Reenacting @ 10,000 Feet

[Heeresbergführer]

Thanks for sharing these pics.
You might find this forum of interest
http://www.militaryhorse.org/forum/index.php

Thanks Story for the link...I've been on that forum on and off for years.

 

[Heeresbergführer]

I agree with everyone else. THIS is what reenacting is all about! Thanks for sharing them with us. Makes me want to box up all my LRDG desert kit and start collecting Gebirgsjaeger gear. As a matter of fact I just received a repro windjacke from one of the Chinese eBay vendors and am in the process of figuring out what I need to improve on it (please don't tell me to pitch it and start fresh!).

I am curious, though. Did your team get any grief from anybody about your using bergschuhen? I can easily imagine a member of the "tread lightly" crowd having a stroke upon seeing all the iron on the soles!

Cheers!

Servus Baggers,

Too bad my friend Ed Walton closed his company "Lost Battalions." He made some of the best Gebirgsjäger gear on the market. When I lived on the other side of Dallas from Allen in the early 90's, I helped Ed with loaning him some of my original Gebirgsjäger items like the Windjacke, Windbluse, etc. for him to make patterns from. Unfortunately, all the cheap stuff from China put him out of business.

I would be interested in hearing from you a review of your Chinese Windjacke...I've known of some to be pretty bad with cheap non-windproof material.

As you any grief about wearing Bergschuhe, I think we only ran into maybe 5 or 6 other people the whole trip...we were in an area where only serious mountaineers go...not the weekend hiking crowd. The folks we did run into were very interested in all of our old clothing and equipment. Here's some of the kit that I took on the trip:

Berg Heil und Horrido!

Patrick

 

[Baggers]

That's quite the display, Patrick! Did you use all original gear on the trek, or did you preserve the more delicate items and substitute a few repros? I'd too scared of damaging an original feldbluse or other artifact to use them in anything other than a static display or other safe environment.

I knew Lost Battalions well. I have one of their DAK uniforms and found it the best made uniform available, although I'm not as firm a believer as he regarding sleeve and bluse skirt length. I wound up buying a size larger bluse than normal in order to have that extra bit of material to cover a bit more of my wrist and butt. I recall wandering his shop a bit and marveling at the extent of his stock at the time (2007 or so). I always intended to pick up a windbluse or windjacke because they just looked so dang cool. Ah, well. Perhaps Rollin at ATF will step in and partially fill the gap. He's beginning to make his uniforms in-house again. I doubt he'll ever get to the more esoteric stuff, but we can hope, eh? So you were living on the other side of town from me. It's a small world, as I grew up in South Oak Cliff.

First impression of the Chinese windjacke more or less matches what I've read on other forums. I wasn't expecting a spot on repro so my expectations weren't very high. I have some concerns that the patterning is off at the shoulders due to the shoulder boards coming down a bit too far in the front, but I'm hoping that was caused by the way the jacket was folded and packed for shipping. I'm wearing it every spare moment I can and it seems to be relaxing and starting to drape the way it should. The fabric, while not Filson Tin Cloth or similar seems stout enough. I held it up to the sun today, and a little light leaked through but not nearly as much as one review implied. As for its windproofness, I'll have to wait for the appropriate weather to test it. Perhaps this weekend after the cold front blows through. The sleeves are missing a second pair of buttons to close down the adjustable cuff, but I've already written the vendor -- Spearhead -- and he's supposed to be sending me some more to rectify this. The supplied shoulder boards are dismal. If they're green, I can't tell, they're so dark they might as well be black. At least the GJ green waffenfarb is within the acceptable range of shades. I planned on swapping them out with some officer boards I already have or getting a replacement pair from ATF or somebody anyway so it was no big deal.

I'd love to pick your brain further on this subject. I seem to be attracted to the extremes of this conflict, either the desert or the mountains and I know mountain troops fought in both arenas. Perhaps we can carry on this discussion elsewhere if the mods would prefer this thread not hijacked.

Cheers!

