Corps colours of the German Army (1935–1945)

Corps colours, or Troop-function colours (German: Waffenfarben) were worn in the German Army (Heer) from 1935 until 1945 in order to distinguish between several branches, special services, corps, rank groups, and appointments of the ministerial area, the general staff, and the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW). The corps colours were part of the pipings, gorget patches, shoulder straps, as well as part of the arabesque and lampasse of any general officer and flag officer. It was also part of heraldic flags, colours, standards, and guidons.

Corps colours of the Heer

In the Heer there was a strictly defined systematic of corps colours on collar patchs, uniform piping, and coloured edging around the shoulder boards or shoulder straps. The corps colours of the Reichswehr (1921 until ca. 1935) were almost identical to these of the Wehrmacht.

Synoptic table and examples to military persons in uniform

The table below contains some corps colours and examples used by the German Army from 1935–45.

Troops, unit, appointment	Caps colour	Example		Remark
General officers (Festungsbaupioniere, Waffenoffiziere, and Feuerwerker) Artillery corps Assault guns (Sturmgeschütze) Heavy flak	Deep red (Hochrot)			General der Waffengattung (arabesque and shoulder strap)
	Deep red (Hochrot)			Standard of the artillery
Kriegsministerium (later Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) General staff corps officers Veterinary service	Crimson (Karmesinrot)			Chief of the OKW until 1941 General staff corps officers (Oberkommando) General staff corps officers (others) Hufbeschlaglehrmeister (Farrier master instructor)
Field chaplains	Purple (#C154C1)	N/A
Chemical troops Nebelwerfer Reichskriegsgericht	Bordeaux red (Bordo, bordeauxrot)			Unteroffizier (Fahnenjunker-Unterfeldwebel) Standard
Infantry Motorised infantry Local defence units (Landesschützen) Light Anti Aircraft (Fla)	White (White)			Oberstleutnant Standard of the infantry
Panzertruppe Motor maintenance troops (from 1942)	Rose-pink (Rosa)^[1]			Mannschaft Troops standard
Signals	Lemon-yellow (#FFEE00)			Oberleutnant Troops standard
Signals	Light-brown until 1937			Oberleutnant Troops standard
Cavalry Armoured reconnaissance units with cavalry traditions Reconnaissance	Golden-yellow (#F7B600)			Rittmeister Troops standard
Feldgendarmerie Recruiting and replacement (Wehrersatzwesen)	Orange-yellow (#ff8000)			Leutnant Company pennant
Motorcycle infantry (Kradschützentruppe)	Copper-brown (#DA8A67)		N/A	Oberleutnant
Panzergrenadiertroops	Meadow-green (#60c000 from 1943)		N/A	Oberst
Jäger (light infantry troops [hunters]) Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops [mountain hunters]) Skijäger (ski troops [ski hunters])	Light green (Hellgrün)^[2]			Leutnant Troops standard
Transportation troops (until 1942 (Fahrtruppen) Supply troops (from 1942) (Nachschubtruppen)	Blue (#00AEEF)			Major Oberfeldwebel Troops standard
Military medical service (Sanitätstruppe)	Medical-blue (dark-blue)			Feldunterarzt Arabesque for administrative generals (OF6 to OF7)
War correspondents Propaganda troops	Light-grey		N/A	Leutnant
Construction troops (Bautruppen)	Light-brown until 1943			Stabsfeldwebel Troops standard
(Combat engineers) (Pioniere) Assault engineers Armoured engineers Fortress engineers Railway engineers Construction engineers (from 1943) (Baupioniere)	Black			Stabsfeldwebel Troops standard
Main colour of the uniform	Field-grey	Equal uniform colour for the Waffen-SS and military administration

Corps colours of the Heeresverwaltung

During World War II, officials of the “Army administration” (Heeresverwaltung, short HV), regardless of those serving in the Wehrmacht, war economy, or in military education facilities, etc., wore military rank insignias similar to those of the Wehrmacht.

Synoptic table and examples of Heer officials

Heer officials normally wore, in addition to their dark green main corps colour (Haupt-Waffenfarbe), a secondary colour (Nebenfarbe) denoting their branch. The Nebenfarbe was worn as piping surrounding the collar Litzen and underneath the shoulder boards on top of the dark green Waffenfarbe. In March 1940 distinct Nebenfarben were abolished and replaced with light grey.

The table below contains some corps colours and examples pertaining to military officials in uniform.

Troops, assignment/appointment	Corps colour	Remark
Militärverwaltung (universally)	Dark-green (#00703E)	Main colour of the uniform gorget and collar patch background
Officials with general officer rank Officials of military districts (Wehrkreis)	Bright-red (Hochrot) (Red)	Army administration (OF8 to OF6)
Officials of the military judicial system	Corn flower blue (Kornblumenblau)
Officials in headquarters or staff appointments/assignments Officials on duty with the OKW or OKH	Crimson (Karmesinrot) (#960018)
Officials of the remount service	Gold-yellow (Goldgelb) (#F7B600)
Officials of standard branches, e.g. paymaster service (Zahlmeisterwesen)	White (Weiß) (white)
Army officials of pharmaceutics	Light-green (Hellgrün)
Officials of the technical services (fortress engineers, geological service, ballistics, etc.)	Black (Schwarz)
Army officials of recruiting and replacement (Wehrersatzwesen)	Orange-red (Orange) (#ff8000)
Teaching staff (non-technical) at Heer academies (Lehrpersonal an Heeresschulen)	Light-brown (Hellbraun)
Officials of the "Reich´s court-martial" (Reichskriegsgericht)	Bordeaux red (#800032)

References

^ This colour derived from the Reichswehr motor-transport branch, which was used to camouflage the Weimar Republic's clandestine tank program.
^ Due to an error in U.S. War Department TM-E 30-451: Handbook on German Military Forces, many English-language sources have Jäger Hellgrün and the Wiesengrün of the Panzergrenadiers reversed. The Jäger colour was the darker, bluer one.

Sources

Adolf Schlicht, John R. Angolia: Die deutsche Wehrmacht, Uniformierung und Ausrüstung 1933-1945
Vol. 1: Das Heer (ISBN 3613013908), Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1992
Vol. 3: Die Luftwaffe (ISBN 3-613-02001-7), Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1999
(Very detailed information and discussion but no coloured images)

[1] This colour derived from the Reichswehr motor-transport branch, which was used to camouflage the Weimar Republic's clandestine tank program.

[Jaeger_green-2] Due to an error in U.S. War Department TM-E 30-451: Handbook on German Military Forces, many English-language sources have Jäger Hellgrün and the Wiesengrün of the Panzergrenadiers reversed. The Jäger colour was the darker, bluer one.

[1]

[2]