Thursday, January 1, 2026

German soldiers unseen except when surrendering

WWI German artillery camouflage using overhead netting
Clair Kenamore, From Vauquois Hill to Exermont; a history of the thirty-fifth division of the United States. St Louis MO: Guard Publishing 1919, p. 111—

The invisibility of the Germans was one of their strong points. Their camouflage was good, and they took advantage of every possibility for concealment. Some of our men never saw a German except those who had surrendered. A typical experience was that of Sergeant C.G. McCorkle of E Company, of the 138th, who fought from the "jumping off" day up to the 29th, when he was wounded, but in all that time he never saw a German with a rifle in his hands. All he saw either had their hands high in the air, surrendering, or were using them to work a machine gun.

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