Officers of the German Army (Heer) usually wore a large, hand-embroidered style of collar tabs (Litzen) that they purchased from tailors and uniform shops. However, many did opt to wear the standard issue machine woven type (used by enlisted men) on their combat uniforms to reduce their visibility to the enemy. As with shoulderboards, the officer pattern Litzen displayed the wearer's branch of service color (Waffenfarbe).