Holland 1940. Fallschirmjäger with jackboots and M35 helmets!
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
Great pic, very interesting study! Do you have any more info on it? You can see the guy, second from the back on the truck also has a standard infantry gasmask can. I wonder if they are on an excercise? hard to tell in B&W but it looks like they all could have the red bands around their helmets to designate them as the opfor, it could just be rubber bands of course! Definitly looks early war; double decal helmets, plain green step-in smocks, MG34's etc. All have proper jump-trousers too! Lots of grenade bags in evidence aswell.
Interesting there are quite a few with the trademark polka-dot scarfs too which some of the stitch-counter FJ reneactors get so upset about people wearing 
“I wanted to come to the Volga at a specific location at a specific city. By chance it carries the name of Stalin himself. So don’t think I marched there for this reason – it could carry another name – but because there is a very important goal... this goal I wanted to take – and you know – we are very modest, we have it already."
Adolf Hitler, November 1942
"Comrades, Red Army men, commanders and political workers, men and women guerrillas! It is on your perseverance, staunchness, fighting skill and readiness to discharge your duty to the country that the defeat of the German-fascist army and the liberation of the Soviet land from the Hitlerite invaders depend! We can and must clear the Soviet land of Hitlerite vermin."
Joseph Stalin, November 1942
nice photo
Or..may be a simple way to mask troop movement..from a distance M35 helmets and jack boots could just pass as Heer Infantry on the move and not a elite FJ Division..The SS was doing similar things around that time by removing cuff titles and Collar tabs.
(This is just a guess)
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Helmets I could understand Dave as the silhouette is distinctive but the boots too? that would be a lot of unnessersary effort, especially as they are mounted and not marching. If you were close enough to see what boots they had on then with their destinctive jump smocks, they are still unmistakably Fallshy.
Regarding FJ Helmets, the veteran interviews on German-helmets ( http://german-helmets.com/Veterans-Para ... ctions.htm ) make interesting reading. seems they didn't like the M38's that much and would have preferred to have standard M35 infantry helmets!
Interviewed January 2001:
The perspective of a Fallshirmjäger (paratrooper) was captured during a conversation with a veteran of most of the major Luftwaffe paratrooper missions. This veteran saw extensive action in the Mediterranean and Western Front battles. His comments on helmets are noted below:
"Our helmets had a very short brim and very little protection on the sides. We felt like our faces and the sides of our heads were very exposed. The helmet was not as favored as the Infantry helmets that had a very long brim in the front and sloping sides. We wished that our helmets had been like those. The strap was very good and the helmet fit on our heads tightly. Sometimes our helmets had decals and sometimes they did not. As I recall, the blue-gray helmets had two decals and the green ones had only one decal. Sometimes they did not have them at all. The blue-gray painted ones had a shiny surface and the green ones had a very dull green paint. We liked the dull helmets because they did not shine very much and that protected us from the enemy. If I could redesign the helmet I would make it have a brim and more protection on the sides."
“I wanted to come to the Volga at a specific location at a specific city. By chance it carries the name of Stalin himself. So don’t think I marched there for this reason – it could carry another name – but because there is a very important goal... this goal I wanted to take – and you know – we are very modest, we have it already."
Adolf Hitler, November 1942
"Comrades, Red Army men, commanders and political workers, men and women guerrillas! It is on your perseverance, staunchness, fighting skill and readiness to discharge your duty to the country that the defeat of the German-fascist army and the liberation of the Soviet land from the Hitlerite invaders depend! We can and must clear the Soviet land of Hitlerite vermin."
Joseph Stalin, November 1942
Helmets I could understand Dave as the silhouette is distinctive but the boots too? that would be a lot of unnessersary effort, especially as they are mounted and not marching. If you were close enough to see what boots they had on then with their destinctive jump smocks, they are still unmistakably Fallshy.
Haaa..the ones what we can see are mounted..but look what there mounted on.. some poor tulip growers truck... unnessersary effort ?.commandering
a truck to save walking..
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Here's where it came from: http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php? ... o&pid=4412
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
lol, well the wehrmarcht wouldnt have got anywhere without commandering local equipment! A lot of people don't realise that Throughout the entire war, nearly 90% of the Heer was foot-bourne and the primary movers of artillery and equipment were horses!
