German machine gun from the Second World War - Small arms of the Wehrmacht. Small arms of the Wehrmacht in WWII. German small arms. The best infantry weapons of the second world war

10.03.2020

World War II was the greatest and bloodiest conflict in human history. Millions died, empires rose and fell, and it is difficult to find a corner on the planet that was not affected in one way or another by that war. And in many ways it was a technology war, an arms war.

Our today's article is a kind of "Top 11" about the best soldier's weapons on the battlefields of World War II. Millions of ordinary men relied on him in battle, took care of him, carried him with them in the cities of Europe, the deserts, and in the stuffy jungles of the southern part. A weapon that often gave them a bit of an advantage over their enemies. A weapon that saved their lives and killed their enemies.

German assault rifle, automatic. In fact, the first representative of the entire modern generation of machine guns and assault rifles. Also known as MP 43 and MP 44. It could not shoot in long bursts, but it had a much higher accuracy and range compared to other machine guns of that time, equipped with conventional pistol cartridges. Additionally, telescopic sights, grenade launchers, as well as special devices for shooting from cover could be installed on the StG 44. Mass produced in Germany in 1944. In total, more than 400 thousand copies were produced during the war.

10 Mauser 98k

World War II became a swan song for repeating shotguns. They have dominated armed conflicts since the late 19th century. And some armies were used for a long time after the war. On the basis of the then military doctrine, the armies, first of all, fought each other over long distances and in open areas. The Mauser 98k was designed for just that.

The Mauser 98k was the backbone of the infantry armament of the German Army and remained in production until the German surrender in 1945. Among all the rifles that served during the war years, the Mauser is considered one of the best. At least by the Germans themselves. Even after the introduction of semi-automatic and automatic weapons, the Germans remained with the Mauser 98k, partly for tactical reasons (they based their infantry tactics on light machine guns, not riflemen). In Germany, they developed the world's first assault rifle, though already at the end of the war. But it never saw widespread use. The Mauser 98k remained the primary weapon with which most German soldiers fought and died.

9. The M1 carbine

The M1 Garand and the Thompson submachine gun were great, of course, but they each had their own serious flaws. They were extremely uncomfortable for support soldiers in daily use.

For ammunition carriers, mortar crews, gunners and other similar troops, they were not particularly convenient and did not provide adequate effectiveness in close combat. We needed a weapon that could be easily removed and quickly used. They became The M1 Carbine. It wasn't the most powerful firearm in that war, but it was light, small, accurate, and in the right hands just as deadly as a more powerful weapon. The rifle had a mass of only 2.6 - 2.8 kg. American paratroopers also appreciated the M1 carbine for its ease of use, and often jumped into battle armed with the folding stock variant. The US produced over six million M1 carbines during the war. Some variations based on the M1 are still produced and used today by the military and civilians.

8. MP40

Although this submachine gun was never seen in large numbers as a primary armament for infantrymen, the German MP40 became a ubiquitous symbol of the German soldier in World War II, and of the Nazis in general. It seems like every war movie has a German with this gun. But in reality, the MP4 has never been a standard infantry weapon. Usually used by paratroopers, squad leaders, tankers and special forces.

It was especially indispensable against the Russians, where the accuracy and power of long-barreled rifles was largely lost in street fighting. However, the MP40 submachine guns were so effective that they forced the German high command to reconsider their views on semi-automatic weapons, which led to the creation of the first assault rifle. Whatever it was, the MP40 was undoubtedly one of the great submachine guns of the war, and became a symbol of the efficiency and power of the German soldier.

7. Hand grenades

Of course, rifles and machine guns can be considered the main weapons of the infantry. But how not to mention the huge role of using various infantry grenades. Powerful, light, and ideally sized for throwing, grenades were an invaluable tool for close-range attacks on enemy battle positions. In addition to the effect of direct and fragmentation, grenades have always had a huge shock and demoralizing effect. Starting from the famous "lemons" in the Russian and American armies and ending with the German grenade "on a stick" (nicknamed "potato masher" due to its long handle). A rifle can do a lot of damage to a fighter's body, but the wounds inflicted by fragmentation grenades are something else.

6. Lee Enfield

The famous British rifle has received many modifications and has a glorious history since the end of the 19th century. Used in many historical, military conflicts. Including, of course, in the First and Second World Wars. In World War II, the rifle was actively modified and supplied with various sights for sniper shooting. She managed to "work" in Korea, Vietnam and Malaya. Until the 70s, it was often used to train snipers from different countries.

