Armament and equipment of the soldiers of the Wehrmacht. Wehrmacht Field Equipment Ways to Use German Tent Cloak

Waterproof cape refers to wearable camping tents intended for one person. The material for their execution, as a rule, is a waterproof fabric, which simultaneously serves as a raincoat and a tent. In case of special need, they can also be used as stretchers or drags to transport soldiers wounded in battle or sick.

From the history of the emergence of raincoats

It is known that in 1882, raincoats were an obligatory attribute of soldiers' camping equipment. Such a cloak looked like a light gray bundle, which the soldiers carried over their shoulders and tied with belts to the overcoat rolls. The set of tents included wooden pegs and racks, which were pushed between the tents and rolls.

It should be noted that for that time it was a revolutionary decision. For the first time, soldiers received protective equipment from bad weather, at a halt, as well as on a march. And that was important. Previously, the camp tents of soldiers were transported in second-rate carts, which, according to the regulations, followed the regiments at a distance equal to half a day's march, which usually amounted to as much as 20-30 versts. Now the soldiers had personal resting places that could be installed at any time of the day.

At first, the tents were simple panels with holes in the corners for ease of installation. However, the soldiers more often covered with tents from the rains on the marches. They learned to use tents as a raincoat. The authorities took a closer look at the soldier's behavior, and in 1910 the tents were modernized.

In Soviet times, since 1936, the command and enlisted personnel in the rifle units of the Red Army were provided with a set of raincoats, which included:

• Cloak-tent fabric with dimensions 180 × 180 cm;
• Collapsible rack, which includes two half-racks-rods 65 cm long;
• Two jokes;
• Lacing rope.

In the case of skillful use, the raincoat-tents became an excellent protection for commanders and Red Army men from inclement weather. Moreover, these attributes were used to disguise and carry the wounded. Also, with the help of raincoats stuffed with hay or straw, it was possible to overcome water obstacles.

From such raincoats, tents for personnel for half the compartment, and they were also equipped with tents, visors, covered tents, open trenches, entrances to dugouts. In addition, the cloths could serve as beddings and blankets. Since 1942, the defense industry began to produce fabrics with double-sided camouflage in order to improve the camouflage properties of the raincoat.

Cloak tent today

After 1910, the soldier's raincoat tents were no longer changed (apart from minor modifications) and survived until the beginning of the 21st century. It is clear that these days they are hopelessly outdated. In our time, these are no longer raincoats, and not tents.

So, in the case of putting on in the form of a cloak, it is immediately discovered that in front of the panel is almost enough to reach the knees. Drops dripping from the cloth soon make the knees wet. The angle selected from the back during movement makes it possible to drain water alternately into one or the other boot. If you bend it, then it will drag with a rustling, clinging to anything and get dirty. The material for the cloth itself is outdated - it is an ordinary thin tent fabric that does not have a serious water-repellent impregnation. Those who have served in the army know that in a couple of hours the raincoat will get wet and will not protect at all from the rain.

Despite the fact that the raincoat-tents are currently not able to fulfill the real tasks assigned to them, no one particularly objects to them and does not demand to update them with something appropriate that meets today's realities.

Today raincoat tents are used as:

• Litter while cleaning weapons in the field;
• Litter when firing from a machine gun;
• An impromptu tablecloth when eating in the field;
• For the transfer of bread and other food;
• Stretcher for carrying out swept dry leaves and other litter;
• Stretcher for carrying sick or wounded soldiers;
• Beds on bunks in camping tents;
• Doors in barracks or houses dilapidated from shelling;
• Material for closing windows in destroyed dwellings;
• In any other case, when a strong dense fabric is required.

For protection from rain today, the well-known combined arms protective kit (OZK) is more effective.

As often happens, since 1910, no one has been modernizing soldiers' raincoats, and such a problem is not even raised. And this despite the fact that even during the Second World War, the Wehrmacht had more comfortable, practical raincoat-tents made of waterproof tarpaulin. In addition, the German raincoat-tents had a double-sided camouflage color and could be used as a camouflage cover. There are also excellent examples of the American poncho-type raincoat.

Cloak Tents - Bundeswehr

The 1931 Zeltbahn Tent (Zeltbahn 31) was released as a replacement for the earlier square designs. They were originally known as the "Warei patterns". The tents were triangular panels of waterproof cotton gabardines, and were used as multi-purpose shelters, bedding to lie on the ground, and raincoats. There was a dark camouflage image on one side and a light one on the other. Collectors refer to these camouflage patterns as "tricolor (brown and two shades of green) comminuted camouflage."

Before the end of the war, most of the raincoats were inscribed with dark, double-sided images. A limited number of reed green or light bronze colors were produced for North Africa. However, continental models were widespread.

German tents were 203x250 cm in size, on the shorter side sides there were 12 buttons with loops. The underside had six button loops and six small rings. A tightening rope was threaded through them, and 6 more buttons were sewn just above the buttonholes.

Buttons and loops on the short sides of the tents were used to attach to additional tent sections and thus fold a general tent of any size. When the tent was used as a raincoat, buttons with loops at the base of the cloth were fastened around the legs. In the middle of the panel there was a slit for the head. It was overlapped with two strips of fabric.

