Der Zug Sample Article Number 2 Copyright www.grossdeutschland.com Der Zug, Seite 7 Enlisted Men’s Collar Insignia: The History Behind the “Litzen” by Brian Bell weapons, uniforms, and tactics employed by the French. In this era of military history, it was common for armies to adopt similar styles of military clothing. For the Prussian army, this included the creation and use of a variety of laces that were used to enhance the appearance of military uniforms. In many armies it was common to use cloth or metallic lace around the collars of uniforms. Unique or distinct guard units often received the most detail when it came to uniform design. The level of uniform quality made the men who served in these units “elite” in the sense that they often hand the best training and also the best uniforms. During the 19th and the early part of the 20th Centuries (prior to the First World War) the military as a profession was considered a prestigious enterprise. There was no greater reflection of this prestige than the uniforms of the various As WWII re-enactors we often new style in art that was called Emtake for granted the insignia that are pire style. worn on our uniforms. We often The development of the double see these items as something that bar collar insignia closely parallels needs to be present that of the heraldic eagle. Hein order to look raldic eagles have for a long proper and historitime been the emblems of cally correct. Little European countries such as do we often know Russia, Austria, and Prussia. about the history of In 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte, these insignia under the throne of the new whether it be their empire, declared the “the designs, color variarealm of the eagle'“. Along tions, and reasons with this declaration came for being worn. Not various forms of heraldic knowing the answer symbols directly acquired or often means we adopted from ancient Roman cannot answer any heraldry. Since no European questions about country since the time of the them if asked by Roman Empire had acquired someone passing the power and might that through our lager France did (camp) at a public under Naevent. One of the poleon, the A close-up of the double pattern of Garde Litzen items I have been use of such worn on the collar by some 19th Century Prusasked about more symbolism sian Regiments. Garde Litzen could be found in Prussian Line Infantry white or yellow fabric in a wide variety of patthan any other is the became terns depending on the unit. collar litzen we all widewear on our tunics. This article will spread among deal with the history of the “litzen” many armies and how they became a prominent who were influpart of the enlisted man’s uniform. enced by As with all military insignia, the France’s military double bar insignia worn on the victories. In fact collar of every infantryman’s tunic it was Napoleon (including officers) has a long hiswho proclaimed tory of development. The birth of his country to be the litzen can be traced as far back the heir of the as the Roman Empire. During the great Roman days of early civilization, the RoEmpire. man Empire played a significant Like other and influential role in shaping the countries, the culture of central Europe (and speearly Prussian cifically Germania). Roman milimilitary was tary symbols became an inseparable greatly influpart of the ornamental motifs of the enced by the Der Zug Sample Article Number 2 Copyright www.grossdeutschland.com Der Zug, Seite 7 men who wore uniforms decorated with this type of lace. While officers were generally entitled Continued from page 5 to wear a higher quality version of the litzen, during the early days of armed forces. One might even surthe Prussian military the mise that before the advent of use of this insignia was modern sports that the men in milipermitted only for wear tary service of their country might by enlisted men who be considered the "team" that repserved in prestigious guard units. resented national, regional, or local During WWI the collar litzen pride. In Europe most large comslowly began to appear on field unimunities had "Honor Guards" forms of the common infantryman. made up of societies finest who While not widespread, its use by would don their fancy if impractiselected military states serving under cal uniforms for ceremonial occathe Kaiser’s combined military can sions and to escort visiting dignioften be seen in use during the latter taries. Following the Napoleonic part of the conflict. Following GerWars military fashmany’s defeat in ion was at its peak WWI, the collar as the combatants litzen was abanand their heirs on all doned by not forsides of the conflicts gotten altogether. relived and reveled Military traditions in their past glories. inspired by the During the height Prussian army of this time in miliunder the directary fashion the tion of officers Prussian army who helped readopted the litzen as build Germany’s a standard form of military during uniform decoration the 1920’s and for use on tunics 1930’s inspired worn by guard units. the resurgence of The actual design of military tradition. the litzen can be These men reinRoman columns like the ones traced back to the shown above are the inspiration troduced the inimage of the Roman for the design of the collar litzen. signia for wear on stone column. In both officer’s and Roman architecture, enlisted men’s uniforms of the as well as military structures, the Reichswehr. During this time many stone column represented the noenlisted men wore high quality offition of “strength and solidarity”. cer’s grade insignia that differed The double bared litzen insignia is from those used during WWII. actually a modified form of the When Hitler assumed control image of the Roman column over Germany in 1934 and estabplaced on its side and slightly anlished the Wehrmacht as the comgled for appeal. Worn on either bined military forces of Germany, he side of the collar, this image carcontinued to permit the collar litzen ried the message of strength for the The History of the Collar Litzen to be used on the uniforms of both officers and enlisted men. After being redesigned for modern appeal, collar litzen worn by enlisted men took the form of a stylized and angled litzen similar to those used in early Prussian uniforms of the 19th Century. These new litzen were slightly smaller that previous examples with the addition of having colored highlights denoting army branch of service (waffenfarbe). The new collar litzen had five basic components which included the: Dopplelitze: This portion of the insignia contained the main horizontal bars angled slightly to the rear both top and bottom. The entire insignia was produced by a machine woven process on a continuous strip of woven material. The Dopplelitze were produced in a variety of colors starting with white (1934-1936) and quickly moving to shades of dull gray (1936-1945) often referred to as “mouse gray“. The dopplelitze was generally produced in artificial rayon silk but can also be found in cotton. Kragenpatte: This was the bottle green wool backing to which the Dopplelitze was sewn. The color of the wool varied from very dark Continued on Page 9 Der Zug Sample Article Number 2 