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Winter Uniforms of the German Army and Luftwaffe in World War II
Author: Vincent Slegers
Publisher: Schiffer Books
When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22nd, 1941, Both Hitler and the German General Staff envisioned a quick summer campaign. They made the fatal mistake of underestimating the Red Army which in large part was due to Stalin’s purges of the 1930’s where he shot most of his front line officers, generals and marshals. The purge of the army removed three of five Marshals, 13 of 15 Army commanders (equivalent to four- and five-star generals), eight of nine Admirals, 50 of 57 Army Corps commanders, 154 out of 186 Division commanders, and scores of lower ranking officers.
Hitler is reported to have said to his generals, "We have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down. And, as Germany made deep inroads into Russia, killing, wounding and capturing millions of Red Army troops, both the Germans and most of the world believed that Russia would collapse quickly.
Hitler was so confident of a quick victory, he did not prepare for winter warfare in the Soviet Union. However, his army suffered more than 700,000 casualties in the first five months of the invasion and unbeknownst to the German’s, they were about to face one of the worst winters in Russia’s history since Napoleons ill-fated invasion in 1812. (Goes to show that dictators are not infallible no matter what century they’re in)
It became obvious to the Germans that they were badly prepared for the harsh winter conditions they were about to face and that they lacked proper thermal and camouflage garments. Even the greatcoat, which had been standard issue to the German Army for over a hundred years, had not been issued in adequate amounts. Soon however, the German military began the development of special winter garments and accessories, i.e. gloves, fur lined hats, boots, etc. which were then issued to the troops in the field. Many of these designs and materials would have a considerable influence on the development of post-war uniforms and clothing.
This latest book from Schiffer Publishing covers the development of all the various types of uniforms and equipment by the German Army through to the end of the war. The book is divided up into twelve chapters with each chapter devoted to a specific type of garment; headdress, long coats, snow camouflage and ski suits, footwear, gloves, scarf’s, etc. One of the chapters I found most interesting was the one dealing with the makeshift winter garments developed in the field by the troops themselves as they awaited true winter uniforms from Germany. For camouflage, the soldiers used everything from white bedsheets, drapes, tablecloths, etc. to cover their uniforms. During thaws, smears of mud would be applied to these makeshift items. Additionally, newspaper was stuffed inside the uniforms as insulation and even white paper and chalk were used to cover the steel helmets during that first winter.
As with all Schiffer books, the true asset of this book is in the photos used to illustrate it. The majority are casual shots of the troops and officers in the field wearing all of the various types of uniforms provided to them by the army. Interspersed throughout are full color photos of the multitude of garments and equipment developed by Germany for winter warfare in Russia. Also included are up close color photos of the various camouflage material utilized in the manufacture of the uniforms along with the buttons used. The color photos will be particularly useful to figure painters for matching up uniform colors and camouflage patterns and the black and white photos will give modelers all sorts of ideas for both single figures and vignettes. If you are one of the multitude of modelers who are interested in this aspect of warfare on the Eastern Front, then this book is a must have.
Author: Vincent Slegers
Publisher: Schiffer Books
When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22nd, 1941, Both Hitler and the German General Staff envisioned a quick summer campaign. They made the fatal mistake of underestimating the Red Army which in large part was due to Stalin’s purges of the 1930’s where he shot most of his front line officers, generals and marshals. The purge of the army removed three of five Marshals, 13 of 15 Army commanders (equivalent to four- and five-star generals), eight of nine Admirals, 50 of 57 Army Corps commanders, 154 out of 186 Division commanders, and scores of lower ranking officers.
Hitler is reported to have said to his generals, "We have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down. And, as Germany made deep inroads into Russia, killing, wounding and capturing millions of Red Army troops, both the Germans and most of the world believed that Russia would collapse quickly.
Hitler was so confident of a quick victory, he did not prepare for winter warfare in the Soviet Union. However, his army suffered more than 700,000 casualties in the first five months of the invasion and unbeknownst to the German’s, they were about to face one of the worst winters in Russia’s history since Napoleons ill-fated invasion in 1812. (Goes to show that dictators are not infallible no matter what century they’re in)
It became obvious to the Germans that they were badly prepared for the harsh winter conditions they were about to face and that they lacked proper thermal and camouflage garments. Even the greatcoat, which had been standard issue to the German Army for over a hundred years, had not been issued in adequate amounts. Soon however, the German military began the development of special winter garments and accessories, i.e. gloves, fur lined hats, boots, etc. which were then issued to the troops in the field. Many of these designs and materials would have a considerable influence on the development of post-war uniforms and clothing.
This latest book from Schiffer Publishing covers the development of all the various types of uniforms and equipment by the German Army through to the end of the war. The book is divided up into twelve chapters with each chapter devoted to a specific type of garment; headdress, long coats, snow camouflage and ski suits, footwear, gloves, scarf’s, etc. One of the chapters I found most interesting was the one dealing with the makeshift winter garments developed in the field by the troops themselves as they awaited true winter uniforms from Germany. For camouflage, the soldiers used everything from white bedsheets, drapes, tablecloths, etc. to cover their uniforms. During thaws, smears of mud would be applied to these makeshift items. Additionally, newspaper was stuffed inside the uniforms as insulation and even white paper and chalk were used to cover the steel helmets during that first winter.
As with all Schiffer books, the true asset of this book is in the photos used to illustrate it. The majority are casual shots of the troops and officers in the field wearing all of the various types of uniforms provided to them by the army. Interspersed throughout are full color photos of the multitude of garments and equipment developed by Germany for winter warfare in Russia. Also included are up close color photos of the various camouflage material utilized in the manufacture of the uniforms along with the buttons used. The color photos will be particularly useful to figure painters for matching up uniform colors and camouflage patterns and the black and white photos will give modelers all sorts of ideas for both single figures and vignettes. If you are one of the multitude of modelers who are interested in this aspect of warfare on the Eastern Front, then this book is a must have.