5 Luger PO8

One of the most coveted combat mementos for any Allied soldier is the Luger PO8. It may seem a bit odd to describe a lethal weapon, but the Luger PO8 was truly a work of art and many gun collectors have it in their collections. With a chic design, extremely comfortable in the hand and manufactured to the highest standards. In addition, the pistol had a very high accuracy of fire and became a kind of symbol of the Nazi weapons.

Designed as an automatic pistol to replace revolvers, the Luger was highly regarded not only for its unique design, but also for its long service life. It remains today the most "collectible" German weapon of that war. Periodically appears as a personal combat weapon at the present time.

4. KA-BAR combat knife

The armament and equipment of soldiers of any war is unthinkable without mentioning the use of so-called trench knives. An indispensable assistant to any soldier for a variety of situations. They can dig holes, open canned food, use them for hunting and clearing the way in the dense forest and, of course, use them in bloody hand-to-hand combat. More than one and a half million were produced during the war years. Received the widest application when used by US Marines in the tropical jungle of the islands in the Pacific Ocean. To this day, the KA-BAR remains one of the greatest knives ever made.

3. Thompson machine

Developed in the USA back in 1918, the Thompson has become one of the most iconic submachine guns in history. In World War II, the Thompson M1928A1 was most widely used. Despite its weight (more than 10 kg and was heavier than most submachine guns), it was a very popular weapon for scouts, sergeants, special forces, and paratroopers. In general, everyone who appreciated the lethal force and high rate of fire.

Despite the fact that the production of these weapons was discontinued after the war, Thompson still "shines" around the world in the hands of military and paramilitary groups. He was noticed even in the Bosnian war. For the soldiers of World War II, it served as an invaluable combat tool with which they fought through all of Europe and Asia.

2. PPSh-41

Shpagin submachine gun, model 1941. Used in the winter war with Finland. On the defensive, Soviet troops using PPSh had a much better chance of destroying the enemy at close range than with the popular Russian Mosin rifle. The troops needed, first of all, high rates of fire at short distances in urban battles. A real marvel of mass production, the PPSh was as simple as possible to manufacture (at the height of the war, Russian factories produced up to 3,000 machine guns a day), very reliable and extremely easy to use. Could fire both bursts and single shots.

Equipped with a drum magazine with 71 rounds of ammunition, this machine gun gave the Russians fire superiority at close range. The PPSh was so effective that the Russian command armed entire regiments and divisions with it. But perhaps the best evidence of the popularity of this weapon was its highest appreciation among the German troops. Wehrmacht soldiers willingly used captured PPSh assault rifles throughout the war.

1. M1 Garand

At the start of the war, almost every American infantryman in every major unit was armed with a rifle. They were accurate and reliable, but after each shot they required the soldier to manually remove spent cartridges and reload. This was acceptable for snipers, but significantly limited the speed of aiming and the overall rate of fire. Wanting to increase the ability to intensively fire, one of the most famous rifles of all time, the M1 Garand, was put into operation in the American army. Patton called it “the greatest weapon ever invented,” and the rifle deserves this high praise.

It was easy to use and maintain, with a quick reload, and gave the US Army superiority in rate of fire. The M1 served faithfully with the military in the active US Army until 1963. But even today, this rifle is used as a ceremonial weapon and is also highly valued as a hunting weapon among the civilian population.

The article is a slightly modified and supplemented translation of materials from warhistoryonline.com. It is clear that the presented "top" weapons can cause comments from fans of military history from different countries. So, dear readers of WAR.EXE, put forward your fair versions and opinions.

https://youtu.be/6tvOqaAgbjs

Rifles of Germany, America, Japan, Britain, USSR (PHOTO)
Pistols
Submachine guns
Anti-tank weapons
flamethrowers

Briefly, it can be noted that even before the start of World War II, general directions in the development and production of small arms took shape in various countries of the world. More attention in the development of new types and the modernization of old ones began to be paid to increasing the density of fire. At the same time, accuracy and firing range faded into the background. This led to the further development and increase in the number of automatic types of small arms. The most popular were submachine guns, machine guns, assault rifles, etc.
The need for shooting, as they say, from the move led, in turn, to the development of lighter weapons. In particular, machine guns have become much lighter and more mobile.
In addition, weapons such as rifle grenades, anti-tank rifles and grenade launchers appeared for combat.

Rifles of Germany, America, Japan, Britain, USSR

They were one of the most massive types of weapons during the Second World War. At the same time, most of them with a longitudinally sliding bolt had "common roots" dating back to the "Mauser Gever 98", which entered service with the German troops even before the First World War.

