How did different soldiers have different guns?

MW2FAN

I know that most US soldiers had m1 garands and carbines but how was it decided wether you were given a Thompson or 1911? Also for the Germans, how was it decided who was given an STG-44 or an mp40? Just wondering as I watched a documentary about d day.

beauf

Never thought about it. I would have assumed squad leaders would get a Machine Pistol. If the unit, was doing something more specialised they would get a weapon more appropriate to the job at hand.

I have no idea though.

The_Valeyard

Good Q
No idea.

I thought it would have depended on type of soldier or unit you were part of?

I'm sure some historical military buff shall fill us in shortly

Pretty sure it would depend on your battlefield role.

Dr Crippen

In the case of Americans on D Day a lot lost their weapons on disembarking from boats, and others from parachuting in, so I think a lot of scavenging went on that day. Band of brothers highlights examples of leg bags disappearing once they jumped from the plane, leaving many American soldiers badly unequipped.

In regards to the Germans I thought it depended on whether you were a member of the Wehrmacht or SS and what skills you had, would it have been the same within all armies? I could be wrong on that and if so educate me

MW2FAN

Thanks lads, I was just thinking about it. I'd be pretty p***ed if I was stuck with a kar 98 and my mate had an mp40!

Aenaes

I found this: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1bo325/how_were_weapons_distributed_to_us_soldiers_in/

And, taken from the Wikipedia page of the STG-44: "The 1st Infantry Division of Army Group South and 32nd Infantry Division of Army Group North were selected to be issued the rifle, both being refitted from heavy losses on the Eastern Front. Ammunition shortages meant the 1st ID was the only division fully equipped with it. The Kar 98k was retained as a specialist weapon for sniping and launching rifle grenades. MP 40s were used by vehicle and artillery crews and officers. The StG 44 was issued to all infantry soldiers.[14]"

beauf

MW2FAN wrote: »

Thanks lads, I was just thinking about it. I'd be pretty p***ed if I was stuck with a kar 98 and my mate had an mp40!

You could hit something at far great ranges with the kar. You'#d only want the mp40 if up close to things.

MP40
Effective firing range 100 – 200 m[3]
Maximum firing range 200 m[3]

StG 44
Effective firing range 300 m (automatic) 600 m (semi-automatic)[4]

kar98
Effective firing range 500 m (550 yd) with iron sights
1,000 m (1,090 yd) with telescopic sight

Victor

A few factors:
* Role - not much use in giving battle rifles to vehicles crews, that they couldn't bring to bear, were unwieldy inside the vehicle, etc. Dismounted crews would be using their personal weapons for self defence, not attacking infantry hundreds of metres away.
* Rank - privates tended to get rifles, NCOs and officers got SMGs and some lighter weapons.
* Available ammunition and other supplies. Not much use in having a particular weapon if you didn't have the weapon and vice versa. So, where possible, units tended to have the rifles (typically a single type) / machine-guns that used the same ammunition and SMGs / pistols that used the same ammunition.
* Training - changing from one weapon to another meant taking units out of line and use of ammunition in training instead of combat.

MW2FAN wrote: »

I know that most US soldiers had m1 garands and carbines but how was it decided wether you were given a Thompson or 1911?

Most riflemen had Garands, while NCOs, officers and vehicle crews had Carbines, Thomsons or Grease Guns. While, on open ground the Garand's range was more useful, in confined areas, the carbines and SMGs rate of fire and more compact size were more useful. Being a semi-automatic, the Garand did provide some tactical advantage over older bolt-action rifles, but at a loss of accuracy and the risk of expending more ammunition. The Lee Enfields and variants tended to be kept for marksman / sniper roles.

For the vast majority of soldiers, the 1911 was a secondary weapon. I get the impression pistols were much more widely available to the Americans than other armies.

Also for the Germans, how was it decided who was given an STG-44 or an mp40? Just wondering as I watched a documentary about d day.

The Kar-98 came about around 1898, the MP40 around 1940 and the STG44 in 1944, so time-line is an obvious factor. Up to 1944 the Kar-98 was normally issued, however, in the first few years of the war rifles were found to be less useful in urban combat. Units would change wholesale to the MP40 for urban combat. The STG44 successfully straddled the gap between the other two, so there was no need to have two weapons and two types of ammunition. However, by the end of the war, there weren't enough STG44s to go around (too much demand and not enough manufacturing), so while one unit might have had the STG44 only, others would still have Kar-98s / MP40s. Of course in the last few months of the war, units would have used whatever was available.

MW2FAN

Cheers lads, just saw it as a point to ponder