The Wachbattallion - A brief Histroy

[Gordon Craig]

A closer view of the collar tabs and the shoulders.

[Gordon Craig]

The label in these tunics.

[Collectinsteve]

Hi Gordon,

I picked up a couple of these last year, exactly as yours.

I asked a friend of mine in the BW about the slipon ranks. Since most of my tunics are older than the 1980s I was wondering if they had recently moved away from the sewn in style. His reply was that he had never seen slipon rank for anybody. I also couldn't find any reference to it in Kunstwadl's book, though my German is not really sufficient to be certain this isn't a new innovation. However, for now the only evidence of use I've seen is for the WB only.

I managed to find matching slipon rank from a dealer in Germany. The color and wool content of the jacket is unique, so I'm pretty sure I got the right match for it.

Steve

[juoneen]

I think mine has the slip on boards, but no boards. I hope i can find it tomorrow. If not more than likely this weekend. Just hang in there, and for sure ill get er done. Funny it seems the herr shouldnt be that hard to find i wouldn't think. I appreciate your patience, and you can tell me about it when i get the photos posted, but its the same as the ones you just posted. I have passed on the berets before,didnt know what they were. Thanks gordon.

[Collectinsteve]

Oh, you can get piles and piles of boards any day of the week. No problem there. The problem is getting the correct ones Over the years they have produced a pretty significant number of variations in size, color, and materials. The problem with finding matching boards for this particular jacket is that, apparently, nothing else uses them. Since we're talking about a uniform made in the low thousands vs. tens of thousands each year, it makes sense that the boards are proportionally harder to find.

Steve

[Klaus1989]

The Wachbattaillon on gaurd at the Ehrenmal in Berlin.

Regards,

Gordon

I just read this thread and saw this photo. Is this special occasion to be at Neue Wache or something new to guard it? I have only seen photos of Wachbataillon there for special memorial.

regards
Klaus

[Gordon Craig]

juoneen,

I can now answer your question about bullion cuffband wear in the Wachbatallion. The answer is yest they did. I suspect, as I said above, that bullion was worn by officers. Here is a tunic for a member of 5.WachBtlnBMVG with all bullion insignia. The first one I have ever seen and I bid on it today. There may also be a Heer tunic with bullion insignia available shortly which I will also bid on. Thanks for brining up the subject. I might have passed on this tunic if I wasn't looking for bullion insignia.

Regards,

Gordon

[Gordon Craig]

#2

[Gordon Craig]

#3

[Gordon Craig]

#4

[Gordon Craig]

The label in this tunic.

[Gordon Craig]

I just read this thread and saw this photo. Is this special occasion to be at Neue Wache or something new to guard it? I have only seen photos of Wachbataillon there for special memorial.

regards
Klaus

Kluas,

There was nothing in the caption for this photo that indicated why they were gaurding the Neu Wache. The picture caught me by surprise because what you normally see are pictures of the NVA posting guard at the Neu Wache. However, since it is now a general memorial to war I am not surprised to see the Wachbatallion there.

Regards,

Gordon

[juoneen]

Here we go.........

[juoneen]

Guess what ? ?

[juoneen]