The French also developed their own analogue of a self-loading rifle. However, due to the large length (almost one and a half meters), the RSC M1917 was never widely used.
Often, when developing this kind of rifles, designers “sacrificed” the effective firing range for the sake of increasing the rate of fire.

Pistols

Pistols of manufacturers known in the previous conflict continued to be personal small arms in World War II. Moreover, in the interval between wars, many of them were modernized, increasing their effectiveness.
The magazine capacity of pistols of this period ranged from 6 to 8 rounds, which allowed continuous firing.

The only exception in this series was the American Browning Hi-Power, whose magazine held 13 rounds.
The most widely known weapons of this type were the German Parabellums, Lugers, and later Walthers, the British Enfield No. 2 Mk I, and the Soviet TT-30 and 33.

Submachine guns

The appearance of this type of weapon was the next step in strengthening the firepower of the infantry. They were widely used in battles in the Eastern theater of operations.

Here the German troops used the "Maschinenpistole 40" (MP 40).
In service with the Soviet army, the PPD 1934/38 was successively replaced by the German Bergman MP 28, PPSh-41 and PPS-42.

Anti-tank weapons

The development of tanks and other armored vehicles led to the emergence of weapons that were able to take out even the heaviest vehicles.

So, in 1943, the Ml Bazooka appeared in service with the American troops, and later its improved version of the M9.
Germany, in turn, taking the US weapon as a model, mastered the release of the RPzB Panzerschreck. However, the Panzerfaust was the most massive, the production of which was relatively inexpensive, and it itself was quite effective.
The British used PIAT against tanks and armored vehicles.

It is noteworthy that the modernization of this type of weapon did not stop throughout the war. This was due, first of all, to the fact that tank armor was also continuously strengthened and improved, and more and more strong firepower was required to penetrate it.

flamethrowers

Speaking of small arms of that period, one cannot fail to mention flamethrowers, which were one of the most terrible types of weapons and at the same time the most effective. The Nazis were especially active in using flamethrowers to fight the defenders of Stalingrad, who were hiding in sewer "pockets".

One of the most famous German pistols. Developed by the designers of Walther in 1937 under the name HP-HeeresPistole - a military pistol. A number of commercial HP pistols have been produced.

In 1940, it was adopted as the main army pistol under the name Pistole 38.
Serial production of the R.38 for the armed forces of the Reich begins in April 1940. In the first half of the year, about 13,000 pistols of the so-called zero series were produced. The new weapons were received by officers of the ground forces, part of the non-commissioned officers, the first numbers of heavy weapons calculations, officers of the SS field troops, as well as the SD security service, the Imperial Security Main Directorate and the Imperial Ministry of the Interior.

On all Series 0 pistols, the numbers start at zero. On the left side of the slide is the Walther logo and the model name P.38. The WaA acceptance number on zero-series pistols is E/359. Handles are bakelite black with diamond-shaped notches.

Walter P38 480 series

In June 1940, the German leadership, fearing the bombing of arms factories by the Allies, decided to indicate the letter code of the factory instead of the manufacturer's name on the weapon. For two months, Walther produced P.38 pistols with manufacturer code 480.

Two months later, in August, the plant received a new designation from the letters AC. Next to the manufacturer's code, they began to indicate the last two digits of the year of manufacture.

At the Walter factory, serial numbers of pistols were used from 1 to 10,000. Each after the 10,000th pistol, the countdown began again, but now a letter was added to the number. After every ten thousand, the next letter was used. The first tens of thousands of pistols produced at the beginning of the year did not have a suffix letter in front of the number. The next 10,000 received the suffix "a" in front of the serial number. Thus the 25,000th pistol of a given year had the serial number "5000b" and the 35,000th "5000c". The combination of year of manufacture + serial number + suffix or lack thereof was unique to each pistol.
The war in Russia required a huge amount of personal weapons, the production capacity of the Walter plant was no longer enough to cover this need. As a result, the Walther company had to transfer drawings and documentation for the production of P.38 pistols to its competitors. At Mauser-Werke A. G., production was launched by the autumn of 1942, Spree-Werke GmbH - in May 1943.

Mauser-Werke A. G. received manufacturer code "byf". All pistols produced by him were stamped with the manufacturer's code and the last two digits of the year of issue. In 1945 this code was changed to SWW. In April, the Allies seized the Mauser factory and handed it over to the French, who produced P38 pistols for their own needs until mid-1946.

