Two years ago I've posted here a pair of M44 low boot of the kind that should have replaced both the M44/M37 WH/WSS/LW Service shoe and the Bergschuhe,but even if they were a transitional model between the M44 and the mountain boots and quite rare,they werent't the "official" thing actually,rather a variation on the same(M44) theme that gathered many peculiarities of the two types of shoes and rolled them into one!A well known dealer even tried to make two pairs of un-finished Bergschuhe pass for two pairs of these rare boots , but now you've got a hand-on reference...well...so to speak !
I always wanted a pair of these shoes for my collection but in nearly twenty years of collecting I've only seen and owned the "remains" of a single shoe and had to "make do" with a picture showing two German Soldiers in Normandy(very likely Gebirgsjaeger....I know...no edelweiss in sight but.....) wearing them!
When two weeks ago I saw them auctioned in eBay I couldn't believe my eyes ....they were there for someone to grab them and that someone has been me ...I wouldn't have left them there anyway...no matter the price,but I was ready to bet my left nut that nobody would have recognized them for what they were,hence a real steal at little more than 80 €urollars !
These boots are a factory-made (Solidus;a well known German firm!) cross between the M44 low boot and the Bergschuhe;in the upper part they're 100% identical to the M44 Schnurschuhe,while the soles are 100% identical to the soles of the bergschuhe.
There's no groove on the heels for the ski-binding since there would have been no need for them this late in the war (now someone will pop up stating that the Jerries had second thoughts about the Ebrus !),with hardly if any high snowy peaks left to be climbed and conquered, and the fact that they're not as heavily made as the more commonly seen bergschuhe should speak volumes about the fact that these boots should have conveniently replaced all types of low-boots and become general-issue within all branches!
I hope you'll enjoy the pictures of these boots in their as-found condition!
Manny
I always wanted a pair of these shoes for my collection but in nearly twenty years of collecting I've only seen and owned the "remains" of a single shoe and had to "make do" with a picture showing two German Soldiers in Normandy(very likely Gebirgsjaeger....I know...no edelweiss in sight but.....) wearing them!
When two weeks ago I saw them auctioned in eBay I couldn't believe my eyes ....they were there for someone to grab them and that someone has been me ...I wouldn't have left them there anyway...no matter the price,but I was ready to bet my left nut that nobody would have recognized them for what they were,hence a real steal at little more than 80 €urollars !
These boots are a factory-made (Solidus;a well known German firm!) cross between the M44 low boot and the Bergschuhe;in the upper part they're 100% identical to the M44 Schnurschuhe,while the soles are 100% identical to the soles of the bergschuhe.
There's no groove on the heels for the ski-binding since there would have been no need for them this late in the war (now someone will pop up stating that the Jerries had second thoughts about the Ebrus !),with hardly if any high snowy peaks left to be climbed and conquered, and the fact that they're not as heavily made as the more commonly seen bergschuhe should speak volumes about the fact that these boots should have conveniently replaced all types of low-boots and become general-issue within all branches!
I hope you'll enjoy the pictures of these boots in their as-found condition!
Manny
Comment