ss soldiers back pack?

[iron]

hi i've always wonderd what the strange long brown thing is thats wraped around these ss soldiers back packs are, does any one know?

[Friedrich-Berthold]

There is a blanket and sometimes a shelter quarter on the Tornister.

[Sheikh Al Stranghi]

Correct, and it's for parade only. For field use the zeltbahn is not folded around the blanket/greatcoat, but carried under the flap.

[JPhilip]

Hello,
First of all, welcome to WRF and in this subforum Sheikh Al Stranghi...
While in the field, the Zeltbahn was not carried under the flap of the Tornister only. It was indeed carried rolled around the Tornister, with ou without blanket. For parade, walking soldiers like the average Infanterist had in most case, a false Blanket/Zeltbahn combo, molded in rolled position, just to be lighter and perfectly positioned/rolled when in position over the Tornister.
Thanks

[Sheikh Al Stranghi]

Hello,
While in the field,. It was indeed carried rolled around the Tornister, with ou without blanket.

Whats your source for that? According to "Der Rekrut"(1935) Page 39 bild 7, it says: :Zeltbahn aber nur zum paradeanzug" which means "zelt only for parade dress" under a photograph of a rolled blanket+zelt.

For parade, walking soldiers like the average Infanterist had in most case, a false Blanket/Zeltbahn combo, molded in rolled position, just to be lighter and perfectly positioned/rolled when in position over the Tornister.
Thanks

Thats according to regs, page 61/62/63 show the parade dress with the rolled zelt + blanket as a standard. Page 60 of the same book shows "packen des tornisters" (packing of the tornister) for standard use:
d) Zwischen tornisterflappe und tornisterkasten: zeltbahn - in kastengrosse viereckig gefaltet. Translation: d) between tornisterflap and body zeltbahn folded in a square the size of the pack body. Page 74 of Der Reibert: Dienstunterricht im Heere has exactly the same description.

Kind Regards,

Imme


P.S. thanks for welcoming me, I know Adrian Stevenson personally already and this world is small so I'm sure I know more of the people on here!

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Imme, welcome to the forum! Nice to see you here.

Cheers, Ade.

[JPhilip]

Wow....looks like you're a real stickler for the regulations...I like it...
I'm glad you know personaly Ade, i do not have this pleasure.
My sources are mostly official texts and notes dug out from german and french national archives. The HV, HM, Heeres Orders of all kind and of course period photos, which never lie.
Many things evolved from the 1935 "Der Rekrut"....
Especially the M39 Tornister appeared, with Y-straps and A-frame in the Infantry. It changed the rules.
There are plenty of prewar photos that show german soldiers simply marching during some manoeuvres with rolled Zeltbahn or blanket/Zeltbahn around their Tornister.
The Zeltbahn rolled over the Tornister, the Rucksack, the Gefechtgepäck, even the mountain backpack was the norm for marching troops...you can see hundreds of period photos showing this...The rolled Zeltbahn or blanket is an imperial practice....it's was (there were) even carried in combat anywhere the german soldier was fighting.
Books are good, but there's a difference between what an old man who last heard a gunfire 25 years ago can write as orders, and what a fighting soldier does in reality in the field.
Theory is necessary....in the field, it is almost never applied.

[Sheikh Al Stranghi]

Still, basic regulations were adhered to. Once out in the field, one adapts the army way to suit one's own needs better. What changed when the M39 tornister appeared? As far as I know it was just a practical change of material - the Y-straps were used as a belt support, so the tornister could just be hooked to it without change in the regulations. The A-frame is simply an addition to one's fighting load: it moves the mess tin and zeltbahn up, so they are easier to carry. When both M39 tornister and A-frame are carried on the march, you can hook the A-frame onto the tornister. So basically, you have the same 1935 regs with the fighting load and marching load, but with better equipment.... At least that's how I see it.

[JPhilip]

Hello Gentlemen & fellow Members,
I'm sorry as i didn't post for the past week. Still down since the loss of my friend & associate two months ago, i learned last week that my best female friend who works for the UN in Africa attempted to her life after a depression i was not aware of. So, i don't feel like posting right now for militaria stuff....I'll be back in a few days...and i'll post again, in this thread as well...thank you for reading gentlemen.
Jean-Philippe Borg

[Sheikh Al Stranghi]

Jean-Philippe Borg

Hope you will feel better soon!!!