The Spree-Werke GmbH received the code "cyq", which changed to "cvq" in 1945.

LUGER P.08

German mountain shooter with pistol P.08

German soldier aiming with a Parabellum pistol

Pistol Luger LP.08 caliber 9 mm. Long barrel model with sector sight

WALTHER PPK - criminal police pistol. Designed in 1931, it is a lighter and shorter version of the Walther PP pistol.

WALTHER PP (PP is short for Polizeipistole - police pistol). Developed in 1929 in Germany chambered for 7.65 × 17 mm, magazine capacity 8 rounds. It is noteworthy that it was from such a pistol that Adolf Hitler shot himself. It was also produced chambered for 9×17 mm.

Mauser HSc (pistol with self-cocking trigger, modification "C" - Hahn-Selbstspanner-Pistole, Ausführung C). Caliber 7.65 mm, magazine for 8 rounds. Adopted by the German army in 1940.

Pistol Sauer 38H (H from it. Hahn - "trigger"). The letter "H" in the model name indicates that the pistol used an internal (hidden) trigger (short for the German word - Hahn - trigger. Adopted in 1939. Caliber 7.65 Brauning, magazine for 8 rounds.

Mauser M1910. Designed in 1910, it was produced in versions for different cartridges - 6.35 × 15 mm Browning and 7.65 Browning, the magazine holds 8 or 9 rounds, respectively.

Browning HP. Belgian pistol developed in 1935. The letters HP in the model name are short for "Hi-Power" or "High-Power"). The pistol uses a 9 mm parabellum cartridge, magazine capacity 13 rounds. FN Herstal, which developed this pistol, produced it until 2017.

RADOM Vis.35. Polish pistol adopted by the Polish army in 1935. The pistol uses a 9mm Parabellum cartridge, magazine capacity 8 rounds. During the occupation of Poland, this pistol was produced for the German army.

During the Great Patriotic War, readers wrote about the desirability of a similar article about machine guns. We fulfill the request.

Machine guns at the indicated time became the main striking force of small arms at medium and long ranges: for some shooters, self-loading rifles were gradually replaced by submachine guns instead of self-loading rifles. And if in July 1941 a rifle company had six light machine guns in the state, then a year later - 12, and in July 1943 - 18 light machine guns and one heavy machine gun.

Let's start with Soviet models.

The first was, of course, the Maxim easel machine gun of the 1910/30 model, modified for a heavier bullet weighing 11.8 g. In comparison with the 1910 model, about 200 changes were made to its design. The machine gun has become lighter by more than 5 kg, reliability has automatically increased. Also for the new modification, a new Sokolov wheeled machine was developed.

Cartridge - 7.62 x 54 mm; food - tape, 250 rounds; rate of fire - 500-600 rounds / min.

The specifics were the use of cloth tape and water cooling of the barrel. The machine gun weighed 20.3 kg by itself (without water); and together with the machine - 64.3 kg.

The Maxim machine gun was a powerful and familiar weapon, but at the same time it was too heavy for maneuverable combat, and water cooling could cause problems with overheating: fiddling with canisters during a battle is not always convenient. In addition, the device "Maxim" was quite complex, which was important in wartime.

There was also an attempt to make a light machine gun out of the easel "Maxim". As a result, the MT machine gun (Maxim-Tokarev) of the 1925 model was created. The resulting weapon can only be called hand-held, since the machine gun weighed almost 13 kg. This model has not received distribution.

The first mass-produced light machine gun was the DP (Degtyarev Infantry), adopted by the Red Army in 1927 and widely used until the end of World War II. For its time, it was a good weapon, captured specimens were also used in the Wehrmacht (“7.62mm leichte Maschinengewehr 120 (r)”), and among the Finns, the DP was generally the most common machine gun.

Cartridge - 7.62 x 54 mm; food - disk store for 47 rounds; rate of fire - 600 rounds / min; weight with equipped magazine - 11.3 kg.

Disk stores became its specificity. On the one hand, they provided a very reliable supply of cartridges, on the other hand, they had a significant mass and dimensions, which made them inconvenient. In addition, they were quite easily deformed in combat conditions and failed. As standard, the machine gun was equipped with three discs.

In 1944, the DP was upgraded to the PDM: a pistol grip fire control appeared, the return spring was moved to the rear of the receiver, and the bipod was made more durable. After the war, in 1946, the RP-46 machine gun was created on the basis of the DP, which was then massively exported.

