Black-red-gold is the official flag of the Federal Republic of Germany. As an official symbol of the constitutional order, it is protected against defamation. According to §90 of the German penal code, the consequences are a fine or imprisonment up to five years. Origins Unit Insignia Timeline November 1939 - First armored unit insignia November 1940 - Standardized insignia for armored units July 1941 - Replacement army usage January 1942 - Camouflaged insignia June 1943 - New unit markings February 1944 - Open unit insignia Selection of Insignia Methodology Armored Divisions 1. Panzer-Division 2. Panzer-Division The Black Cross ( Schwarzes Kreuz) is the emblem used by the Prussian Army and Germany's army from 1871 to the present. It was designed on the occasion of the German Campaign of 1813, when Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia commissioned the Iron Cross as the first military decoration open to all ranks, including enlisted men. The Nazi Party was not the only party to use the swastika in Germany. After World War I, a number of far-right nationalist movements adopted the swastika. As a symbol, it became associated with the idea of a racially "pure" state. First Battle of the Marne In the First Battle of the Marne, fought from September 6-9, 1914, French and British forces confronted the invading German army, which had by then penetrated deep into When Germany was unified at the end of the 19th century, the national flag had stripes of black-white-red. After the defeat of the Second Reich in World War I, that flag was replaced by the black-red-yellow under the Weimar Republic. Tactical symbols. This is a very short synopsis of the German Tactical Symbols used on maps at the very start of the war in 1914. These morphed over time, however the general staff officers used these symbols for operations prior to and at the beginning of World War I. The first German imperial war flag was introduced by imperial law on 12 November 1848. The Regent signed it that day, although the National Assembly had already voted for it on 31 July. The law described the commercial and war flag of the emerging new German federal state. The war ensign ( Reichskriegsflagge) from 1867 to 1919 was a white field, a black cross offset to the hoist fimbriated white and black with in its middle a white disc with the Prussian eagle, and a black-white-red flag with a black Iron Cross in the canton. There was a minor change in the eagle in 1892 and in the cross in 1903. Norman Martin, 1998 German soldiers in pickelhaube spiked helmets advance across No Man's Land. "To Germany's enemies, the helmet quickly became associated with 'Hun' barbarity." THE GERMAN ARMY'S spiked helmet or pickelhaube (is arguably one of the most enduring symbols of the First World War. The polished black leather helmet with ornamental metal qOFV1q.