And as trucks go that one is very similar to the german made ford V3000S trucks in use by the german army! I'm no truck expert but It's probably a Dutch Ford or GM as the german ones didnt have split-screens. These FJ's would have thought they hit the jackpot with that truck! Especially the guy on the fahrrad as he doesnt even have to peddle 
“I wanted to come to the Volga at a specific location at a specific city. By chance it carries the name of Stalin himself. So don’t think I marched there for this reason – it could carry another name – but because there is a very important goal... this goal I wanted to take – and you know – we are very modest, we have it already."
Adolf Hitler, November 1942
"Comrades, Red Army men, commanders and political workers, men and women guerrillas! It is on your perseverance, staunchness, fighting skill and readiness to discharge your duty to the country that the defeat of the German-fascist army and the liberation of the Soviet land from the Hitlerite invaders depend! We can and must clear the Soviet land of Hitlerite vermin."
Joseph Stalin, November 1942
lol, well the wehrmarcht wouldnt have got anywhere without commandering local equipment! A lot of people don't realise that Throughout the entire war, nearly 90% of the Heer was foot-bourne and the primary movers of artillery and equipment were horses!
Dont see the point of the post there Boshman or the point your trying to make...thought we where on about the photo..i was answering your post (why have jackboots if mounted) i though the point i was making in my post was very clear perhaps not.. lol lol lol.
And i think you'll find that a lot of people do realise that 90% of Heer troops was foot-bourne and the amount of horses needed it was no secret.
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lol, well the wehrmarcht wouldnt have got anywhere without commandering local equipment! A lot of people don't realise that Throughout the entire war, nearly 90% of the Heer was foot-bourne and the primary movers of artillery and equipment were horses!
Dont see the point of the post there Boshman or the point your trying to make...thought we where on about the photo..i was answering your post (why have jackboots if mounted) i though the point i was making in my post was very clear perhaps not.. lol lol lol.
And i think you'll find that a lot of people do realise that 90% of Heer troops was foot-bourne and the amount of horses needed it was no secret.
Not having a go at you Dave 
I know you know your history! My musing on the boots was really just that you would have to be very close to see the difference and then you would see they were Fallshy anyway by the smocks. But you are right if they were marching you would definitely "hear" the difference from afar!
“I wanted to come to the Volga at a specific location at a specific city. By chance it carries the name of Stalin himself. So don’t think I marched there for this reason – it could carry another name – but because there is a very important goal... this goal I wanted to take – and you know – we are very modest, we have it already."
Adolf Hitler, November 1942
"Comrades, Red Army men, commanders and political workers, men and women guerrillas! It is on your perseverance, staunchness, fighting skill and readiness to discharge your duty to the country that the defeat of the German-fascist army and the liberation of the Soviet land from the Hitlerite invaders depend! We can and must clear the Soviet land of Hitlerite vermin."
Joseph Stalin, November 1942
It could be they were simply fighting as regular infantry and so were equipped with marching boots & rimmed helmet as it wasn't worth giving them jump boots + helmets if they weren't going to jump. Smocks being retained to cover the rather more obvious blue of their tunics- which they would have wanted to hang on to anyway as part of their unit identity.
Dave does have a point about disquising their identity if that was what they were doing. I think the boots would be a major giveaway that they're not regular infantry to anyone that saw them. When the whole of the rest of the Wehrmacht is in jackboots it would raise questions why these particular soldiers had different boots, even to the untrained eye. Smocks could easily be over looked as some sort of new or Luftwaffe camouflage item not widely issued yet. It would still arouse suspicion but not as much as the boots & helmets.
That is certainly one possibility. From "Fallschirmjäger in Crete"...
"The possibility of anyone being able to identify our unit as belonging to airborne troops must be avoided at all costs. Before leaving, all paratroops must get rid of their insignia. Pay books will be exchanged for documents that do not mention the name of the unit... No member of the unit is to carry any personal papers or documents with him. Buying and sending postcards as well as using the civilian postal service are strictly forbidden... It is forbidden to sing paratroop songs... The special markings identifying our battalion must disappear from all vehicles... From now on, the ranks Oberjäger and Jäger will no longer be used. Instead, the terms Unteroffizier and Flieger will be used."
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
Well, this was what was written under the Pic on the website.
German transport near Rotterdam - may 1940
A platoon of German Fallschirmjäger, but fitted with the regular Heer boots. These men may have been fitted out with boots after regrouping at the 11th, for regular FJR had no such boots on. It may also have been soldiers from the 2nd Batt of the 2.FJR, who had not finished jumpschool yet, and were flown in by regular landing.
