German Uniforms of World War 2
German uniforms of the last World War are, even today, instantly recognised by the youngest schoolboy. Films invented, and television sustains, the popular myth that all German officers and men were at all times impeccably dressed in coal-scuttle helmets, or high-fronted peaked cap, and gleaming jackboots. People have come to believe that this is how they actually looked By describing the development (or deterioration) of German uniform during the six years of conflict, and by the use of contemporary photographs, and specially executed artwork, the author has set out to show what was really worn. Most armies enter a war in a national uniform, which reflects in many details their nation’s history. But the physical and climatic conditions in which opposing armies fight are the same on both sides of the front line. Uniform, after all, is basically a form of protective clothing, and if a war lasts for any length of time the protagonists begin gradually to resemble one another. This happened in the Soviet Union, where the Germans had to wear strips of cloth on their winter clothing to identify themselves from the enemy. The illustrations are divided between contemporary photographs, modern photographs of items of uniform and insignia in public and private collections, and eight pages of coloured artwork. These show rank badges, arm-of-service colours, personal equipment, and four plates of military and para military uniforms in a schematic form much favoured by contemporary German military artists.
Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Development of Prusso-German uniform
- Development of German uniform
- The National Socialist State
- Invasion of Poland
- Invasion of Norway and Denmark
- Invasion of Low Countries and France
- Battle of Britain
- German arrival in north Africa
- Invasion of Yugoslavia Greece and Crete
- Invasion of the Soviet Union
- First Russian winter
- Russian campaign and German occupation
- Campaigns in Libya and Tunisia
- Second Russian winter
- Foreign volunteers in the German armed forces
- German navy
- Auxiliary transport units
- Russian campaign
- Partisan warfare on the eastern front and in the Balkans
- Italian campaign
- German home front
- War in eastern Europe
- Air defence of the Reich
- D-Day and the war in western Europe
- Defence of the Reich
- Colour plates
- Bibliography