Gunsmith V.A. Degtyarev also developed an easel machine gun. In September 1939, the 7.62-mm machine gun of the Degtyarev system (DS-39) was put into service, they planned to gradually replace the Maxims.

Cartridge - 7.62 x 54 mm; food - tape, 250 rounds; rate of fire - 600 or 1200 rounds / minute, switchable; weight 14.3 kg + 28 kg machine with shield.

By the time of the treacherous German attack on the USSR, the Red Army had about 10 thousand DS-39 machine guns in service. Under the conditions of the front, their design shortcomings were quickly revealed: too fast and energetic shutter recoil caused frequent ruptures of the cartridge cases when they were removed from the barrel, which led to the inertial dismantling of the cartridge with a heavy bullet that popped out of the muzzle of the cartridge case. Of course, in peaceful conditions this problem could be solved, but there was no time for experiments, the industry was evacuated, so the production of the DC-39 was stopped.

The question of replacing the Maxims with a more modern design remained, and in October 1943, 7.62-mm machine guns of the Goryunov system of the 1943 model (SG-43) began to enter the troops. Interestingly, Degtyarev honestly admitted that the SG-43 is better and more economical than its development - a clear demonstration of the difference between competition and competition.

The Goryunov easel machine gun turned out to be simple, reliable and fairly light, while production was deployed at several enterprises at once, so that by the end of 1944, 74 thousand pieces were produced.

Cartridge - 7.62 x 54 mm; food - tape, 200 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 600-700 shots / minute; weight 13.5 kg (36.9 on a wheeled machine or 27.7 kg on a tripod machine).

After the Great Patriotic War, the machine gun underwent modernization and, like the SGM, was produced until 1961, until it was replaced with a single Kalashnikov machine gun in the easel version.

Perhaps, we also recall the Degtyarev light machine gun (RPD), which was created in 1944 under the new intermediate cartridge 7.62x39 mm.

Cartridge - 7.62x39 mm; food - tape, 100 rounds; rate of fire - 650 shots / minute; weight - 7.4 kg.

However, it entered service after the war and was also gradually replaced by the RPK light machine gun during the unification of small arms in the Soviet Army.

Of course, we must not forget about heavy machine guns.

So, the designer Shpagin developed a belt power module for the Palace of Culture in 1938, and in 1939 a 12.7 mm Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine gun of the 1938 model of the year (DShK_, mass production of which was started in 1940-41) was adopted for service (in total for the war about 8 thousand DShK machine guns were produced).

Cartridge - 12.7x109 mm; food - tape, 50 rounds; rate of fire - 600 shots / minute; weight - 34 kg (on a wheeled machine 157 kg).

At the end of the war, the Vladimirov heavy machine gun (KPV-14.5) was developed under a cartridge for anti-tank rifles, which made it possible not only to support infantry, but also to fight armored personnel carriers and low-flying aircraft.

Cartridge - 14.5 × 114 mm; food - tape, 40 rounds; rate of fire - 550 shots / minute; weight on a wheeled machine - 181.5 kg (without - 52.3).

The KPV is one of the most powerful machine guns ever in service. The muzzle energy of the KPV reaches 31 kJ, while the 20-mm ShVAK aircraft gun has about 28 kJ.

Let's move on to the German machine guns.

The MG-34 machine gun was adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1934. It was the main machine gun until 1942, both in the Wehrmacht and in the tank troops.

Cartridge - 7.92x57 mm Mauser; food - tape, 50 or 250 rounds, magazine 75 rounds; rate of fire - 900 shots / minute; weight - 10.5 kg with bipod, without cartridges.

A design feature is the ability to switch the power supply to the tape feed both on the left and on the right, which is very convenient for use in armored vehicles. For this reason, the MG-34 was used in the tank forces even after the advent of the MG-42.

The disadvantage of the design is the complexity and material consumption of production, as well as sensitivity to pollution.

An unsuccessful design among the German machine guns was the HK MG-36. The relatively light (10 kg) and easy to manufacture machine gun was not reliable enough, the rate of fire was 500 rounds per minute, and the box magazine contained only 25 rounds. As a result, they were first armed with Waffen SS units, supplied according to the residual principle, then it was used as a training one, and in 1943 it was completely removed from service.

The masterpiece of the German machine gun industry is the famous MG-42, which replaced the MG-34 in 1942.

Cartridge - 7.92x57 mm Mauser; food - tape, 50 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 800-900 shots / minute; weight - 11.6 kg (machine gun) + 20.5 kg (machine Lafette 42).

