FW249
King & Country
Prior to the outbreak of WW1 virtually every military power in Europe held massive army maneuvers each Spring and Summer to practise their land forces abilities in the event of an outbreak of hostilities with any of their neighboring countries. No nation exercised their soldiers and generals as eagerly or as expertly as Imperial Germany.
Under the eye of Kaiser WilhelmⅡ, the German Army and its generals placed great emphasis on their ability to move huge bodies of troops rapidly and efficiently around the battlefield in order to outflank and outmaneuver any opponent.
Within the Army itself it was widely acknowledged that the Prussian Line Infantry regiments were among the best trained and led and would be in the forefront of any advance if training maneuvers ever changed to... actual war!
The troops shown here are in the traditional pre war summer uniforms of dark blue tunics with white canvas cotton trousers and the traditional black ‘pickelhaub’ helmets and jack boots. The riflemen are armed with the Mauser Model ’98 rifle.