German WW2 Panzer Feldwebel service uniform
This is a really beautiful uniform.
The soldier served in Panzer regiment 18.
Formed in October 1940, the 18th Panzer Regiment originally incorporated specialized Tauchpanzer (submersible/diving tanks) originally intended for Operation Seelöwe (the planned invasion of Britain).
The regiment and its parent division took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) on June 22, 1941. Notably, they made history by crossing the Bug River underwater using their specialized submersible tanks.
They fought heavily across the Eastern Front, participating in the capture of Smolensk and Bryansk, the assault on Tula, the defensive battles around Oryol, and eventually the fateful Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943.
Following catastrophic losses during and after Kursk, the 18th Panzer Division was officially disbanded in late 1943.
Overall this is a near perfect uniform.
All insignia is wartime applied.
The shoulder straps indicate the rank of Feldwebel.
There are three set of loops, probably for the Panzer Assault badge, Iron cross first class and maybe an iron cross.
The ribbon through the button hole is for the iron cross second class,
Properly marked in the inside as the pictures show.
Signal blitz correctly applied on the left arm.
