How many soldiers to an MG43 or MG34?

[Gefreiter]

How many soldiers were assigned to an MG?
What was each soldier's function?
Suppose that the main gunner was injured or killed, who took over his task in the heat of battle?

[Christoph Awender]

Hello

Have a look into this article I wrote for an upcoming section of my site. It should answer many questions.
http://chrito.users1.50megs.com//wehrma ... gruppe.htm

\Christoph

[nebelwerferXXX]

MG 34 machine gun team
1) Spotter
2) Gunner
3) Loader

[Landserstudent]

Tried to check out Christoph's article, but couldn't get in.

In German WWII Basic, the recruits were trained in threes, as the
above reply states. Gunner/Loader/Rangefinder-spotter I believe were
trained to be interchangeable. In this regard the introduction of the light field MG in the Armee was considered a dynamic boost to their training and tactics, according to researchers.

-Landserstudent

[Christoph Awender]

MG 34 machine gun team
1) Spotter
2) Gunner
3) Loader

Hello Nebelwerfer,

Where from do you get all these wrong informations?? Can you post a source for this?

@Landserstudent
I will post my article again in the evening.

/Christoph

[nebelwerferXXX]

MG 34 machine gun team
1) Spotter
2) Gunner
3) Loader

Hello Nebelwerfer,

Where from do you get all these wrong informations?? Can you post a source for this?

@Landserstudent
I will post my article again in the evening.

/Christoph

Hello Christoph...I've seen it on photographs with captions. The Military History of the World War II

[Christoph Awender]

Thanks nebelwerferxxx..

Nevertheless it is incorrect information. My article which I will post in the evening shows how many men were in a MG-Trupp and what their task was.

/Christoph

[Christoph Awender]

Hello

Here is the new link to my article. The source for the informations are original manuals and training/combat regulations.
http://www.wwiidaybyday.com/dokumente/gruppe.htm

Christoph

[John Kilmartin]

Hi Christoph,
Another fine article from your site. What would be the differences in how MG 42 were employed in a machinegun battalion rather than in an infantry regiment? Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
John K

[Christoph Awender]

Hello John,

Thank you! Do you mean when it is used as the heavy MG version?

/Christoph

[Landserstudent]

The info I offered was from a report in World War II magazine about 18 years ago. Also info from German vets (Infantry & Artillery).

Tschuss,

-Landserstudent

[Landserstudent]

Christoph,

Nice and useful info on your thread-

-Landserstudent

[Christoph Awender]

The info I offered was from a report in World War II magazine about 18 years ago. Also info from German vets (Infantry & Artillery).

Tschuss,

-Landserstudent

Hello

Well,

the light machineguns did not have a rangefinder. As the heavy version on the tripod each half-platoon had a rangefinder. Without tripod a rangefinder makes little sense.

/Christoph

[Landserstudent]

Christoph-

I see what you're saying. Maybe that's why we always see the tripod guns
having a crew of three.

I wonder how much difference there was between Waffen SS MG training
and regular Army? Other special units, like gebirgsjaeger, come to question also.


-Landserstudent

[Christoph Awender]

Hello

In the heavy version on a tripod there were not three but seven men assigned to one machinegun.

There was absolutely no difference in machinegun training between the Waffen-SS and the Wehrmacht. The same with Infanterie, Gebirgsjäger, Jäger etc... units

/Christoph