Original German WWII Army Officer Dove Head Sword by "Siegfried" E. Pack & Söhne of Solingen with Steel Scabbard

Original Item: Only One Available. This Army Dove Head Sword is a very nice example, made by the firm Ernst Pack & Söhne of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. It comes with the correct black enamel finished steel scabbard, and unlike most we see, the blade is polished bright steel, with no nickel plating.

The hilt on this example is a real treat, made from the classic gilt brass alloy, not the later war plated aluminum. Unlike most we see, the gilding still looks to be over 50% intact, with just some light patination on the exposed brass where it has worn away. The overall design is a bit of a departure from the other examples we have seen, which mostly take after the "Field Marshall" series of Carl Eickhorn. The dove head and backstrap are embossed with the classic German oak leaves and acorns motif, which extends onto the side tabs, however the pommel has a separate panel with a large oak leaf flanked by two acorns. The "flat" P guard and ferrule both bear variations on the same design as the backstrap. The chappe/langet features a raised out "closed wing" National eagle, which shows excellent detail to his beak, eye, breast feathering, wing feathering, talons and mobile clutched swas (hook cross). The other chappe features a blank oval panel, which would often be used for the officer to add a monogram, however this example is still unmarked.

The grip of this example is a black celluloid over a carved wood base. The celluloid is still in very good condition, with just a bit of cracking on the very bottom near where the hand guard meets the pommel. The grip is wrapped with three pairs of twisted wire, with the center pair being larger, and the wrapping is fully intact, with just a bit of looseness. There is some dirt and oxidation around the wires, which looks to be from various cleaning agents and polishes used over the years. There is no movement in the grip, ferrule, and guard, however one of the rivets on the backstrap side tab is missing, so it shows some movement.

The blade is 33 1/2 inches long, made of high quality spring steel, and unlike most we see, it is not nickel plated, retaining a polished bright steel finish. The edge is correctly unsharpened and free of dents, and the pointed tip does not have any damage or dents. There is a bit of past oxidation staining near the ricasso, which was later polished out. leaving a bit of a peppered look. The original blue felt blade buffer is still present, showing some staining from age.

The rear ricasso of the blade is etched with the large "Siegfried" trademark logo of Ernst Pack & Söhne, which is in excellent condition. It is only partially under the chappe of the crossguard, so it can be seen in photogaphs. The mark shows their trademark "Young Siegfried wielding a hammer" Logo, surrounded by a stylized banner. The whole trademark reads:

Siegfried
ERNST PACK & SÖHNE M.B.H. WAFFENFABRIK
(Jung Siegfried Logo)
SOLINGEN
WAFFEN

Per J. Anthony Carter's book GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this firm used this trademark on Army Officer swords during before the war and during the early years. They mostly made daggers so there is not as much information regarding the swords. The company survived the war, until it was sold in the 1960s to another knife company from Solingen, and the maker mark continued to be used into the 1990s.

The scabbard of this example is in very good condition, with the original black enamel finish retained at well over 90%, showing only a few small areas of finish loss, and oxidation. There is a lovely pattern of checking and crazing in the enamel, and we do not see any evidence that it has ever been repainted. The scabbard body is mostly straight, with just a bit bend to the body, which does not interfere at all with sheathing the blade. The hanger loop and rectangular slot for "hitching up" the sword are still present, showing some finish loss and oxidation.

Overall a very good example of a German Army Officer Dove Head sword by a desirable Solingen maker, complete with scabbard. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 33 1/2"
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 38 1/4“
Guard dimensions: 5" width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 34 1/2”

The German Army (German: Heer, was the land forces component of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, from 1935 to 1945. The Wehrmacht also included the Kriegsmarine (Navy) and the Luftwaffe (Air Force). During World War II, a total of about 15 million soldiers served in the German Army, of whom about seven million became casualties. Separate from the army, the Waffen-SS (Armed SS) was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. Growing from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, it served alongside the army but was never formally part of it.

Only 17 months after AH announced publicly the rearmament program, the Army reached its projected goal of 36 divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938, four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the Anschluss in March. During the period of its expansion by Adolf AH, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground (Heer) and air (Luftwaffe) assets into combined arms teams. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and the "battle of annihilation", the German military managed quick victories in the two initial years of World War II, prompting the use of the word Blitzkrieg (literally lightning war, meaning lightning-fast war) for the techniques used.

The German Army entered the war with a majority of its infantry formations relying on the horse for transportation. The infantry remained foot soldiers throughout the war; artillery also remained primarily horse-drawn. The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the main reason for the success of the German invasions of Poland (September 1939), Norway and Denmark (April 1940), Belgium, France and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941) and the early campaigns in the Soviet Union (June 1941). However their motorized and tank formations accounted for only 20% of the Heer's capacity at their peak strength.