Waffen SS Schütze (Junior Private) Soldier.
At this stage of the war, the Waffen (armed) SS were poorly regarded by senior Wehrmacht commanders and were given low priority in terms of allocation of the most modern equipment. Hence, particularly in terms of small arms, the Totenkpopf and Polizei divisions were for the most part equipped with Czech weapons which had been captured in 1939.
However, one aspect in which the SS units were particularly advanced, was the use of camouflaged uniforms, smocks and helmet covers. This soldier wears an early war camouflaged smock which is elasticated at the waist and cuffs and would have been worn over the standard tunic. The helmet cover is attached to the standard M35 helmet by hooks. The field tunics and helmets would have been of an identical pattern to the regular army, but carried their own unique SS insignia, as did their belt buckles. The latter feature can clearly be seen in the photographs. The field gear, e.g. ammunition pouches, gas mask, gas cape, water bottle, mess tin, entrenching tool, bayonet, etc. would have been identical to those of Wehrmacht troops, albeit often manufactured under separate SS supply contracts.
