07-11-2011, 06:19 PM
LRRPF52 Wrote:I wouldn't assess the bulk of US military success in WWII on the small arms they had then, because the Germans had several better weapon systems when looking at the MG42, MG34, G41, and later the Stg44, but those really were put to the most use on the Russian and Eastern European front. Our dismounts were really policing up what was left of only 1/3 of the Wermacht back in Germany, after being bombed tortuously by thermite munitions from B-17's & B-24's.I think that Mav was posing a question: How was it that G.I.s managed to fight WWII with 10-lb rifles and 30-lb "light" machine guns that fired heavy ammunition, but today's infantrymen whine about the weight of 7.62 guns and ammo (which weigh less than their WWII counterparts)?
Quote:I wouldn't attribute the small arms mix we had as a decisive factor in any US victories in Central Europe, speaking from a holistic picture of warfare in that conflict. Had we been fighting the two-thirds of the German Army that was on the Russian front since 1941, it would have been an entirely different outcome.The US Army, equipped with M1 rifle, M1 carbine, M1918 BAR, M1919 LMG and M1917 HMG vs the German Army in its prime, armed with StG44 assault rifle and MG42 GPMG. Now, that would've been something to see! :eek: