SS Officer?

[steve grey]

Re: SS Officer?

if it's illegal in France, then it must have something going for it.

[Dellusional_Maniac]

Re: SS Officer?

tvad2.jpg Lol!!,I assure you i'm no traffic warden!,i'm a motorcycle rider and had MANY altercations with them!
ALso I have to agree,getting in and out of this is practically a two man job,I was lucky enough to have the costume crew dress me so all I needed to do was stand there and have 3 women fuss over me,the boots were AGONY to wear and the jodpurs with the little corset bit and laces on the side,noooooooo thank you!
As I said,the female attention was rather worrying!,I was actually wearing this is the episode of Upstairs Downstairs they aired last night!,2nd nazi from the right with the K98

[dadio]

Re: SS Officer?

the boots... oh i must agree i just received a pair of marching boots (jackboots)and to make them wearable it took 250ml of leather softener(nearly a coke can size) and a whole jar of cobblers cream to soften the leather and nearly a month of using them to walk the dog before they were broken inn enough to think of using for a days gaming ,god only knows how they coped back in the day.

[AlexLM]

Re: SS Officer?

the boots... oh i must agree i just received a pair of marching boots (jackboots)and to make them wearable it took 250ml of leather softener(nearly a coke can size) and a whole jar of cobblers cream to soften the leather and nearly a month of using them to walk the dog before they were broken inn enough to think of using for a days gaming ,god only knows how they coped back in the day.

Best way to wear in jackboots is to piss on/in them.

[Nun-Chuck]

Re: SS Officer?

This thread is far more civil than the last time this was discussed, nice one.

[UFF139821HC]

Re: SS Officer?

you know that the Waffen SS wore grey right?

[smiffyraf1]

Re: SS Officer?

i have an SS loadout and see nothing wrong with it, agree that the armband isn't accurate or appropriate but see no other problem with it. I think its advisable to do a bit of research into who you are meant to be portraying just so you have a leg to stand on if an argument does crop up but not ultimately necessary. I think its daft that this ridiculous PC world we live in now would rather live in ignorance and pretend that history did not happen rather than display them and educate. Soldiers from all sides committed war crimes in WWII as in all wars its only the victors who decide who is accountable.

[Phoenix_rising]

Re: SS Officer?

i have an SS loadout and see nothing wrong with it, agree that the armband isn't accurate or appropriate but see no other problem with it. I think its advisable to do a bit of research into who you are meant to be portraying just so you have a leg to stand on if an argument does crop up but not ultimately necessary. I think its daft that this ridiculous PC world we live in now would rather live in ignorance and pretend that history did not happen rather than display them and educate. Soldiers from all sides committed war crimes in WWII as in all wars its only the victors who decide who is accountable.

The above is a great point, yes there can be people who find the SS and Nazi insignia "not very tasteful" because of the atrocities committed by the Axis during WW2, im sure if you asked someone with family brought up in Dresden, Germany they would probably have the same feelings towards the RAF and USAAF

[Heinz]

Re: SS Officer?

No-one used the armband in combat, that was an Allgemeine SS thing (and they weren't combat troops), and no-one would be seen in the black uniform in combat either (it was parade dress for the LAH and duty dress for Allgemeine SS. Stick to feldgrau.

[Gadge Europa]

Re: SS Officer?

Indeed, Heinz is bang on.

The black uniform was phased out even for police and political SS units quite early in the war. What they would have worn is a fieldgrey uniform with the appropriate branch insignia (SD etc).

As someone said ages ago, at WWII games playing 'SS' is totally valid but most organisers expect you to turn up as a 'combat' unit like '9th ss Hohenstaufen' or similar of the waffen SS. Turning up in 'political' black kit or a 'questionable' unit like Dirlwanger brigade would usually get you an invite to leave with a full refund.

There just isnt really a place for 'political' uniforms in the games/events we put on. We did consider one when PBI were running WWII games having an algemeine officer as a 'target' in a commando raid scenario played by a ref... we stayed away from it in the end as if the wrong people got a picture of it they would have a field day!

Combat impressions are the way forwards. Interestingly waffen ss officers were authorised to wear other ranks pattern of uniform in the field (it was just more practical and harder wearing) so you can do a combat officers impression a lot easier than many nations where 'officers' kit is totally different and harder to source.

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Addendum: It's good to remember that you have a *lot* of different SS units and people get confused between them.

The algemeine SS were political officers (by the end of the war they were pretty hated by their own kind as 'war dodgers'
The waffen (or 'fighting') SS were combat arms... quite often composed largely of foreign volunteers due to bans on the SS conscripting men who could be in the Heer
The you have tons of 'grey area' units like SS police detachments who did fight but were mainly rear area security of 'sicherung' units.

Then you have the *really* bad ones like einsatzgruppen... i'll let you see that one for yourself but as a guy who re-enacts SS and occasionally plays waffen SS at WWII games i can tell you that you'd be marched out of *any* event for portaying them!

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SS combat officer would look a bit like this but the crusher cap wouldnt be worn in combat, we only use them at events to make the company commanders very obvious... if someone in a peaked cap asks you to do something then it's for the good of the game!

The waffen ss were one of the first military formations to break the barriers between other ranks and officers. It was normal for ss officers to talk to and listen to their men (and to wear the same kit) whereas in the army their was a traditional officer class that didnt fraternise with the troops.

ss1.jpg

[smiffyraf1]

Re: SS Officer?

not an officer but my SS non-com loadout

[Gadge Europa]

Re: SS Officer?

Looks pretty good, your tunic is a bit long in the sleeves and the skirt if you were going to be picky. The german uniform was designed to be 'short' in both those respects to make the wearer look taller. Like yourself I tend to use more modern boots for safety reasons when skirmishing.

I usually have the opposite problem with tunics in that i've got quite long arms so sometimes have to get my mate who is a dab hand at sewing to lengthen then slightly, my panzer blacks had this problem as well.

I'm not sure if it was this thread where people were banging on about hugo boss designing the uniform. Thats a myth. He actually just made them to a design given to him, the actual design was done by other people and the various trials ones were demonstrated to 'test groups' of German women and they were asked to pick the ones that appealed to them most... it's probably why the uniform is considered quite an 'elegant' one in terms of 'cut' (obviously not in terms of appeal now...)

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I'm probably being too harsh there, British understatement and all that, it actually looks great.

If my dog was like yours i'd probably do 'field police' as an impression.

[Gadge Europa]

Re: SS Officer?

Ok update... i *AM* going to have to point this out so you don't get flak off others..

Your anklets are on the wrong legs... the leather tabs should be on the outside with the 'tails' of the tab pointing towards the rear.

Easy thing to do, loads of people do it as unless someone tells you it's hard to make out in photos.

[smiffyraf1]

Re: SS Officer?

yeah i have recently lost a lot of weight as was in a motorbike crash. before it did fit quite well. although i do have the god given ability to look like a bag of $hit in any given uniform. but the gaitors i do use with buckles on the inside. i know its wrong but found theyd catch on everything the right way round and would be dragging half the forrest with me whereas they dont seem to do it on the inside.

[Gadge Europa]

Re: SS Officer?

Fair play, if its more practical and better for you.