green to field gray depending on the maker and time period in which they were constructed. The backing was supported by a glue treated burlap fabric. Beginning as early as 1939 the Dopplelitzen was often sewn directly to the uniform collar without the Kragenpatte backing. This practice became the standard about 1941 although many insignia with dark green backings continued to be used from old stocks through May 1945. Copyright www.grossdeutschland.com Der Zug, Seite 7 Fig. 1: Litzen with Cloth Backing (Dark Green Universal Stripes) Hand Sewn Tack Down Points (same on right side) Right Collar Example Machine Sewn (straight stitch same on top) Mittelstreife: The wide stripe in the center of the two parallel Dopplelitze. This stripe was generally the same color as the Kragenpatte backing. However it could also be found in black, green, or mouse gray colors for all branches of service. The color remained consistent and did not change from one branch of service to another. Litzenspiegel: These were the center lines running down the middle of each of the main bars. The woven lines or “lights” as they were termed by many soldiers were different in color from one service branch to another. White was the color that denoted infantry. In an effort to standardize supply and transfer of men and material between various branches of the army, beginning in 1941 many litzen were produced in mouse gray color without branch waffenfarbe. These insignia were “universal” in nature and made it more efficient to transfer men from one unit to the next without the need for changing collar insignia or re-issuing a new uniform. The first pattern of collar litzen issued as part of the new insignia introduced in 1934 was a version that was white or light gray in color with black or dark green Fig. 2: Litzen with Cloth Backing (White Infantry Stripes) Tack Down Points (same on right side) Right Collar Example Machine Sewn (straight stitch same on top) Folding Technique on Backside of Litzen litzenspiegel and mittelstreife. This was soon changed to a light gray color with a dark black or green center stripe with litzenspeigel “lights” in the correct branch color for the wearer. These early versions were sewn to the kragenpatte backing directly to the uniform collar. As the war progressed, the use of the kragenpatte backing was eliminated and the litzen were sewn directly to the uniform collar. In addition these mid– to late-pattern insignia were generally mouse gray in color with dark green litzenspeigel and mittelstreife. The last type of litzen elminated the dark green portions of the insignia making the entire litzen appear uniformly gray in color. There were several different methods by which litzen were sewn to a Der Zug Sample Article Number 2 to a tunic. In most cases, all the insignia was applied directly at the factory prior to delivery to supply center’s and military warehouses or bases. The following methods were used to apply the insignia to the collar: Litzen with Kragenpatte: Litzen with backing were applied directly to the collar as a single patch using machine straight stitch all around the rectangular patch. The litzen itself was applied to the kragenpatte in a technique the employed both hand tacking and machine straight stitch (see Figure 1). The exact process was the same when the litzen was sewn without the backing cloth as described below. In some cases, the litzen was applied to the kragenpatte by machine sewing all around the insignia in straight stitch. However, this is not as common as the technique that used both hand and machine stitching. Litzen without Kragenpatte: In many cases the litzen was applied directly to the collar. This was done in an effort to shorten the production time of uniform manufacture and also to save on wartime materials. The process involved cutting a right and left side litzen from a manufacturer’s roll. The angle of the cut determined which insignia was to be applied to the right or left side of the collar. The edges of the insignia were folded under as well as the inside corners. In many cases the strings on top and bottom of the backside of the litzen were also removed (see Figure 2). These were generally steam pressed into shape to initially form the material in the proper shape. Because original litzen are made of artificial rayon silk, the steam pressing was sufficient to hold the material in shape while sewing. Reproduction litzen Copyright www.grossdeutschland.com Der Zug, Seite 7 are made of cotton and this requires the collar. This technique mirrored additional steam pressing in order that used on late war eagle insignia to get them to hold their proper applied to the right breast of the shape upon application. When the field combat tunic. Its important to insignia was ready to be sewn to note that as re-enactors we should the collar, it was positioned with do our best to replicate the actual the top front edge angled backtechniques used in the manufacture wards. Some insignia can be seen of our reproduction uniforms. where this was not done at all. Litzen were not hand sewn to the These variations are due to the apcollar but machine sewn (or a complication technique of the worker bination of the two) as already deemployed in the process of applyscribed. ing the insignia. In general, the In summary, a few final notes insignia was designed to have an regarding collar litzen are worth angular look rather than being mentioning. Many wartime tunics straight or blocked on the ends. saw service through May 1945 with When positioned correctly, the pre-1939 types of litzen applied. In litzen was addition, hand many tunics tacked received surusing gray plus stocks silk thread of insignia on the which refront and sulted in rear sides litzen with as well as kragenplatte corners. backings beThen the ing applied insignia to field gray A factory roll of uncut collar litzen. was macollars that chine were not botsewn in the same thread color tle green as found on the M36 tunic. down the top and bottom inside As one can clearly see from waredges. This sewing technique mirtime photos, a variety of uniforms rored that used in the Prussian uniand insignia variations were used forms of the 19th Century and prothroughout the war. While all of vided the proper look intended for them were made with the same the litzen. As one might imagine, standards, it is clear that in a warthe extra steps needed in this proctime economy many expected staness took additional time and was dards are not held to as a result of soon eliminated. When needs dicshortages and the need to expedite tated, the litzen was properly production. folded as previously described and Now that you know the history then machine straight stitched all behind the litzen that you wear on around the outer edges. Most late your collar, the next time you are war tunics show this form of expeasked to describe what the insignia dient application. While not as means you will have a better undercommon as the techniques destanding of how to explain the scribed here, in some cases litzen litzen and its place in German uniwere machine “zig-zag” stitched all form history! around the outer edges directly to
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