DIE GRUPPE – WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT OF THE GERMAN INFANTRY SQUAD (1939 – 1945)

English. 256 pages. Hard cover. Ricardo Recio Cardona

Die Gruppe is a visual book about the standard and regulatory gear
carried by the German soldiers who made up a squad (Die Gruppe) during
WWII.

The book explains the role assigned to each of the men in the group
(which theoretically could not exceed nine members) with numerous
historical photographs. Every single weapon and piece of equipment
carried by those soldiers is described in detail, using detailed
photographs of items and gear from private collections and museums. The
publication is a faithful reflection of how these soldiers lived,
through a collection of personal objects, high-quality photographs, and
curiosities.

Die Gruppe, known as a “squad” in most armies, was the smallest
combat unit of the German infantry. It was composed of a variable number
of men led by a corporal or a non-commissioned officer called a
Gruppenführer (literally, group leader). This unit was organized around a
light machine gun, which could be an MG 34 or an MG 42.