Original Items: One of a Kind Set. This is an interesting piece; an old museum display of Fallschirmjäger Relics recovered from the Leningrad region of the former Soviet Union! This recently came from an old private museum where it had been on permanent display for decades. The artifacts were recovered in the early 1980s and were then housed in a Soviet Museum until 1991 when they made their way from Russia to the museum, where they had been housed until this year.

The lot is interesting, in that it contains a fragment of an early M-38 Pattern Fallschirmjäger Helmet which displays the National Tricolor Shield (Indicating it was a very rare “Double Decal” M-38), Fragments of the Helmet’s Chinstrap and Liner, an M-38 Gas Mask, and the shaft for an Entrenching Shovel. We were told that all of these items were recovered together in a former entrenched fighting position on the outskirts of Leningrad which seen extensive combat.

The collection is housed in a small homemade display case, just the way we received it. The case measures 3 ¼” x 13” x 25”. This makes for a dramatic display!

Fallschirmjäger’s on the Eastern Front:
During the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 1st Parachute Regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the Luftlande-Sturmregiment (Airlanding Assault Regiment) were assigned to the Army Group North's 18th Army where they would conduct operations in the Leningrad area.The Fallschirmjäger were specifically deployed to the east of Leningrad on the River Neva to confront a Red Army effort to relieve the city. In October 1941, the German paratroopers were involved in heavy fighting against the Soviets and were successful in holding off Soviet attacks.

From late October 1941 until 4 July 1942, the 22nd Airlanding Division participated in the Siege of Sevastopol. The Fallschirmjäger overran most of the Soviet 79th Naval Infantry Brigade during combat operations. The Soviet unit tried counterattacking on 10 June, but was repulsed. The Soviet formation was effectively destroyed, with the support of the Luftwaffe, which used anti-personnel bombs against Soviet infantry caught in the open.