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WWII GERMAN KRETA CUFF TITLE -
Under the Treaty of Versailles, the Reichswehr was only allowed 100,000 men split between the Army and the Navy. Following the 1932 German elections the Nazi party came to power and began to abrogate the treaty. The Army was made part of the Wehrmacht in May 1935 with the passing of the "Law for the Reconstruction of the National Defence Forces". The Wehrmacht included not just the Army and Navy but also a third branch known as the Luftwaffe. Initially, the Army was expanded to 21 divisional-sized units and smaller formations.
Between 1935 and 1945 this force grew to consist of hundreds of divisions and thousands of smaller supporting units. Between 1939 and 1945 close to 16 million served in the Army. Over 3 million were killed and over 4.1 million were wounded. Of the 7,361 men awarded the initial grade of the highest German combat honour of World War II, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, 4,777 were from the Army, making up 65% of the total awarded. The Allies dissolved the German Army on 20 August 1946.
The item featured in this page is a German Kreta cuff title. Of cotton construction. White body with a gold
border on top and bottom. The word KRETA is written in the center. A sideways eagle is found to each side
of the word. The back is stamped with black ink with the words RBNr.0/o250/2340.
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This page is a recognition and identification guide for WWII German cloth insignia. Multiple
detailed photos of a specific sample are provided. Descriptions point out clearly defined points
that should be noted.
One of the most commonly asked questions is "How much is my WWII German patch worth?". A price
guide is included here to address this question. The value of the cloth insignia is reviewed
over a period of several years. A trend can be observed. The present worth of the German
patches and cloth insignia in the collector's market is illustrated.
This service is provided free of charge to the visitor/enthusiast courtesy of
MilitaryItems.com,
a company dedicated to the preservation of military history and to providing quality military
antiques and collectibles to museums, institutions and the general public.
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Cloth insignia is currently being
reproduced.
It is becoming more difficult to be able to tell the fake ones from the real ones because the quality
of the reproductions is improving. The collector must become familiarized with the construction style
and materials employed in the manufacturing of this uniform. Attention to the details is critical in
order to be able to determine the authenticity of the uniform.
If you have an interest is seeing other uniforms of the Third Reich, you can do so by going
to our WWII German Cloth Insignia
identification guide. Where we cover Heer (Army), Navy (Kriegsmarine),
Air Force (Luftwaffe), political, police and other cloth insignia.
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