Field Grey Publication

[Fritz]

A very recommendable publication: DIE DEUTSCHE ARMEE IM ERSTEN WELTKRIEG by Jürgen Krauss, published by Verlag Militaria, Wien and is the official catalogue of the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingolstadt. Published around 2005, 0ver 639 pages, should be still available, cost 99 Euro. Also available in English, but haven't seen this yet, I don't know if the original German terminology has been included in the text. It is always better to have the original correct terminology when describing items, as there is no real English equivalent.

Higly recommended for collectors, Museums and as a general reference work. Most of the items depicted are from the Bavarian Army Museum, the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum in Wien and from the Militärmuseum Dresden, as well as private collections.

However, in the footwear section, the iconic "jackboot" is hardly covered and the only example shown, is of boots from the late 1920s or early 1930s. The nailing of the soles in this configuration is wrong for WW1, toe plates were not introduced till around late 1920s or early 1930s, as seen on WW2 examples, exact date of introduction I cannot say. Boots of the WW1 pattern with the typical side seams did also appear in WW2, but to a much lesser extent. Collectors be warned!

Last photo from another source shows a typical WW2 configuration of boot nails, heel irons and toe-plates.

 

 

Toe plates were not worn in WW1, these were typically Wehrmacht and probably appeared in the last years of the Reichswehr, late 20s - early 30s. There were no rubber soles -  Helden tragen keine Gummistiefel!

Boot soles stud configuration as in WW1, this example is however, from WW2

[leon21]

That's a great looking book Paul the photo's are superb.

[Fritz]

It has the dimensions of a middle ages bible, but really worth getting if you are interested in this subject.