Schutz, German Infantry, Northern Italy, 1945.jpg

The soldiers of the late war Wehrmacht looked very little like their compatriots from the blitzkrieg of 1939/40. The tunic was reduced to a hip jacket, which had little of the earlier ornamentation. Camouflage clothing was preferred with the large stocks of captured Italian material appearing on all fronts during the last two years of the war. The equipment was the same but made of inferior materials, and the rifle's machined parts had been reduced to a minimum to speed up production.

Headdress – M43 peaked cap of field grey material. It bears a printed national eagle and cockade as a single cloth badge fixed to the front of the crown.

Jacket – M44 pattern jacket made from field grey serge, or something akin to this. The shade of ‘field grey’ varied considerably towards the end of the war, when colour was not the greatest imperative. The jacket has an open collar with ‘Litzen’ badges attached to the lapel ends. The shoulder straps are field grey with white, infantry, piping around the edges. On the chest are two simple patch pockets with straight flaps. Above the right pocket is attached a printed national eagle badge. The cuffs are buttoned closed at the wrist. Down the front are four securing buttons.

Equipment – Over the jacket is carried a set of rifleman’s equipment, which consists of a leather waist belt, two three-pocket ammunition pouches. Over the shoulders are two supporting straps also leather, which meets to form a ‘Y’ on the back. Other equipment usually attached to the belt are the bayonet, water bottle, and haversack with mess tin. The metal fittings are a reduced quality metal having a blue-grey finish.

Legwear – Camouflage trousers are bloused over ankle boots. When the Germans took over Italy in 1943 a considerable amount of Italian army camouflage came their way. Subsequently soldiers stationed in, passing through or fighting in Italy had trousers, jackets, caps and helmet covers made from this material. A pair of shorts are displayed below.

Weapon – Late model 7.92mm 98k rifle, shown below, with bayonet.