Original German WWII Heer Army Officer's Lion Head Sword with Steel Scabbard and Troddel Knot

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a beautiful classic Lionhead German WWII Officer sword, with a lovely carbon steel blade, complete with its original black enamel steel scabbard and a lovely officer's troddel knot. This piece is also a real treasure as it is not constructed from the later war aluminum, but rather is made of solid brass. It really looks great, retaining much of the finely gilded finish, with the raised worn areas displaying a lovely patina.

The all brass hilt consists of a finely detailed lion head cat with an embossed and engraved backstrap and "P" guard. The Lion is fitted with blood red faceted "jewel" eyes. There is nice detail throughout his whiskers, chin, and muzzle. The handwork is beautifully rendered throughout this brass. The backstrap consists of the classic German "Oak Leaves & Acorns" pattern, seen on many of these swords, though the design is a bit more shaped like a stand of arms. The "P" guard also has a lovely raised out oak leaf and acorns, as does the grip ferrule, making a lovely grip. There is a very nice leather and bullion officer's troddel sword knot wrapped around the hilt in the correct Heer pattern. It does show some degradation to the leather finish, with some fraying of the bullion on the "knot"

The crossguard langet has a "spread winged" art deco eagle which looks to the viewer's right. The breast area of this eagle, as well as the wings, have been hand-enhanced. There is an oval panel on the reverse where it could be personalized, but this is blank. The grip is a very good black celluloid-over-wood base, which shows no cracking or chipping, though there is a small dot of red paint on it. It is wrapped with a pair of twisted aluminum wires, which are still in great shape and in place. The hilt is still fully tight to the blade, with no wobble.

The 29 inch blade of this example is in very good condition, with no wear or denting on the original blunt edge. Unlike others we usually see, it is not nickel plated, and instead has a lovely matte finished carbon steel blade. There is some scuffing from use and cleaning, but the original finish is very well retained. There is some light oxidation staining near the tip of the blade, which we have left intact to preserve the history of the blade. The ricasso on either side of the blade does not bear any maker marks, but this is not uncommon. The large blade makers would often make just unmarked blades, which were purchased by retailers and artisans, who then built them into officer's swords.

The scabbard of this example still has good original factory black enamel retained at around 90%, with finish loss around the drag and around the carrying band. The steel body is straight, with no signs of bending or repairs in the past. There are some small areas of missing paint and the expected crazing and checking, however there is no major damage, just scuffing, scratches, and so forth. The drag is missing a bit more of the paint, as is typical. The hanger ring is still intact, as well as the rectangular loop for "hitching up" the sword in close quarters

Overall a very good condition German Army Officer's Sword with a Carbon Steel Blade from WWII, complete with scabbard and troddel knot. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 29”
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 34 1/4“
Guard dimensions: 5" width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 32 1/4”

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.