Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very attractive set of two original pre-WWII German Heer infantry training manuals, both apparently named to former owners and retaining clear evidence of practical military use.

Together, the books provide an unusually detailed look at the instruction of German infantrymen during the rapid expansion and rearmament of the Heer before WWII.

One volume was designed as a comprehensive handbook for the young infantry soldier, while the second is an official 1937 Heer regulation covering marksmanship training with the rifle, carbine, light machine gun, pistol, and related weapons.

The set includes:

“Der Infanterist: Neuausgabe”

The full title reads:

DER INFANTERIST
NEUAUSGABE
HANDBUCH FÜR SELBSTUNTERRICHT UND AUSBILDUNG
DES JUNGEN SOLDATEN DER INFANTERIE

This translates approximately as:

The Infantryman
New Edition
Handbook for the Self-Instruction and Training
of the Young Infantry Soldier

“Neuausgabe” means “new edition,” rather than “new addition.”

The handbook was written by Hans Valentin Hube, who later became a senior German Army officer during WWII. Bibliographic records identify editions of Der Infanterist published in Berlin during 1935 and 1936 as a handbook intended for the self-instruction and formal training of young infantry soldiers.

The volume covers a broad range of subjects considered essential to the education of an infantryman. Its contents include military organization, conduct, drill, weapons familiarization, field duties, tactical principles, and combat instruction.

Books of this type supplemented formal training by giving recruits a reference they could study in the barracks or during their own time.

This example appears to be named inside the front cover.

A period sheet of paper containing handwritten notes remains folded between the pages. Its survival adds considerable personal character and indicates that the book was studied or used rather than merely retained as an unused reference.

The book remains in very good overall condition.

The exterior shows expected edge wear, handling marks, and age-related deterioration, but no major damage is evident.

H.Dv. 240 Shooting Regulation

The second book is the official Heer regulation:

H.Dv. 240
SCHIESSVORSCHRIFT FÜR GEWEHR (KARABINER),
LEICHTES MASCHINENGEWEHR, PISTOLE USW.

This translates approximately as:

Army Regulation 240
Shooting Regulations for Rifle or Carbine,
Light Machine Gun, Pistol, Etc.

The abbreviation H.Dv. stands for Heeres-Druckvorschrift, indicating an official printed Army regulation.

This is the 1937 edition, published in Berlin by E.S. Mittler & Sohn. Surviving examples are described as approximately 162 pages in length and containing numerous illustrations and folding instructional tables.

The regulation established the training program for several of the Heer’s principal infantry weapons.

Its contents include instruction in firing positions, sighting, trigger control, range estimation, marksmanship exercises, target practice, safety procedures, and the organization of weapons training.

The full regulation also included provisions for live grenade throwing, and archival records identify H.Dv. 240 as the shooting regulation for the rifle, carbine, light machine gun, and pistol.

The manual includes pages intended for recording training results and related information.

This example is also named inside the front cover, giving both books in the set evidence of individual ownership.

The interior remains in very good overall condition.

The principal condition issue is the covering over the spine, which has torn away. The binding and pages should therefore be handled carefully to prevent additional loss.

The Two-Book Set Includes:

Named Der Infanterist: Neuausgabe infantryman’s handbook
Period handwritten paper retained inside Der Infanterist
Named 1937 H.Dv. 240 shooting regulation
Instruction concerning rifles, carbines, light machine guns, pistols, and related training
Original record-keeping pages within the H.Dv. 240 manual

These books date from a critical period in German military history.

Following the expansion of the armed forces during the mid-1930s, the Heer required large numbers of newly enlisted and conscripted men to be trained quickly and according to standardized methods.

Publications such as Der Infanterist provided broad instruction in the duties and conduct of the soldier, while official regulations such as H.Dv. 240 prescribed the precise methods used for weapons training and marksmanship.

The books also illustrate the difference between a commercially published instructional handbook and an official Army regulation.

Der Infanterist was written in a format intended to be readable and useful to the individual soldier. H.Dv. 240 was a formal service publication intended to standardize instruction throughout the Heer.

Although both were produced before WWII, manuals of these types continued to serve as reference material as the German Army expanded and entered wartime service. Regulations were amended, supplemented, or replaced as weapons and training requirements changed, but older volumes frequently remained in unit libraries and personal possession.

The named interiors and retained handwritten note make this set especially appealing. Rather than anonymous books preserved in storage, both appear to have been personally owned and used by men undergoing military instruction.

A well-matched pair of prewar Heer training references documenting both the general education of the young infantry soldier and the formal weapons instruction that prepared him for military service.