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  #1  
Old 15th January 2021, 19:55
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Does anyone know these men?

Does anyone know who these men are (unit?) How about where and when this photo was taken?

Arming paratroopers with K98's was very short-sighted, no? What a waste of talent.

Anyone?

Last edited by Broncazonk; 16th January 2021 at 00:05.
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Old 15th January 2021, 21:15
Revi16 Revi16 is offline
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Re: Does anyone know these men?

Waste of talent?
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Old 15th January 2021, 22:46
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Re: Does anyone know these men?

What a waste of talent: to be arming elite operators with open-sight, bolt-action rifles that were designed in 1898.

I've never understood that.

If there was no other choice, then why not go with optically-sighted K98's for every one of those guys? As in, every time you went up against a Luftwaffe paratrooper unit you were going up against precision, designated marksmen quality, long-range shooters.

Bronc
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Old 15th January 2021, 22:58
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Re: Does anyone know these men?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Broncazonk View Post
What a waste of talent: to be arming elite operators with open-sight, bolt-action rifles that were designed in 1898.

I've never understood that.

Bronc
The war that Germany embarked on soon outgrew the capacity of its industry to support it. Adam Tooze’s book “The Wages of Destruction” is very good on this. It’s why their army was largely reliant on horse transport from first to last, for example.
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Old 15th January 2021, 23:51
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Re: Does anyone know these men?

The German Sniper 1914-1945 by Peter Senich (1982) devotes an entire chapter to FG 42 sniper rifles (ZF 4 optics.) Now imagine coming up against a company of paratroopers armed with THAT setup...

Notice how often the Fallschirmjager were photographed with optics hanging around their necks? They knew before anyone else that optical magnification is *essential* for infantry operating on a desert-mountain-steppe-bocage battlefield. (It's literally shocking how, for twenty straight years, the majority of Marine/army units in Afghanistan went on patrol with a single pair of low-end Bushnell 7x35 binos--or no field glasses at all.

That's Hauptmann Walter Gericke (KC) below with one of his guys.

They knew what they were doing...

Last edited by Broncazonk; 8th July 2021 at 02:53.
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Old 16th January 2021, 00:47
Strahler Strahler is offline
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Re: Does anyone know these men?

It is, in the picture left, Erich Lepkowski (KC) with comrades, II/FJR 2. In their bunker they wait for the next soviet attack. Eastern front, winter 1943/44.
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Old 16th January 2021, 01:04
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Re: Does anyone know these men?

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It is, in the picture left, Erich Lepkowski (KC) with comrades, II/FJR 2. In their bunker they wait for the next Soviet attack. Eastern front, winter 1943/44.
Wow-o-Wow. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Lepkowski

That man was the real deal. Here he is again--with field glasses.

Thanks!

Last edited by Broncazonk; 8th July 2021 at 02:53.
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Old 16th January 2021, 08:42
Carsten Petersen Carsten Petersen is offline
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Re: Does anyone know these men?

'What a waste of talent: to be arming elite operators with open-sight, bolt-action rifles that were designed in 1898'

You can say that about the US Marines, the British Commandos and paratroopers etc

or you can say like the Rolling Stones - you can't always get what you want ..
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Old 16th January 2021, 09:57
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Re: Does anyone know these men?

In the today world of individualism, we could say that tens of millions of talents hv been spoiled
Rémi
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Old 16th January 2021, 19:51
TigerTimon TigerTimon is offline
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Re: Does anyone know these men?

Interesting. You mean exploitation of one's talent at the cost of others?
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