The German M44 uniform, officially introduced for the Wehrmacht on 25 September 1944 following decisions taken in July of that year, represented a radical simplification of the traditional Feldbluse driven by severe material shortages and the urgent need to reduce production time and fabric consumption in the final phase of the Second World War. Unlike earlier patterns such as the M36, M40, M41, M42 or M43, the Model 1944 Feldbluse abandoned the long skirted jacket design in favour of a short, waist-length cut closely resembling the British Battledress or the American Ike jacket, featuring a deep 12 cm waistband that incorporated an internal belt and allowed the garment to sit neatly at the hips. Only two unpleated patch breast pockets with simple straight-edged flaps remained, the lower skirt pockets having been eliminated, while the back was cut from a single unseamed piece of cloth; the complicated internal suspension system of earlier tunics was finally discarded and belt-support hooks reduced to a single pair of positions. The fabric was typically a coarser wool-rayon blend dyed in the new “Feldgrau 44,” a drab greenish-brown or slate-grey shade that varied widely according to available stocks, and the collar, now made of the same material as the body rather than a contrasting dark-green facing, could be worn open or closed. Standard insignia continued to be applied, including the breast eagle (frequently the late triangular BeVo version), collar Litzen that for Mannschaften often lacked Waffenfarbe piping, and Schulterklappen indicating rank and branch. The M44 was authorised for issue to all ranks of the Heer and the Waffen-SS once stocks of earlier tunics were exhausted, with the notable exception of Panzer crews who retained their specialised black or camouflage wraps; the elite Panzer-Lehr-Division field-tested the new pattern during the summer of 1944 before general approval. In practice the uniform reached the front only in the closing months of the war and was most commonly seen on newly arriving Ersatztruppen, teenage Flakhelfer, members of the Hitlerjugend and the hastily raised Volkssturm, although surviving photographs also document its use by veteran formations. Matching M44 trousers were likewise simplified, often featuring a drawstring waist and fewer pockets, completing a practical if aesthetically austere ensemble that symbolised the Wehrmacht’s desperate logistical situation in 1944–45.
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HEER
General der Artillerie Walther Lucht (1882-1949) cleaning his shoes outside his bunkhouse in a POW camp, 24 November 1945. Ritterkreuzträger Walther Lucht (26 February 1882 – 18 March 1949), a General der Artillerie of the Wehrmacht, spent the final years of his life as a prisoner of war following Germany’s defeat in the Second World War. After serving as commander of LXVI. Armeekorps and later briefly leading the 11. Armee during the desperate final campaigns of 1945, Lucht surrendered to American forces in May 1945. As one of Germany’s senior generals and a holder of both the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes and Eichenlaub, he was placed in Allied captivity during the occupation period. Unlike many German officers captured by the Soviet Union, Lucht remained in Western Allied hands, where conditions were generally less severe and where he was subjected primarily to interrogation and administrative detention rather than long-term punitive imprisonment. During his captivity he witnessed the collapse of the military system to which he had devoted more than four decades of service, beginning in the Imperial German Army and continuing through the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht. Released from American captivity in 1948, he returned to civilian life in post-war Germany, but his freedom was short-lived. On 18 March 1949, less than a year after his release, Lucht was killed in a motor vehicle accident near Heilbronn.
A rare shot of Field Marshal Walter Model with other generals in March 1945, taken from the book "Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model (1891 - 1945). Dokumentation eines Soldatenlenbens" by Hansgeorg Model and Dermot Bradley. First row from left to right: Generalleutnant Hanskurt Höcker (Kommandeur 167. Volksgrenadier-Division), Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe B), General der Artillerie Walther Lucht (Kommandierender General LXVI. Armeekorps), General der Infanterie Otto Hitzfeld (Kommandierender General LXVII. Armeekorps), and Generalmajor Theodor Tolsdorff (Kommandeur 340. Volksgrenadier-Division). Second row from left to right: Oberstleutnant im Generalstab Elmar Warning (Chef des Generalstabes LXVII. Armeekorps) and Oberst Theodor Pilling (IIa Heeresgruppe B).
