Friday, September 28, 2012
Well Equipped Enemy
Waffen SS late in WWII. The tank is the Panzerkampfwagen V, the Panther, one of the better tanks in the war. Two of the guys in the center carry the superb MG 42 on straps slung over their shoulders. Notice the ammo boxes at the feet of guys in the front. The handles on the top were at the side rather than the middle, so by putting the sides with the handles next to the other, one hand could carry two boxes easily. The guy in the center back, under the tank's gun has a Panzerfaust over his shoulder but I can't tell the size of the shaped charge warhead, as it's obscurred. The guy in front under the gun of the tank has an STG 44 and the guy to the left of him is carrying one too even though you can't see it. The slightly curved broad magazines he's carrying in a cloth pouch on his stomach only fit the STG.
These guys were ready to rumble.
If the German soldiers and particularly the Waffen SS had not served an incredibly evil regime, we would still be talking about their bravery, competence and elan. As it is, we just call them NAZIs. There is no worse epithet.
Labels: WWII: European Theater: Waffen SS
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 12:43 PM 
