Things I learnt about WW2 from COH2

(not a rant, let's keep this pleasent)

1) It was so cold in Russia that it was possible to freeze to death whilst stood next to a burning fuel depot

2) German panzer crews would happily drive and fight through blizzards, artillery fire, katyusha barrage or aircraft stafing but would instantly lose it when faced with an LMG in the hands of staunch Soviet guardsman

3) These LMGs don't work that way for anyone else should they be fortunate enough to acquire one

4) It is also possible to freeze to death whilst on fire

5)Soviet shock Troops could survive Kar98 shots a meter away from an entire Grouppe of Grenadiers.

6. Ostheer MG42 was in fact, shooting popcorn, so the hungry red army would lay down and eat.

7. All elite Sdkwf 222 AC gunner were transferred to France, flirting with French girls, while the rookies was sent to invade Russia.

8. Pak43 cannon is so strong that can shoot through anything, except Soviet tanks.

9. Panzer 4 hull MG gunner are more capable shooting down IL-2 than Ostwind gunner.

10. German Grenadiers at the eastern Front could not speak proper German, instead they used a combination of English and wrong pronounced German words.

11. ALL drivers were too drunken to drive normal.

11. ALL drivers were too drunken to drive normal.

ww2 the origin of drunk driving laws.

11. TA was actually first seen inside stalingrad and not outside of leningrad where the TOV TA campaign started

12. Drive trains were in short supply as they were often damaged every 5 minutes. Slowing the vehicle to a crawl.

13. Soldiers in ww2 never hesitated to jump into a burning molotov and burn to death just to improve their cover.

14) For the Soviets the entire eastern front campaign was just about getting a photograph on the Reichstag.

15) Commissars only execute retreating conscripts for one minute at a time between their constant smoke breaks.

16) Blizzards come and go every 10 minutes, and it was a very popular tactic to launch large scale counter attacks with visibility less than 10 meters.

17) The best thing a tank crew can do to save their tank from certain destruction is, to pivot 180 degree in front of the enemy and drive away.

18) small puddles off water were deceptively deep, so deep a whole tiger tank could sink into it.

19. The pants of the Grenadiers were porous

20. Tarts in Aachen perform the most amazing handstands

21. Sometimes when a tank blew up, the soldiers managed to jump 60ft to the air to try and escape.

22. Suicide troops were given high quality semi-auto rifles, while the most elite infantry had to struggle with old bolt-action rifles

23. The Germans lost because of the KV-8.

24.T34's were used in fact to ram tanks while never using their turrets
25.Blitzkrieg was used in fact to drive away from enemy positions and not advance on them like history taught us
26.T34-76 had it's turret improved to 85mm just to ram better,I guess so the turret would headshot the german driver or gunner

27: Experienced Guards troops were the only men that were ever issued with DP light machine guns. The DP was not, in fact, an integral part of every 12-man Soviet squad.

28: Penal Battalions were considered the elite of all Soviet forces, and were thus the only men able to wield the Tokarev SVT self-loading rifle. Men that are falsely considered to be recipients of the weapon include but aren't limited to: experienced engineering units, Guards rifle infantry units, paratroopers, Soviet Marines, and NKVD infantry squads.

29: The T70 light tank was capable of unleashing retarded amounts of shellfire, even though the turret was cramped and the tank commander had to direct his tank, aim, fire, reload, and, in the case of group commanders, hang out of the copula and wave flags to direct other Soviet tanks.

30: Grenadiere were useless in close combat; the attack philosophy of the Heer was not, in fact, to advance under cover from GPMGs to attack the enemy at close range with the grenade and the bayonet.

31: Panzergrenadiere were the only troops to be issued with the MP44.

32: Panzergrenadiere were issued only MP44s and the Panzershreck, never actually been issued GPMGs in reality (the notion that mid-war 10 man Panzergrenadiere squads were issued an MP40, pair of GPMGs, one or two semi-automatic rifes, and a rifle grenade projector--the highest concentration of firepower in any infantry squad in WWII--is completely false).

33: The StuG III was, despite an impressive 13:1 KDR, an inaccurate little turd of a machine only suitable for spewing out shells at long range and hoping to god they hit something.

34: Almost untrained, Conscripts could still match Grenadiere and Panzergrenadiere in terms of marksmanship.

35: Conscripts, despite having no technical experience as peasants living in Russia, were able to repair just about anything they saw.

36: The Red Army only issued F1 and RGD grenades to elite units--everyone else had to make due with Molotov cocktails.

37: The Maxim HMG, despite weighing almost twice as much as the MG42, was more mobile, could pin troops far more effectively, and was capable of dealing more damage than its modern opponent.

38: Infantrymen missed most of their shots, even at point blank range.

39: Experienced infantry units had a 50% chance of deflecting incoming rounds, while assault infantry with body armor rated for deflecting 9mm rounds at 100m could in fact endure heavy shellfire and were unkillable with small arms.

40: The ZiS-3, despite being less produced than the M42 45mm ATG until after the battle of Kursk, was the primary anti-tank weapon of the Red Army.

41: Mounting the ZiS-3 on the chassis of the T70 light tank reduced its effective penetration ability and kinetic damage.

42: The Tiger and Panther could absorb shellfire even at point blank range and when damaged at vulnerable points.

43: Infantrymen didn't know how to string barbed wire or dig holes for mines, while engineering units didn't know how to dig trenches or stack sandbags.

44: Engineering units gained experience in battlefield repairs by shooting the enemy in the face.

45: Engineering units were less combat effective than infantry, despite being issued with the same weapons, given more effective training, and possessing good leadership.

46: All soviet Anti-tank grenades and german fausts were outfitted with high power magnets, a technology later forgotten.

38: Infantrymen missed most of their shots, even at point blank range.

Actually General S.L.A Marshall did studies on soldiers from WW2, and it showed that only about 20% of troops actually fired at the enemy, with many of them merely firing over the enemies heads as a form of posturing. Most of them would keep themselves busy by loading weapons for the ones that were firing, running messages, or doing other tasks.

It's all covered in a really interesting book called "On killing" and another called "On combat" by LT Col Dave Grossman (ret).

This study brought about the massive overhaul of combat training which eventually led to an increase from about 20% of troops firing at the enemy in WW2 to 90-100% by Vietnam.

Just a fun fact for you.