Wikipedia
Splittertarnmuster, Splittertarn or Splittermuster ( splinter-pattern) is a four-colour military camouflage pattern developed by Germany in the late 1920s, first issued to the Reichswehr in 1931. It was first printed on the newly designed and issued triangular tent/poncho called the [dreiecks] zeltbahn ("[triangle] tarpaulin"), just as the Italian 1929 telo mimetico began as a tent pattern. Known in German as Buntfarbenaufdruck 31 ("colourful print 31"), for its year of introduction, splittertarn was later issued on a very wide basis to practically all regular military ( Wehrmacht) units. The pattern consists of a disruptive, zig-zag pattern of hard-edged wood-brown and medium green polygons printed on a light field-grey or tan background. A random pattern of green dashes, called "raindrops", was applied in places to improve the camouflage effect.
Proposed in 1931 and introduced in 1932, the four-colour camouflage patterns incorporated "splinters" on top of the 1918 colour pattern. This pattern included ochre, rust, and brown overlaid on a green foundation, with sharp corners between coloured patches. This new pattern was printed on zeltbahn (triangular tent) material, and could also be used as a camouflage rain poncho in the field. Both sides of the material showed the same pattern, but the printing was brighter on one side.
A subdued grey-beige tint replaced the yellow-ochre colour. On top of this background, green and brown irregular patterns were screen-printed. A final innovation applied to this camouflage colour printing were the "splinters" irregularly printed on the fabric. Directional, dark-green dashed lines ("grass" or "rain") were printed in selected areas to help break up the silhouette. Many similar " rain pattern" designs inspired by splittermuster were made after the war by Warsaw Pact countries. During the war, cost-saving measures required textiles to be printed with changed colours. In addition, many of the lower-cost two-colour options were abandoned. These cost-saving measures caused significant deviations from the original colour patterns.
In 1941 splitter pattern jump smocks were issued to German paratroops for the invasion of Crete.