As soon as the raincoat-tents were introduced, detachable triangular hoods were attached to them, which were soon abolished. With the help of large metal rings at the corners of the tent panels, it was possible to stretch the tents to be erected using ropes or stakes.

With the help of connected one or two tents, it was possible to form hut-type shelters from the rain. From four connected raincoats, a pyramidal tent could be obtained, in which four soldiers could fit. There were standard methods of erecting tents for 8-16 persons. For this, there was a whole set of tent accessories that was worn in a bag.

When we used tents as raincoats, we used three options for wearing them: foot, cavalry and scooter. The tents were used as bedding or pillows, and when they were stuffed with hay or twigs, they were used as a floating craft.

The main personal field equipment of German infantrymen and military personnel of other foot units consisted of an interconnected system of items, designed to complement each other during operation. Despite the fact that many soldiers wore some kind of special equipment, the basic equipment was the same for all.

At the beginning of the war, the equipment consisted of a leather waist belt, to which it was hung from the front right and left by a cartridge bag. Shop bags for small arms of other types, except for the rifle (submachine guns, assault rifles), were included in the set of these weapons. The harness belts (adopted for equipping with the new knapsack in 1939) were attached to the belt from the back and front at the level of the cartridge bags. Thus, an integral set was obtained, consisting of a waist belt, a harness and two cartridge bags. The dry bag was attached to the waist belt on the back right, while the flask was worn over the “crackers”. The sapper's shoulder blade was also located on the belt behind the back, but on the left, on top of the shoulder blade, a scabbard for a bayonet-knife was attached. The gas mask, placed inside a cylindrical tin box, was hung on a separate strap over the left shoulder and fixed on the strap above the cracker bag. Several ways of wearing a gas mask have been proposed, depending on the specific characteristics of the service. The gas protection cape was stored in a bag attached to the belt of the gas mask box at chest levels. If the soldier did not carry a knapsack, then he attached the bowler hat to the "cracker", next to the flask, or hung it on a belt. A cape-tent (which combined a cape, overalls, and a tent) was usually attached to the harness above the flask.

Such equipment allowed the soldier to operate on the battlefield for 24 hours, since it contained ammunition, auxiliary weapons (bayonet), rations, water, a kettle and various useful little things. In addition, the equipment included items that facilitate the survival of a soldier on the battlefield: a gas mask, a gas protective cape, a sapper shovel and a raincoat.

Additional items of equipment were carried by soldiers in a combat backpack introduced shortly before the war. A small bag for additional items was suspended from the machine of the backpack, attached to the harness. A raincoat tent with accessories was also hung from the machine, and a bowler hat crowned the entire structure on top. Heavier items were kept in a knapsack in which soldiers usually carried spare underwear, warm clothing, rations and personal hygiene items.

The satchel was fixed with shoulder straps to the waist belt. Before the war itself, a model of a knapsack appeared, attached directly to the harness. Such a soldier's equipment was called marching equipment. In addition, the soldiers were given small linen sacks where the change of linen was kept. In combat conditions, the soldiers handed over their satchels and linen bags to the train.

The equipment system was organized in such a way that the unit commander had a lot of room to maneuver - each soldier went on a mission carrying any special equipment. Already during the war, additional elements of equipment were introduced and different ways of wearing it were envisaged - statutory and non-statutory ones, facilitating the use of equipment in battle.

German infantry in battles near Kharkov, autumn 1941. In the center of the picture, with his back to us, is the 3rd machine gun crew of the infantry squad. His outfit consists of a rusks bag worn clearly at the back, a flask and a bowler hat fastened to the “rusks”, a raincoat-tent and a shovel with a bayonet on his left side. In addition to the standard equipment, the soldier also carries a cover with two spare barrels and a cartridge box for the MG-34 machine gun. The photograph shows that in combat conditions, the soldiers wore their equipment as it was more convenient for them, and not as required by the regulations.

The field equipment of the Wehrmacht soldiers was comfortable and contained all the items needed in battle. The photo shows an example of wearing equipment; the tent cloak and bowler hat are attached to the rig of the combat backpack.

Cloak-tent pattern 31 years old (Zeltbahn 31) was originally known as the type
"Warei" and replaced the previous pattern - a square raincoat tent pattern 11 years old gray. The new raincoat tent had a triangular shape, was made of
tightly woven gabardine, and thus was waterproof. There were three
ways to wear a raincoat tent as a raincoat: an option for the infantryman, rider and cyclist.

Initially, the cloak-tent of the 31-year-old model was painted in the color feldgrau (field gray), but by 1939, most military units used cloak-tents with "comminuted" camouflage. One side of the raincoat was covered with dark camouflage (dunklerer Buntfarbenaufdruck), on the other side with light camouflage (hellerer Buntfarbenaufdruck). Towards the end of the war, raincoats appeared with dark camouflage on both sides. In North Africa, the continental version of the raincoat was mainly used, there was also a special tropical version, which was painted greenish yellow or light beige on both sides, but it was produced in limited quantities.