Compared to the MG-34, the designers were able to reduce the cost of the machine gun by approximately 30%, and the metal consumption by 50%. The production of MG-42 continued throughout the war, more than 400 thousand machine guns were produced in total.

The machine gun's unique rate of fire made it a powerful means of suppressing the enemy, however, as a result, the MG-42 required frequent replacement of barrels during the battle. At the same time, on the one hand, the change of the barrel was carried out constructively in 6-10 seconds, on the other hand, it was possible only with heat-insulating (asbestos) mittens or any improvised means. In the case of intensive shooting, the barrel had to be changed every 250 shots: if there was a well-equipped firing point and a spare barrel, or better two, everything was fine, but if it was not possible to change the barrel, then the effectiveness of the machine gun dropped sharply, shooting could only be in short bursts and taking into account the need for natural cooling of the barrel.

MG-42 is deservedly considered the best in its class machine gun of the Second World War.

Video comparing SG-43 and MG-42 (in English, but there are subtitles):

The Mauser MG-81 machine gun of the 1939 model was also used to a limited extent.

Cartridge - 7.92x57 mm Mauser; food - tape, 50 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 1500-1600 shots / minute; weight - 8.0 kg.

Initially, the MG-81 was used as an airborne defensive armament for Luftwaffe bombers, it began to enter service with airfield divisions from 1944. The short barrel length caused a lower muzzle velocity compared to standard light machine guns, but at the same time, the MG-81 had less weight.

But for some reason, the Germans did not bother with heavy machine guns in advance. Only since 1944 did the Rheinmetall-Borsig MG-131 machine guns of the 1938 model, which also have an aviation origin, enter the troops: when the fighters were converted to 30-mm MK-103 and MK-108 air guns, the MG-131 heavy machine guns were handed over to the ground forces (total 8132 machine guns).

Cartridge - 13 × 64 mm; food - tape, 100 or 250 rounds; rate of fire - 900 shots / minute; weight - 16.6 kg.

Thus, we can say that in general, in terms of machine guns from a design point of view, the Reich and the USSR had parity. On the one hand, the MG-34 and MG-42 had a significantly higher rate of fire, which in many cases was of great importance. On the other hand, they required a frequent change of barrels, otherwise the rate of fire remained theoretical.

In terms of maneuverability, the old Degtyarev won: inconvenient disk magazines nevertheless allowed the machine gunner to fire alone.

It is a pity that the DS-39 could not be finalized and had to be discontinued.

In terms of heavy machine guns, the USSR had a clear advantage.

Let's talk about many myths that have long been boring, about true and fictional facts and about the real state of affairs during the Great Patriotic War.

On the topic of the Great Patriotic War, there are many myths directed against Russia, from "they filled up with corpses" and up to "two million raped German women." One of them is the superiority of German weapons over Soviet ones. It is important that this myth is spread even without anti-Soviet (anti-Russian) motivation, “accidentally” – a typical example is the portrayal of Germans in films. Often this is highly artistically portrayed as a procession of "blond beasts" with rolled up sleeves, which from the hip water the soldiers of the Red Army from the "Schmeisers" (see below) in long bursts, and they only occasionally snarl with rare rifle shots. Cinematic! This happens even in Soviet films, and in modern films it can even reach one shovel handle for three against sailing "tigers".
Let's compare the weapons that were at that time. However, this is a very broad topic, so let's take for example small arms, moreover, "in a narrow range", mass for the rank and file. That is, we do not take pistols, machine guns - too (we would like them, but the article has a limited volume). We also do not consider specific ones, such as Vorsatz J / Pz curved nozzles, and we will examine the indicated “narrow” nomenclature specifically for mass products, without specifically highlighting early models (SVT-38 from SVT-40, MP-38 from MP-40, for example) . I apologize for such superficiality, but you can always read the details on the Internet, and now we only need a comparative review of mass models.
Let's start with the fact that the impression from many of the film "almost all the Germans had, unlike the Red Army, automatic weapons" is false.
In 1940, the German infantry division was supposed to have 12609 rifles and carbines, and only 312 submachine guns, i.e. less than the actual machine guns (425 light and 110 easel), and in the Soviet in 1941 - 10386 rifles and carbines (including sniper ones), submachine guns - 1623 pieces (and, by the way, 392 light machine guns and 166 easel, and also 9 large-caliber). In 1944, the Germans per division had 9420 carbines and rifles (including snipers), which accounted for 1595 submachine guns and assault rifles, and in the Red Army - 5357 rifles with carbines, submachine guns - 5557 pieces. (Sergey Metnikov, Confrontation between Wehrmacht and Soviet small arms systems, "Arms" No. 4, 2000).

