During the harsh winters on the Eastern Front in World War II, particularly after the catastrophic first winter of 1941–1942 that caused massive German casualties from frostbite and exposure during operations like the Battle of Moscow, the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS issued specialized fur garments known as the Pelzmantel and Pelzjacke as critical supplements to standard wool uniforms and the later padded reversible Winteranzug (winter suit). The Pelzmantel, officially the M1942 sheepskin coat, was a single-breasted, knee-length or three-quarter-length heavy overcoat made from thick sheepskin with the smooth hide (leather) side facing outward for durability and the insulating fleece (wool) side facing inward for warmth; it typically featured a wide white cotton collar often incorporating a tuck-away hood, wooden toggles or buttons, leather loops, and was designed to be worn over the standard field-grey wool greatcoat or parka for extreme cold protection. These bulky but highly effective coats were issued to sentries, guards, truck drivers, bomber crews, and some frontline combat troops, though their weight and restricted mobility made them less ideal for active infantry maneuvers, leading many mobile units to prefer the lighter padded Winteranzug. Complementing the Pelzmantel was the Pelzjacke, a shorter fur-lined winter jacket or torso-warming vest (sometimes called a body-warmer or Felljacke) usually constructed from pieced-together rabbit fur, sheepskin remnants, or similar pelts sewn into a practical garment that provided excellent localized insulation to the upper body. Highly popular across all branches of the Wehrmacht and especially among Waffen-SS troops on the Eastern Front, the Pelzjacke could be worn as a standalone outer layer, under parkas or field jackets, or over sweaters and was valued for being lighter and more versatile than the full-length Pelzmantel while still offering superior protection against sub-zero temperatures. Both items were introduced more systematically in 1942 to address material shortages and the failure of earlier winter preparations; they were often produced from domestic or captured Soviet furs, featured simple construction suited to mass production, and represented a pragmatic German adaptation to the brutal Russian climate, though distribution remained uneven due to wartime constraints. Today, surviving original examples in museums and collections, such as the Imperial War Museum’s M1942 Pelzmantel, underscore how these fur garments helped sustain German fighting capability in one of history’s most grueling winter campaigns despite their limitations in active combat.
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HEER
Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model (1891-1945), born on 24 January 1891 in Genthin, Saxony, rose through the ranks of the German Army to become one of Adolf Hitler's most trusted and versatile commanders during World War II, renowned for his aggressive early panzer leadership and later mastery of defensive warfare on the Eastern Front. As Generalleutnant and commander of the 3. Panzer-Division during the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Model earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 9 July 1941 for his division's extraordinary advances, covering over 300 km in the first five days from the Bug River at Brest-Litovsk to the Beresina at Bobruisk despite challenging terrain and Soviet resistance, outpacing other units in the Panzergruppen. Promoted and transferred to command the XXXXI. Panzerkorps and then the 9. Armee, he stabilized the critical Rzhev salient during the harsh winter battles of 1941-42 through energetic counterattacks and skillful defense, surrounding elements of the Soviet 39th Army and preventing a breakthrough; these actions secured him the 74th Eichenlaub on 17 February 1942 as General der Panzertruppe. Further defensive successes around Rzhev in the summer and winter of 1942-43, including the masterful execution of Operation Büffel - a disciplined withdrawal that shortened the front while inflicting heavy losses on the enemy - earned him the 28th Schwerter on 2 April 1943 as Generaloberst commanding 9. Armee. In mid-1944, as the Soviet summer offensive Operation Bagration shattered Heeresgruppe Mitte, Model assumed command, rapidly organizing a coherent defensive line that halted the Red Army's momentum near the Vistula River despite overwhelming odds, showcasing his trademark personal frontline leadership and improvisation; for this feat as Generalfeldmarschall and commander of Heeresgruppe Mitte (and briefly Heeresgruppe Nordukraine), he received the 17th Brillanten on 17 August 1944, becoming one of only 27 recipients of the full Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. Model's career ended with commands on the Western Front, including Heeresgruppe B during the Ardennes Offensive and the Ruhr Pocket, where he committed suicide on 21 April 1945 to avoid capture, leaving a legacy as the "Lion of Defense" whose loyalty and tactical acumen repeatedly salvaged desperate situations for the Wehrmacht.
