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Shoulder Boards – Wehrmacht Artillery, Tropical Pattern
These tropical shoulder boards are associated with enlisted personnel of the artillery units of the German Wehrmacht serving within the Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK) during the Second World War.
The Deutsches Afrika Korps was deployed to North Africa in 1941 to support Axis operations against British forces in the desert theater. Among the formations operating in the region were artillery units, responsible for providing indirect fire support and preparatory bombardments for German infantry and armored formations.
To adapt to the harsh desert environment, the German Army introduced tropical uniforms made from lightweight cotton in khaki or olive tones, replacing the heavier wool uniforms used in Europe.
Within the German military uniform system, the branch of service was identified through a color known as Waffenfarbe, applied as piping on shoulder boards and other insignia.
For artillery units, this identifying color was red, visible as red piping along the edges of the shoulder boards.
These boards are constructed from tropical cloth with internal padding and a rear tongue with buttonhole, allowing them to be attached to the tropical field tunic (Tropenfeldbluse) worn by German soldiers in North Africa.
Tropical shoulder boards with red piping represent a distinctive insignia associated with Wehrmacht artillery units serving in the Afrika Korps during the campaign of 1941–1943.
