A Pair of Very Good German Kriegsmarine Officer's Wehrmacht ‘Dienstglas’Binoculars, Maker Code ddx, By Voightlander & Sohn AG, Braunschweig. 6 X 30 & Marked with Naval Eagle and Marine 'M'

Naval black finish, very good and crisp optics, nicely marked and with original strap. A most scarce Kriegsmarine service issue pair, as almost 70% of all that were purchased for the Kriegsmarine, before and during WW2, were lost in combat.

We show in the gallery exactly the same pair as this, worn by Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Oskar Kummetz, of the Kriegsmarine Heavy Cruiser Blucher, before it was sunk during the invasion of Norway. The Admiral Hipper class heavy cruiser Blücher (launched 1937), was the lead ship of the German armada headed for Oslo, Norway, and was sunk in the Oslofjord by Norwegian military at Oscarsborg Fortress during the Battle of Drøbak Sound on 9 April 1940, the first day of the German invasion of Norway (part of the Norwegian Campaign in World War II).

By sinking the ship the Norwegian king and government were saved from being taken captive in the first hours of the invasion. The number of casualties is unknown, but the loss of life probably ranges between 600 and 1,000 soldiers and sailors. The wreck remains on the bottom of the Oslofjord. The admiral did not perish in the sinking, but was captured, for a brief period, but later released.

The Kriegsmarine can be said to have consisted of three main components between 1935 and 1945, individual naval vessels, naval formations consisting of specific types of ships, and a wide variety of ground-based units. From these three main components, the Kriegsmarine fielded thousands of ships and hundreds of naval formations and ground units. Between 1939 and 1945 over 1.5 million served in the Kriegsmarine. Over 65,000 were killed, over 105,000 went missing and over 21,000 were wounded.

Of all the branches of the Wehrmacht, the Kriegsmarine was the most under-appreciated, likely due in part as it was the least NAZI of the armed forces, and Hitler never truly trusted his navy as much as his other services. It fought against superior numbers on almost every front with a force greatly limited by a lack of effective coordination and a harsh misunderstanding from within the German High Command (OKW). Although Allied air and naval power largely destroyed the entire German High Seas Fleet and U-boat force, the smaller and auxiliary vessels of the Kriegsmarine continued to serve effectively until the last hours of WWII. These vessels saw service along thousands of miles of coast in every theater of war and provided an important link in the backbone of the Wehrmacht.

German naval ground units also provided a critical service during WWII, manning massive guns along the Atlantic Wall in the west and naval flak and artillery units all across Western and Eastern Europe. There were also countless naval infantry, engineer, and communications units as well. In the last months of WWII most, all of the naval ground units were involved directly in fighting of some form or another, some naval units even took part in the Battle of Berlin in 1945.

Code: 25167