Two sides of the raincoat-tent of the new design were 203 cm long, and the third side was 240 or 250 cm long. There were 12 buttons and loops along the short sides. Along the wide
the sides had six steel-edged holes through which a tension rope passed, and six buttons were sewn over the holes. Buttons and loops on the short sides served to connect several raincoats into one large tent, and the size of the tent depended on the number of combined panels.
When the raincoat was used as a cape, the holes and buttons in
the base of the panel made it possible to fasten a cloak around the legs of a serviceman. In the center of the panel there was a slot for the head, closed by two overlapping
valves. At first, a clip-on hood was issued with a raincoat, but soon
they stopped using it. In each corner of the panel there was a large hole,
edged with metal, using these holes, the tent was fixed with pegs or
passed a rope through them - depending on the type of installed
tents.

One or two raincoats could serve as a simple blanket,
four panels joined together made it possible to set up a pyramidal standard four-person tent. In addition, in a special illustrated
The 31 year old raincoat guide contained standard designs for eight- and sixteen-person tents. A standard set for setting up a tent (Zeltausrustung) included: a black two-meter rope (Zeltleine), a demountable wooden pole (Zeltstock) with metal tips (consisting of four connecting pieces, each piece is 37 cm long), and two pegs (Zeltpflocke). For wearing these items
a special bag (Zeltzubehortasche) was intended. The bag was sewn from
gabardine or "comminuted" camouflage tarpaulin, field gray (feldgrau), gray, olive green, greenish yellow (tropical version), brown or
beige colors. The top of the bag was closed with a flap, which was fastened with one or two buttons. Initially, the bag had two leather straps, with which the bag was attached to other items of equipment, and then the straps gave way to leather loops. Tent pegs could be of various shapes, and light metal alloys, steel, or impregnated wood were used to make them. In the upper part of each peg there was a hole through which, if necessary, a rope was threaded, making it easier to extract the peg from the ground.
The raincoat-tent could be worn by attaching it with the help of additional belts to the waist
belt, harness, to a knapsack or combat backpack in the form of a roll (with or without a blanket). Due to an acute shortage of materials, in 1944, raincoats were issued only to selected field units. In a limited number, other raincoats were used, including captured Italian camouflage patterns of 1929 and square Soviet dirty olive colors.

In addition to its main functions as a raincoat and tent cloth, the sample of 31 years old could be used in a number of other cases: as an individual camouflage
a cape for military personnel and military equipment; as a blanket or
pillows; as a floating craft for overcoming water obstacles (one or two folded raincoats, stuffed with branches or hay); as an improvised means for
carrying the wounded or items of ammunition in combat conditions; for carrying garbage during construction work; as the simplest field table.
In addition to the above-described cloak-tent of the 31-year-old model, the German army used a number of other army tents of various designs, including special staff and medical tents.

Wehrmacht camouflage colors

SS camouflage colors

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Traditionally, this element of the Russian military uniform arose in the 19th century - already in 1882 a raincoat-tent was included in the outfit as a mandatory attribute. But the unit of that time was not much like modern light pieces of tarpaulin: wooden stakes and racks were attached to it, which the soldier had to carry under his greatcoat along with a heavy and bulky tent rolled into a roller. And nevertheless, the military were ready for this - finally, in field conditions, their heads could not get wet in the rain. The idea of ​​preserving the uniform in a dry state so pleased the authorities that already in 1910 the tarpaulin triangle officially received the status of a "soldier's raincoat-tent" and was used during inspections.

From the first years, the raincoat-tent was produced in khaki colors, masking the location of the soldier at a halt. German soldiers of the Second World War era had two-sided coloring of the raincoat - under "our" dirt and under "native". It was possible to fasten four tents together and get one large, full-fledged one for several people. Here is just the only "but": from those very first years - that is, since 1910, no one bothered to change the design of the tent - this is how our brave guys wrap themselves in a short frail cape.

Modern raincoat tent and its alternatives

Today the raincoat tent has a canvas size of 180cm and cords for tightening the hood and the raincoat itself. It can be worn both behind the back and in the form of a cape, but the buttons have been replaced with the same wooden pegs. If the rationers had allocated at least another 20cm for the length of the side of the tent, perhaps the Russian soldiers would not have had to curl their legs while resting.

With the help of a raincoat, the military cleanses weapons, using it as a bedding, and for shooting, as well. Foliage is transferred on it during the cleaning of the territory, it is covered with bunks in camp shelters, etc. Thanks to its bright fame and versatility, the raincoat-tent has gained popularity among imitators of the military style - there are those who prefer to hide only with it on campaigns.

We will not argue how convenient it is, but for more conservative people, an ordinary two-person tent is better suited. They are now made in a huge variety, from super-light structures and materials - up to aluminum and fiberglass, they are rolled up in such a tube that you can put it in a backpack. As for the forms, there is where to roam: domed ones are popular, but elongated rectangular ones are also suitable for tall people.

How to make a tent with your own hands?

A section for those who are especially devoted to tourism. It is possible to make housing from six cameras from a road bike, ordinary polyethylene and tarpaulin. These inflatable tents are not mounted on heavy metal, but on heavy-duty rubber tubes.

