Heer Der Spiess Feldbluse?

[Eddie]

Hi guys, just picked this up and I believe it was a Der Spiess Feldbluse that was reissued to a Gefreiter. Let's see if my assumptions are correct!

Attachment 318055Attachment 318067Attachment 318040Attachment 318068

[Jerry B]

Maybe he was demoted or it was re issued to someone else as I'm sure a Gefreiter is too low a rank to be a Der speiss. Also, it could have been added at any time and is in much better condition than the tunic.

PS, only some of the pictures are loading.

[Eddie]

I can see a few ink stains on the lower pockets, and it looks like the last two buttons were moved over an inch, which initially confused me, until I realized that if a Der Spiess needed to move his buttons over a little bit he'd only need to move the last two buttons because his top three buttons would already be unbuttoned to accommodate his ledger book! I also was confused about the Unteroffizer collar being on a tunic for a Gefreiter, but if this was originally a Der Spiess Feldbluse then it would make much more sense, nicht wahr? How's my detective work guys?

[Eddie]

Maybe he was demoted or it was re issued to someone else as I'm sure a Gefreiter is too low a rank to be a Der speiss. Also, it could have been added at any time and is in much better condition than the tunic.

PS, only some of the pictures are loading.

Sorry about that Jerry, I was trying to reorganize the pics so it would make more sense. I have heard that the Germans would reissue Feldbluses because they were often low on them, so it could be that this guy was wounded, sent home, and his jacket given to some new kid(the Gefreiter), hence the new look of the Gefreiter's Chevron. I can't tell if the collar was added by Der Spiess, or the Gefreiter, I'm guessing that a Der Spiess would have been a Feldwebel at least, does it look like there is evidence of collar tabs for a Feldwebel?

[Adrian Stevenson]

The collar would certainly have been tailored for Der Spiess..

Re-issued to the Gefrieter. Or has the chevron been added postwar? I think I would look really close at this. Be nice to restore.

Cheers, Ade.

[Eddie]

Hmm, the thread for the Chevron stitching doesn't melt, but burns like a dynamite stick in a cartoon! I'd like to restore this to a Der Spiess Feldbluse, but I don't want to ruin the history of the Gefreiter chevron if it is real. Anything I should look for besides the thread? Is the eagle original?
Thanks,
Eddie

[JPhilip]

Hello,
IMO it is a stripped Feldbluse with postwar reapplied insignia.
It is a strange collar, as high as officers' one but not very pointed...just wondering if it's a period replacement or not !?
I do have a strange feeling about it...and i can't see any trace of a NCO tresse previously applied to it.
The Feldbluse itself was retailored and shortened, hip pockets were patched, IMO there's a possibility that shoulderstraps loops are postwar applied...
I hope that you didn't pay to much for this example.
Thanks

[Eddie]

No, I paid about half the market rate, it
was 650 with shipping. The cheapest
I've seen on the web so far. I agree that
it seems a bit odd, that's why I posted
pics of the collar. If there's consensus
on the chevron I think I may take it off
I believe it's an early, pre-war chevron?
The collar sort of looks like it came off of
a waffenrock to me? I can't see any trace
of Linzen either, is it possible der spiess
wasn't an unteroffizer?

[Eddie]

Hello,
IMO it is a stripped Feldbluse with postwar reapplied insignia.
It is a strange collar, as high as officers' one but not very pointed...just wondering if it's a period replacement or not !?
I do have a strange feeling about it...and i can't see any trace of a NCO tresse previously applied to it.
The Feldbluse itself was retailored and shortened, hip pockets were patched, IMO there's a possibility that shoulderstraps loops are postwar applied...
I hope that you didn't pay to much for this example.
Thanks

Sir,
I'd first like to thank you for your part in writing "Feldbluse". I'm new to collecting Tunics, and I really love this book, thank you for publishing it, I've gotten my worth out of it many times over. May I ask your opinion on whether I should ask for my money back? I've noticed that the collar is sewn on with the same type/color of thread as the Chevron, which is fairly damning IMO. I wouldn't mind a Tunic with a re-sewn eagle, but a messed with collar is something different entirely.

[JPhilip]

Hello Eddie,
please call me JPhilip, not Sir, i'm still young and never met the queen Elisabeth...

In my opinion, getting a refund wouldn't be a bad idea as this Feldbluse seems to be too messed with. My first impression yesterday night was to watch photos of a stripped collarless Feldbluse, entirely postwar restored, but as anyone else i can be wrong sometimes, especially when i can't handle items.

The overall condition is not very good, all nap is gone, there are tears and holes, all insignia is reapplied and the collar is possibly postwar replaced...check also buttons, just to see if they're resewn or not....maybe too much for a single Feldbluse.

I know that $650 seems to be a very good price for a WWII german Feldbluse, but you must ask yourself what's the best for my collection, spending $650 now for this Feldbluse or save money for some time and buy another one that will be nicer or even untouched. There are affordable Heer Feldblusen on the market nowadays. I don't talk about prewar untouched or enhanced Feldblusen in VGC condition of course as some of them are quite expensive ($3000/3500), but if you don't mind to own a late war production like the M43, in this case there are plenty of cheaper examples around. And i talk about Feldblusen in good condition, sometimes in brand new condition, with period applied insignia (or the eagle reapplied only) that can be bought from collectors for $1200/1400.

IMO the point is not only to get some pleasure in buying something Heer related, it's to get some pleasure in buying something Heer related that has an historical interest. I don't think that this Fedlbluse has one.

Thank you for your comment about the book Feldbluse. I just would like to still have my friend and associate Laurent beside me to share all the feedback, but life......We worked hard six years to write this book but doing it without the help of some very good friends who supported us since we started to write articles in the french "Militaria Magazine" would have been an impossible task to achieve. It was supposed to be longer and the graphic artist made mistakes but it's still worth it (IMO).

As i always say : better quality than quantity, unless you can afford both...
Thanks