Did the germans try to scare our troop in WW2?

War scares the crap out of anybody,I am no exception. He did use the Moaning minnies and sometimes called out in English. he also dropped leaflets telling us what was happening to our women folk at home. Leaflets that asked what we were doing fighting the Germans? We should unite against the Russians ETC.

I still have some of them somewhere a
about the house.
Sapper

 

Thanks for the reply, Brian. Very much appreciated.

Did you, at some time experienced the sound of German rocket launchers, 'Nebelwerfer'? I've read some very interesting comments of it and wathced films with original sound and the sound was really horrible.

My grandfather too says that 'Neberwrfer' sounded even worse than 'Katyusha'...

But he remembers that the worse thing that could happen to them when fighting the British or the Americans was to be subjected to air or artillery attack, which any junior officer in the front with a radio could call...

 

I read a book by Panzer Lehr officer on Normandy battles and he says the Naval guns by the British front were horrible but the artillery by the US front was maybe even worse.

He said that they could not move an inch or a barrage would come their way. Even in tanks they just sat tight for hours and did not move a muscle. Just think about that....

 

It was a matter of tactics (again!) and communication system. Any platton or company commander was able to call for artillery support at their positions by radio or telephone and immediately, up to eight artillery batallions ( ! ) in the surrounding area (this, depending on terrain and situations) could be massed in the spot where the officer requested, thus, giving the Germans no way out. Russian or German artillery were never as efficient as US artillery.

 

Lets not forget that the Germans were masters of propaganda thanks to Goebels. Many American troops didn't see combat before they hit the beach in Normandy.

Before they hit the beaches, many of the American troops had heard stories about the German SS troops, the supreme Aryan race, Blitzkrieg tactics, the highly acclaimed Tiger tanks, and all German soldiers being veterans.

Some troops were so psyched out that every German tank they saw was a Tiger tank (which wasn't true at all).

In essence, we were finally going into Fortress Europe and it was fear of the unknown or the legendary rumors.

I've failed to mention there was fighting in Africa and Italy. Look at the effect that the Desert Fox had among the troops.

 

Hi Friends.
The moaning minnies? Yes they made a hell of a noise but then we got used to them..for me they were not all that dangerous. One thing! they gave you plenty of warning of their approach, very often, on exploding. they just split down the side of the cannister where the seam was..

At Bannerville (Goodwood) I had one land within three feet of me, it just went "Bang" Mind you! a bloody great big bang. As to the Germans frightening the Allies? CRAP! we had great respect for their weapons, the 88 was a fearsome gun. But I can tell you we put the fear of GOD up the Germans,

Some of our barrages were bloody collosal, we had lots of variants of barrages all with different names, a particularly good one was the "Pepperpot" you picked out an area and then proceeded to drench it with fire from everything... so that the designated area "BOILED" after that..the ground was well and truly "Cultivated"

There was one barrage that was so heavy with such a tonnage being fired that it affected the countries National Debt and had to have government permission to use it.... In Holland with the 25 pounders, instead of firing one after the other, they lined the guns up and fired the whole bloody 500 at once.

War scares everyone! NO mate the enemy never scared us as much as we scared them...One from the Russian front told me that they had never experienced anything like the British artillery fire, Man! we frightened the living daylights out of them, and when we captured them I actually felt sorry for the wimpering remains of men that we had put through the "Mangle"

Prisoners? I used to light a cigarette, stick it his mouth, put his hands on his head, and send a very grateful German back on his own.
sapper

 

Very, very good post, Brian! Thanks!

Now I'll tell you what my grandfather has told me about American and British artillery.

His experiences come from late 1944 where he was serving as a major in northern Italy as battalion commander in the 26th Panzer division.

He says that by that time both the US and British Commonwealth armies had tremendously improved in everything —tactics, training, leadership, etc.— whilst the Germans every tiem got fewer supplie and equippments, worse food and younger and more ill-trained replacements. Therefore they had to rely in the superiority of some of their equippment —AT guns, armour, machine guns— as well as the capability of veteran soldiers and officers.

He told me that when engagements started, the first thing men did was to sight a man with an anthena and shoot everything at him, killing the man and breaking the radio. Because they knew that a radio meant up to eight whole artillery battalions or a couple P-47s or Typhoons on their heads.

My grandfather was a sniper, and quite often he forgot about his rôle as battalion commander to take the radio out as soon as possible. Because without artillery and air support German infantry could fight the Allies from better posistion —and not necessarily winning even then.

He says that even if the Russians massed three times more guns and rocket launchers than the Allies, they were not as accurate. All due to superior Allied communications and reconaissence.

Thanks to you, Brian. I've heard the same thing from the opposite view.