Popular culture actively shapes our
collective understanding of the Second World War.
Books, films, television shows,
wargames, scale models, militaria,
restored vehicles, vintage firearms and Living History events
all create meaning through unique areas of research
from grand strategy to vehicle markings to
underwear patterns.
Content providers eager to provide authenticity for
increasingly sophisticated consumers
have sometimes allowed anachronisms to creep in along the way.
The video will address two of them.
Throughout history new military
technologies have often outpaced tactics.
From the mid 1800s infantry
massed together for command and control
purposes became increasingly exposed to
accurate and concentrated firepower from
new weapons such as muskets with rifled
barrels and machine guns.
By World War II tactics had evolved to defeat these
technologies.
Tactical command was decentralized and
soldiers dispersed into small groups.
Infantrymen in World War II primarily
armed with bolt-action rifles were not
trained to shoot on the move. When fired
on, soldiers found cover and returned aimed fire.
This was accomplished by securing
the rifle stock in the shoulder and
bringing the sights level with the eyes.
It was not practical to move from place to
place with the rifle in this position and
thus soldiers had to find a balance
between mobility and bringing the weapon
to bear quickly.
The introduction of semi-automatic rifles brought about
changes in tactics including the ability
to return fire immediately upon taking
enemy fire.
Today's infantry armed with assault
rifles maximize their increased
firepower by using ready positions with which
the weapon to be quickly transitioned
from movement to aimed fire.
In the Low Ready position the butt of the rifle
is in the shoulder, both hands are in the
firing position, and the muzzle of the
rifle is pointed down.
In the High Ready
position the weapon is still under the
arm and both hands grasp the weapon
under control but the muzzle is pointed up.
Images of ready carry are so common
today that when filmmakers depict Second
World War soldiers doing the same thing
mainstream audiences might not even notice.
For discerning audiences though, it
can be jarring.
Modern weapons carries aren't just
occurring in films.
This otherwise excellent painting by
Ken Smith shows a World War II GI
in the Low Ready position, and since
the artwork has been used for a box top
illustration the anachronism has spread to wargamers as well.
One of the best discussions of how
soldiers in World War II actually
carried their weapons is on the webpage
of the 90th Infantry Division
Preservation Group. The excellent work of
Charles McFarlane and Mike Ellis is
highly recommended and a link to the
article is provided in the video description.
British and German sources
also reinforce the conclusions of the
90th preservation group.
Soldiers in World War II required extensive training
including two to four months of common,
or basic, training followed by additional
instruction in a specific trade: infantry,
armor, artillery, etc. It was here that
soldiers learned to handle weapons, first
by doing a ceremonial style drill and
later by using them in the field.
(Original voiceover) "The position of Port Arms is an intermediate position..."
In the US Army Port Arms was
drilled into individual soldiers.
The 90th Division site notes that this
position became muscle memory and is
often seen in photos taken away from the
drill ground as it was both familiar and a
natural position for carrying the weapon.
The German and Commonwealth armies did
not have this movement in their drill
manuals but all three militaries had
commands for Sling Arms and Order Arms
and these also would have become muscle
memory activities that would have
carried over into how weapons were
actually carried in the field.
Sling arms is the hanging of the weapon on the body
with a leather carrying strap or sling. For drill purposes the rifle was carried
over a specific shoulder with the other
arm free. In the field the weapon might
be slung on either shoulder or across
the back.
Order Arms is a resting
position used in parade ground drill but
it's possible that this too created
muscle memory that affected how soldiers
stood with their weapons in casual or
informal settings.
The one hand balance
was used in a number of situations with
the rifle carried in one hand at the
point of balance.
This is commonly seen in photos
of all nationalities and worth
noting the Commonwealth armies actually
taught it as a drill command called
Trail Arms for use on long marches.
In infantry units with Rifle Regiment
traditions it was even used to march past
the inspecting officer on ceremonial
parades.
The Germans actually made great
use of the trail position in combat
situations and had
specific drill movement, Hinlegen, or "Lay
Down" that taught the soldier how to take
cover when carrying the weapon in one
hand.
The website at DerErsteZug.com
makes a number of good points about the
trail carry. All Germans were taught to
be right-handed and so photos show the
weapon invariably carried in the right hand.
The Hinlegen drill further
reinforced the notion of the dominant hand.
Carrying the rifle at the trail is
comfortable and allows the soldier to
swing the opposite arm.
Many assault
rifles after the war were in fact
manufactured with carrying handles at
the point of balance.
Most importantly as noted earlier
the bolt-action rifles
weren't expected to be needed instantly.