Generalmajor Hans Kissel (1897-1975) was born on 19 February 1897 in Mannheim and died on 30 November 1975 in Aglasterhausen. He entered military service on 23 September 1915 as Fahnenjunker in the 7. Badische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 142, reaching the front in February 1916 where he served as Gruppenführer, Zugführer and Kompanieführer, later as Brigade-Adjutant, and was promoted to Leutnant on 5 January 1917. He took part in the fighting on the Somme, Aisne and before Verdun, receiving the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 28 February 1917 and 1. Klasse on 6 December 1917 along with the Ritterkreuz des Militär Karl-Friedrich-Verdienstorden and the Komtur II. Klasse des Ordens vom Zähringer Löwen. Discharged on 30 April 1919, he rejoined the army on 1 January 1935 as Hauptmann and was assigned to Ergänzungs-Bataillon 269. Promoted to Major on 1 April 1938, he became Kompaniechef in Infanterie-Regiment 34. At the outbreak of the Second World War he commanded the III. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 109, later the III. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 228, and temporarily led Infanterie-Regiment 229. Advanced to Oberstleutnant on 1 June 1941, he assumed leadership of Jäger-Regiment 229 in March 1942 but was severely injured on 2 June 1942. While recovering he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 18 June 1942 as Führer of the III. Bataillon of Jäger-Regiment 228 in the 101. Jäger-Division. Promoted to Oberst on 1 January 1943, he returned to the front on 15 March 1943 as Führer of a Kampfgruppe of the 376. Infanterie-Division and then commanded Infanterie-Regiment 672. From 1 September 1943 he led Grenadier-Regiment 683 of the 335. Infanterie-Division. During the critical period from early March to mid-April 1944 the regiment conducted prolonged and costly withdrawal battles from the Dnieper bridgeheads through the Ingulets south of Krivoi Rog, Mikhailovka, the Ingul at the Peresadovka bridgehead and across the Bug north of Nikolaev to the lower Dniester. Under Kissel’s determined command the unit repeatedly delayed superior Soviet forces, held successive defensive positions under heavy pressure, and preserved its combat effectiveness long enough to allow the larger formation to reorganize further west. For these sustained leadership achievements and the regiment’s successful defensive performance throughout the retreat he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 17 March 1944 while serving as Oberst and Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 683. He subsequently commanded Grenadier-Regiment 178 until another severe wound led to his transfer to the Führerreserve on 10 November 1944 and assignment as Chef des Führungsstabes des Volkssturms in Berlin, where he was promoted to Generalmajor on 30 January 1945. Captured on 8 May 1945, he was released on 26 June 1947. His decorations also included the 1939 Spangen to both classes of the Iron Cross, the Wound Badge and the Eastern Front Medal.
Generalmajor Hans Kissel (1897-1975) was born on 19 February 1897 in Mannheim and died on 30 November 1975 in Aglasterhausen. He entered military service on 23 September 1915 as Fahnenjunker in the 7. Badische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 142, reaching the front in February 1916 where he served as Gruppenführer, Zugführer and Kompanieführer, later as Brigade-Adjutant, and was promoted to Leutnant on 5 January 1917. He took part in the fighting on the Somme, Aisne and before Verdun, receiving the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 28 February 1917 and 1. Klasse on 6 December 1917 along with the Ritterkreuz des Militär Karl-Friedrich-Verdienstorden and the Komtur II. Klasse des Ordens vom Zähringer Löwen. Discharged on 30 April 1919, he rejoined the army on 1 January 1935 as Hauptmann and was assigned to Ergänzungs-Bataillon 269. Promoted to Major on 1 April 1938, he became Kompaniechef in Infanterie-Regiment 34. At the outbreak of the Second World War he commanded the III. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 109, later the III. