Sturmgeschuetz-Brigade 279

[TWS]

Snapped some photos the other day of my Stg Abt./Sturrmgeschuetz Brigade 279 wrap. There's one shot of it in Field Uniforms of Germany's Panzer Elite by Edwards and Pruett to highlight the use of red "Russia Braid" in place of collar tabs. It also has red felt or wool behind the eyes of the skulls. The artillery Wachmeisters and Kannoniers loved to do this to set them apart from the panzer guys. The wrap was rescued from Russian captivity by George Peterson in the early 90's.

Sturmgeschuetz Brigade 279 fought exclusively on the Russian front starting in January '44. The unit suffered heavy (about 50% I've read) losses at Sevastopol in May of '44. It was commanded by Knight's Cross winner Gerhard Hoppe who was KIA in October '44 during an air attack on the unit.

As noted in Edwards and Pruett, my wrap has some Russian inventory markings in it. Speculation is that it served as a movie costume in early post-war Russian films about the Great War against Nazi aggression.

[TWS]

Again, my bad lighting is making the red braid and shoulder board piping appear pinkish. It's very red in person.

[DonC]

Nice wrap. Post some pics of that pink-piped wrap in the background!

Don

[TWS]

Nice wrap. Post some pics of that pink-piped wrap in the background!

Don

Thanks Don.

The wrap in the background (had to take it out to get the Stug wrap out of it's garment bag) is a 2nd pattern piped collar with Afrika veteran cuff title to a Hauptmann in Pz Rgt 35. He must have transferred in after service in the DAK because 4. PD served solely on the Eastern Front. When Bob Edwards owned the wrap he asked a PR. 35 veteran who it could have been, but they didn't know/couldn't recall.

[Johnny R]

A lot of the stamps inside these jackets are capture and curation inventory markings. When the wall fell the demand for dollars in the East was so great many museums and other holdings were emptied with everything flooding west. Most of the items were from military museums not film studios although some were.

There are some great pictures of George sprawled out on a bed or couch covered with his fresh loot. I have not seen the images in a long time but there may be a picture of your wrap in there. Many of the ones he broguht back did not have insignia.

[TWS]

Yep. Agree completely. Some museums had way more then they could display and it was just sitting in storerooms. When Westerners like George came around with some dollars, the often cash-strapped museums saw selling excess inventory as a great "fund raising opportunity".

I was in George's shop back in the day a few times when he told me stories about his meetings with museum staff. He told me once how his purchases were very helpful, allowing one facility to either repair their roof or their heating system or something along those lines. I forget the specifics.

Anyway, the speculation offered in Edwards and Pruett was film studio for what it's worth.

I could ask George as he remembers the wrap and we had discussed it previously. He may remember exactly where he obtained it.

[Johnny R]

That may be George's experience but in talking to many Russians, a lot of this stuff was basically taken from museums and sold without official government permission by workers or was literally stolen from museums by thieves and sold etc. People were desperate for dollars. This happened in Poland as well. The stamps can be read and are known. Some are from film studios but most were taken from government museums.

[TWS]

Yes sir. George was aware that was happening too. Some sticky-fingered employees were doing stuff like that to get Western currency and supplement their meager salaries. However, he is very scrupulous and has a great professional reputation to protect, so he steered clear when people whispered things like "meet me at the ___ and I'll show you some more stuff in private."

George even told me about one meeting that started off with museum officials bringing a box of medals and awards and setting it on the table. They opened it and said something along the lines of "to start this business partnership off we'd like to give you a gift. Take one of these for yourself for free." George told me that he thought they may have a little idea of the relative values of the items to each other, so he deliberately picked an item of middle value to the rest of the lot so as not to appear greedy and set a bad tone for the rest of his dealings with them.

He may have even thought the people offering to sell him stuff one on one out the back door could even be a sting or a way of testing him - like the box of medals may have been.

I've lived in post-communist Eastern Europe, and back then even though they were now "free" the idea of stealing from the state or stealing from your employer had not abated.

[PZKG]

Great wrapper and rare as hell!

I also would like to see pictures of the second model as I collect officer tunics of the Heer!

Best

Mads

[TWS]

Thanks Mads! I was drooling over your war room pictures. Wish I had a display area like that.