It’s terrible for German morale - the majority of people, soldiers included, do not like killing, and to have to mow down row upon row of soldiers is a terrible thing to have to do!
Wooden rifles were also used by the Russians in WW1, as they didn’t have enough for one each.
Also imagine you are a german soldier. You see figures moving around in front of you/comeing at you but who do you shoot at?
You may shoot at an unarmed man, but give the armed man a chance to shoot you.
War is hell, and hellish things happen.
Have you ever seen the bayonet of a Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 ?
If I stick ithe bayonet on my rifle, it is almost taller than myself (And I’m 6 ft ).
The idea was to get into to the German positions and then use bayonets and entrenching tools (I’ve read several accounts of especially junior officers, who were issuerd only pistol to use an entrenching tool for close combat).
I have also read in several biographies about British soldiers in WW1, who only got 10 rounds issued before an attack and then got told to use the bayonets.
Jan
The Russian infantrymen were often poorly led and equipped, but still fought with determination. In defence he was difficult to dig out, and on the attack lack of tactical control often leads to human wave assaults, There are many instances of Human Wave Attacks where line after line of troops with arms linked and singing advanced against machine gun fire. When the first 3 lines had been slaughtered the 4th or 5th lines sometimes fled only to return next day in fresh, doomed lines. Slaughter on this scale could continue for days leaving piles of bodies to be climbed over and the cries of the wounded. It is no wonder that German soldiers were psychologically affected by such terrible and pointless carnage, man of Stoat.
Russian soldiers were often drugged up or drunk with vodka before this type ofassault…
The must go ,if you refuse to attack NKVD kill you ,choose .
Walther wrote
I have also read in several biographies about British soldiers in WW1, who only got 10 rounds issued before an attack and then got told to use the bayonets.
Remember the attacks of WW1 did not involve the same sort of tactics used today or even WW2.
Fire support came from static machine guns in most cases dug in to the trenches. And of course massive bombardments were used. The WW1 soldier did not pepperpot like we do today, they just advanced, rifles at the ready. The 10 rounds would have been used if needed. Most of the fighting would be by bayonet,or improvised weapons (clubs wrapped in barbed wire and hammered with sharpened nails were used!!) or the enemy would run.
The Germans used their most experience soldiers in specially formed “Storm Trooper” units. They would be armed with “Trench guns” usually Luger pistols with extended barrels and stocks fitted with drum magazines.
This tactic led to the loss of most of the Germans experience!!! With the remainder of the Units being only raw recruits and similar!!!
actually, i’ve read that most of the causalties were caused by machingun fire, artillery, mortors, and hand grenades.
i mean hand grenades more then rifle fire and spades, of course…
Off topic I know.
But I believe Artillery was THE big killer of WW1. Machine gun fire might have been a big killer in attacks, but aritillery fire was incessant - if any thing changed at all, or some movement was observed, then it was shelled.
My great uncle (a member of the garrison Artillery (the BIG guns)) was killed in WW1 after visiting his brother in the trenches by a shell the Germans lobbed over on seeing movement along teh road he was on.
Personally I would say Arty was the big killer of WW1 and possibly WW2 (excluding civvies).
I’ve read a few accounts of soldiers whom have been under Arty fire, it truely sounds an awful experienec. Not uncommon for soldiers to take their own lives rather than to endure a sustained Arty bombardment. I’ve heard that Arty has been described as the “battlewinning arm”, the logistics of providing sufficient shells though for any sizeable bombardment is mind boggling.
The thing about the Human-Wave Tactic is that it works.
You often can’t understand a tactic until you see something similar to it in person.
If you are in a crowd of people, imagine them all with guns and charging a trench or bunker full of machine guns.
The tactic is cheap and effective, especially when all you have in your arsenal are infantry and rifles .
Lets look back to WWI for instance.
If you have men charging entrenched positions, as long as you have enough men, you will get the job done.
And when people look at the human wave tactic, they usually only think about the charging up to the machine guns. Once the infantry get there, then it is all over for the defenders all over the entire line.
Sure people die, but thats something you have to accept.
Imagine what it felt like for the soldier in Early Rome. If you were in the first 3 lines, your death was definite.