The Sumpftarnmuster or

Marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

Camouflage was one of a family of German World War II camouflage patterns, derived from the earlier 1931 Reichswehr design, Splittertarnmuster or more commonly referred to as Splinter Camouflage. The pattern was first issued to

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

units in 1943 in the form of smocks, helmet covers, and winter overpants. The pattern resembles a saturated version of the Splinter Camouflage with the color dominance switching from beige, to

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

to better blend into

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

environments.

Development

Sumpftarnmuster was developed from the earlier splinter

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

. The smocks and overpants reversed to

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, for the abundance of

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

y areas in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during the

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

. The two piece uniform was meant to be worn over the common issue wool or Drillich uniforms. The pattern was intended to be effective throughout the year.

Users

Former

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

: Developed in 1943 and used from there on out on both fronts but mainly saw action on the eastern front. *

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

: Used modified version in the early 1950's by the border guard (

Bundesgrenzschutz Bundesgrenzschutz (; abbreviation: BGS; ) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was primarily focu ...

Literature

* Daniel Peterson: ''Tarnuniformen der Wehrmacht und Nachkriegsvarianten.'' Enforcer Pülz, Ubstadt-Weiher 2006, * Hans-Jürgen Schmidt: ''„Wir tragen den Adler des Bundes am Rock …“ Chronik des Bundesgrenzschutzes 1951–1971.'' Fiedler-Verlag, Coburg 1993, * Hans-Jürgen Schmidt: ''„Wir tragen den Adler des Bundes am Rock …“ Chronik des Bundesgrenzschutzes 1972–1992.'' Fiedler-Verlag, Coburg 1994, * Nigel Thomas, Stephen Andrew: ''The German Army 1939–45.'' Band 5: ''Western Front 1943–45.'' Reprinted Edition. Osprey Publishing Limited, London 2003, (''Men-at-arms Series'' 336).

References

{{reflist Camouflage patterns German military uniforms Military equipment introduced in the 1940s