"Flicking through a Sunday magazine a few years ago I was struck by a colour photograph of heavily armed German soldiers on the eastern front in Russia burning a village to the ground. With the heavy helmets, camouflaged combat jackets, submachine guns thrown over shoulders, the image seemed standard fare. It was only when I looked at the caption that my illusions dissolved. It was a picture of US troops in Vietnam punishing Vietcong guerrillas."To which Tim Newman asks "What kind of professor of modern history would mistake GIs in Vietnam for Germans in Russia, and only realise his mistake with the help of a caption?" and I confess I had asked myself the same question. "It was an easy mistake to make." says professor Overy, which prompted Tim: "If one is a fuckwit, yes."
Funny, but perhaps a tad cruel. Now, let us assume the Professor has simply not seen many photographs of the Wehrmacht in Russia or the Americans in Vietnam (which, if he has studied so little primary evidence, may prompt us to ask "why did he write a newspaper column on the subject?" - but that is a question for another day). So, for the benefit of the professor and general public, I have prepared below a short tutorial on telling apart the soldiers of these two countries in these two eras. All the photographs below are of American soldiers in Vietnam, or German soldiers on the Eastern front during the second world war - with the exception of the German artillery crew (who are from the the second world war but I don't know where the picture was taken). They are presented in pairs to allow easy comparison.
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At left are German soldiers in Russia during WW2. At right are American soldiers in Vietnam. Note how the German helmet is square-topped with a flared base. The American helmet, by contrast, is very rounded. Note also the different weapons. The German WW2 rifle is long and the pistol-grip forms part of the rifle-butt. By contrast, the more modern American rifle is much shorter and the pistol-grip is separate. |
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On the subject of footwear This style of boot (right) is quite distinctive. Note how they resemble wellington boots with their height and lack of laces. They are called "jackboots", and were worn by the German army throughout WW2. The American army has always favoured the traditional lace-up style of boot. The sole of the Wehrmacht jackboot was hobnailed. This posed a problem in winter, as they could get cold very quickly. |
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How about this pair of photographs? Note how the helmets at left have very flared bottoms, and the soldiers' boots appear to be tight-fitting welly boots. That's correct, they're Germans! The helmet of the soldier at right gives him away as American. Bonus marks if you spotted either that the sole of the boot visible at right is not hobnailed, and is therefore not a Wehrmacht jackboot, or the long rifles slung over the backs of the German soldiers. |
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Americans (left), German (right). Given away by the shape of the helmet. |
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What about these 2 artillery crews? Americans on the left (rounded helmets), and German on the right (helmets and jackboots). |
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At left, a German soldier in Russia has a nice mug of something warm during WW2. The helmet is a clear giveaway, but an additional hint is that metal can on a stick that's tucked into his belt at the front. That's the hand grenade the Germans used during WW2, and is quite distinctive.
Meanwhile, American infantry in Vietnam are shown on the right. The helmets are of the American style, and the jungle foliage rather gives it away as well. |
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The group on the left, with their round-topped helmets, are American soldiers. The group on the right are German soldiers on the Eastern front during WW2, with a pair of locals. Note the footwear, helmets and the big rifle slung over the shoulder of the leftmost soldier in the photograph. Also, absence of palm trees and the central European style of dress worn by the villagers. |
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