Worn by Kaiser Wilhelm II during the period 1916-18. The ensemble consisting of three parts:
Highly elegant, soft and very light field-gray field cap of finest field-gray cloth with red band and piping, both cockades, the visor of soft leather lacquered field-gray. Interior with white leather sweatband and white silk lining with Kaiser's crown printed in gold and the cipher “W”. Size 55.
Field tunic for generals Model 1910 of fine field-gray cloth with red piping, distinguished from the officer's version by two additional breast pockets with curved flaps, eight gilt crown buttons and the high cuff flaps sewn at the top, on the collar the special red collar patches Model 1915 with gold Old Prussian embroidery. On the left breast nine loops for full dress orders, beneath which is sewn the white cross of the Order of St. John in the particularly large version worn only by the Kaiser. In the buttonhole with the wide order ribbon bearing numerous war decorations. On the shoulders the large shoulder boards of heavy gold and silver general's braid with applied silver Generalfeldmarschall batons, crown and cipher “W”, which the Kaiser wore on all his shoulder boards. Sewn into the collar the double ribbon bar for the Order Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves and for the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross 1914. Interior with dark green silk lining. In the neck area white label with crown and cipher “W” embroidered in black sewn on.
Cloth trousers for generals Model 1915/16 of fine field-gray fabric with the special wide red stripes on both sides of the likewise red piping. Interior lined with fine white cloth, at the leg ends stirrups of leather.
All three parts in very fine condition. The field tunic with two small moth holes of pinhead size, at the rear the hem with minor damage. Condition 2+.
Accompanied by 2 original photographs in postcard size (one from the Kaiser's parade of the III. Marine Inf. Regt. in August 1916), showing the Kaiser wearing this field tunic.

An outstanding uniform ensemble of museum significance!
The uniform originally comes from Huis Doorn, where the Kaiser lived in Dutch exile until his death in 1941. Over the past 40 years, items from the collection have been sold periodically, which are now in various private collections and occasionally appear on the market. Today Huis Doorn is a state museum, and items from the collection are no longer sold.
The Kaiser had numerous uniforms from his regiments, his love of uniforms was well known, at times he changed uniforms three times daily. Approximately 30 to 40 uniforms still remain in Huis Doorn today, some are also on loan in other museums, such as his uniform of the 1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß in the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. The Kaiser had several versions of the uniform as Generalfeldmarschall and Supreme Commander of the German Army, another uniform is located in a private collection in Belgium.

For this uniform we provide our lifetime guarantee of authenticity.

448387

German Empire World War I Uniform Ensemble from the Personal Property of Kaiser Wilhelm II as Generalfeldmarschall and Supreme Commander of the German Army

This extraordinary uniform ensemble embodies one of the most significant epochs in German military history and documents the personal appearance of Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) as Generalfeldmarschall and Supreme Commander of the German Army during the First World War. The three-piece set was worn by the last German Emperor and King of Prussia during the years 1916 to 1918, when Germany was engaged in a total war that would fundamentally transform the Reich and the European order.

The Feldrock Model 1910 for Generals represents a specific development in German field uniforms. The Model 1910 was originally introduced in Prussia by cabinet orders of 23 February and 18 March 1910, initially intended for field training and maneuvers. Upon the outbreak of war in August 1914, this feldgrau uniform became standard issue for all German soldiers. The generals' version here differs from officers' versions through two additional breast pockets with curved flaps and the characteristic high cuff turnbacks. A simplified version began distribution in 1915, and the All Highest cabinet order of 21 September 1915 introduced a completely new field uniform (Bluse). General officers, however, retained traditional gold embroidery on red collar patches.

The feldgrau color itself underwent evolution during the war: from lighter pre-war shades, it developed into darker green-gray tones after 1915. The present ensemble with its Model 1915 collar patches and Model 1915/16 field trousers clearly dates to the middle to late war period. The old-Prussian gold embroidery on the red collar patches, the eight gilt crown buttons, and the elaborate shoulder boards of heavy gold and silver general's braid with applied silver Generalfeldmarschall batons, crown, and cipher “W” identify this uniform as the highest military rank attire of the Imperial Reich.

Particularly remarkable are the order insignia: on the left breast are nine loops for order ribbon bars as well as the sewn-on white cross of the Order of Saint John (Johanniter-Orden) in a specially large version. Wilhelm II was hereditary Protector of this order. Sewn into the collar are the double ribbon sections for the Pour le Mérite with Oak Leaves and for the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross 1914. The Iron Cross had been renewed by Wilhelm II on 5 August 1914 for the World War. The Grand Cross was awarded only five times during the First World War: to Hindenburg on 9 December 1916, to Wilhelm II himself, to Mackensen on 9 January 1917, to Leopold of Bavaria on 4 March 1918, and to Ludendorff on 24 March 1918.

The rank of Generalfeldmarschall carried extraordinary privileges: elevation to nobility, protocol rank equal to Cabinet ministers, the right of direct reporting to the monarch, and constant escort. Although Wilhelm II nominally remained Supreme Commander, by August 1916 his broad delegation of military authority had created a de facto military dictatorship under Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

Wilhelm's well-known love of uniforms manifested in his possession of numerous uniforms from his regiments, and he changed uniforms up to three times daily. After his abdication on 9 November 1918 and his flight to the Netherlands on 10 November 1918, he purchased Huis Doorn in 1920, where he lived in exile until his death on 4 June 1941. Wilhelm had brought the contents of 64 railway carriages from Germany to furnish Huis Doorn, including his uniforms, helmets, swords, orders, and decorations. He continued to wear military dress for the rest of his life.

After Wilhelm's death, the residence was maintained as an unofficial memorial. Following the German occupation in World War II, the Dutch government seized the house as enemy property. In 1959, the Dutch government took over the residence and converted it into a museum, opened to the public in 1960. Huis Doorn became a national heritage site (rijksmonument) in 1997. The interior has remained unchanged since Wilhelm's death. Approximately 30 to 40 uniforms remain at Huis Doorn, with some on loan to other museums, such as the 1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß uniform at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. Wilhelm's Grand Cross of the Iron Cross came from Doorn to Burg Hohenzollern on 2 October 1950.

The present uniform documents not only the highest military rank in the Imperial Reich, but also the personal history of a monarch who was born with a paralyzed and shortened left arm, ruled a world empire, and ultimately spent his final two decades in Dutch exile.