.
All our uniforms are high quality reproductions which are as accurate as possible, in construction, colour and quality of cloth. All the insignia used is again high quality reproductions. The uniform worn will depend on the task being undertaken, as this photograph below clearly demonstrates!
Uniform
The Feldgendarm in the photograph below is wearing the M40 pattern of feldbluse. He is also wearing the schirmütze style of head dress (normally worn for walking out, reporting and parades etc.). His rank is indicated by the tresse around the edge of the collar and the shoulder boards - he holds the rank of Feldwebel (sergeant).
The insignia worn are the litzen on the collar (these are slightly unusual in that they have a bottle green backing and were intended for use on the earlier M36 pattern of tunic, which had the same colour collar), the state eagle on the right breast, the police arm eagle and Feldgendarmerie cuff title on the left arm. The award on the left pocket is the SA sports badge. Going from the 2nd button down into the right pocket is a lanyard which has a whistle on the other end.
Uniform insignia
Above are the shoulder boards worn on the tunics and great coats. The waffenfarbe is repeated on the edges of the boards. These also show the rank of an Oberfeldwebel (equivalent to a colour sergeant in the British army) - the silver braid on the edges is applied only from the rank of Unteroffizier (Corporal) and higher; junior NCOs and privates have no braid.
These are the collar patches seen on all German uniforms, correctly called litzen. The orange stripes denote the branch of service (the feldgendarmerie use orange), basically so as to allow others to see what you do! This colour is called the waffenfarbe.
These particular examples are the early war style, in that they are mounted on a stiffened green backing. With removal of the bottle green collar from the tunics in 1940, it is more common to see the litzen sewn directly to the collar (except in the picture above!).
This is the cuff title which denoted that the
wearer was a Feldgendarme. It's worn on the left sleeve, 14,5 cm from the cuff.
This example is made using a woven technique called 'BeVo' (named after the
company which developed the method). It is 2,8cm wide and goes all the way
around the sleeve.
This is an example of the arm eagle which is worn on the upper left sleeve. The top of the eagle should be level with the top of the breast pocket. This is derived from the civilian police, all of whom wore a similar emblem on their uniforms.
This is the uniform item most associated with the feldgendarmerie, and is also where one of their nicknames is derived from - kettenhund, literally meaning 'chain dog'. This is worn around the neck, as shown in the second picture above. It is made of stamped aluminium, 16cm wide. The eagle, 'Feldgendarmerie' wording and 2 studs glow in the dark so that the wearer can be seen. The chain is 42 links long and can be adjusted to suit the wearer. On the rear is a prong which should be inserted in the second button hole to prevent it swinging around.
Interestingly, these were only issued personally to those with the rank of Feldwebel (Sergeant) and higher - junior NCOs had to use one from a central store. Officers were not supposed to wear these, but occasionally they did if circumstances required it.