Part Two - National Overviews

The soldier of the Worker’s and Peasant’s Red Army was equipped with a uniform similar to that of his Imperial Russian counterpart in the last war, but with updates like a steel helmet and an improved arsenal of weapons, including a prolific use of submachine guns.

Part Two - National Overviews

The Imperial Japanese Army soldier of the Second World War was equipped with a variety of weapons and gear intended for fighting in the harsh tropical environments of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and was notable also for his fanatical devotion to his Emperor.

Part Two - National Overviews

The Doughboy of the Great War had given way to the GI, wearing a modern olive drab uniform with updated canvas web gear, along with a redesigned “steel pot” helmet replacing the tin hat of the last war. US gear was relatively simple, mass produced, and extremely adaptable.

Part Two - National Overviews

The Italian soldier had been reequipped with modern grey uniform, a new steel helmet and updated leather web gear. The symbols of Fascism now adorned their uniforms, and the Royal Army was to share the field with the Fascist party’s Blackshirt militias. One major problem remained, however: Italian industry was severely behind the other major powers, and would struggle in a modern conflict to keep up with the demands of total war.

Part Two - National Overviews

The French Poilu of 1939 was very similar to his counterpart of 1918, although the blue uniform had finally been changed to a more practical khaki brown. The same uniform with its distinctive overcoat was in service, as was the Adrian helmet, and the leather web gear. In many ways the French were the least removed from their Great War counterparts.

Part Two - National Overviews

As an unforeseen side effect of the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans had relatively little left over from the Great War, and thus had almost entirely new equipment. The same basic field grey uniform had seen some upgrades, as had the steel helmet with its distinctive neck guard, although the leather web gear was almost identical. During the war the Germans would adapt their equipment to suit their environments, such as canvas web gear and even camouflage uniforms.

Part Two - National Overviews

The British soldier of the Second World War was equipped with fairly modern equipment, including a khaki uniform well suited to blend into most environments, a steel helmet with a wide brim that helps to protect the wearer from the sun as well as from shrapnel, and a set of canvas web gear that is both cheap, durable, and modular.