Cutting 4 chambers about a decimeter from the nipple, we get tubes of 120 cm each, in order to lengthen them, we take another 60 cm from the remaining chambers. It is necessary to glue the chambers and seal the ends. Now we sheathe it with a tarpaulin, attaching to the ends on a loop with a diameter of up to 5 cm. the nipples are left outside to pump air into the chambers.

We cut a circle out of a piece of tarpaulin and sew it to the covers - this will be the bottom of the tent and at the same time fastening the racks. That's it, now we are preparing an awning made of polyethylene, glue it with "Moment" to the racks and additionally stitch it with nylon thread. Such a tent weighs no more than 2 kg, and the installation process will not take more than 10 minutes.

In the Second World War, many items of equipment were used that were developed in the late 19th - early 20th centuries: some were radically improved, others with minimal technological changes.

The Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic inherited the ammunition of the Kaiser's army. True, it was made of steel from better materials, improved, modernized, and adjusted to the standard. With the beginning of the second world war! the already outdated equipment was supplied to the militia and the rear, and with the transfer of hostilities to the territory of Germany - and the formation of the Volkssturm.

Ammunition was produced by state-owned enterprises in the system of the General Directorate for uniforms and equipment of the Wehrmacht, as well as various private companies. Outwardly, the products of the latter sometimes differed from the standard breech - for example, the best finish, the quality of the seams, and of course. of course, by marking. Some items were issued centrally, others, mostly for officers, were acquired privately. with monetary compensation of costs.

The field equipment was distinguished by rationality of design, strength at a relatively low weight, and ease of use. By the end of the war, the quality of the materials used deteriorated: various ersatz, low-grade raw materials were used. The leather was replaced with tarpaulin and plastic; tarpaulin in turn with linen, etc. At the end of 1944, an attempt was made to completely standardize the equipment in terms of materials and colors, to introduce a single one - the general army type. But six months later, the question disappeared - along with the fall of the Reich.

By the beginning of the campaign to the east, a significant part of the metal and parts - pots, shovels. gas mask cases - they began to paint not in dark gray, as before, but in olive green. Since 1943, the predominant color for all military equipment has become a dark yellow color - as a natural basis for applying darker camouflages, ocher painting was carried out directly at the manufacturer's plant.

Along with the marked colors, the ground forces also used the bluish gray, widely used in the Luftwaffe, to paint some parts.

Many items of equipment were covered with leather, both black and all shades of brown - up to natural. Black and dark brown tones were used in soldiers 'and special equipment, light brown in officers'. Leather of different colors in one piece was usually not used.

Canvas belts and braids are also typical for pre-war ammunition, but they became especially widespread since 1943. Sometimes the canvas was replaced by cotton fabric folded in several layers and stitched. Such products were painted in the color of fieldgrau, gray, green, brown, beige shades. Metal fittings: buckles, staples, washers, rings and half rings - had a natural metal tone or were covered with a field grill or another shade of gray. An attempt to introduce a single dark gray color for all types of troops was not entirely successful.

This leather-embossed stamp, along with information on the manufacturer, also indicated the place and year of issue. Manufacturer's stamp on the pot. Under the abbreviated name of the company, the last two digits (41) indicate the year of manufacture. The stamp of acceptance of the military department on the marching flask.
Infantry shooter. He carries two cartridge pouches for a 98k carbine.	Reserve captain with brown waist belt.	The company commander of an infantry regiment in field uniforms. He carried 2 bags with magazines for the MP machine. binoculars, wiauiuem and holster.
A 1940 infantry regiment shooter with typical weapons and equipment.	Various types of machines for a combat backpack, "trapezium" and bags for combat gear.	Feldwebel of the 91st Mountain Rangers Regiment, Hungary 1944
Usually, pouches for the MP-Z8 and MP-40 submachine guns were worn in pairs. Each pouch had 3 slots, and each was placed on both of them and 32 rounds of 9 mm caliber. The photographs show pouches made of brown canvas, a small pocket is visible from the side. There was a device for charging the store. On the back of the pouch you can see the knee straps for attaching to the waist belt.

Officer equipment

A wide waist belt with a frame two-toothed buckle and an adjustable shoulder harness was fitted with genuine leather of various shades of brown: light, orange, reddish. The order that followed in July 1943 to blacken items of equipment for camouflage was not always carried out: as already noted. the brown belt was revered as a symbol of officer dignity.

The 1934 model belt was worn not only by combat officers, but also by military officials of equal rank, doctors, veterinarians, bandmasters, senior fenrichs. The frame of the buckle was made of an aluminum alloy with a grained surface of matt silver or gray, the general's was covered with matte gilding. A two-piece shoulder strap with a movable buckle was equipped with two flat hooks-carabiners for fastening to the half-rings of the couplings.

A pistol holster was hung from the belt. and at the front and a field bag - a service tablet of the 1935 model, or one of its many commercial versions purchased by officers at their own expense, or - at the end of the war - a simplified press-shtoff made of artificial leather. If necessary, a bayonet in an officer's brown blade, a saber, and a dagger were hung on the belt.