 

[Heeresbergführer]

That's quite the display, Patrick! Did you use all original gear on the trek, or did you preserve the more delicate items and substitute a few repros? I'd too scared of damaging an original feldbluse or other artifact to use them in anything other than a static display or other safe environment.

Grüß Di' Baggers,

Vielen Dank Kamerad! The only original items that I used were the rucksack, ice axe, canteen, mess kit and a Hohner Bravi Alpini harmonica...the rest was either post-war surplus or reproduction. My tunic and Windjacke are from Lost Battalions.

Thanks for your insights on the Spearhead Windjacke.

I was transfered to Dallas from Germany during the summer of 1991. I lived in Arlington and Grand Prairie until 1998 when I moved to the Washington DC area. I use to do a big Gebirgsjäger display at some of the Dallas area Militaria/Gun shows, as well as a US 10th Mountain Troop Display at the Dallas Ski Show every year.

Hurra die Gams!

Patrick

 

[number6]

Great pics , thanks for posting them .

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

Heeresbergfuhrer: Servus Prien,

Yes, they did use Donkeys...also Bactrian Camels, Reindeer, Oxen, and Dogs. A standard Gebirgsdivision had about 5,000 animals...the German Army used about 6 Million horses and mules during the war...less than 20% of the German Army was mechanized.

Wow. I don't study this aspect obviously so it's neat to hear from another reenactor/living historian about this. I have another question - the farriers, did they also serve as infantrymen?

 

[Heeresbergführer]

Wow. I don't study this aspect obviously so it's neat to hear from another reenactor/living historian about this. I have another question - the farriers, did they also serve as infantrymen?

Grüß Gott Prien,

As with any army, even the support troops are issued a weapon and can be used as infantry if needed...classic example is the Battle of Narvik in Norway were many sailors ended up as infantry when their ships were sunk in the harbor.

Here are a few original farrier items in my collection:

And the Gebirgsjäger secret weapon...the Trojan Mule!!!

Muli vor!

Patrick

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

That's some really neat stuff you have! I've seen some of your items at Reading's WWII Weekend, but now I got to see more of it.

I like the little statue of the two men with the Mule in the second (and third) photos - the one pulling and the other pushing.

Rather cool.

I understand what you mean with the sailors ending up doing an infantry role as that happened with some of the U-Boat crews towards the end of the war.

 

[Heeresbergführer]

That's some really neat stuff you have! I've seen some of your items at Reading's WWII Weekend, but now I got to see more of it.

I like the little statue of the two men with the Mule in the second (and third) photos - the one pulling and the other pushing.

Rather cool.

I understand what you mean with the sailors ending up doing an infantry role as that happened with some of the U-Boat crews towards the end of the war.

The statue with the 2 Jäger and the mule is one of my woodcarvings...it was taken from a WWII cartoon.

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

Wow - your artwork is wonderful!

 

[thor]

Awesome photos! I wonder what the neon yellow-plastic-nylon-Gore-tex/spandex clad modernists would think if they saw you guys up there at 10,000 ft? I am glad to see guys able to tough it out in extreme conditions wearing tried and true gear. If the pictures were in black and white you all could pass for WWII mountain division troopers! Very cool, indeed!

 

[Ponsenby]

I hope to be attending this event this year. I missed out last year due to family problems but hope to make it this year. The subject of civvy shirts on Gebirgsjäger troops is reasonably common; like Patrick, I too collect Gebirgs kit and items. Here are some studio portraits from my collection that feature some civilian check shirts. These were common fashion on pre-war mountaineering;

 

[Ponsenby]

 

[Edward]

I hope to be attending this event this year. I missed out last year due to family problems but hope to make it this year. The subject of civvy shirts on Gebirgsjäger troops is reasonably common; like Patrick, I too collect Gebirgs kit and items. Here are some studio portraits from my collection that feature some civilian check shirts. These were common fashion on pre-war mountaineering;

Jinkies, they look young - especially this one. A kid. But then that's the history of warfare, it seems.

 

[Mr. Godfrey]

Marvelous thread.

 

[FunkTroNikS]

Honestly I felt like I was going back through time with those pictures. You guys pass off as legit Germans.