WW2 German Rifleman (Early War)
Blitzkrieg is a method of warfare whereby an attacking force, spearheaded by a dense concentration of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations with close air support, breaks through the opponent's line of defense by short, fast, powerful attacks and then dislocates the defenders, using speed and surprise to encircle them with the help of air superiority. Through the employment of combined arms in maneuver warfare, blitzkrieg attempts to unbalance the enemy by making it difficult for it to respond to the continuously changing front, then defeat it in a decisive Vernichtungsschlacht (battle of annihilation).
Germany would use these tactics to devastating effect in their invasions of Poland, Denmark, France, and the Low Countries.
This minifigure is designed as a typical German Rifleman of 1939/1940 with an M36 tunic, jackboots, gas cape bag, bread bag and canteen, gas mask canister, and kar98k pouches. The y-strap suspenders were introduced early in 1939, and would gradually be standard for infantry of the Heer. The bottle green collar would be removed from the tunics from 1940 onwards, but they were popular with the soldiers who would often modify new tunics with salvaged collars. Although this minifigure is best suited for 1939/1940 scenes, it wouldn't be uncommon to see soldiers uniformed like this in 1941, or even 1942, but would become increasingly rarer as the war progressed and supplies diminished.