It is clearly seen that according to the state, the share of automatic weapons in the Red Army was greater even at the beginning of the war, and over time, the relative number of submachine guns only increased. However, it is worth considering that “it is necessary according to the state” and “there was actually” did not always coincide. Just at that time, the rearmament of the army was going on, and a new range of weapons was only being formed: “As of June 1941, in the Kiev Special Military District, rifle formations of light machine guns had from 100 to 128% of the staff, submachine guns - up to 35%, anti-aircraft machine guns - 5-6% of the state." It should also be taken into account that the largest losses of weapons occurred at the beginning of the war, in 1941.

It was in the Second World War that the role of small arms changed compared to the First: long-term positional "trench" confrontations were replaced by operational maneuvering, which made new demands on small arms. By the end of the war, the specializations of weapons were already quite clearly divided: long-range (rifles, machine guns) and for short distances using automatic fire. Moreover, in the second case, the battle at a distance of up to 200 m was first considered, but then the understanding came of the need to increase the aiming range of automatic weapons to 400-600 m.
But let's get down to specifics. Let's start with German weapons.

First of all, of course, the Mauser 98K carbine comes to mind.

Caliber 7.92x57 mm, manual reloading, magazine for 5 rounds, effective range - up to 2000 m, so it was widely used with optical sights. The design turned out to be very successful, and after the war, Mausers became a popular base for hunting and sporting weapons. Although the carbine is a remake of a rifle from the end of the previous century, the Wehrmacht began to arm itself with these carbines en masse only from 1935.

The first automatic self-loading rifles in the infantry of the Wehrmacht began to arrive only from the end of 1941, these were the Walther G.41.

Caliber 7.92x57 mm, gas automatics, magazine for 10 rounds, effective range - up to 1200 m. The main disadvantages: poor balance (the center of gravity is strongly shifted forward) and demanding maintenance, which is difficult in front-line conditions. In 1943, it was upgraded to the G-43, and before that, the Wehrmacht often preferred to use captured Soviet-made SVT-40s. However, in the Gewehr 43 version, the improvement was precisely in the use of a new gas exhaust system, borrowed just from the Tokarev rifle.

The most famous weapon in appearance is the "schmeiser" of a characteristic shape.

Which has nothing to do with the designer Schmeisser, Maschinenpistole MP-40 was developed by Heinrich Volmer.
We will not consider the early modifications of the MP-36 and -38 separately, as mentioned.

Caliber: 9x19 mm Parabellum, rate of fire: 400-500 rounds per minute, magazine: 32 rounds, effective range: 150 m for group targets, for single targets - generally 70 m, since the MP-40 vibrates heavily when fired. This is just in time for the question of “cinematic versus realism”: if the Wehrmacht had attacked “like in a movie”, then it would have been a shooting range for Red Army soldiers armed with “mosquitoes” and “lights”: the enemy would have been shot for another 300-400 meters. Another significant drawback was the lack of a barrel casing when it was heated quickly, which often led to burns when firing in bursts. It should also be noted the unreliability of stores. However, for close combat, especially urban combat, the MP-40 is a very good weapon.
Initially, the MP-40 was only for command personnel, then they began to issue drivers, tankers and paratroopers. There has never been a cinematic mass character: 1.2 million MP-40s were produced during the entire war, more than 21 million people were drafted into the Wehrmacht, and in 1941 there were only about 250 thousand MP-40s in the troops.

Schmeisser, in 1943, developed the Sturmgewehr StG-44 (originally MP-43) for the Wehrmacht.

By the way, it is worth noting the presence of a myth that the Kalashnikov assault rifle was allegedly copied from the StG-44, which arose due to some external similarity in ignorance of the device of both products.

Caliber: 7.92x33 mm, rate of fire: 400-500 rounds / min, magazine: 30 rounds, effective range: up to 800 m. It was possible to mount a 30 mm grenade launcher and even use an infrared sight (which, however, required backpack batteries and itself was by no means compact). Quite a worthy weapon for its time, but mass production was mastered only in the fall of 1944, in total, approximately 450 thousand of these assault rifles were produced, which were armed with SS units and other elite units.

Let's start, of course, with the glorious Mosin rifle of the 1891-30 model, and, of course, the carbine of the 1938 and 1944 model.

