Original Item: Only One Pair Available. This is a great heavily service-worn pair of medium sized German officer’s men’s Jackboots in black leather. They are offered in good but heavily service-worn condition, and are certainly solid enough to correctly complete a display. One of the two retains the scarce metal toe pieces on the sole, but the other is missing. Both boots retain most of the original hobnails, though the bottoms of both boots show very heavy oxidation and loss of material.

The boots are not size-marked anywhere we could find, but the soles are roughly 11¼” long. The leather of both boots shows heavy stiffness and loss of material in spots, especially at the bends. One of the boots retains both pull up straps, but one of the boots is missing one of the straps. Additionally, the stitching at the rear of each boot shows very wear and partial loss of stitching. 

The left boot is missing the toe piece but retains most of the hobnails with some missing and all showing heavy oxidation. The right boot shows the same heavy oxidation but retains the toe piece.

These boots helped the Germans complete an iconic silhouette to their uniforms. Hard to find in any condition today, these will be hard to find again.

The term Jackboot originally denoted tall winged leather cavalry boots, which had been "jacked", or reinforced against sword blows by use of mail (armor) sewn into the lining of the leather. The wings on these high boots particularly protected a rider's knee-joint from a sword blow. These boots are still worn and still so termed by the Household Cavalry Regiment of the British Army, founded in the 17th century. The term originates from the French word Jaque (m) meaning mail. The term is of Catalan origin, descended from the Arabic schakk. These boots were made very heavy by the mail reinforcement, and are slightly less so today from the use of modern materials as stiffeners. There are few manufacturers of Cavalry Jackboots extant in the 21st century, the most famous being Schnieder Boots (pronounced Schneeder) of Mayfair, London, the official supplier to Her Majesty the Queen's Household Cavalry.

The second meaning of the term is derived from the first, with reference to their toughness, but is unrelated in design and function, being a combat boot designed for marching, rising to at least mid-calf, with no laces, typically a leather sole with hobnails, and heel irons. The Germans call this boot "Marschstiefel", meaning "marching boot". This is the classic boot used by the German Infantry in World War I, though the Stormtroopers dispensed with them in favor of laced boots then used by Austro-Hungarian mountain troops. An etymological source not derived from the Cavalry Jackboot has been suggested as from the word jack, jacket or jerkin, as a common garment worn by the peasantry

Although hobnailed short jackboots date from before the Napoleonic era, they became popular with the Germanic armies in the mid to late 19th century because of their perceived durability over "lesser" boots. Worn out boots were considered a major problem for armies on the march and the high quality leather "jackboot" with its hobnails was deemed to be more durable than the alternatives available. As Prussia and the associated German minor powers relied on quickly defeating its opponents before they could fully mobilize and coordinate, their infantry's ability to march long distances was a major issue. The jackboot was replaced by lesser quality ankle boots in the German army when leather became scarce in World War II.