From the end of September 1939, senior officers of the army in the field were banned from wearing a shoulder strap, and soon this ban extended to all officers of combat units. Instead, they were allowed to use in combat conditions: for lieutenants - a soldier's belt with a badge and shoulder straps with auxiliary straps; for captains and above - belts of a cavalry type, with narrow straight shoulders. (Later, in 1940, the corresponding standards changed somewhat, but on the Eastern Front, officers wore belts with a frame buckle, sometimes with a shoulder harness.) And in November 1939, officers of the active army were ordered to wear soldier's belts in combat conditions: a black belt - up to the regiment commander inclusive: supporting shoulder (both infantry and cavalry models) - regardless of rank. But the officers preferred their own, "native" - ​​brown equipment.

Cloak-tent mod. 1931 with camouflage. One side of the raincoat was covered with a dark "frag" camouflage, and the other side was light. This is clearly visible in the picture. Three short tension cables were secured with pegs.	Reich, 1935. Gunners wear straps for ammunition bags. After the introduction in 1941 of a harness with additional belts, later only officers had it.	In front of the camouflage tent, a medical soldier was stationed. Medical personnel often wore highly visible insignia (a red cross in a business circle) to carry out their tasks at zero milking. He usually had a metal box of first aid supplies. Helmets with red crosses were no longer used in the second half of the war.

Pistol holsters

The German army was filled with pistols like no other. The pistol was not only the personal weapon of each officer, but also an additional one for the machine gunner, squad leader, tanker, paratrooper. sapper, motorcyclist, military policeman, as well as soldiers and non-commissioned officers of many other specialties.

The officer's holsters were fitted with smooth leather, roughly the same color as the waist belt; for soldiers, non-commissioned officers and all SS - black. And at the end of the war, various ersatz were used for those, others and still others. The most widespread - according to pistols - were holsters for P-08 Luger, better known as Parabellum, Walther P-38 iodine of two types, and for pistols of caliber 7.65 - for "Long Browning" 1910/22. Walter PP and PPK. Mauser and some others. Many small pistol holsters were suitable for multiple systems.

Holsters iodine 9-mm "Parabellum" and Walter were similar - wedge-shaped. with a deep hinged lid of a complex rounded shape, with a pocket for a spare clip on the front edge of the case. The first, under the P-08, was fastened on an oblique strap with a buckle: the second, under the P-38. had a deeper cover and a vertical fastening strap, either locked with a button, or passed through a bracket in a slot in a metal plate on the valve (there were other options for its attachment). Inside the lid there was a nest with a lid for cleaning, and an exhaust strap was passed into the slot of the case. Two belt loops were sewn on the back for a waist belt. There was also a swing version of the Walter holster - with a side pocket for a spare magazine. The cover in the form of a flat valve with rounded corners was fastened with a strap on a stud button on a triangular valve that covered the trigger guard.

The 1922 Browning holster had springy straps riveted to the flat flap of the lid; a wide sleeve for a hip belt slid over them. A hinged strap was attached to the lid pin, attached to the body by a quadrangular ring; in the nose of the holster there was a small eyelet for the retaining cord. The clip pocket was located on the front edge, like on the P-08 holster.

Large holsters were worn, as a rule, on the left - it was more convenient to pull out a long pistol this way. Small ones - which were used for the most part by senior officers and generals, as well as rear ranks - could also be worn on the right. A wooden holster-attachment to the Mauser K-96 with leather fastening pockets and straps was worn on the shoulder using a suspension or behind a belt, like the likes of it - to Browning 07 and UP. to the long Luger.

The Wehrmacht used various types of pistols, including samples of captured weapons. Officers had to carry pistols and more often chose a 7.65 mm caliber, such as the Walter pistol (pictured # 1), which was worn in a brown leather holster. The holster for other pistols P 38 (No. 2) and P 08 (No. З), both 9 mm caliber, was made of black leather. All three holsters had a pocket for a spare clip.		The 1935 obranz tablet could be made from brown or black rut. It had two knee loops for attaching to the waist belt and the dolley was worn on the left according to the regulations. On the front, it had slots for pencils, a ruler, and an eraser. Inside the bag there were two compartments that held the cards in a protective case.

Tablets, bags, binoculars, flashlights

The officer's field tablet, or bag for maps, model 1935 was made of smooth or grained leather: brown in various shades for the army, black for the SS troops. It was also used by senior non-commissioned officers. During the war, the color changed to gray, and natural leather to artificial.

Inside the tablet there were partitions, transparent celluloid plates for cards. On the front of the case were leather pencil pockets - usually along the ruler pocket - and sockets for other tools. The options for their placement were different: along with the standard state-owned ones, commercial products were used.

The valve could close the tablet entirely, half, or only its upper third, fastening either with a leather tongue with a buckle, or with a bracket that passes through the slots in the plates riveted to the valve - the cover tongue was passed into it. Domestic field bags were closed in a similar way. They wore German tablets either hanging from the loops on a waist belt, or on an overstretched strap with an adjustment buckle.

