Third Reich Edged Weapon Accouterments

"It is proverbial that well dressed soldiers are usually well be haved soldiers."

- John A. Lejeune, Reminiscences of a Marine

If one segment of the field of collecting the edged weapons of the Third Reich has been grossly ignored, it is the minute amount of research devoted to the subject of accouterments. A dictionary definition of the term "accouterment" is "equipage; trappings; the equipment, excluding arms and clothing of a soldier." The word has an alternate American spelling of "accouterment" and a primary British spelling of "accoutrement." In the edged weapon collector/researcher vernacular, the term usually connotes the hangers (straps), frogs, portepees (knots) and belt loops associated with the various edged weapon sidearms.

With the exception of a paperback reference published by the author in 1978, the sum total of what has been compiled and printed to date on Third Reich edged weapon accouterments would hardly fill a shot pamphlet. Thus, a few years ago the author began an extensive research effort to overcome this deficiency. Due to the nature of the subject, i.e. accouterments were considered to be mere inexpensive trappings for the basic sidearm, information proved to be extremely sketchy, even in the original source documents. This noticeable lack of source information obviously played a major influence on the subsequent abbreviated effort devoted to the subject. Given the inclination and time, the serious collector/researcher can uncover countless sales catalogs, advertisements, magazine articles (appearing in various trade publications)which cover in detail the myriad of edged weapon designs, but, alas, much of this tome of literature is sans any mention of the accompanying accouterments. In fact, the corresponding data on the type, dimensions, and colors of the numerous organizational accouterments are practically nonexistent. However, where there is a will, there is a way. Many serious collectors/researchers recognizing the major void on this subject in the available reference works, began an accumulation of their own, consisting of copious notes and detailed sketches, which were subsequently utilized to identify an unknown accouterment. This chapter draws heavily upon these private studies, as well as upon the the few original source documents on the subject.

The purpose of an edged weapon hanger is basic - a means is required to attach the sidearm to the body of the wearer. However, the use of the (now) decorative portepee or knot bears an interesting history which dates back to the days of horse-mounted combat, when the portepee served an import and utilitarian purpose. When the sword was the primary combat weapon of the mounted cavalryman, the sword knot was wrapped around the rider's wrist with the acorn (ball) grasped tightly in the hand. If the "jostler" had the sword knocked from his hand, all was not lost. The rider could rapidly regain control of the sword and continue his attack. When the requiem was finally sounded for the horse-mounted cavalry as a viable means of combat, the role of the sidearm portepee evolved into a strictly decorative one, to wit, one modern dictionary definition of the term ''knot'' is "a piece of ribbon or similar material tied or folded upon itself and used or worn as an ornament."

One exception to the lack of detailed source material on accouterments surrounds the detailed descriptions of some of the presentation type accouterments. For example, an ample description of the hangers designed to accompany the famed Hermann Goring Reichsmarshal dagger can be found on page 7 of the Publishing House "Die Ordenssammlung" Pamphlet Number 16. A complete English translation of this description follows:

At the end of October 1940 the special manufacture of the dagger hanger for the Reichs Marshal has completed. It consists of, as is customary, two slightly angled hanging white cloth straps - with 2mm thick edging - which are covered with 20mm wide stripes. These stripes are interwoven with two 5mm wide gold stripes. The straps are attached above, next to one another on the gold plated snap attachment. The individual straps are identical, except that the front one is somewhat shorter to accomplish the angular position of the dagger. The straps are about 20mm wide and have gold plated spring-hooks at the lower end attached in the middle of a simple rectangle. A gold-plated buckle to adjust the length, and a gold plated slide which presses the straps together in the area of the spring hook are similarly ornamented. In the middle of the front side the rectangular surfaces are decorated with two oak leaves which emerge to the left and to the right to form a bead. The slide has only one such surface, however, the buckle has two which are connected by two lateral, grooved straps which form a kind of frame.

The edged weapon accouterments were generally manufactured by specialty firms and not by the major Waffenfabriken (arms factories). Even in the cases where the Waffenfabriken sales catalogs reflect various hangers and portepees offered for sale, these items were normally purchased from a subcontractor. As with everything else associated with this business, a few exceptions did exist. When (then) Major James P. Atwood inspected the Solingen weapon factories in the early 1960's (the subject of Chapter 2, COLLECTING THE EDGED WEAPONS OF THE THIRD REICH VOLUMEN II), the Carl Eickhorn firm's remaining wartime stock included several boxes of hardware and rolls of cloth material for the assembly of Second Model Luftwaffe dagger hangers.

Today, many a collector has realized, and often to his chagrin, that the accompanying accouterments for a particular edged weapon may be just as difficult (and in some cases, more difficult) to aquire than the sidearm itself. For example, compare the availability of the Government Official/Diplomatic daggers to the availability of their respective accouterments (ditto the HitlerYouth Leader and the Water Protection Police dagger). Since each dress sidearm required a set of a hangers for wear, the reader may wonder why this is the case. The most probable answer is that during World War II, and immediately thereafter, very little monetary value was assigned to the edged weapons themselves much less the accouterments. Original leather and fabric dress hangers that sell today for premium prices were considered to be"worthless straps" and '"extra baggage" and were promptly discarded. Thus, with a very limited number of accouterments being "liberated" and saved from eventual destruction after the war, the law of supply and demand has produced a major escalation of accouterment values to the collector.

Thomas M. Johnson, "Collecting the Edged Weapons of the Third Reich, Vol. III", Author published, 1978.
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