If anyone could give me any info on these soilders it would be appreciated i have always wondered about the skiing soilder.any help is appreciated.
Actually ski troops were nothing special on the eastern front, with both armies. So I’m afraid what the photo shows is much too common to trace/identify.
Weren’t there also Scandinavian ski troops?
Do the trees in the background help to identify the part of Europe involved?
Right, this photo shows a finnish ski trooper who was just hit by a soviet bullet, the “Winter War”,1939/40. A comrade attempts to come to his aid:
The soldiers Sødermann and Brøbe (both KIA) of the Norwegian Ski Battalion of 6th SS Mountain Division “Nord”:
Propaganda poster for the Norwegian Ski Battalion:
Do the trees in the background help to identify the part of Europe involved?
After all it’s just an assumption but by the flora I would go for Karelia/Northern Russia/Finland.
well if i could get any info on Ski Troops in the war including pictures that would be great.
Thanks
There was a couple of Ski Battalions attached to german infantry- or mountain divisions, partially existing for one winter season only.
The 1. Skijäger-Division (only division of this kind, deployed in September 1943 as 1.Ski-Jäger-Brigade) however fought from December 1943 until the capitulation (they surrendered to the Red Army in Central Silesia) with the Army Group Center on the eastern front.
can u give me anything on equiptment?
Most, if not all, of the Powers in WWII had ski/mountain troops, including Japan, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Finland, France, Italy, USSR, etc. I’m not sure what you’re referring to by equipment, or if you’re referring to only the units FTG mentioned, but I believe Osprey’s books include information on the various nation’s mountain troops, and for some nations – e.g., the Germans – will have one or more entire books devoted to the subject.
While I accept that there are no skis in evidence, here (according to the book World War II Infantry: In Colour Photographs, ISBN 1-86 126-287-6) is the typical uniform & equipment set-up for German mountain troops in the Italian Alps circa Summer '44.
Anybody know anything about the finnish ski troops?
Can you narrow your question a little bit?
I never knew they produced the G43 with two kinds of differently colored wood… Were the Ski-Troops considered high-priority enough to equip them with the G43s first?
You have to remember that the photographs in this particular book I scanned are modern… but all the uniforms & equipment is vintage & authentic, so I’m guessing the slight discoloration on this particular G43’s wooden furniture is more likely due to a repair. The weapon is 60+ years old after all.
As for the availability of the rifle to mountain troops, I don’t know… but I imagine that all the different kind of rifles were distributed to all the various theatres of war in varying quantities. I know I have a photo of a mountain troop armed with a STG44, & I think they were in as short supply as the G43.
Good point - I think the StG44 was actually manufactured in relatively high numbers in the last few months of the war - still not sufficient, though.
As for the G43, I don’t know how popular it was with the fighting troops, as this would have definitely influenced it’s availability and priority, but I know that I like mine. (Sadly not an Original)
Well, it’s a bit like asking “Anybody know anything about the german marching troops?”
At that time most Finns knew how to ski, and if it was wintertime and there was no road, then skiing was the preferred method of moving (if skis were available - and they usually were).
Battle of Suomussalmi is one basic example of how better mobility (skis) enabled small Finnish force to destroy much bigger opponent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Suomussalmi
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