Unteroffiziere mit Portepee

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Literally "Junior Officer with Swordknot", this is the designation for German senior non-commissioned officers in the German army. The name derives from earlier traditions in which senior enlisted men would carry a sword into battle.

Ranks in this category included

• Feldwebel/Wachtmeister
• Oberfeldwebel/Oberwachtmeister
• Stabsfeldwebel/Stabswachtmeister
• Oberstabsfeldwebel, this rank was introduced by the Bundeswehr

and equivalents of the Waffen SS.

German non-commissioned officers were and are identified by the use of metallic lace (called tress) on the collar of the uniform jacket, as well as the edges of the shoulder straps. Senior non-commissioned officers also used silver "stars" on the shoulder strap to differentiate between ranks; one star for a Feldwebel, two for an Oberfeldwebel, and three for a Stabsfeldwebel.