Ts4EVER

Those are re enactors.

Doesn't this imply that the M1919A6 was not used in Normandy?

They were the only European theatre unit to use the rare Johnson lmg.

Of course it is a propaganda picture, but that doesn't mean it wasn't taken in Cassino. Considering the other weapons lying around it might even have been taken in some kind of ammo/material dump. However, it genuinely looks like the building they are in is destroyed and the equipment of the paratrooper fits for Italy. It's also clearly not a part of this series from the Gran Sasso raid: Or this one from Normandy: Now generally speaking, inclusion of an infantry weapon like this does not make a big difference gameplay wise, especially since it would be very rare. On the other hand, tons of different tank production runs are included, even if the difference between them is negligible. I think it would be nice to have some more obscure infantry weapons, just to mix things up and add detail. One of the great things about cm2 is that it simulates single soldiers and their equipment, so why not introduce some more randomization where applicable? The Italians could have the Carcano carbine, the Germans could have the occasional G41 in Sicily to add a semi automatic rifle to the mix or maybe a captured Beretta.

Fallschirmjäger in the ruins of cassino.

no the jagdtiger did not fight in the battle of the bulge, only in operation nordwind and later.

The Jagdtiger was not used during Operation Market Garden. It was first used during Operation Nordwind in alsace early in 1945.

Some pointers about that Russian organisation above: The author is right when he says that smgs were not issued on a wide scale in the first few months of the war. At that time the PPsH41 had just started production and while it would soon turn into one of the most common infantry weapons, like, ever, initial production was slow. The Soviets had PPD34, PPD34/38 and PPD40 smgs, but not in nearly as large numbers as the PPsH41 later. After the winter war, the Soviets had decided to equip all their riflemen with SVT40 rifles. This proved to be a mistake, since they were expensive and unreliable (especially in the hands of relatively ill-trained conscripts). Because of that, production was all but halted in 1942 and replaced by the M91/30 / PPsH41 mix. It is quite ironic (and few games portray this) that the Russians had more semi-automatic rifles in the beginning of the war than at its end, in stark contrast to the Germans. Note however that even at the height of its deployment only a few elite units were fully equipped with the SVT40, while in most rifle units only the squad leader received one. The Russians significantly increased the fire power of their squads later in the war by issuing additional DP lmgs, up to 3 in some organisations I have seen. At the same time the average size of squads continued to decrease.

A while back I read a 21st Panzer status report from April 1944. What stood out to me was that besides all the converted tanks they also had lots of non standard infantry weapons, including: G98 rifles Berthier Rifles French smgs MG26(t)

Yes, especially in units that are supposed to be Osttruppen (like in the demo). Generally speaking the only stg44s in normandy were issued on a trial basis, since no unit used there actually made the organisational changes for its employment.

Joseph "Sepp" Allerberger was an austrian born sniper. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Allerberger

From Sepp Allerbergers autobiography:

I played this as Axis vs the AI and got a similar result. I didn't get the third objective because there was a single American marksman holding out in one of the wings.

Yeah that's what I mean. To give you an idea of how rare they were in Normandy: The 2nd SS Panzer (Das Reich), which is usually regarded as one of the better equipped units in the theatre had a whopping 41 in the whole division. The 12th SS also reports several "experimental rifles" which I took to mean MP44s or MkB42s. There is archaeological evidence that the Fallschirmjägers around St Lo had some (for example, some of the "Kurz" ammunition used by the rifle were found around Barquette). The MP44 only started appearing in notable numbers on the west front in October 1944, usually as part of the new "Sturmzug" concept that was implemented in the newly raised Volksgrenadier Divisions as well as some other new units like the Panzer Brigades. All weapons before that were mostly trial issues or prototypes. This also led to huge supply problems, since the ammunition needed for it was not yet widely available, making the relatively fast firing weapon useless after a few days of combat. To end the post, these are the only two photographs of MP44s in Normandy I know of: If anyone has more I would be very interested.

IMO MP44 are a tad over represented ingame right now, I have even seen Ost units with MP44s, which is highly unlikely. According to their June 1944 status reports the 352nd Infanterie of Omaha Beach and St Lo fame didn't have any either.

The battle took place in September 1944, so it might be something for that market garden dlc people are talking about. Couldn't hurt to include a "streetfighting" option for Infantry Companies.

During the battle of Brest the 2nd Infantry Division was issued additional smgs and (according to some sources) fully automatic M1 Carbines to assist in street fighting.

Other than the Germans and Brits, the US never had smgs in their infantry toes officially, so they were issued rather haphazardly. The 29th Division for example reports having no Thompsons at all on DDay.

I think so, yes. Although, technically one could make a case for the Carcano being superior to the K98k ingame on account of the 6 round mag.

I've actually seen Germans with Italian rifles due to this.

Avira Antivirus also thinks it's a virus.

Well some PPsh41 were converted to 9mm and issued as MP41®.

Keep in mind though that the StG44, or rather mP43 at that point, was not commonly used in Normandy. Both Photos and divisional status reports show that only a few division had been issued with it. The 12th SS Panzer for example reports several "Experimental rifles" which may or may not be MP43s and the 2nd SS Panzer reports 49 MP43s, to give you an idea of how rare it was even in supposed "elite" divisions. There is anecdotal and archeological evidence about it being used by the 6th FjG Regiment and I know of one photo showing one in the hands of an US soldier near St Lo (possibly Fallschirmjäger) and of one mud find near Villers Bocage. Considering these low numbers, I could imagine ammunition supply being an acute problem.

Hi! The Forgotten Hope mod for Battlefield 2 (2005) releases a new version today (Friday 13th 2012, 1800 UTC). The focus of this mod is bringing historically accurate WW2 vehicles, uniforms and battles into BF2. It has been around since 2007 and is one of the most successful mods for the engine, winning the Moddb "Mod of the Year" award in 2010. It is completely free. You can play as the American, German, Italian, British, Canadian, New Zealand or Australian army in a variety of battles ranging from teh African campaign to the Ardennes counter offensive at the end of 1944. You can find more information about the new release and links to the installer here: http://forgottenhope.warumdarum.de/ Even if you don't own BF2, you might be interested in looking at some renders of the mod's content on the site. A World War 2 connoisseur will find a lot of rare and well modelled vehicles and weapons