How
Germans Handle the Rifle
By Oberfeldwebel Heinrich Lützow, edited by
Unteroffizier Jan Sabol
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The
German rifleman (Schütze) is part of at least
a Gruppe (8-15 men) with other rifleman and
the MG. The Schütze would rarely would be
acting alone with his rifle, and was not expected to
alter the battlefield with it. He cannot lay down
suppressive fire with it. German Gruppe
doctrine is to deploy and engage the MG first and
foremost, so the Gruppenführer will always
concentrate on that first — the Schützen deployment
is secondary and only intended to support the MG. The
Germans didn't make any great effort to replace the
bolt action rifle until very late because the MG.34/42
were so successful and important to section level
tactics that it was thought by most to be unnecessary.
Only late in the war did the other rifles make their
appearance, and you'll still see twenty times more
K.98s than MP.44s in 1945! If you
watch German soldiers moving in period footage, you
will notice the rifle is almost always carried with
the right hand only, and held down at full
arm's length (known to modern hunters as the
"trail carry"). This allows the rifleman to run
easier and swing the left arm. It is also easier
on the soldier, who carries the rifle for hours
at a time (we have now added handles to the tops
of modern rifles for this very reason).
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Remember, up to the 1950s ALL Germans
are taught to be right-handed as children
(left-handedness was thought to be unnatural), and
virtually EVERY German rifle and combat movement, from
parade drill to combat movement, has the German
soldier using the right (strong) arm to
handle the rifle.

You will see Germans, even under fire, running with
the rifle in the right hand and held down at arm's
length at the balance point (see images above). It allows for free
movement and speed. Do not be misled by the Reibert's
drawing of the "Hinlegen„ as that drawing shows the
rifle in position after the left hand has
taken the fore stock to free up the right hand for
breaking the fall (check out
http://www.dererstezug.com/hinlegen.htm as
this describes the motion correctly and with period
drawings). A lot of people mistake those drawings to
think that the rifle is held in the left hand, but
this is not so (it would require swinging the rifle
around the body in an awkward way, and makes no
sense). Also, study pictures of German soldiers in
basic training, and you will see the young fellows
(prior farmers and city boys who've never held a
firearm) doing exactly what is taught, and you'll see
the rifle held on all accounts as per the textbook: in
the right hand!
The first and foremost reaction of the Gruppe which
comes under fire is to go prone -- it is NOT for the
riflemen to fire wildly from the shoulder at targets
they have no hope of hitting. At that point the entire
Gruppe waits until the Gruppenführer
has engaged his MG (he will be close to it). If
imminent threat has happened, the Gruppe may
open fire outright, but training was for the
Gruppe to wait for the "Feuer Frei„
command before engaging with rifles. Germans were
strict about this, and they did not want individual
riflemen engaging before being told. The Germans call
the opening of fire Feuereröffnung, and they
were very serious about when it is to occur. There is
a lot written in German manuals about it. They do not
want nervous young soldiers giving away their position
by firing prematurely. When the action starts, "Feuer
Frei„ will come quickly, but in general they are
taught to hold fire until ordered.
As an aside, you will notice there IS a way to carry
the MG with the sling facing forward ready to spray
bullets from the standing position...this is because,
as I said before, the high rate of fire of the MG is
what the Germans are bargaining on. THAT is the weapon
that will do the work, not the rifle! Same goes for
the MP.40 with its forward-facing ready hold. Sorry to
say it, but the poor K.98 takes the back seat when it
comes to sudden encounters.
The bolt
action rifle is not designed for unaimed fire -- the
Germans prefer it to be fired with nice aimed shots
from the prone position. They place great emphasis and
pride on marksmanship, and this is even evident in
their steeped history of the sporting Jäger
(hunter). Having said that, for close quarters the
Germans do have a snapshot called the Hüftschuss.
This was meant to fire at point blank from the
hip, with the rifle held so that it may be thrust
forward for a bayonet stab (German rifle positioning
still had hints of the old musket days when the
bayonet did most of the killing). The proper
position for the advance with rifle can be seen
perfectly in the movie "Stalingrad" in the scene where
the defecting German soldiers encounter the
half-frozen refugees in a ravine. The Germans get
nervous, and instinctively bring their rifles to the
advance position at the hip, bayonets facing forward.
At any rate, this position is not for open field, but
close quarters where contact could occur in a split
second.

The
standard holding position for the rifle when standing
is like the modern "Side Carry" or "Elbow Carry" with
the rifle tucked between the right elbow and the body,
under the armpit, with the left hand on the fore stock
and the rifle pointed forward (see image 1). This
allows for quick transition to the Hüftschuss
snapshot or the bayonet thrust, and allows the right
hand to be freed up for going down to Hinlegen.
You may also see Germans revert to the parade drill
position of resting the rifle alongside their right
foot, and if you look closely at pictures, even while
standing in the the dusty field between combat
actions, many soldiers will instinctively wrap their
right hand, fingers flat, around the fore stock as if
they are on parade. It is drilled into their heads and
they do it without even thinking about it (see image
2).
Now at this point, I often hear re-enactors cry out
that by late war the training was shortened, and
soldiers were less likely to be seen doing textbook
maneuvers. This is not true. Even the most abbreviated
training in late war was conducted by the same
instructors from five years earlier (in 1940) or those
who were taught BY them. The Germans did not suddenly
change their training because there was no time...they
simply excluded unnecessary things like the
Exerziermarsch and the "Links — Um„ at
the marsch, and did simpler things with less time to
practice. I have seen many, many photos of late war
Landser doing a lot of textbook stuff. Don't
underestimate the German demand for compliance on
established methods. Do not impose modern attitudes on
how loose the Germans got by the end the war. I often
think that reenactors who claim that specific drill
and tactical details are not necessary for late-war
re-enactment are just being lazy and can't be bothered
to pay attention to detail. If you are in this hobby
for the long run, these details SHOULD matter to you
and you should know and practice them.
Also, please be very careful with veteran accounts on
specific details of movement, especially on drill. It
has been a long time since these noble fellows had
their basic training, and the years tend to blur
things. I know of a German veteran who INSISTED that
the present arms position had the rifle centered on
the nose. But he was mistaking the first tempo of the
"Das Gewehr — über!„ command (rifle centered
on face) with the final position of the
Präsentiert (rifle left of the eyes), and after
60 years, who can blame him! He had been drilled
repeatedly in 1944 (yes, drilled that late) about the
three steps of "Das Gewehr — über!„ and his
mind recalled part of that drill. He had held the
first tempo with the rifle centered on his nose a
hundred times with the Feldwebel yelling at
him, and that is what stuck in his mind. I was taught
Canadian rifle drill 20 years ago, have not done it
since, and even after 20 years have forgotten many
of the details. So just keep in mind that veterans
must also grapple with the fog of time. Although
veterans are a wonderful and fascinating source of
information, we have period manuals written BY the
German military, IN GERMAN, in the 1940s, for the very
soldiers we are trying to portray! We must not
ignore this wealth of mostly untapped
knowledge! With all due respect, I would rather depend
on a manual written by Heinz Deckler, and officer in
the German Army in 1942, than a Hitlerjugend
who manned an AA gun for six weeks at 13-years-of-age
in 1945. If you think re-enacting the conflict in 1945
does not require knowing these details, then your
involvement in the hobby is casual at best. This is
fine, but perhaps you'd be best to re-enact
Volksturm..
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