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 228, and temporarily led Infanterie-Regiment 229. Advanced to Oberstleutnant on 1 June 1941, he assumed leadership of Jäger-Regiment 229 in March 1942 but was severely injured on 2 June 1942. While recovering he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 18 June 1942 as Führer of the III. Bataillon of Jäger-Regiment 228 in the 101. Jäger-Division. Promoted to Oberst on 1 January 1943, he returned to the front on 15 March 1943 as Führer of a Kampfgruppe of the 376. Infanterie-Division and then commanded Infanterie-Regiment 672. From 1 September 1943 he led Grenadier-Regiment 683 of the 335. Infanterie-Division. During the critical period from early March to mid-April 1944 the regiment conducted prolonged and costly withdrawal battles from the Dnieper bridgeheads through the Ingulets south of Krivoi Rog, Mikhailovka, the Ingul at the Peresadovka bridgehead and across the Bug north of Nikolaev to the lower Dniester. Under Kissel’s determined command the unit repeatedly delayed superior Soviet forces, held successive defensive positions under heavy pressure, and preserved its combat effectiveness long enough to allow the larger formation to reorganize further west. For these sustained leadership achievements and the regiment’s successful defensive performance throughout the retreat he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 17 March 1944 while serving as Oberst and Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 683. He subsequently commanded Grenadier-Regiment 178 until another severe wound led to his transfer to the Führerreserve on 10 November 1944 and assignment as Chef des Führungsstabes des Volkssturms in Berlin, where he was promoted to Generalmajor on 30 January 1945. Captured on 8 May 1945, he was released on 26 June 1947. His decorations also included the 1939 Spangen to both classes of the Iron Cross, the Wound Badge and the Eastern Front Medal.
Unteroffizier Otto Peschke (1916-2007) was born on 1 February 1916 in Vienna in Lower Austria, Austria, and served as a soldier in the German Heer during the Second World War, rising to the rank of Unteroffizier by early 1945 while assigned as Kompanietruppführer in the 2. Kompanie of the I. Bataillon, Grenadier-Regiment 132, which formed part of the 44. Reichsgrenadier-Division “Hoch und Deutschmeister”. This Austrian-recruited formation, rebuilt after the original 44. Infanterie-Division’s destruction at Stalingrad and granted its traditional honorary title in 1943, had fought extensively in Italy before transferring to Hungary in late 1944. There, amid the desperate defensive and counter-offensive battles against the advancing Red Army in the Lake Balaton and Gran bridgehead sectors during the winter and early spring of 1945, including operations connected with the failed German offensive Frühlingserwachen, Peschke distinguished himself through exceptional personal bravery and leadership of his company troop under intense combat conditions. For these actions he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 March 1945, having previously received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse and the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse for earlier wartime service. No further promotions beyond Unteroffizier are recorded, and this remained his last rank. After the division’s remnants withdrew into Austria and largely surrendered to American forces in May 1945, Peschke survived the war and lived until 12 June 2007, when he died in Vienna in Lower Austria at the age of ninety-one.
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LUFTWAFFE
Officers of Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1 "Hermann Göring". From left to right: unknown, Major Karl Roßmann (Kommandeur Fallschirm-Panzer-Regiment "Hermann Göring"), Oberleutnant Rupert Kraus (Führer 2.Kompanie / I.Abteilung / Fallschirm-Panzer-Regiment "Hermann Göring"), and Oberst Max Lemke (Führer Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1 "Hermann Göring"). The picture was taken between February 1945 and April 1945.
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LUFTWAFFE
Officers of Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1 "Hermann Göring". From left to right: unknown, Major Karl Roßmann (Kommandeur Fallschirm-Panzer-Regiment "Hermann Göring"), Oberleutnant Rupert Kraus (Führer 2.Kompanie / I.Abteilung / Fallschirm-Panzer-Regiment "Hermann Göring"), and Oberst Max Lemke (Führer Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1 "Hermann Göring"). The picture was taken between February 1945 and April 1945.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2012/01/album-foto-seragam-m-44.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Walther_Lucht_cleaning_his_shoes_outside_his_bunkhouse_in_POW_camp_(cropped).jpg
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18435&hilit=theodor+tolsdorff
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/wehrmacht-era-militaria/photos-and-paper-items-forum/567570-m-44-tunics-in-wear/page5?t=567953&page=5
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