This article discusses the uniforms of the World War II Wehrmacht (Army, Air Force, and Navy). For the Waffen-SS, see Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel.
German general Alfred Jodl wearing black leather trenchcoat
Paratrooper's knochensack worn over the standard Luftwaffe jumpsuit (right)
The Wehrmacht went through a large overhaul during the 1930s as its size grew once the Nazis came to power. The following is a general overview of Germany's main uniforms, though there were so many specialist uniforms and variations that not all (such as camouflage, Luftwaffe, tropical, extreme winter) can be included . SS uniforms began to break away in 1935 with minor design differences, but they are not included here.
Terms such as "M40" and "M43" were never designated by the Wehrmacht, but are names given to the different versions of the Modell 1936 field tunic by modern collectors, to discern between variations as the "M36" was steadily simplified and tweaked due to production time problems and combat experience. The term "tunic" is likewise incorrect and something applied by modern collectors to all forms of military clothing. In German it is a Feldbluse, or Field Blouse, and not a "tunic