German Combat Equipment 1939-45 (Men at Arms Series, 234)

I'm impressed that Gordon Rottman managed to cram a comprehensive guide into 48 pages. Most of these pages are either illustrated by Ron Volstad or have photographs--many of the photos are from that period.

I learned a lot from this little book. I used to think that the three-cell Mauser rifle pouches held 45 rounds in 9 chargers--Rottman wrote that the M1909 cartridge pouch did, but had been replaced by the M1911. The latter held just 2 clips (Mauser magazine chargers) of 5 rounds each for a total of 30 rounds. A rifleman usually was issued a pair of pouches and carried 60 rounds. The G43-armed rifleman replaced one set of pouches with a two-pocket magazine carrier--with three 10-shot magazines and a M1911 cartridge pouch, the G43 rifleman had the same amount of ammunition as his Kar98k-armed brother. This makes a difference to war gamers, re-enactors, and museums.

What was carried in the bread bag? Was the mess kit/cook pot carried empty or full of food? When did the WWI spade get replaced by the folding entrenching tool? What equipment did a machine gunner carry? A platoon leader?

I have several 1:6th-scale German WWII squads that I'm outfitting for dioramas. "German Combat Equipments 1939-45" will help me get the little things correct without having to lug around a small library. Unfortunately, the people who make those 12-inch soldiers are a little skimpy on documentation packages. Rottman's book makes up for that lack.

While you won't be able to assemble a set of full gear using this as a reference, this is an unbelievably good primer on the basics of German field equipment. Covers all basic items of kit very well, and gives dates of introduction, common colour shades, and extent of issue (ie to whom the items were issued and for what purposes).

Illustrations and colour plates top notch - clear and well laid out, rich with detail. Photos very good also, many unpublished ones, and of a uniformly high quality. Equipment and artifact photos a little poorly done, obviously taken outside in bright sunlight, making for harsh shadows and poor detail.

Overall, possibly the best basic guide out there, certainly for the money. Next step up would be Lee's SOLDAT series, which is more of an investment and lacks the clarity of Volstad's colour plates, but goes into more detail from a collector's point of view regarding variants and how to tell fakes from real items.

This is an excellent beginner volume that covers all the basics, and in great detail. Perfect for modellers, re-enactors, or those weirdo adults who play with 12 inch dolls. Clear diagrams and pictures, and informed text captions. There is greater detail in the SOLDAT series by Cyrus Lee, and of course this doesn't compare to the now out of print work by Jack Angolia. But most people won't need all that. All the bases are covered with this one - very useful, and at a great price.

I am a collector of GI Joe's and other 12" Military figures and I have to say that this book is a great reference. The color drawings give the position of where most German soldiers put their gear on their harness'. I recommend it to all.

When there are multi volume sets on this same subject, covering only one or two years at a time, how can this be useful? The French magazine Militaria runs multiple page articles on individual items of equipment. And I am sure there are others. But I am sure the illustrations are well done. Volstad does excellent work.