Drunk during combat?!

General WWII era German military discussion that doesn't fit someplace more specific.
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Barbarossa101
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Joined: Fri Jul 02, 2010 7:43 am

Drunk during combat?!

Post by Barbarossa101 »

If you read enough Eastern Front memoirs, you will see that one side is always accusing the other of going into combat drunk. Germans say the Russians were frequently drunk, yelling Oorah and charging ahead of pistol-wielding party officials who would shoot any stragglers. The Russians say the Germans would be seen drunk in combat, charging and screaming and getting mowed down by the dozens.

So what is the real story, if there is one, on troops getting drunk before combat. I don't mean a stiff shot or two to steel the nerves but getting blitzed - it seems like being drunk during combat is a surefire way to being killed.

Did German/Russian troops really get drunk prior to combat?? Or was accusing the other side of being drunk just a way to slander them....
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