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The collar tabs and shoulder rank is that of a Heer Engineer Feldwebel.
the breast eagle is of prewar design (off white on field grey) it was instituted in 1934. Either whomever made this jacket had old supplies of the eagles, or he kept his older insignia in favour of the new ones (they were allowed to wear old items until they wore out, many men did this as they favoured the older insignia.. it was made better. looked better etc) the second option would make sense given the dark green shoulder boards and the older marksman plaque. The Tunic is late war as it does not have the dark green collar. THe collar tabs are also an earlier style as later styles did not have the waffenfarbe centre line... it was the same colour as the uniform.
Engineer is denoted by the black line down the center of the collar tabs, also the shoulder boards were piped with the colour of the wearers unit or branch, given the shoulderboards were dark green I am assuming there is black piping (waffenfarbe) which is difficult to see in the picture.. Black was for engineers.
The lanyard is for marksmanship.. the shield is an old style Wehrmachtadler (Armed Forces eagle) and the lack of an silver acorn at the other end denotes 1 award of this type (multiple awards had acorns) I am going to assume that he served in the army before ww2 in a combat role as the lanyards were introduced in 1936 and the plaque shown was replaced in 1939 with a different design similar to the plaque used for higher awards.
You should find out if he served in the spanish civil war as this would explain the older plaque used... but then he should also have a spanish cross on the right hand pocket.. given there appears to be holes there it might have been removed or lost? maybe he kept it? alot of collectors would probably pay a pretty penny for that tunic.. specially if you can locate an original spanish cross if he was issued one.
The two button ribbons..
the top one is an Iron Cross Second class awarded for a single act of bravery, it had a medal but was mostly worn as a ribbon only from the buttonhole
I cant make it out properly, but assuming that the button holding the lanyard in place is also the button for the 2nd hole of the tunic (where the ribbons are) it appears he also had an Honor role clasp (the thing on the iron cross ribbon) It was required to have the iron cross 1st class already, and it was given for acts of bravery not high enough for the German Cross in gold or the Knight's Cross.
the second ribbon is the "Ostmedaille" or East Medal. awarded for those who participated in the first winter of operaton barbarossa (invasion of USSR)
To get that medal he had to meet any of the following..
-14 days combat participation.
-60 days service in the area (with and without combat)
-wounds or frostbite severe enough for a wound badge.
on the pocket is an Iron Cross 1st class... for 3-5 acts of bravery above and beyond.. you had to have the 2nd class award to recieve the first.
also is what appears to be a wounds badge in silver.. Awarded for three or four wounds, it could also be awarded for more serious wounds if such wound included loss of hearing, a hand, a foot, an eye, brain damage, or facial disfigurement.
and a General Assault Badge (the left one) The General Assault badge was presented to engineers (who it was originally designed for), as well as members of the artillery, anti-tank, and anti-aircraft units that served along with the infantry in the conduct of an assault. Also eligible were medical personnel who treated battlefield wounded. In addition, the badge was presented for the single-handed destruction of eight tanks or armored vehicles until the institution (in March of 1942) of The Special Badge for Single Handed Destruction of a Tank. Specific criteria was as follows,
The recipient must not be eligible for the Infantry Assault Badge.
To have taken part in three infantry or armored assaults on three different days.
To have taken part in three infantry or armored indirect assaults on three different days.
To have been wounded while fulfilling the second or third requirement.
To have earned a decoration while fulfilling the second or third requirement
The patch on the left sleeve is Uffz., men Pioniere with Steuermann training, dictionary.com translates it to Uffz., men pioneers with attendant training... I dont know what it indicates though
The tunic itself is a cross between the 1942 (m42) and 1943 (m43) styles..
the 1942 style had the little holes on them (4 sets of 3... 2 sets to the front and 2 to the back) which were for hooking in canteens, ammo pouches etc) but the 1942 style had the pocket flaps cut to give them 3 points, 1 under the button and 1 at each edge.
the 1943 style had square pocket flaps as this one does.. but the holes had been eliminated.
pretty impressive set of awards for an engineer... from his awards he is a heroic gentleman..
attached are images of the honor role clasp, the plaque on the lanyard.. also the spanish cross he might have had on the right hand pocket.
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