people still bringing up the stalingrad human wave attacks and giving assault divisions no rifles and heavy machinegun support units only existing to gun down soviet soldiers doing tactical retreats like it's fucking gospel and it makes me want to pull my hair out
I used to like Enemy at the Gates and only learned years later that it was all stupid propaganda and lies. Backing units were real - their job was to defend the rear area against infiltrators, round up lost soviet soldiers and send them to assembly areas where they'd be sent back to their squads, and since they were veterans who had proven themselves, they were used as a mobile reserve to reinforce the line when there was need.
the second time i watched that movie i was actually screaming at the screen like "why aren't you guys providing supporting fire you have heavy MGs i guess you don't want to win" and this was before i was a filthy commie it just seemed so fucking illogical
but nah the movie said they just existed to waste what was obviously precious and rare ammo to murder their own forces because evil stalin
Word. And the 2 men 1 rifle thing, afaik, is bs too. The supply situation was very, very bad in Stalingrad, but never so bad that they didn't have enough Mosins for everyone.
people still bringing up the stalingrad human wave attacks and giving assault divisions no rifles and heavy machinegun support units only existing to gun down soviet soldiers doing tactical retreats like it's fucking gospel and it makes me want to pull my hair out
I used to like Enemy at the Gates and only learned years later that it was all stupid propaganda and lies. Backing units were real - their job was to defend the rear area against infiltrators, round up lost soviet soldiers and send them to assembly areas where they'd be sent back to their squads, and since they were veterans who had proven themselves, they were used as a mobile reserve to reinforce the line when there was need.
sounds reasonable and practical
the second time i watched that movie i was actually screaming at the screen like "why aren't you guys providing supporting fire you have heavy MGs i guess you don't want to win" and this was before i was a filthy commie it just seemed so fucking illogical
but nah the movie said they just existed to waste what was obviously precious and rare ammo to murder their own forces because evil stalin
Word. And the 2 men 1 rifle thing, afaik, is bs too. The supply situation was very, very bad in Stalingrad, but never so bad that they didn't have enough Mosins for everyone.
so i'm guessing it was more like "rifle for everyone but here's like a few magazines you'll have to scavenge what you can"?
which was absolutely a situation the western allies encountered as well especially the airborne units