Almost all binoculars were equipped with a neck strap with a fastened leather or plastic cap to protect the eyepieces and a leather loop attached to the frame of the case for attaching a jacket to the button. State-made binoculars were covered with black ersatz leather and painted in fieldgrau color or dark yellow; private firms used natural leather and black lacquer for these purposes. Cases were made of natural or artificial leather - black or brown, as well as of plastics such as Bakelite; on the sidewalls, half rings were attached for fastening a belt, on the back wall - leather loops for a belt. The lid fastener was elastic. with a peephole on the tongue and a pin on the body of the case; there were also spring ones, like on gas mask cases. The location of the binocular case was determined by the presence of other equipment.

There were many examples of service flashlights with colored signal or camouflage filters. The rectangular body, metal or plastic, was painted black, field grau. dark yellow, and whitened in winter. A leather loop was attached to the back of it for attaching clothes to a button or other similar devices.

The bag of the Hauptfeldwebel - the company foreman, in which he kept the forms of reports, lists of personnel, writing materials. - did not have fasteners and, according to tradition, was worn overboard a tunic or jacket.

Infantry equipment

The standard equipment of the infantryman was the base for many other types of troops. Its basis was a waist belt - mainly of thick smooth leather, black, less often brown, about 5 cm wide.A stamped aluminum or steel (and at the end of the war, bakelite) buckle with a grained or smooth surface, silver or painted in fieldgrau color, khaki, gray. A round medallion with an imperial eagle surrounded by the motto "God with us" was stamped in the center. The buckle was adjusted with the help of a tongue sewn to the belt with double holes, into which the teeth of the inner sleeve entered. The hook of the left end of the belt was hooked into the loop of the buckle.

The next important component of the equipment was the Y-shaped support straps - two overpowered and one on the back. Similar ones were used back in the First World War, and in 1939 new ones were introduced, with riveted side straps for a knapsack of the same year or a combat backrest. The tapered ends of the shoulders with sewn leather stops had a number of holes, which included the teeth of the adjusting buckles: the galvanized buckles ended in wide stamped hooks that clung to the semicircular or quadrangular rings of pouches or movable belt couplings. The length of the side straps with rings was adjusted with cufflinks and slots, as was the case for the back strap, which was hooked from the bottom to the middle of the belt, and for a tall soldier - to the ring of the movable sleeve. The backrest was connected to the shoulder straps with a large round ring with a lining leather washer. Behind on the shoulders. above the central ring, large half rings were sewn to fasten the upper hooks of the hiking or assault backpacks, as well as other ammunition.

Simplified tarpaulin equipment of a similar purpose was used in North Africa along with leather, and after the capitulation of the Africa army in May 1943, it began to be produced for continental troops, mainly in the western theater of operations. However, at the end of the war, canvas belts, ranging from greenish-yellow to dark brown, were found in abundance on the Eastern Front.

Oberfeldwebel of the 3rd Motorcycle Infantry Battalion (3rd Panzer Division). Various items of military equipment are visible on the wheelchair.	The soldiers of the reserve army in most cases carried only one cartridge bag.	Occasionally, army units also used camouflage paint like the Luftwaffe or the North S. In the picture, two officers are wearing camouflage jackets of the Luftwaffe field division.
The second number (on the right) with a carbine and a pistol. He has two boxes of ammunition (each with 300 rounds) for a machine gun and accessories for a light Type 36 grenade launcher behind him.	Hand grenades with a handle mod. 24 and packing boxes for carrying them.	Several ammunition boxes, a field telephone and a hand-held anti-tank cumulative magnetic mine.

Pouches for clips and magazines for small arms

Three-section pouches for clips for the Mauser rifle model 1884 98. used in the First World War. Standardized in 1933 as a general army. the pouch of the 1911 model differed from the similar one, the 1909 model... in a smaller capacity - six clips (30 rounds). In combat units, the shooters wore two pouches - to the left and to the right of the buckle; the troops of the second echelon made do with one, stationed depending on other equipment. The hook of the shoulder strap clung to the ring on the upper part of the rear wall of the pouch, the lids were fastened with straps for the pins on the bottoms of the pockets. there were belt loops at the back.

Soldier. armed with a pistol and a machine gun of the 1938-40 model. (usually one for a division of riflemen with rifles), kept magazines to him in paired triple pouches but on both sides of the belt buckle. They also carried magazines for submachine guns of other systems under the 9-mm cartridge. Each pocket for a 32-pagron magazine had a flap with a leather tongue fastened on a hairpin. The pouch was a khaki or beige tarpaulin; before the war there was also a leather pouch - with a pocket for a gear attachment sewn onto the left front pouch. On a canvas pocket with a flap on a button, it was sewn on the back side. 11 on the back wall of the pouch there were leather loops sewn at an angle for the waist belt, so the pouches were worn obliquely, with the lids forward. Leather straps with half rings were perpendicular from the sides for attaching to iudderl_vakzhtsiy belts.

Soldiers, armed with a self-loading rifle of the 1943 model, carried four spare magazines on a belt on the left in a two-piece pouch, usually canvas, with leather trimmed edges. On the right was the most often an ordinary three-section pouch made of black leather.

