The German Army in World War I (2): 1915–17

The years 1915-17 saw the Imperial German Army forced to adapt to the new realities of static trench warfare. Prewar uniforms and equipment had to be modified, for both utility and economy; on battlefields ruled by machine guns and artillery the steel helmet reappeared, as well as masks to protect against poison gas. Fashionable cavalry regiments soon proved irrelevant on the Western Front; many were dismounted to join the infantry, while new units usurped their prestige - assault battalions, and the air corps. This second volume in a three-part sequence offers vast detail on organisation, uniforms and insignia, illustrated with rare photographs and meticulous colour artwork.