
German WWII Army Basic Infantry Instruction (Rifleman) - English Translation
Book - Reprint- Condition:
- New
H.Dv. 130/2a - Ausbildungsvorschrift für die Infanterie, Heft 2a - Instruction Manual for the Infantry, Volume 130/2a - The Rifle Company, 1942. The original version of this manual is the most commonly found German infantry manual today, but of course it was printed in German, and the information was lost to anyone who couldn't read German in the old type style (that means just about everybody, including most Germans). This manual is now available in English for those with historical or reenacting interest who don't read the old German, and also for those who read German, but find that reading the old German text is more work than it needs to be.
Different revisions of the H.Dv. 130/2a were published from 1935 to 1942 to educate the German Soldier on the basic instructions of his military service. The 1941 edition was a major update, but had many errors in it which were often corrected by handwriting in the margins. The 1942 edition contained all the corrections and is what is offered here.
This was originally a pocket sized book, printed at 4"W x 5.5"H, with 258 pages, but has been reformatted to a U.S. standard 5.5"W x 8.5"H with 197 pages, and still contains all the text and graphics of the original manual. The H.Dv. stands for Heer Dienst Vorschrift (Army Service Manual), which means that this was an officially published manual for the German Army soldiers. It had the dark blue cover so often seen on infantry instruction manuals (see the picture below of the original manual cover).
This manual shows how to salute, when it's proper to give the "German salute" (recognized in the old movies by the right arm being stuck in the air at an angle and "Heil!" being announced), how to position your feet, how to run messages, proper formations, what to do in case of capture, safety and operating standards for guns, the egg grenade, Panzerbüchse (8mm high powered anti-tank/armor rifle), using the mortar, different types of deployment, how to march, and on and on. There is so much information in this manual that you'll need to look at the Contents pages I have linked below. It takes nearly 6 pages just for the Table of Contents.
THIS is a heck of a manual, and a primary source of information of how it was done in the day.