As you traipse through the undergrowth in Normandy you spot a discarded enemy weapon there, it looks pretty cool - so do you pick it up and use it?

Yup, time to explore captured weapons in Normandy. /1
#WW2 #SWW #History

From playing waaaay too much MoH or COD we all know the best course of action is to discard your shitty starter weapon and upgrade to a cool piece of kit your oppo uses.

This trope's been about for *a while* now, and is actively damaging, so discard it. /2

In an infantry section there's three to ten of you, dependent on casualties, and it's not just whether you get to have a fun toy to play with.

Sound is integral to the battlescape, and of the first learning curves for the new initiate is the sound of enemy weapons. /3

When a FOO hears the distinctive 'BRRRT' or ripping-cloth of a German MG what they you do?

Well, they've probably not seen it - but it sound bloody different from your own kit.

Often enough you work out roughly where the fucker is, as you can't see much... /4

so you elect to give them a nice friendly stonk of 3" mortar or 25 pounder rounds, or hope some suppressive fire from the Vickers MGs descends from on high.

Sound is your ally.

Enemy weapons indicate that things will get hairy.

So you target the sound. /5

This is pretty damned common, as small bursts of fire are used to engage infiltrating patrols or suspected movement.

An unexpected snap of a rifle probably indicates a lone rifleman somewhere, picking you off one by one.

If you know the rough area - saturate with MG fire. /6

Of course doing so risks giving your own position away, so one has to apply such responses fairly carefully - as often enough it can be a trap...

But you'll hear the enemy long before you see him, if ever. /7

Both sides learned the others' weapons by sound and where captured weapons were employed by outlying posts, or in close defence, you could often discover your tactical ingenuity savagely punished by an alert friend with a wireless set. /8

There are plenty of such occasions recorded when you dig through, and a trend emerges where use of captured small arms tends to bring trouble - unless all involved are properly appraised, and even this may leave you vulnerable to infiltration. /9

The Germans used captured equipment prolifically in their supply chain, & some of their transport in Normandy had probs soldiered on since capture in 1940.

Captured tanks were repeatedly put back in service, such as this famed Firefly - repeatedly dragged out for propaganda. /10

II SS-Panzerkorps ran at least a troop of Churchills around Hill 112, but some claims of up to a squadron appear too far fetched to be believed.

Brens were also employed in pretty substantial numbers, especially when large amounts of .303 were also acquired.*

*Italy pic. /11

Helping bulk defensive positions.

Orders circulated from Second Army in July/August that battalions' private museums weren't to be tolerated and all items were to be confiscated, which was actually enforced as captured weapons were costing lives. /12

Some British snipers used German weapons acquired in theatre, but again, it appears the majority discarded them after some friendly poaching after seeing friendly platoons coming their ways with orders to flush out 'snipers' operating behind British lines!

Sound was key. /13

Captured camo could be useful, but it also ran the risk of seeing you shot out of hand by your own side.

There were also serious concerns of instant execution if found in such gear or using captured weapons. /14

Several actions describe how depleted platoons of about seven men would take an objective and know they'd face imminent counter attack - and just grab any German MG lying around and let loose at short range.

This was a massive force multiplier. /15

There also is minimal indication they retained such weapons afterwards.

Even this was relatively risky and there were plenty of reports of booby trapped weapons maiming or killing souvenir hunters. /16

Yes we do get some bonkers situations with 141 RAC briefly acquiring a Panther and a large amount of Italian MT from 12th SS-Panzer.

Some recce/carrier crews mounted captured MGs on their AFVs to bolster firepower, sure but... /17

they key thing to remember is the use of captured weapons was much less common than we'd really believe - as many soldiers would direct a lot of fire at sound, they tended to be a faff to get ammo for, possibly booby trapped. /18

Some lighter vehicles did see more service, such as motorbikes, field workshops, lorries etc - but wrangling guarantees for fuel allocation could be an pig and once they broke down, well that was it.

Then again the French did get a few Tigers etc running (for another day)... /19

I suspect much of the German fondness for captured kit in theatre stemmed from a desire to not overstretch their heavily overburdened and fraying supply lines.

But altho' touched above, it's really a different subject but some themes clearly remain universal. /20

So yes, whilst it did happen we're really talking the exception over the rule.

It's one of those myths drummed in by a number of veteran accounts, bare in mind how only a tiny fraction discussed frontline service, films and games.

Ultimately: not really worth the risk. /thread