Erwin Rommel Feldmarschall Interimstab

The "Intermstab," as the work-a-day service baton was called, derived in form and principle from the time of Kaiser Wilhelm the Second, before World War I. It rested on no particular tradition and was shaped along the lines of a riding crop, with a massive golden royal crown for a pommel. In the Third Reich, a service baton was granted for the first time on April 20, 1936, to Werner von Blomberg, who was also the first Field Marshall under Hitler. It was meant to be an emblem of rank for daily use in order to save wear and tear on the cumbersome, delicate, vulnerable, and very costly ceremonial baton.