Possibly this truck load was on its way to Dordrecht, and part of the Gruppe De Boer that headed for the southeast of the city. The truck is faced into the direction of Dordrecht, and since indeed this outfit moved itself around on commandeered Dutch trucks, it seems likely to presume this picture was taken before or during the transport.
"Will you stop talking about the war!!"
"What, you started it!"
"We did NOT start it!"
"Yes you did, you invaded Poland..."
lol, well the wehrmarcht wouldnt have got anywhere without commandering local equipment! A lot of people don't realise that Throughout the entire war, nearly 90% of the Heer was foot-bourne and the primary movers of artillery and equipment were horses!
Dont see the point of the post there Boshman or the point your trying to make...thought we where on about the photo..i was answering your post (why have jackboots if mounted) i though the point i was making in my post was very clear perhaps not.. lol lol lol.
And i think you'll find that a lot of people do realise that 90% of Heer troops was foot-bourne and the amount of horses needed it was no secret.Not having a go at you Dave
No props mate
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"It may also have been soldiers from the 2nd Batt of the 2.FJR, who had not finished jumpschool yet, and were flown in by regular landing."
not sure I go along with that theory, would recruits still in jump school be allowed to wear civilian neck scarfs? On the other hand, maybe they only got issued proper jump boots prior to their first combat jump!? Interestingly if you look at a lot of the original fj jump footage which are obviously training jumps there are a lot of fj's jumping wearing m35 helmets!
It's all suposition really but it's interesting to spectulate. There are always so many variations, anomlies, and exceptions to norm with german kit. One of the things that makes it so interesting!
[ Post made via Mobile Device ] 
“I wanted to come to the Volga at a specific location at a specific city. By chance it carries the name of Stalin himself. So don’t think I marched there for this reason – it could carry another name – but because there is a very important goal... this goal I wanted to take – and you know – we are very modest, we have it already."
Adolf Hitler, November 1942
"Comrades, Red Army men, commanders and political workers, men and women guerrillas! It is on your perseverance, staunchness, fighting skill and readiness to discharge your duty to the country that the defeat of the German-fascist army and the liberation of the Soviet land from the Hitlerite invaders depend! We can and must clear the Soviet land of Hitlerite vermin."
Joseph Stalin, November 1942
"It may also have been soldiers from the 2nd Batt of the 2.FJR, who had not finished jumpschool yet, and were flown in by regular landing."
May be if it was 1945..but in 1940 no..there would have been no need to send untrained troops in to action.
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its often forgotten or over looked, that germany, like france and great britian , was very unprepared for war in 1939. popular history shows the germans rampaging across the low countries in 1939-40 almost unoposed. this is a false picture. germany suffered many reverses, lost many troops and much equipment,,, on more than one occation they were in severe danger of being defeated, it was only allied ineptitude and bungling that saved them . maybe,, just maybe, they didnt have enough helmets and boots?
Equally possible, Nige - although this is the first time I've ever seen FJ dressed like this (unless we're talking '44 onwards).
You've got nothing to ein, zwei, drei, vier
Something else I noticed, despite them wearing jackboots, they all seem to have managed to "blouse" their trousers over the top of them in true para fashion! Of course it could just be down to the different cut of the jump trousers and the lack of the heel loop.
“I wanted to come to the Volga at a specific location at a specific city. By chance it carries the name of Stalin himself. So don’t think I marched there for this reason – it could carry another name – but because there is a very important goal... this goal I wanted to take – and you know – we are very modest, we have it already."
Adolf Hitler, November 1942
"Comrades, Red Army men, commanders and political workers, men and women guerrillas! It is on your perseverance, staunchness, fighting skill and readiness to discharge your duty to the country that the defeat of the German-fascist army and the liberation of the Soviet land from the Hitlerite invaders depend! We can and must clear the Soviet land of Hitlerite vermin."
Joseph Stalin, November 1942
There is also a picture of gebirgsjagers in France wearing 'jackboots' as opposed to bergschuhe.
Perhaps marching boots and 35 pattern helmet were issued at basic training, meaning all troops have them. Regulations maybe state that marching boots were to be worn for... well... marching. The helmets I find more odd than the marching boots, surely you wouldn't have both patterns?