Oberst Hans Freiherr von Wolff (1903-1944), born on 6 March 1903 in Lindenberg near Riga as Johann-Gottlieb Erich Viktor Alexander Joseph Freiherr von Wolff into a Baltic German noble family, rose through the ranks of the Wehrmacht to become a highly decorated officer who commanded armored and cavalry formations during the Second World War before succumbing to wounds on 20 June 1944 in a field hospital near Brest in the Soviet Union. Entering military service in 1922, he transferred from early SS-Reiter units to the Heer, serving as Rittmeister and later Hauptmann commanding the I. Bataillon of Schützen-Regiment 28 (part of the 8. Panzer-Division) in Panzergruppe 4 during Operation Barbarossa. His Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes was awarded on 13 July 1940 as Hauptmann for exceptional personal bravery and leadership in the Battle of France, where he repeatedly led his battalion from the front lines with weapon in hand, most notably capturing the strongly defended commanding hilltop position at Chaumont on 14 June 1940 despite intense opposition. The Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz followed on 16 January 1942 as the 61st recipient while still a Hauptmann, recognizing his battalion’s critical achievements as the spearhead of Kampfgruppe B: seizing the intact bridge at Rusenika on 22 June 1941 to enable the division’s rapid advance toward Rossitten, the capture of Pogostje and Maluksa on 15 September 1941, and sustained successes during the push toward Tikhvin in October 1941 amid fierce Soviet resistance. Later promoted to Oberst and commanding cavalry and Cossack units including elements of the Kosakenreiterbrigade, Wolff continued frontline service until his death from injuries sustained during a training exercise.
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KRIEGSMARINE
Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (1911-1986) began his naval career in 1931 and transferred to the U-boat arm in 1939, later commanding the Type VIIC submarine U-96 as Kapitänleutnant from September 1940 until March 1942 while attached to the 7. U-Flottille and conducting eight war patrols in the Battle of the Atlantic that resulted in the sinking of twenty-four ships totaling 170,237 gross register tons along with two ships damaged for 15,864 gross register tons and one ship declared a total loss. For his achievements during the first three of these patrols, in which U-96 under his command sank fourteen ships of 115,580 gross register tons and damaged two others of 15,864 gross register tons including the prominent sinking of the British troopship Almeda Star of 14,935 gross register tons on 17 January 1941, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 26 February 1941 as Kommandant of U-96 in recognition of his rapid destruction of more than 125,000 gross register tons of enemy shipping in a short period. For further successes achieved over the course of another five war patrols in which he sank an additional ten ships totaling 58,746 gross register tons, he received the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 31 December 1941 while still serving as Kommandant of U-96, after which he went on to command the 9. U-Flottille in Brest and briefly U-256 before becoming Flottillenchef of the 11. U-Flottille until the end of the war.
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WAFFEN-SS
SS-Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann (1914-1944) was a German Waffen-SS tank commander who became one of the most celebrated panzer aces of the Second World War through his service with the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and later the Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101. Born in Vogelthal, Bavaria, he joined the SS in 1936 after earlier Reichswehr service, rose through the ranks from SS-Mann to SS-Hauptsturmführer, and fought in the campaigns in Poland, the West, the Balkans, and extensively on the Eastern Front, initially commanding a Sturmgeschütz III assault gun before transitioning to Panzer III and then Tiger I tanks as a platoon leader in the 13. (schwere) Kompanie of SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 during the Battle of Kursk and subsequent operations around Zhitomir. His actions that earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes took place on 13 January 1944 when, serving as SS-Untersturmführer and Zugführer, he destroyed 19 Soviet tanks and three SU-122 heavy assault guns in a single day of intense fighting on the Eastern Front, bringing his cumulative total to 66 enemy tanks destroyed and resulting in the award of the Ritterkreuz the following day on 14 January 1944; continued successes in further armored engagements quickly raised his claimed tally to approximately 114 tanks, leading to the award of the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 January 1944. Transferred to the Western Front after the Allied landings in Normandy, Wittmann was appointed Kompaniechef of the 1. Kompanie in the Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101 and on 13 June 1944, during the Battle of Villers-Bocage, he executed a bold single-tank ambush with his Tiger I against lead elements of the British 7th Armoured Division near Point 213 and in the town itself, rapidly knocking out at least a dozen British tanks along with numerous transport vehicles, half-tracks, and carriers in under fifteen minutes before his own tank was disabled by an anti-tank gun from which he and his crew escaped on foot, actions for which he received the Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 22 June 1944 and was promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/03/album-foto-jaket-bulu-nazi-jerman.html
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-l-m/
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