History

Initially trousers were grey with no greenish component to them. Officially the colour was known as steingrau (stone-grey). Starting in 1940 trousers were made of the same field-grey material as most garments.

The so called “Tuchhose” was worn by all ranks during formal occasions.

The fly has five buttons. They have two slanted buttoned side pockets, a buttoned pocket in the back on the right, and a small watch pocket in the front on the right.

There is piping in the wearer’s branch colour going down the outside seam. This piping was only intended for trousers used for parades and for the walking-out dress.
There were also optional wider adornment stripes on both sides of the seam for certain Officers. General ranks had bright red stripes, whereas officers of a Staff, of ministries, and of the High Commands had crimson stripes.

The Tropical version of these trousers differed from the regular variety in only one aspect. They have a built-in belt.

A slightly altered version was introduced in 1943, often referred to as the M(odel) 43. These were called Belted Trousers or “Rundbundhosen”. They were introduced for wear in the warmer climates of southern Europe and southern Russia.
These trousers came with a built-in cloth belt. They have a high cut and tapered legs to fit into gaiters, as well as ribbons at the bottom to tighten them. There is a waistband to the straight rim.