Deutsche Soldaten Book Review
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | December 2008 | Title | Deutsche Soldaten |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Agustin Sainz | Publisher | Casemate Publishing |
| Published | 2008 | ISBN | 978-1-932033-96-0 |
| Format | 356 pages, hardbound | MSRP (USD) | $55.00 |
Review
Here is an interesting title that has just been released by Casemate Publishing. This is entitled 'Deutsche Soldaten' (German Soldiers), but isn't what you might think. This title looks at the uniforms, decorations, field gear, weapons, and more, that the average German soldier would take into the field. This is an interesting forensic look at the late 1930s/early 1940s through a modern look at the 'kit' of the average soldier.
This title doesn't look at the men nor the exploits of the German Army during World War II. There are plenty of 'war stories' published on that topic. This title looks at the way these men lived by looking at their gear. If you remember an earlier title we looked at entitled 'Helmets of the ETO' where that author looked at different examples of the average US steel helmet and the stories each one told, this title takes a similar path, but well beyond just helmets.
In this title, the author provides thousands of full-color images of artifacts that made up the average soldier's gear. Coverage of this title includes:
- Helmets
- Uniforms
- Belts and Buckles
- Gas Masks
- Field Equipment
- Observation, Orientation and Communication
- Weapons
- Complements
- Documents
- Decorations
- Health and Hygiene
- Food
- Propaganda
- Music
- Tobacco
- Leave and Leisure Time
You could consider this a collector's guide to German Army artifacts, and to a certain extent, it would indeed serve well in that capacity. For the historian, however, this is an interesting look at the way soldiers went into the field, how they lived, and how they were rewarded for their accomplishments in battle.
While this title is oriented to the collector, this is an invaluable reference for the modeler as well. For the first time, you'll have at your fingertips full-color looks at the uniforms and gear that these soldiers wore and carried, the variations in appearance, and their markings. If you consider the numerous German soldier figures produced by DML and others, here is just what you'll need to make the appearance of these figures look authentic.
My sincere thanks to Casemate Publishing for this review sample!