Location Stuttgart. Fully preserved standard, consisting of flagstaff (pole), flag cloth, finial, flag ring, and flag streamer.
The flag cloth made from a single piece of white silk with three-sided silver fringe trim of aluminum thread. The hem running around as double braid. Both sides display the Iron Cross of black silk, bordered with silver edges of aluminum embroidery. Applied thereon, the stylized Wehrmacht eagle in fine black-brown hand embroidery with shading, surrounded by an embroidered oak leaf wreath in fine silver-colored aluminum embroidery. The wreath held together at the bottom by a gold-embroidered band. The beak and talons of the eagle in fine gilt or silver-plated metal embroidery. The eye in colored silk embroidery.
In the four corners on obverse and reverse, each a large swastika of black silk with silver-embroidered aluminum border. The side facing the staff, free of fringe, attached to the flagstaff with original nailing and original silver braid. Dimensions of the flag cloth: 120 x 120 cm. Below the flag cloth, the silver-plated flag ring with engraving: “II. Inf.-Rgt. 119”. The finial for the flags and standards of the German Wehrmacht made of aluminum. On the lower edge manufacturer's mark: “BILDGIESSEREI KRAAS BERLIN S 42”.
Height: 27.5 cm. Additionally, the flag streamer for the flags and standards of the German Wehrmacht. The streamer made of a 4.6 cm wide silver-colored grosgrain ribbon with black-red side stripes. Total length 172 cm. At both ends, an 18.2 cm long tassel of metal threads. The metal clasp with Wehrmacht eagle and the date on reverse “16. März 1935”. The clasp with date “16. März 1936” is missing. The flagstaff (pole) of blackened oak. At the lower end original ferrule. Total length with finial: approx. 300 cm. Age-appropriate wear and signs of use.
Infantry Regiment 119 was established on October 6, 1936 in Military District V in Stuttgart. The regiment was subordinated with the establishment of the 25th Infantry Division.
In 1940 the regiment was motorized and thereafter renamed as Infantry Regiment (motorized) 119, then from October 15, 1942 renamed to Grenadier Regiment (mot.) 119. The regiment was destroyed in June 1944 with Army Group Center.

Regimental commanders: Oberst Friedrich Zickwolff establishment – April 30, 1939.
Oberst Kurt Hoffmann May 1, 1939 – December 31, 1939.
Oberst Anton Grasser February 6, 1940 – January 25, 1942.
Magnificent specimen in beautiful condition. As completely preserved standard, a significant piece of museum quality.
Condition

207906

Wehrmacht: Complete Battalion Standard of the II. Battalion Infantry Regiment No. 119

This completely preserved battalion standard of the II. Bataillon, Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 119 represents a remarkable witness to German military history of the interwar period and World War II. The regiment was established on 6 October 1936 in Wehrkreis V in Stuttgart and assigned to the 25. Infanterie-Division, which had already been formed on 1 April 1936 in Ludwigslust. The II. Bataillon was created through redesignation of the former III. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 13 and was stationed in Schwäbisch Gmünd.

The standard represents the standardized design of Wehrmacht army flags as introduced by the decree of 16 March 1936. This decree followed the Reichsflaggengesetz of 15 September 1935, which had established the swastika flag as the sole national flag. The reintroduction of troop flags marked a conscious return to Prussian-German military traditions, after the Reichswehr had not carried troop flags. The date of the decree was symbolically chosen: exactly one year earlier, on 16 March 1935, Hitler had proclaimed Wehrmacht sovereignty and the reintroduction of conscription, thereby breaking the Treaty of Versailles.

The flag banderole bears a metal clasp engraved with the date 16 March 1935, commemorating this decisive step in German rearmament. A second clasp with the date 16 March 1936, which would have commemorated the flag decree itself, is missing from this example. These dates on the banderoles reference two key moments in National Socialist military policy: the reintroduction of conscription and the revival of Imperial German military traditions.

The flag cloth of white silk displays on both sides the Iron Cross in black silk with silver aluminum embroidery edging. Upon it rests the stylized Wehrmacht eagle in fine black-brown hand embroidery with shading, surrounded by an embroidered oak leaf wreath. Swastikas appear in all four corners. The aluminum finial bears the manufacturer's mark Bildgießerei Kraas Berlin S 42, a significant producer of military equipment of this period. The silver-plated flag ring is engraved with the inscription II. Inf.-Rgt. 119.

The military history of the regiment is closely tied to German warfare in World War II. The 25. Infanterie-Division participated in the Polish Campaign of 1939 and the Battle of France in 1940. In late 1940 the regiment was motorized and on 15 November 1940 redesignated Infanterie-Regiment (motorisiert) 119. On 15 October 1942 it was renamed Grenadier-Regiment (mot.) 119. In June 1943 the parent division was reorganized as the 25. Panzergrenadier-Division.

The regiment fought from June 1941 in Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front and was assigned to Army Group Center. Three years of combat in the Soviet Union followed. The regiment's fate came in July 1944 during the Soviet Operation Bagration, which led to the destruction of the entire Army Group Center. The regiment was destroyed in the encirclement east of Minsk. Survivors were reorganized as Panzer-Brigade 107. The division was rebuilt in October 1944, with most survivors eventually surrendering to the Western Allies in May 1945.

Among the regimental commanders served Oberst Friedrich Zickwolff from formation until 30 April 1939, Oberst Kurt Hoffmann from 1 May 1939 to 31 December 1939, and Oberst Anton Grasser from 6 February 1940 to 25 January 1942.

The survival of this standard is remarkable. Many Wehrmacht standards were captured by Soviet forces and displayed at the Moscow Victory Parade on 24 June 1945, where approximately 200 German military standards were thrown down before Lenin's Mausoleum. The standard would have been in use until the regiment's destruction in July 1944. Its survival suggests it may have been captured, evacuated, or removed from frontline service before the unit's final destruction. This completely preserved standard with all components represents an extraordinary museum-quality document of German military history.