|
Galka -> (2/11/2002 2:03:00 PM)
|
Addendum: Selected quotes from Alex Buchner's book "The German Infantry Handbook"
"only with the introduction of the panzerfaust in mid 1943 was the individual fighting man given a useful one-man antitank weapon with which he could take on a tank from a certain distance. But this weapon reached the front only slowly, and so the antitank weapons of a company in the summer of 1944 still added up to just two panzerfaust shells, two 3 kilogram and two one kilogram engineer charges, two smoke grenatdes, two smoke blocks and two T-mines..."
"the 18 machine pistol, also knownas the MPi Bergmann, which had appeared during WWI, and put it into general use. In the western campaign in 1940 there were only three of them per company, one for each platoon leader. Only in 1941 did the MPi 40, a slightly improved version of the already developed MPi 38, reach the troops."
"The Panzerjager company of the infantry regiment was fully motorized and consisted of four platoons, each with three antitank guns and a total of 12 light machine guns.."
Close Antitank Combat
"An example of the equipment of a 4-man troop lying in ambush:
Troop leader: Pistol (MPi or automatic rifle), one magnetic charge, two hand grenades, two twin smoke grenades, one short spade.
Blinder: pistol, smoke bombs, two hand grenades, two twin smoke grenades, one sort spade.
Destroyer: Pistol, smoke bombs, one magnetic charge, one T-mnie with anchor hooks (or one 3 kilogram concentric charge) with detonator and three detonators (in reserve), 7 cm long, in a container two hand grenades, one short spade.
Securer: Rifle, one magnetic charge, one T-mine with anchor hook (or one 3 kilogram concentric charge) and three detonators..two hand grenades, one short spade. Additional personnel are to be equipped similarly to the securer."
"An lFH 18 battery was ready to fire 45 minutes after receiving instructions."
"Engineer flamethrower troops were used along with engineer or infantry shock troops. Successful action was usually possible only whe the flamethrower troops could be held ready unseen just a short distance from the action. A combat principle was that one flamethrower operator was never deployed alone, but that two men were always used together, so they could support each other when advancing and fighting. thus the strength of a flamethrower troop was to consist of one troop leader and one flamethrower operator with auxiliary men."
[ February 11, 2002: Message edited by: Galka ]
|
|
|
|
![]("smile.gif")
Brian