Caliber 7.62x54 mm, manual reloading, magazine for 5 rounds, effective range - up to 2000 m. The main small arms of the Red Army infantry units of the first period of the war. Durability, reliability and unpretentiousness have entered into legends and folklore. The disadvantages include: a bayonet, which, due to an outdated design, had to be constantly attached to the rifle, a horizontal bolt handle (that's real - why not bend down?), The inconvenience of reloading and a fuse.

Soviet gunsmith F.V. Tokarev developed a 10-shot self-loading rifle SVT-38 in the late 30s

Then a modernized version of the SVT-40 appeared, weighing 600 g less, and then a sniper rifle was created on this basis.

Caliber 7.62x54 mm, gas automatics, magazine for 10 rounds, effective range - up to 1000 m operation. In addition, in front-line conditions, there was often a shortage of lubricants, and inappropriate ones could be used. Additionally, the low quality of the cartridges supplied under Lend-Lease, which gave a large soot, should be indicated. However, it all comes down to the need to comply with the maintenance regulations.
At the same time, the SVT had more firepower due to automation and twice as many rounds in the magazine as the Mosin rifle, so the preferences were different.
As mentioned above, the Germans valued captured SVTs and even adopted them as a "limited standard".

As for automatic weapons, at the beginning of the war the troops had a certain number of V.A. submachine guns. Degtyareva PPD-34/38

It was developed back in the 30s. Caliber 7.62x25 mm, rate of fire: 800 rounds / min, magazine for 71 rounds (drum) or 25 (horn), effective range: 200 meters. It was used mainly by the border units of the NKVD, since, unfortunately, the combined arms command still thought in terms of the First World War and did not understand the significance of submachine guns. In 1940, the PPD was structurally modernized, but still remained of little use for mass production in wartime, and by the end of 1941 was replaced in service with the cheaper and more efficient Shpagin PPSh-41 submachine gun

PPSh-41, which became widely known thanks to the cinema.

Caliber 7.62x25 mm, rate of fire: 900 rounds / min, effective range: 200 meters (sighting - 300, which is important for firing single shots). PPSh inherited a drum magazine for 71 rounds, and later received a more reliable carob magazine for 35 rounds. The design was based on stamping-welded technology, which made it possible to mass-produce the product even in harsh military conditions, and in total about 5.5 million PPSh were produced during the war years. Main advantages: high effective firing range in its class, simplicity and low cost of manufacture. The disadvantages include significant weight, as well as too high a rate of fire, which leads to an overrun of cartridges.
You should also remember the PPS-42 invented in 1942 by Alexei Sudayev (then PPS-43).

Caliber: 7.62x25 mm, rate of fire: 700 rounds per minute, magazine: 35 rounds, effective range: 200 meters. The bullet retains lethal force up to 800 m. Although the PPS was very technologically advanced in production (stamped parts are assembled by welding and rivets; material costs are half and labor costs are three times less than those of the PPSh), it never became a mass weapon, although over the remaining years of the war there were about half a million copies produced. After the war, the PPS was massively exported, and also copied abroad (the Finns made a replica of the M44 under the 9 mm cartridge already in 1944), then it was gradually replaced by the Kalashnikov assault rifle in the troops. PPS-43 is often called the best submachine gun of World War II.
Some will ask: why, since everything was so good, the blitzkrieg almost succeeded?
Firstly, do not forget that in 1941 the rearmament was just underway, and the provision of automatic weapons according to the new standards had not yet been carried out.
Secondly, small arms in the Great Patriotic War are not the main damaging factor, their losses are usually estimated between a quarter and a third of the total.
Thirdly, there are areas where the Wehrmacht had a clear advantage at the beginning of the war: mechanization, transport and communications.

But the main thing is the number and concentration of forces accumulated for a treacherous attack without declaring war. In June 1941, the Reich concentrated 2.8 million Wehrmacht to attack the USSR, and the total number of troops with the allies was more than 4.3 million people. At the same time, in the western districts of the Red Army, there were only about 3 million people, and it was in the districts, while less than 40% of the personnel were located near the border. Combat readiness, alas, was also far from 100%, especially in terms of technology - let's not idealize the past.

Also, one should not forget about the economy: while the USSR was forced to hastily evacuate factories to the Urals, the Reich used the resources of Europe with might and main, which gladly fell under the Germans. Czechoslovakia, for example, before the war was the leader in arms production in Europe, and at the beginning of the war, every third German tank was produced by the Skoda concern.

And the glorious traditions of weapons designers continue in our time, including in the field of small arms.