WW1 German field grey.

[housecarl]

Was there any green in the rank & file uniform, of the German Army in WW1?
Some sites state that machine gun troops and other specialists, wore what is essentially WW2 field grey. So would a mix of black and white suffice?
Carl.

 

[Jason W.]

I don't know my WW One German color schemes but to me NO batch/run of material ever comes out the same color as the last. It's a either a shade darker or lighter, different hues, etc. Also field conditions plays a huge part. Don't sweat it and enjoy painting! I wouldn't be afraid to add a tinge of green to the mix

 

[housecarl]

Thanks Jason, I was thinking that. With the material shortages I suppose anything went with in reason. I may go for field grey with a touch of white to fade it a touch.
Thanks again,
Carl.

 

[jcichon]

Well it can depend on the year your painting. Earlier in the war the uniforms had more blue grey but as the year went on the more standard feld Grau came in so I think u would be safe going with a green tinge. I don't remember who said it but if your figure has a pickle haube then you go with a darker blue grey. If they have on the M16 helmet u can go feld Grau. But I could be totally wrong!!

 

[Chris Oldfield]

Carl,
I remember reading on Jon Smith's site that some late WW1 uniforms were made from ersatz material which included a high count of nettle fibres(!) due to naval blockade, & these were field grey with a distinct brownish tinge as also seen on WW2 M44 pattern uniforms (which were made from recycled field grey wool with a high wood pulp content).
Maybe try Field Grey with a bit of English Uniform added?
Chris.

 

[Ulrich]

Carl

following depends on the book "Die Deutsche Armee im Ersten Weltkrieg. Uniformierung und Ausrüstung 1914 bis 1918" from Jürgen Krauss

He wrote, that the machine gun troops wear until 1915/16 the Field-uniform of the "Jäger" (greygreen) with a special red piping at the cap and the uniform. The Bavarian machine gun troops wear at that time the fieldgrey uniform from the Bavarian "Jäger". After 1915/16 they all get the normal "Infantry-Uniform" and from February 1916 they wear a special sign at the left arm.

If you want I can scan some pics and show it here

Ulrich

 

[Ulrich]

Ok here three Photos. The frist showing a cap in the colour "greygreen" of the "Jäger". The second the sign wearing on the left upper arm and the third shoulder straps but wearing only from bavarian machine gun troops after 1915

Ulrich

 

[housecarl]

Thanks Ulrich.
Carl.

 

[Dan Morton]

Many shades of feldgrau

I'm assuming that you are not portraying Jaegers or Mountain troops - they at least were initially outfitted with greener feldgrau and their uniforms included green collar patches, etc.

So to stay with infantry and MG troops only, here's a collection of different uniforms from 1914 to 1918. Left top 1914 to left bottom 1918.

As already mentioned, dye lots varied a great deal and the increasing use of ersatz materials from 1915 on resulted in tremendous color variation in new uniforms, to say nothing of the effects of UV radiation (sun) and rain bleaching out colors.

There's a lot of room for color interpretation for you painters....

All the best,
Dan

 

[housecarl]

Thanks Dan, great help.
Carl.

 

[Ulrich]

Dan

I have some problems with one of the soldier-breeches. On the picture with the two soldier working at an MG the right soldiers is wearing a trousors with a red piping. I only know that kind for the time before war or just 1914/15, not for the time after 1916. It seems that he is wearing a mixture from different uniforms styles.

And what is curios too is that none of tghem is wearing the MG-Sign on the arm

Ulrich

 

[Dan Morton]

Ulrich - You are ever observant, my friend! Those are re-enactors I'm sure. The photo appeared in a French magazine. It wouldn't be that unusual for soldiers to be wearing a mix of uniforms, but, I agree, they'd usually wear out the trousers first and they'd usually be wearing the MG crew insignia.

All the best,
Dan

 

[housecarl]

Found a site for all your German WW1 needs: http://www.kaisersbunker.com/
Carl.

 

[theBaron]

Found a site for all your German WW1 needs: http://www.kaisersbunker.com/
Carl.

Thanks for that link, Carl! I'm looking at that fellow's project to build a 1/100 model of the SMS Pommern, very interesting to see.

Prost!
Brad

 

[dave mosher]

Dan and Ulrich:
The equipment and uniforms shown in the French magazine are all original and are not mixed and matched. For enlisted trousers, both the M1907 feldgrau and M1914 steingrau trousers (not breeches) had red piping down the seams (except for jager, jager zu pferde and mountain/ski troops which had medium green piping). When the war started, the MG Abteilungen wore specific uniforms including the jager graugrun color with red piping and a specific tschako. As the need for more MG units expanded, by late 1915 these uniforms were discarded and they adopted the infantry or cavalry units they were part of. The MG marksman badge you refer to above was a proficiency distinction issued to both enlisted and officers after July 1917 by those who qualified, so not all MG crews wore them. I modified and painted this Verlinden 120mm MG figure a while back. Notice that he is wearing the breeches w/o piping vs the trousers. The collar litzen (and crown cyphers on the shoulder straps) indicates that he is with 1. Badisches LGR 109. I also added the MG marksman badge.

Regards

Dave

 

[Dan Morton]

Thanks for the info, Dave! A super-looking figure!

All the best,
Dan

 

[housecarl]

Thanks Dave, going by your super figure. My colour scheme is a bit out, I will have to put it down to fading due to wear and tear. As you know, there was some variation due to different fabrics/dyes, but I feel mine is to pale. I don't really want to start stripping now.
Cheers to everyone,
Carl.

 

[Diegoff]

I usually fade this color with some flesh paint. For me it works better than adding white.
What a great subject, WWI! I´ve just read "Infantry in attak" by Rommel and got some inspiration...

Cheers