Deutsche Soldaten: Uniforms, Equipment and Personal Items of the German Soldier 1939-1945 Hardcover – October 29, 2008

I am not a WW 2 expert by any means; I am an artist by trade, so my review of this is to be measured from that parameter.I purchased this book to use for reference in creating art based on German WW 2 soldiers, and I have found it to be an invaluable resource. Everything from boots to weapons to clothes, personal items including pamphlets for good soldiering, cigarette packs, soaps, etc. is included. I don't have the expertise to declare the information contained within to be always correct, nor can I attest to the book's thoroughness in exhibiting the artifacts used by the soldiers of Germany during the war. However, as a man who uses this to create art on the subject, I can attest to the fact that the book contains far more information and pictorial reference than I could have hoped for. This is a massive volume and was evidently put together and published with great care; it's simply a beautiful book. The photography is crisp and clean, the layout is pleasing to the eye.Highly recommended, wonderful book.

I love this book and found it very informative. It is an overview in some ways in that detailed books about what is covered in some of the chapters exist yet I still find myself referring back to this book because it does give such a comprehensive overview. Very well written. Very detailed with excellent and detailed pictures covering uniforms, belts and buckles, gas mask, field equipment, communication, weapons, complements, documentation, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco, and leaisure time. An excellent addition to my small library.

If you want a really great book on German soldier equipment and uniforms from the second world war then this is it. Details with pictures are a great reference to collectors and anyone interested in history.

This book covers the more common items a WWII German soldier used. Some variations are included, but there are some items my collection that don't appear. This is probably due to the size of the book, perhaps a second volume could be added ? A very well done effort to cover personal gear used German soldiers, through detailed photographs of excellent / unissued condition items, with supporting text and detail. Author has done his homework on the subject matter. Would recommend this book as a excellent additional reference on German WWII personal / field gear.

This is a great source of information on what equipment and stuff German infantry soldiers carried that is an absolute must for anybody interested in this period. Well written and well shown with pictures. Very much like the work of Henri-Paul Enjames' books of equipment carried by American Soldiers of WWII in europe. A great addition to any Library.I must confess I wish the author had covered more than Germany's infantry but since most German soldiers were infantrymen I guess this is not that much worth complaining for. Though I am not surprised that he does not include the beeded models Germany issued to its Civil Defense and supporting organizations, or the Gladiator helmets for them as well I must say that the section on helmets is most disapointing since it starts only with the Model 1935 and does not have any of the Pre-model 1935 models German soldiers wore in the beginning of world war two, WWI models either inherited from the Reichwehr or taken into use from the occupations of: Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland.Perhaps like Enjames, the author could put together a second book of all that he has left out of this great work, starting with helmets and then go on to create chapters on German Army units other than Landsehrs.Overall this book is well worth getting.

This book is simply incredible. You will find , simple, straight to the point information on every single item carried by the german soldier in WW2. From toothpaste to socks, from fountain pens to condoms, from shoelaces to bullets, this is the most complete book I have ever seen. The author deserves a price just for putting all this stuff together in one volume and organized in a way is super easy to read and to find what your are interested in. Is beyond words, a truly excellent publication.

I've brought the book to compare pictures and discriptions on trading websites to those in the book. I've found it to be a very good general collectors guide covering all of the common items found on trading wedsites to a good standard.Pictures are very clear and discriptions are very informative. I would recommend this book. Author keep up the good work. Cheers Gerard

Certainly a first class reference book, the author lays out a logical step by step photo essay.PRT.

I love this book. It has so much detail packed into it and I learned so many new things. Seeing the pictures of items a soldier carried, the uniforms, guns, etc., was an amazing insight. All that was missing was to get the sounds and smells of what it was like. This is hands down my favourite reference book for the German soldier in my book collection.

spéciale comme livre de collection mais très bien illustré.

Mi sento molto soddisfatto da questa approfondita analisi dell'equipaggiamento del soldato della wehrmacht.Unica parte che poteva essere fatta meglio è quella sulle uniformi, dando maggior spazio alla sezione sulle mimetiche.Comunque un ottimo libro.

前半は一般的な資料本と大差が無い野戦服、装備の掲載です。紹介している物は一通り網羅しているとはいえバリエーションが豊富とは言い難いです。しかし全部カラー写真なので当時の色が分かるのは非常に良いですね。前半部に関しては初心者向けの内容と言った印象です。で、タイトルで書いた通り後半は見る価値が大です。当時のドイツ兵が使用した筆記具、手紙、カメラ、その他日常的に使うもの等々・・・「こんな物を使っていたのか！」と初見では驚くこと間違いなしです。ドイツ陸軍兵士を再現したいと思っている方は持っていて間違いなく損はしないでしょう。あとは他の方もおっしゃる通り、ドイツの「一般的な陸軍歩兵」の本なので海軍、空軍、SS、その他部隊の資料ではありません。後半部の日常的に使用するもの等々の部分海軍等でも使われた可能性が有りますが基本的には陸軍のみの資料です。ご注意を。個人的には値段以外は初心者向けで大変素晴らしい本だと思いました。

Let me begin by mentioning that I really like this book. It is a book about the uniforms, equipment and weapons of the German soldier in World War Two. You will not find any officer's equipment (the peaked officer cap is missing!) but only things that other ranks would have used. And then only soldiers you'd find in an Infantry Division, so no Panzermen here, nor mountain troops or paratroops. But they are shown in greater detail than I've seen elsewhere. And what's also very intereseting, the book shows how some items worked or were put together (e.g. the different belts and straps, or the Zeltbahn, or how to load the Kar98k).The index lists chapters on the following: helmets, uniforms, belts and buckles, gas masks, field equipment, obeservation orientation and communication, weapons, complements, documents, decorations, health and hygiene, food, propaganda, music, tobacco and leave and leasure time.I found that the chapters on gasmasks, field equipment, health and hygiene and food were especially interesting, with lots of details and information. The chapter on medals though was a bit short and I found a fair number of insignia I know about missing here.The format of the book is that it shows the items under discussion in lots of photo's, but uniforms are not worn by models. Rather they are spread out and shown without a background. Their use is underlined by war-time photo's. I found this an inspiring way of portraying the different items, as it allows you to see lots of details that would be missing if they were shown by models only.All in all it's a book I'm very happy with. The only problem is that I now have to hope the author will also come up with Deutsche Offiziere as a companian title to this one to find a similar wealth of information on officer's uniforms and equipment!