The enemy has better weapons

[Hockler]

We all know it is common in war to believe your enemy has superior fire power. So far, I've only heard/read of allies experience, like the MG42's fearsome "ripping canvas" fire, 'respecting' the MP40. But what accounts from the German's can you tell us about? How did a German rifle team feel facing a semi-auto American rifle team? How about the Bren, Thompsons, M2HB, etc.? Just asking because I know you've done MUCH more research than I everwill. I'm tired of reading "one-sided" stories.

[Moon]

Of course my 2 cents will be overshadowed soon by the answers still to come from Steve and others, but what the heck:

- the Germans tended to have much more automatic weapons in use than the Allies, especially later in the war. Never heard or read of a specific Allied small weapon the Krauts would have regarded as superior.

- IF there was anything the Germans respected or even feared in the Allied weapons arsenal, it was most probably artillery and air support.

The Germans thought the "overuse" of artillery power by the US was "unfair", because whenever they ran into trouble, they would pull back and call for "arty"... the Germans felt the infantry should solve its problems itself. (Of course the Germans would have done it exactly the same way if they had the resources the US had )

But that is leading away from the original question...

[Guest Big Time Software]

Can't offer much, in spite of Moon's expectations

In general I think the Germans respected the Allies small arms. Not in awe of them, but respected. I'm sure they had the most respect for the M1 and .50cal. The rest were either on a par or lower. In the East it was different. There were several small arms that the Germans thought were, in some ways, better.

The real thing thing the Germans feared was, as Moon said, the Allied artillery. Not only was it plentiful and lethal, but it was also coupled with the best fire control system of any army in the war (well, at least the US part).

The other thing that got the Germans was how many friggin tanks the Allies had Infantry units often had more armor than a Panzer division. While quality was sometimes lacking, it really was hard on Grenadiers when they had NO tanks and inadequate AT protection. This was an all too common problem.

Steve

[Mike T]

All the accounts I have read about for the German perspective give accounts of their great respect for the Western Allies artillery and fighter bombers (Jabos), the Soviet heavy tanks (T-34, KV's, and JS's), the Soviet sub-machine guns, the British Matilda tank and the French Renault and Souma Tanks, and various other individual types of weapons which they either subsequently used or tried to copy.

By most accounts however, the Germans had (or believed they had) the most superior type of equipment in every field. Their biggest problem was that they couldn't supply that equipment in the quantities that were required or, believing that they had the best, they didn't try to improve what they had until it was too late.

[Moon]

A quote from CITIZEN SOLDIER on that topic: "What good is a King Tiger when you don't have the gas to get it moving"

[Guest Big Time Software]

To add to Ambrose's comments...

What good is a King Tiger when it doesn't have any gas, there are only a couple hundred made, a good number are broken down at any one time, the danger from air attack is acute, spare parts are hard to get when the supply columns are always getting shot up, etc., etc.

I think to sum up...

In terms of equipment, the Germans had several areas of advantage of the Allies on a 1 to 1 encounter basis. But there were exceptions from the very start of the war (like the Spitfire and Matildas for example) all the way through the end. With very few exceptions (like the MG34/42 and Panzerfausts) the Germans were at a disadvantage when it came to producing quantities needed to overcome the "inferior" Allied equipment they ran into. And they NEVER had enough to compensate for the superior Allied stuff (like artillery, Mustang w/drop tanks, heavy bombers, naval capacity, etc.).

This is what makes CM so interesting. The Germans get to go toe to toe with Allied forces without the strategic disadvantages coming into play in a direct way (indirectly it does, like more stuff for the Allies) If a King Tiger is in a scenario, production figures, gas shortages, unavailable parts, rear area loss to Allied planes, etc. don't factor in directly. The Allies have to do things the old fashioned way: knocking it out with their brains since their brawn isn't generally up to the task

Steve