Jon Smith Modellbau - Saxon Divisional Stormtrooper

The figure depicts a Stormtrooper taken from a group photo of 8 soldiers standing around an NCO/officer. The men are all armed with trench knifes and P08 Luger pistols (apart from one soldier who carries the Mauser C96). The left hand thumb of this soldier appears to be cleanly bandaged indicating an after combat photo.

The first Sturmtrupp units appeared in mid 1915, arising from a re-think of tactics stemming out of the disastrous casualties caused by attacking enemy positions in extended lines during the first months of the war. Trained to fight in small flexible non-linear groups at company, platoon and section level, using natural ground cover, instead of the traditional long skirmish lines. The tactics / fighting methods were constantly being reviewed and these units would engage the enemy with a variety of different weapons (grenades, flame throwers, semi-automatic pistols, captured Lewis machine guns, light trench mortars and man hauled infantry field guns).

The German Soldier of 1917 and 1918: The German soldier in 1917/18 had changed somewhat from his comrades of 1914. Firstly, he would have been much younger - on average about 18/19 years of age after finishing training - NCOs a year or two older. The style of his uniform differed not only in quality but function as well, with many items of clothing and equipment produced in Ersatz material. Infantry companies within the front line area numbered on averaged 75 - 80 soldiers, some as low as 50 (full company strength would be around 135 men), with the bulk of its fighting capacity and experience held by only 15 - 20 old sweats. As the war progressed more emphasis was put onto automatic weapons and as many as 4 MG 08/15s per infantry company were to be found. 

Head 1: This is the head from the photo and appears to be of a soldier of around 19 or 20 years. The helmet is tilted slightly to one side and pushed back towards the rear (no doubt for the photo).

Note: Between the chin straps and face there are thin in-fills to allow for a better casting function - these can be removed with a thin, sharp blade, or alternately painted in a dark shadow. On my painted example I removed the in-fills using a light-handled modelling knife with a new blade - it is not an easy exercise but will give the characteristic appearance of the M16 helmet with the wide-spaced chin strap fasteners on outer rim. 

Head 2: This second head with this figure has more of the tradition look of an older soldier, with the typical fashionable half beard of the time. He wears the Feldmütze M1910. Made out of a field grey material. The band and piping were in red of the infantry. The two metal Kokarden badges at the front were - top: Die Reichsfarben: black, white and red (from outwards to the centre) and - bottom: represents the state where the unit was raised - e.g. Prussia - Preussen: black, white and black. Bavaria - Bayern: white, light blue and white. Brunswick - Braunschweig: blue, yellow and blue. Hessen - Hessen: white, red and white etc. Some units covered the red band with a strip of darker material. From 1917 a new field cap was introduced with a dark green band for all arms, but both types were worn along side each other. The field cap was worn extensively throughout the war, both in the rear and front line areas. The troops would wear them in all different shapes and styles. In fact it was commented by the Officer Commanding the Sniper School in the British First Army area, how well the German field cap, with its floppy and uneven edges, blended in with its surroundings. The British caps were far larger and flatter on top, reflecting the light and hence attracting attention.

Field Service Dress: Feldbluse M1915. Was to replace the early M1907/10 and the simplified M1914 service dress tunics. All three were in fact worn along side each other throughout the war. Colour: made out of a dark grey material (Jäger andSchützen units wore sometimes a green- grey version), with generally a baggy appearance. The turn down collar was green and the infantry had the shoulder straps outlined in white, with the regimental number, or monogram in red. Some units removed the shoulder straps altogether, particularly towards the end of the war. The six front buttons were hidden behind a flap and quite often Stormtrupp troops had leather patches on the elbows.

On the upper left arm is the green brassard with white S, designating him as a member of a Saxon Divisional Assault Company. The brassard came about due to the fact that Saxon Assault Units were not officially given the elite Stormtrooper status and thus not recognised as such.

Note: Between the left arm and body there is a thin in-fill to allow for a better casting function - this can be removed with a thin, sharp blade.

Neck Cloth: The neck cloth can just be seen above the tunic collar. First issued in 1907 and was made out of a square piece of cotton material, rolled up several times like a scout's neckerchief. Colour: grey.

Service Dress Trousers: Uniformhose M1914. Were identical to the M1907/10, but made out of a stone- grey material, quite often produced without the red stripe - Litzen - running down each side of the trouser leg (these were in the later war years left out). Colour: stone- grey.

Belt: Koppel M1895. From 1915 onwards, belts were issued blackened. The buckle was painted grey.

Puttees: Wickelgamaschen. Made out of any material available. Designed to cover the cap between boot and trousers, also keeping the lower leg warm and dry.

Boots: Knöchelhohe Stiefel M1901. Nailed ankle boots with between 35 and 45 nails in the sole and a reinforced heel. Colour: brown.