![]() Also the second-in-command was armed the same way as regular rifleman. ![]() This was the regular amount, according to Buchner more rounds were issued in case of a combat situation. Now, each rifleman had around 9 clips for his rifle with 5 shots each, thus 45 rounds. Note that the “German Squad in Combat” indicates a pistol instead of a rifle as a weapon for the ammo carrier, but it seems that this is incorrect and is probably from an old layout, when the squad consisted of an LMG and rifle team. Unlike the assistant he was issued a rifle not a pistol. He carried two Ammo boxes with 300 rounds each. There was also an ammo carrier assigned to the machine gunner, whose job was to carry and supply ammunition. ![]() Additionally, one ammo box with 300 rounds weighing 11.53 kg. The assistant gunner carried 4 ammo drums with 50 shots and a weight of 2.45 kg each. The machine gunner was equipped with an MG 34 and later on with an MG42, he was also issued a pistol and an ammo drum with 50 rounds. Initially all men besides the machine gunner and his assistant were equipped with the “Karabiner 98 kurz”, the German standard rifle, even the Squad leader, yet around 1941 he was issued a MP40 submachine gun with 6 magazines of 32 shots each. The German Infantry Squad in World War 2 for the most part consisted of 1 squad leader and 9 infantry men, thus a total of 10 men. Let’s begin with organization and armament. It is a partial translation of a German publication and using other sources, I could correct some small errors and inconsistencies, nevertheless take everything with a grain of salt, especially since manuals and combat realities often differ. Second, the main source for this is the US Manual “German Squad in Combat” from the Military Intelligence Service released in January 1943. Two important points, first a squad rarely acted alone on the battlefield, it was used in coordination with other squads of its platoon and/or company. Time to take a look a German Squad Tactics in World War 2.
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