		Machine gunner (1st number). For self-defense, in addition to the MG-34 machine gun, he also had a pistol, which was located on the waist belt on the left. On the right side, he carried a bag with tools for the MG-34 machine gun.
The MG 34 machine gun was a wide range of weapons: it could be used as a light and as a heavy machine gun. Its theoretical rate of fire was 800-900 rounds per minute. Machine gunners wore a tool bag on their waist belt, which housed a cartridge case ejector (1) a sight for firing at planes (2), a cartridge case extractor (3), a fragment of a machine gun belt (4), an oil can (5), a mounting key (6), rags (7) and muzzle pad (8).
In the second half of the war, the MG 42 machine gun appeared, which was also used by both light and heavy machine guns. The new machine gun was lighter, stronger and cheaper to manufacture than the MG 34. Its theoretical rate of fire was 1300-1400 rounds per minute. It gained legendary fame and is still the best machine gun of its caliber. Its modified samples are still used in various armies.

Equipment worn on the belt

The blade for the bayonet of the 1884/98 rifle was made of leather, usually black, with a grained surface. On the tapering glass of the blade there was a slot for a hook holding the scabbard, and at the upper end, which forms a loop for a waist belt, there was a swivel with a button for attaching the hilt. A lanyard was tied over the glass (on the Eastern Front, it was almost never met).

A small infantry shovel - folding German with a pointed end, non-folding Austrian with a pentagonal blade, straight non-folding German, captured Polish, or some other of those used in the German army - was hung by one or two belt loops on the left thigh behind - in frame cover made of black or brown leather, black ersatz "press-shtoff" or tarpaulin tape. A bayonet in the blade was attached to the blade, the loop of which was located between the loops of the blade cover. The bayonet could be placed in front of the blade if its cover was with a single loop.

Small infantry shovel - folding German with a pointed end, non-folding Austrian with a pentagonal blade, straight non-folding German, captured Polish, or some other of those used in the German army. - was hung by one or two belt loops on the left thigh at the back - in a frame cover made of black or brown leather, from black ersatz "press-shtoff" or from a canvas braid. A bayonet in the blade was attached to the blade, the loop of which was located between the loops of the blade cover. The bayonet could be placed in front of the blade if its cover was with a single loop.

A characteristic feature of German equipment is a dry bag, or a bread bag. With some modifications, it has been used since the last century. A large flap with a semicircular bottom completely covered the bag from 1931, fastened to the internal straps with slits for buttons. Outside, it had two leather belt loops to keep the bag from swaying. In its upper corners, near the hinges, leather ears with half rings were sewn for a bowler hat, flask and other items. The bag, belt loops, strap with a hook between them were canvas or canvas, usually gray or feldgrau. At the end of the war, brown tones predominated. khaki, olive. Some bags were additionally equipped with a shoulder strap. A pocket with an external flap for gun accessories was sewn to the products of the latest releases. The bag was used to store bread or crackers (hence its name) - a part of a dry ration or NZ ("iron portion"). toiletries, shaving and cutlery, undershirt, gun accessories, cap (cap), etc. In fact, in the field, with a lightweight layout, it served as a small duffel bag, largely replacing the knapsack. It was always worn on the right from the back.

An aluminum flask of the 1931 model with a capacity of 800 ml, with a screw cap and an oval cup, was painted gray or black, subsequently olive green. A strap with a buckle, included in the brackets on the glass and around the flask but vertically in front and behind. It was threaded into leather loops on a cloth, the color of felzgrau or brown, a cover that was fastened on the side with three buttons, and its flat hook-carbine was fastened to the half rings of equipment or a biscuit bag. At the end of the war, steel flasks appeared - enameled or covered with red-brown phenolic rubber, which protected the contents only from frost - in this case, the flask had an additional strap around the circumference. The conical drinking cups could be steel or black Bakelite; they were also attracted by a strap held in brackets. Mountain troops and orderlies used one and a half liter flasks of a similar device. discontinued in 1943

The combined kettle of the 1931 model .. copied in many countries, including the USSR, was made of aluminum, and since 1943 - of steel. Until April 1941 pots with a capacity of 1.7 liters were painted gray, then they switched to olive green (however, the paint on the field was often peeled off). In the brackets of the folding handle of the bowl lid, a fastening strap was passed. In the presence of knapsacks of old samples, the bowler hat was worn outside, with later ones - inside them. With a lightweight layout, it either fastened to a cracker bag next to the flask, or cling to a back strap or a braided combat pack. NZ was kept inside the pot.

