Orion Figures 0631/72 WWII German Panzer Soldiers (DAK)

When Hitler decided to send German troops to the North Africa campaign, that force was always going to include tanks and the crews that manned them. In some ways the deserts of North Africa made excellent tank terrain, with large open spaces largely lacking habitation and other obstructions, allowing freedom of deployment and manoeuvre. However, it was also a very challenging environment, where sitting in a tank all day was often akin to sitting in an oven, and the constant dust and sand made maintenance a continual problem for all vehicles. For the two years that the campaign lasted, until the Spring of 1943 and the final surrender, all the major marks of German tanks served apart from the Panzer V, the Panther, and their impact was enormous, expertly handled by Rommel and his men. The efforts that those men made, and the sacrifices they endured, certain warrant a set such as this, which for the first time depicts such crewmen in Africa.

When the decision to go to Africa was made, panzer crew already had a smart and popular uniform, the M1934, but this was quite impractical for the challenging environment they were about to encounter, so they were issued the same tropical uniform as the rest of the force. The first element of this is also the most important for us – the tropical sun helmet. This helmet, made of compressed cork, was widely issued at the start, but was never popular with the men. To add to this, the wide-brimmed headgear was inappropriate for wear in the confined space of a tank, so the result was that it quite quickly disappeared, or at least was only brought out for formal occasions or other exceptional circumstances. Photos prove that tank crew did wear it when in the field, so it is a perfectly valid item to have here, but it firmly plants these figures as being for the early months of the desert war. After this initial period, the usual form of headgear was the peaked cap (again not ideal inside a tank, but good when outside) and the sidecap. Two of these figures (one an officer) wear the peaked cap, and none wear the sidecap, which significantly limits the utility of these figures in terms of time period.

The rest of the uniform as worn by these figures consists of the tropical shirt with twin breast pockets, shorts and short boots with socks rolled down over them. This is all perfectly typical of men working on their vehicles, and while a broader range of clothing could have been depicted (after all, it was not always very hot), nothing here is wrong. The last two figures show officers, and the first is distinguished by the peaked cap, field blouse, and the long desert high boots he wears, all perfectly reasonable but not unique to officers. The second man presents a much smarter appearance as he wears the standard German officer’s peaked cap (Schirmmütze), his blouse is over a shirt and tie (with a knights cross decoration at the throat), and he has breeches and long riding boots. As an unpainted figure he could just as easily be in the European theatre of operations, but again, while valid, such a smart appearance would have been increasingly unusual in the punishing climate of North Africa. Nevertheless, nothing about any of the uniform in this set is incorrect.

Specifications

• Contents: 48 figures
• Poses: 12 poses
• Material: Plastic (Medium Consistency)