Introduction
The following is taken from the Casemate website:
In World War II, the U.S. Army not only supplied its soldiers with the most modern equipment and uniforms, suitable for any combat situation, but went as far as providing them with their favorite drinks or candy bars, and seemingly anything else they might require.
This comprehensive reference book brings together all the equipment issued to American soldiers in the European Theatre of Operations, 1943–45. Each item is presented with its catalogue numbers, described in detail and fully depicted in photographs, including close-ups of the labels to aid identification of items. Graphics and diagrams offer additional information and context. This second volume of the G.I. Collector's Guide is fully revised with the addition of sections including personal equipment, trophies and souvenirs, the wartime draft and stateside training, and the life of POWs in German camps. More than one thousand new artefacts with detailed captions are featured in this completely revised new work.
Expert Henri-Paul Enjames describes all variations of uniform, insignia, badges, weapons, and equipment in detail. As a complete catalogue with high-quality photographs, this book is invaluable to both family historians researching grandpa's kit found in the attic and to collectors in their quest to find authentic items among the reproductions that flood the modern market.
Review
These two titles from Casemate are authored by Henri-Paul Enjames. These are both hard backed titles with 272 pages in each book. The paper inside is a good gloss paper that does an excellent job of presented the contents to the reader.
The modeller is often seeking out the smallest accurate details of items that were taken to war. Vehicles are problematic, but the men who served in the conflict can often be even harder to replicate as their equipment changed through time and different theatres of combat required. What these two books have done and which I hope will by many more of, is provide the reader with high quality photographs of every piece of equipment you can care to think of. This covers uniform pieces, to sports kit, to communion sets and even gum and cigarette wrappers that went to war with the soldiers.
Each of the photographs in the titles is accompanied with well written and informative captions, that leave the reader in no doubt as to what they are looking at and the colours concerned. The items in the titles that caught my eye, were the items that the serviceman had upon them from letters to badges, to cigarette lighters. Volume 1 of this release provides you with a look at draft letters, uniform badges, ranks, qualifications and medals and ribbons. You are even provided with details of items of kit are marked or branded - which is something most of us would have no knowledge of. The contents of volume 1 are as follows:
Insignia and Decorations
Uniforms
Individual Equipment
Small Arms and Crew Served Light Weapons
Tentage, Sleeping and Bivouac Equipment
Armoured Troops
Airborne Troops
Mountain Troops
Female Personnel
Military Police
Army Rations
Corps of Engineers
The Signal Corps
Chemical Warfare
The Medical Department
Army Chaplains
Army Publications and Other printed material
Sports and Recreation
Personal Items
Trophies and Souvenirs
The contents of the second volume are similarly presented with these being:
The Wartime Draft
The Training Camps
Insignia and Decorations
Uniforms
Individual Equipment
Small Arms and Crew Served Weapons
Camp life
Armoured Troops
Airborne Troops
Mountain Troops
Female Personal
Military Police
Army Rations
Engineering Equipment
Army Signals
Protection against gas attacks
The medical Department
Army Chaplains
Army publications and other printed material
Sports and Recreation
Personal Items
American POW’s
Trophies and souvenirs
Home Coming and Discharge
As you can see from these two lists of contents, the list is pretty much exhaustive with I suspect many pieces of kit never having been seen by many of us. Good examples of this, are a foot measuring outfit, dental field equipment, and the optical repair detachment.
Conclusion
These releases from Casemate are not cheap being in the £55 price range in the UK. But if you have an interest in getting details spot on in a diorama or such, I do not believe you can currently do better than these two volumes. It covers such a plethora of items, that some I have never even thought of, let alone seen. And once in possession of these titles, if told that is wrong you can prove otherwise with ease. On a personal note, I really hope that further volumes within this series expand upon other areas as they make stunning guides for the modeller, collector, and re-enactor.