The German squad depended on the
firepower of the light machine gun with
the riflemen supporting it and there was
actually no perceived need to carry the
weapon at the ready.
A number of carrying positions either evolved naturally
in combat or were taught.
All carrying
techniques are a trade-off between
mobility and ease of bringing the weapon
to bear.
The closest method of carriage
to the modern ready carry is identified
by the 90th Division page as the
Underarm Hang, where the weapon is carried
in both hands, generally at hip level,
with the muzzle at about 45 degrees from
the horizontal.
The weapon could be
brought to bear quickly but since this
carry is more fatiguing than others it
would have been used only when contact
was imminent.
The 90th Division website
suggests GIs probably used the port
arms out of muscle memory developed in
training and photographic evidence shows
a low version, with the weapon held in both
hands and the rifle closer to horizontal,
which was used by all the major combatants.
The low Port Arms position
facilitated snap shooting.
Wartime articles such as this one from the American Infantry Journal talk about
snap shooting, or shooting from the hip.
It was considered the best way to
quickly bring a weapon to bear at close
range and fire instinctively.
The illustration makes clear that the weapon was
not carried with the butt in the shoulder as
modern soldiers do.
Der Erste Zug notes that the Germans also trained to
do snap shooting, or "Hüftschuss"
a point-blank shot from the hip.
This was only done at extreme close
quarters as the bolt-action rifle was
considered useless when fired without
aiming and a "Hüftschuss" just put the rifle in
position to follow up with a bayonet
thrust.
The 47th London Division of the
British Army developed a rigorous set of
tactical drills they called Battle Drill.
The system was developed in the UK in
1942 and spread to the Canadian Army by
The Calgary Highlanders who were
stationed nearby.
A look at the so called
"Battle Drill Bible" shows references to
weapons carriage in combat conditions.
A two-handed carry was prescribed and
photos suggest the most common method
was a low-style Port Arms with the
ability to snap shoot.
The parade ground stance of Order Arms
was not done with
loaded weapons. In the field, where
weapons were of necessity loaded,
soldiers often cradled them under the
arm for informal carriage, letting the
body and equipment bear some of the
weight and keeping the muzzle under
tighter control. The Germans found this
position also permitted for quick
transition to the "Hüftschuss" or snap shot.
Smaller weapons like the M1 carbine,
Thompson submachine gun, MP40 machine
pistol or Sten machine carbine could be
comfortably carried in one hand, leaving
the other hand free. While many other
carries were used, these are the most
common types referenced on the 90th
Division page.
Soldiers in combat generally
used methods that worked regardless of what
they were taught. The 90th Division page
suggests the Americans discouraged use
of the Low Port, for example, in training
since holding the weapon horizontally
was forbidden in order to maximize safety.
GIs in combat did it anyway
because it was comfortable and effective.
All of which is another reason not to
believe the modern ready carries would
have been widely used.
Modern weapons with pistol grips and patrol slings are
made for such a carry, the longer heavier
bolt-action rifles of World War II were not.
Nor did their training or tactics
require them to be carried in such a manner.
(original voiceover)
"They were just kids from New Brunswick..."
It is unfortunate that the use of modern
carriage has crept into otherwise
high-quality offerings. This Canadian
Heritage Minute is an
emotionally-charged, historically
accurate presentation marred only by the
anachronistic weapons carriage that an
enthusiastic director or military
adviser incorrectly suggested.
Related in part to the carriage of
weapons one other anachronism
in depictions of World War II has
crept into living history events.
Photos taken during the Vietnam War, Gulf War of
1991, Gulf War of 2004 or Afghanistan
show prisoners of war put to the ground
on capture. Hands are often bound and
blindfolds applied while guards hold
weapons at the ready.
World War II
reenactors have applied these modern
practices to their own public displays:
and why not? It's common sense that
prisoners be tightly controlled.
The
reality in World War II however is that
images almost always show prisoners
being secured and searched standing up.
Captors are generally not seen in overly
threatening poses.
The Hawthorne effect,
a phenomenon where individuals modify
their behavior in response to being
observed or photographed, may a part in how prisoners are treated in
contemporary photographs. For the most
part reenactors seem to use far more
aggressive and modern prisoner handling
skills than their historical counterparts.
Historical accuracy doesn't
sell films. Good stories, acting and
production values do. But professor Mark
C. Carnes notes that if audiences
perceive what they're seeing is
inaccurate "they will be less likely to
surrender to its vicarious magic."
He goes on to say that directors think visually
and that if a movie looks accurate, even
if major elements of the plot are not,
it will be successful.
Wardrobe, setting, even hairstyles all play a part,
and so will the way the
actors carry their weapons or treat their prisoners.
