Unlike the rest of the armies in Europe, the French Poilu seldom wore their tunics. The classic image if the French infantryman has him wearing his greatcoat with the flaps buttoned back.
This Greatcoat was issued in 1917 but did a stint in Hollywood before landing in my collection. I need to replace the collar numbers with originals.
The wooden grenade is a "Petard raquette" an emergency measure grenade made at the beginning of the war, but still seen in certain sectors as late as 1917. I guess it is a bit early to go with the late war gasmask.. but I like it ;-)
