"...The greatest battle implement ever devised."
M-1 rifle. United States. One of only three semi automatic rifles in service at the outbreak of WW II. Just over 4 million were built and they served in all theaters of the war. The rifle was rugged, reliable, and generally well regarded by the troops. It was the first truly successful semi automatic rifle in use by any nation. The only other semi autos in service when the war started were the Soviet Tokarev and Simonov, which were too fragile to survive the test of battle. The M-1 increased the infantryman's rate of fire while still maintaining the power of the standard service cartridge. Reloading was as rapid as the 1903 Springfield, but each reload was 50% larger than the Springfield. This rifle set the initial reliability standard for semi automatic battle rifles, and was the impetus for adopting semi autos throughout the world. http://miso.wwa.com/~dvelleux/m1rifle.ht... http://members.aol.com/PattonsGHQ/garand...
Ppsh submachine gun. Soviet Union. Primary arm of 'tank riders' for assault operations, and widely used throughout the Army, about 5 million were manufactured. http://archive.milparade.ru/15/56-57.htm The Soviets used submachine guns in greater quantities than any other combatant, but the weapons didn't remain in service for long after the war, probably because the Soviet Union made a rapid shift to the new assault rifle concept. Their use during the war, however, gave the Soviet soldier great firepower during the assault. Since the Soviets were more concerned with putting bullets downrange than with long range accuracy, the submachine gun fit their bill admirably. Though the increased firepower was an asset, the pistol cartridge used would relegated the weapon type to secondary uses. This weapon was notable primarily because of the numbers used.
MP 43/44 'submachine gun'. Germany. A submachine gun in name only, this was actually the first assault rifle. Misnamed in order to mislead Hitler (who wanted full power rifles), the concept of a shortened cartridge used in a high capacity, selective fire rifle was proved to be valid. Though the German industrial base was not able to produce the rifle in sufficient quantities to replace all previous rifle models, it had a dramatic effect on other countries. It was the impetus for the adoption of the AK-47 by the Soviet army, which eventually encouraged every army in the world to adopt some form of assault rifle. http://www.uwm.edu/~jpipes/weap.html
MG 42 General Purpose Machine Gun. Germany. The MG 42 was used in all formations in the German army. It was
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