Introduced in April 1939, the black shoulder straps were intended to support the infantryman's ammunition. The backrest was connected to the shoulder straps with a knee on a leather lining. A knapsack model 1939 was attached to it. The photo shows different angles of infantryman's harness belts, including Y-shaped belts - two overpowered and one on the back.
	A dark green bowler hat consists of two parts - a lid and a body.
A hiking flask equipped with a black lacquered aluminum mug was produced until 1941. It was placed in a felt bag. The picture on the right clearly shows the attachment of the flask with a leather strap and a carabiner to the bread bag. The picture below shows a later edition jar with a small mug of black Bakelite and a canvas strap.	The gas mask for each soldier consisted of a gas mask in a cylindrical test case and a protective cape against liquid poisonous substances. To the soldiers. those wearing glasses were given special glasses that could be fixed inside a gas mask. 1. Gas mask, 1930 model. 2. Special glasses with a flat case, below is an ophthalmologist's prescription. 3-5. From left to right: Gas mask cases, model 1930 (Reichswehr model), model 1936 and 1938

Chemical and protective equipment

The cylindrical gas mask case-canister had a longitudinally corrugated surface and a lid on a hinge hinge and a spring latch. A shoulder strap made of braid tilted to two brackets at the lid, and a strap with a hook that clung to the belt or rings of equipment tilted to the bracket at the bottom.

In a case of the 1930 model, a gas mask of the same model was usually placed with a mask made of rubberized fabric, with a round filter screwed on the stigma and with tightening elastic straps made of rubber-fabric tape. The 1938 gas mask case had a shallower cover. and the mask is entirely rubber.

A box with a degassing agent and napkins was placed in the lid. The factory painting of the gas mask cases is the color of feldgrau, but on the Eastern Front they were often repainted. and in winter they were covered with whitewash or lime. Cases sample 1930 and 1938 were interchangeable.

According to the rules in the infantry, the gas mask was stirred with the lid forward over the biscuit bag, slightly below the waist belt, but also with the lid back - how. for example, machine gunners or those whose special equipment covered the gas mask. A shoulder strap and a hook strap kept the case in an almost horizontal position. Drivers and motorcyclists wore a gas mask on a shortened shoulder strap horizontally on the chest, with the cap to the right; cavalrymen - on the right thigh, passing the strap under the waist belt; in the mountain troops - horizontally, behind the backpack, with the lid to the right. In transport vehicles, the gas mask case was placed on the knee by releasing the strap. Well, in combat conditions, it was placed as it is more convenient for someone - both on the left side, and vertically, and on the shoulder strap, and strapped to the equipment.

An oilcloth bag for an anti-chemical ("anti-pressure") cape was fastened to the strap of the gas mask case or directly to its corrugated canister.

The 1931 triangular raincoat-tent was cut from gabardine impregnated with cotton with a three-color "comminuted" camouflage — dark on one side and light on the other (at the end of the war, the pattern was dark on both sides). The head slot in the center was overlapped by two flaps. The tent could be worn like a poncho, and with buttoned floors it showed a kind of raincoat. There were ways to wear it for walking, motorcycle riding and riding. The tent was used as a bedding or a pillow, and two - stuffed with hay and rolled into a steering wheel - served as a good floating craft. With the help of loops and buttons on the edges, the sections of the tents could be docked into large panels for group shelters. Eyelets on the corners and on the sides of the middle seam at the base made it possible to tighten the panel with ropes and stakes during installation. A rolled-up tent and a bag with accessories for it were carried, fastened either to the shoulder straps, or to the assault pack, or at the belt. They would attach it to the backpack - or put it inside it. At the end of the war, tents were supplied only to selected field units. Then the German army did not disdain the old square times of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the captured Soviet ones with a hood.

Special infantry equipment

A quadrangular black leather pouch for accessories to MG-34 and MG-42 machine guns had a flip-up cover with a strap. fastened with a button on the bottom, and on the back wall there is a fastener for belts: two loops - for a waistband and a four-necked or semicircular ring - for a hook for a shoulder strap. At the end of the war, pouches began to be made of black or light beige "press stock". An asbestos tack for removing the hot barrel was often placed under the outer strap of the pouch box.

Replaceable barrels were kept in hinged cases, 1 or 2 each, which were worn over the right shoulder with a strap and worn behind the back. The commander of the heavy machine gun crew placed the case with two optical sights in the same way. All machine gunners were armed with a "Parabellum" (less often - Walter P-38), worn in a black holster on the left side.

Hand grenades were kept in double canvas flat bags with flaps and a connecting strap worn around the neck: they were subsequently worn only by the canvas handle. M-24 grenades with a long wooden handle were also placed in them, for which, however, there were also special bags (5 pieces each) made of coarse burlap with a tie neck and two straps: one thrown over the neck, the other wrapped around the lower back. But much more often these hand grenades were thrust into the belt, behind the tops of the boots, over the side of the tunic. tied to an entrenching tool. A special vest for wearing them - with five deep pockets. stitched in front and back and fastened with straps - rarely used at the front.

From November 1939, officers of the active army had to wear a belt on their field uniforms. The waist belt was made of black leather with bunks of holes and ended with a buckle with two pins.	Hand grenades-lemons, sample 1939	Eastern Front 1941. A messenger on a motorcycle talks to the commander of a Panzer 1 Ausf tank. The motorcyclist has a gas mask in the front. This was the usual way of wearing it around the neck for motorcyclists.
Machine gunner (1st number) of the infantry regiment.	Trench tool. Short shoulder blade and carrying bag. The small photo below shows how you wear it.	Different angles of the folding shovel and the way it is carried. When assembled, the shovel bayonet is fixed with a special nut. The bayonet of this shovel can be fixed at right angles and used as a hoe.