Dear friends, welcome to the channel the Eastern Front. Today we will try to figure out
which war trophies were most appreciated by the
Germans during the Second World War. It's no secret that during the war,
both sides tried to use any resources to the maximum, and the Germans were no exception.
And also I will tell you about the stocks of captured German weapons still stored
in Russia and what the Ministry of defense wants to do with it.
This Tokarev rifle, which Soviet soldiers fondly called by the female name of Sveta.
And it is not a coincidence. Soviet veterans in their recall noticed that it was very afraid of
dirt and dust. Therefore, she demanded a special attitude towards herself,
like a capricious girl. So some soldiers made a cover for her to protect her from dirt and dust.
And if you consider that the majority of the Soviet army consisted of
workers and peasants. who in technical terms were extremely uneducated,
it was hard to master how every detail and every mechanism of a rifle works.
Therefore, the Red Army did not like SVT, but trained fighters were used it
with great efficiency. Especially the paratroopers and the navy.
In 1941, a considerable number of SVT-40s ended up in the hands of the German army as trophies.
This rifle was respected by the Germans for its rate of fire. Because they did
not have their own self-loading rifle at that time. Self-loading Gewehr 41 began to arrive
in the Wehrmacht only in 1942 in small quantities, and it was far from perfect.
It sounds strange but German soldiers were also using Soviet helmets.
Since the Soviet SSh-40 helmet was 860 grams and withstood the hit of a pistol cartridge.
In comparison to the Germans helmet M-42, even a small fragment pierced it.
This is due to the fact that in the second half of the Second World War,
due to a lack of resources, the quality of German M-42 helmets has greatly decreased.
The Germans experienced a significant shortage of additives for "armor"
steel. And the M-42 helmets turned out to be much worse than the previous modification.
However, it should be noted that Germans used soviet helmets mainly in the rear
in anti-aircraft and artillery units during shelling. Not at the front line.
The Germans really liked the Shpagin submachine gun or PPSh.
This weapon was extremely popular with the Germans during the Battle of Stalingrad,
when, in the conditions of cramped houses and streets,
the rate of fire and the ability to conduct hand-to-hand combat were important above all.
German commanders often wrote requests to copy the Soviet PPSh-41,
so he admired them, because it was reliable, had an aiming range of 400 meters,
provided a high density of fire and had a drum magazine for 71 rounds.
An interesting fact is that in practice, Soviet fighters loaded less rounds of about
60-65 rounds to avoid problems with feeding cartridges.
However, the Germans in the captured weapons changed the drum magazine to the standard
magazines from the MP submachine gun. Since it was much more user-friendly. So the Germans remade
captured Soviet PPSh under the 9mm cartridge. This submachine gun had the designation MP41(r).
For the intensity of fire, the Germans called him a saw, or eater of cartridges.
The Soviets called him daddy. Since the designation PPSh in Russian is pronounced as PPSh,
which is consonant with the word papa or daddy.
German overcoats from the Hugo Boss were elegant,
but did not warm well in the Russian frosts. So the Soviet quilted jackets and sheepskin coats,
created for the harsh Russian conditions, found application among the invaders.
At every opportunity, the soldiers of the Wehrmacht
exchanged or took away warm clothes from the local population, or removed them from the dead.
So the German general colonel Heinz Guderian even wrote that sometimes
he could not distinguish his officers from the enemy, so widely they used Soviet clothes.
Nowadays, captured weapons have more historical value or
collectible rather than military use. But in Russia, the Ministry of Defense
decided to melt down captured German weapons and make a base for the floor in the church out of it.
Trophy pistols, carbines and machine guns, many, by the way,
are in perfect condition and even in factory lubrication.
Weapons must be demilitarized by law before being sent to the blast furnace.
For this, the trunk is cut. After that, it is already impossible to restore such a pistol.
It was very interesting to read the comments of people, how they feel about this idea.
Better, sell to museums, and to collectors and give money for veterans.
Did you capture it to melt it down? Melt your Mercedes. Melt the patriarch's yacht.
The price of MG-42 in Russia is at least 300,000 rubles. One thousand MG - 300 millions.
In the west, it is more expensive. Price - 6 meters iron fittings - up
to 1000 rubles. The loss of money due to the mindlessness of those who made such a decision
is at least 299,000 rubles. From only one machine gun, and after all there are not
only machine guns ... They are promoting their brainlessness on the wave of hurray-patriotism.
And what prevents to sell to collectors, and spend the proceeds on the construction of the temple?
Quite often I come across the word Soviet propaganda in the comments under the videos
on my channel. So this is a classic example of it in action. I think because of such
generals and military leaders, we suffered such losses during the Second World War.
I have everything for today. I look forward to your comments.
See you soon on the eastern front channel. Wish you peace and health.