Wehrmacht (German Soldiers): Part 6

 German soldiers with MG-34 machine-gun with optical sights

THE MG-34 MACHINE GUN

The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG 34, was a German machine gun that was first produced and accepted into service in 1934, and first issued to units in 1935. It was an air-cooled machine gun firing the 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridge.

The MG34 was used as the primary infantry machine gun during the 1930s, and remained as the primary tank and aircraft defensive weapon. It was to be replaced in infantry service by the related MG42, but there were never enough quantities of the new design to go around, and MG34s soldiered on in all roles until the end of World War II. The MG34 was intended to replace the MG13 and other older machine guns, but these were still being used in WWII as demand was never met.

The new gun was accepted for service almost immediately and was generally liked by the troops, and it was used to great effect by German soldiers.

Imported units of MG34s, as well as indigenous copies of the weapon were adopted by Chinese Nationalist forces during both World War II and the Chinese Civil War. Some models captured from the Germans by the Soviets or French were supplied to the People's Liberation Army/People's Volunteer Army, Korean People's Army, PAVN and the Viet Cong over the Cold War.





  With MG-42 machine-gun

THE MG-42 MACHINE-GUN

The MG 42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or "machine gun 42") is a 7.92mm universal machine gun that was developed in Nazi Germany and entered service with the Wehrmacht in 1942. It supplemented and in some instances, replaced the MG 34 general purpose machine gun in all branches of the German Armed Forces, though both weapons were manufactured and used until the end of the war.

The MG 42 has a proven record of reliability, durability, simplicity, and ease of operation, but is most notable for being able to produce a stunning volume of suppressive fire. The MG 42 has one of the highest average rates of fire of any single-barreled man-portable machine gun, between 1,200 and 1,500 rpm, resulting in a distinctive muzzle report. There were other automatic weapon designs with similar firepower, such as the French Darne, the Hungarian-Gebauer single-barreled tank MGs, the Russian 7.62mm ShKAS aircraft gun and the British Vickers K machine gun. However, the MG 42's belt-feed and quick-change barrel system allowed for more prolonged firing in comparison to these weapons.



 The 98K Carbine

THE 98K CARBINE

The German Model Kar 98k Mauser Carbine is a modified, shortened version of the WWI Gewehr 98 rifle, the Mauser turn-bolt action, developed by Paul Mauser in 1898. The Kar 98k (98k) was adopted for use by the German Wehrmacht in 1935. It was the primary German infantry rifle in WW II, and was noted for its excellent accuracy.

During WWII the 98k was developed in very large quantities in most German occupied countries. After WWII many countries; East Germany, Norway, China, and even Israel issued the rifle to homeland troops. Some rifles were rebarreled to 30.06 and .308 calibers.






Allies. A Hungarian soldier with a German officer

The SS firing the MG37 machinegun

A German Tiger tank fires on a Russian village

A German soldier performs the cavalry orchestra

General Manstein with Tiger Tanks in the background

German headquarters in the field

A German soldier examines a Soviet SVT-40 rifle

This man is not going to get psyched seeing the Soviet poster which says Hitler will face a similar fate which Napoleon faced more than a century ago

 The SS cavalry perform

CLICK HERE TO SEE MANY MORE IMAGES OF "WEHRMACHT"


-- German soldiers: Part 1
-- German soldiers: Part 2
-- Rare Images Of The Wehrmacht: Part 3
-- Wehrmacht: Part 4

-- Wehrmacht (German Soldiers) Part 5
-- Wehrmacht: Part 7

-- Wehrmacht: Part 8 

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Quotes about war....

"War grows out of the desire of the individual to gain advantage at the expense of his fellow man."
--Napoleon Hill

"We have failed to grasp the fact that mankind is becoming a single unit, and that for a unit to fight against itself is suicide."
--Havelock Ellis

'Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."
--Mao Tse-Tung (1893 - 1976)

"I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in."
--George McGovern

"The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
--Joseph Stalin

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
--Voltaire, War

In war, truth is the first casualty.
-- Aeschylus

"The ability and inclination to use physical strength is no indication of bravery or tenacity to life. The greatest cowards are often the greatest bullies. Nothing is cheaper and more common than physical bravery."
--Clarence Darrow, Resist Not Evil

"The victor will never be asked if he told the truth."
--Adolf Hitler

"To walk through the ruined cities of Germany is to feel an actual doubt about the continuity of civilization."
--George Orwell

"Patriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their country."
--Bertrand Russell

Men are at war with each other because each man is at war with himself.
--Francis Meehan

Snippets From History

German Soldiers in Russia: Part 1

Hubert Menzel was a major in the General Operations Department of the OKH (the Oberkommando des Heers, the German Army headquarters), and for him the idea of invading the Soviet Union in 1941 had the smack of cold, clear logic to it: 'We knew that in two years' time, that is by the end of 1942, beginning of 1943, the English would be ready, the Americans would be ready, the Russians would be ready too, and then we would have to deal with all three of them at the same time.... We had to try to remove the greatest threat from the East.... At the time it seemed possible.'
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Battle for Berlin, 1945

'We started to fire at the masses,' says one former German machine gunner. 'They weren't human beings for us. It was a wall of attacking beasts who were trying to kill us. You yourself were no longer human.'

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Berlin after it fell to the Russians, 1945

"Vladlen Anchishkin, a Soviet battery commander on the 1st Ukrainian Front, sums up the horror of the whole event, when he tells how he took personal revenge on German soldiers: 'I can admit it now, I was in such a state, I was in such a frenzy. I said, 'Bring them here for an interrogation' and I had a knife, and I cut him. I cut a lot of them. I thought, 'You wanted to kill me, now it's your turn.'
Read More

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Dramatic Pictures: Battle For Stalingrad
"...Effective command no longer possible... further defense senseless. Collapse inevitable. Army requests immediate permission to surrender in order to save lives of remaining troops."
General Paulus' radio message to Hitler on January 24, 1943

"...Capitulation is impossible. The 6th Army will do its historic duty at Stalingrad until the last man, the last bullet..."

Hitler's response to General Friedrich Paulus' request to withdraw from the city

READ MORE>>>

Points To Ponder....

The fall of France was shocking. It reduced France to virtually a non-player in the Second World War. The efforts of Charles de Gualle were more symbolic than material. But the martial instincts of the French must never be doubted. Under Napoleon they were a formidable military power. The French definitely have more iron in their blood then say, the Italians [I do not mean it in a derogatory sense. War never makes sense]

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Bias Of Western Historians

Soviet resistance made possible a successful Allied invasion of France, and ensured the final Allied victory over Germany.

It can hardly be called mere 'resistance'! If it hadn't been for the Russians, Hitler would have made mincemeat of British forces in Africa and landed on British shores in no time. Hitler attacked Russia first because it had more land and resources than Britain. It is as simple as that.

READ MORE>>>>
Eastern Front: Bias Of Western Historians