M.1915 „Die Bluse“

As the war dragged on, it became apparent that the 1910 Waffenrock was a peacetime luxury that was just too complicated and expensive for wartime manufacture. In September 1915, a new uniform Rock called the „Bluse” was introduced. With the Bluse, the shiny brass buttons and conspicuous red piping of the earlier Rocks were eliminated. Its design was also simplifi ed to reduce manufacturing expense

The introduction of the Bluse (blouse), which was to be of a universal design for the entire army irrespective of branch of service. Made in a darker feldgrau color (which varied throughout the war from light gray to an almost black colour, depending on where it was made and what colour wool was available), the major change from the tunic that had evolved in early 1915 was the elimination of all piping (i.e., on the collar and front) and exposed front buttons.

The Bluse was closed by a fly front, which utilized horn buttons, saving the army eight more metal buttons per garment. Even this was not original; the Litewka—a pre-war optional informal tunic-had a fly front. The tunic retained the side and back (see below) hooks, and the lining details were unchanged. There were only four metal buttons used on the Bluse, two for the shoulderboards and one for each hip pocket flap. They were the smaller size, and of a new pattern which could be stamped of iron or steel better than the earlier pattern. They were slightly domed, rimless, and had a large pebble-design crown on them. The belt ramps were likewise in this pattern (though the larger size of a normal button), and the use of company number buttons on the shoulders was supposed to be eliminated. To brighten the otherwise drab appearance, the Bluse was to have a resedagrün collar (reseda, in its pure form, is a vibrant grey-green; in practice, collars were of various shades, ranging from pure grey to olive). Specialty insignia (e.g., standard bearer patches, shooting prizes, marksman lanyards, etc.) were no longer permitted on any style tunic.

Our Requirements

Shoulder boards on the Bluse shall be white piped with the numeral “23” ‘chain stitched’ in red wool yarn; as with the 1910, Kompagnie number buttons are optional.

Note: Click on thumbnails below to view larger views of items.
M.1915 "die Bluse" Front View	M.1915 "die Bluse" Rear View
M.1915 "die Bluse" fly detail	Original IR23 Achselklappen (Later model with white piping and red slider)
M.1915 "die Bluse" collar detail	M.1915 "die Bluse" Inner View
M.15 rimless Crown button Take notice of greenish-brown colour... It ain't "dove gray" or some other goober colour.	M.15 rimless Crown Rear button hook (called a "belt ramp" by collectors)