ORIGINAL WWII German Army (Heer) INFANTRY Officer INFANTRY MAJOR’S SHOULDER BOARDS. (Schulterstücke) Rare Matching Set Certified

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ORIGINAL WWII German Army (Heer) INFANTRY Officer INFANTRY MAJOR’S SHOULDER BOARDS. (Schulterstücke) Rare Matching Set Certified.  Although military ranks and rank designations can be traced back to the mercenary armies of the 17TH century it wasn’t until the creation of standing armies in the early 18TH century that distinguishing insignia of rank began to be developed. Originally the shoulder straps were functional items designed to secure the saber and ammunition shoulder cross straps and the larger, metal trimmed epaulettes were a throw back to the protective shoulder pieces worn on medieval armor. By 1800 the epaulettes had lost their protective function and were retained as a badge of rank. In 1866 a new system of rank distinguishing Officer’s shoulder boards were introduced to replace the previously worn epaulettes although the epaulettes were retained for the parade and dress uniforms. Although the officer’s shoulder boards underwent numerous minor modifications they remained basically the same right up until the end of WWII. The different branches of service within the German army were allocated a specific, identifying, waffenfarbe, (Branch of Service Color), with white being chosen for Infanterie, (Infantry), personnel which was generally displayed as the base on the shoulder boards. Slip on shoulder boards of interwoven, matt, silver/aluminum Russian braid, mounted on white wool waffenfarbe bases. Nice clean pair.  Gettysburg Museum Certified (COA) provided. 100% Guaranteed to be authentic brought home by a U.S. Veteran. Sold for historic purposes only. See our other pieces on our web site. Also note when browsing our web site there are several pages of items, at the bottom of the list look for other page numbers. Great artifact! don’t miss it! VERY GOOD BUT USED CONDITION! INFANTRY OFFICER’S set! DON’T MISS THIS ONE! LOOKS AMAZING AND DISPLAYS VERY WELL!