Original Rare German WWII Field Marshal Derfflinger Pattern Dove Head Army Officer Sword by Carl Eickhorn with Scabbard

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great example of the rare and desirable "Derfflinger" variation of the Feldherrn Serie (Commander Series) of German Army Officer's swords by famed firm Carl Eickhorn of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. Named after famous figures in German history, many of which were high ranking military officers, the series has a total of nine different variations. These are usually referred to as the Feldmarschall (Field Marshal) series by collectors, even though only four of the nine actually held that rank. These included the Wrangel, Scharnhorst, Freiherr vom Stein, Roon, Derfflinger, Zieten, and Blücher patterns. The Prinz Eugen and Lützow patterns were added in 1938 and 1939, which are the rarest patterns to find. Many other makers made some similar designs to the series. We have had many examples of the series previously, but we have only had a "Derfflinger" once before.

The Pattern 1735 - Derfflinger sword is named after Georg von Derfflinger (20 March 1606 – 14 February 1695), a field marshal in the army of Brandenburg-Prussia during and after the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). While not as famous and well-known as some of the other field marshals in the series, he was a daring and brilliant military leader, and not afraid to speak his mind. He was involved in many campaigns and married into the aristocracy, fighting his last campaign at the age of 84 against Louis XIV of France.

This piece is a real treasure as it is not constructed from the later war aluminum, but rather is made of solid brass. It really looks magnificent, retaining much of the finely gilded finish, and comes with a great black enamel finished steel scabbard. The Derfflinger design features a less ornate pommel than many others, with simple leaf designs, back strap, "P"-guard and ferrule. The "dove's head" has an oak leaf on top, and the cross guard has a Wehrmacht-style closed wing eagle that looks to the viewer's left. There is a repeating "apostrophe" style motif that borders almost the entire hilt, and is present on the grip ferrule as well. Definitely a departure from other patterns we have seen! The reverse of the crossguard has a shield where a monogram is sometimes added, however this example is blank.

The grip is of carved wood covered in black celluloid, which is in very good condition and remains shiny, not showing any cracks. The grip is tightly wrapped with a three pairs of twisted brass wire, the center two of which are thicker than the outer pairs. The top of the cross guard is hilt is stamped GES. GESCH., for Gesetzlich Geschützt (Protected By Law), indicating that the hilt is a trademarked design. The Field Marshall series was an Eickhorn exclusive, and they definitely wanted to protect the specific designs. The hilt is secure on the grip, with no wobble we can detect.

The blade on this sword is an excellent example. It measures 31 3/4" inches and has the highest quality nickel plating. This plating is still bright with only small spots of wear and oxidation. There are no edge nicks, and as is correct the blade has never been sharpened. The original leather washer is still in place, though it is somewhat dried out from age.

The rear ricasso of the blade under the langet is stamped with the 1935-41 Eickhorn trademark: a seated squirrel holding a sword, with the word ORIGINAL above and the firm's name and location, Eickhorn / SOLINGEN below. Carl Eickhorn is a legendary maker from Solingen, the famous "City of Blades" in Western Germany. According to J. Anthony Carter's book, GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this company was founded in 1865 by Carl Eickhorn, and is arguably the most famous of all Solingen makers. Not only could the family trace their history back 500 years, but they could also demonstrate involvement in the hardening and grinding industries for the same period. Truly the nobility of Solingen Edged weapon dynasties. Eickhorn edged weapons are the most desirable of all makers.

The scabbard of this example still has a very good black enamel finish, it is retained at over 80% with no dents that we can see or feel on the straight steel body. 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. There are a some areas of finish loss where it has oxidized a bit, but overall this is one of the better examples that we have seen. There is some wear near the hanger ring through to the base metal as is typical, and the rectangular ring for "hitching up" the sword is still intact.

This is a very nice example of a rare pattern from the highly desirable Field Marshal series of swords, made by the most legendary of all Solingen makers. If you were looking for a great sword to hang on the wall, this may be it!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 31 3/4"
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 36 5/8“
Guard dimensions: 5" width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 32 3/4”

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.