The beginning of the war for the soldiers of the Red Army was a real nightmare. Everything didn't go according to plan. As a result, the enemy received a lot of warehouses with weapons, equipment, ammunition, equipment, albeit without fuel. But not only this was appreciated by the Germans. There were other trophies that they rejoiced like little children. Yes, and our soldiers were happy to take away from the battlefield what previously belonged to the enemy. Naturally, there were things that pleased the soldiers of both armies the most.
1. The situation with trophies: what interested the German soldiers
Already after three months from the start of the war, over 14,000 Soviet tanks were at the disposal of the Germans. Particularly interesting for them were the T-34, equipped with the so-called commander's cupola. If necessary, they were repaired at the Riga plant. With crosses on their sides, several companies of our equipment fought on the Kursk Bulge. In general, the enemy used much more tanks - more than three hundred.
With the "Katyushas" the situation was not so simple. According to some historical data, there is information that Hitler himself promised to award the Knight's Cross to someone who could capture this combat installation. Our soldiers, of course, were distinguished by heroism, but the enemy was persistent, resourceful and strong. Thanks to their onslaught, the Germans were able to under Vyazma on September 19, 1941. grab a few of these powerful rigs.
If the Germans were so interested in this technique, why didn't they produce it themselves? The fact is that the army was satisfied with the variety and quality of the available guns, the many pieces of cannon artillery. At their disposal were tractors and guns, both of their own production, and Czech, French. Military equipment made it possible to hit as accurately as possible. As for the Katyushas, they worked well in terms of area.
Small arms Soviet weapons for the Germans were also valuable. In the Soviet Union, by the beginning of the war, 3 types of self-loading automatic rifles were adopted. Their number was approximately 1,500,000 units. The weapon was really excellent, especially the Svetka (we are talking about SVT). But the infantrymen threw self-loading very easily, if such an opportunity arose.
They were more satisfied with Mosinka - a three-ruler, which continued to shoot, even if it lay in the sand. This number did not work with self-loading, as she needed care, as well as regulation. Of course, for the guys from the village, who had no more than four school years of education, the priority was a simple weapon that did not require special knowledge. As for the marines and paratroopers, they knew how to use the SVT and did it with pleasure.
Among the Germans, it was Svetka, as well as PPSh, that were especially popular. This weapon was willingly used by enemy scouts and ordinary infantrymen. However, the most valuable trophy, after the idea of "blitzkrieg" failed, was not weapons, but warm winter clothes. In Russia, winters are severe, so the population was literally undressed just on the street. Scarves, sweatshirts and felt boots were a real gift. If it was possible to get a sheepskin coat, then this was already great luck.
2. What trophies were of particular interest to Soviet soldiers
How were things with captured military equipment in the ranks of the Red Army? V. V. Karpov, scout, Hero of the USSR, writer, noted in his memoirs that the leadership did not approve of the use of enemy machine guns by scouts, but was quite patient. The infantrymen were strictly forbidden to use enemy weapons, as they lived on the principle that ours is the best. If someone violated the ban, he had to talk with the special officer.
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For Soviet soldiers, enemy daggers became a real gift, because domestic bayonets are not able to open a tin can. A real discovery for the Red Army was the soldier's sets, namely, interconnected cutlery - a spoon and a fork. We only had spoons.
With joy, Soviet soldiers, who for the most part were village children, took sweets, chocolate bars, canned food from enemy dugouts, which were opened with a key. The most valuable trophy, which is not ashamed to present to the commander, was binoculars. The German quality of optics could not but rejoice. The soldiers were especially happy with wristwatches. Not all commanders had this mechanism.
The only thing ours didn't like was German tobacco. Preference was given to native shag. Well, if you take it as a whole, then no one refused any trophies then. They took everything that came into their hands and that could somehow be applied.
It would be equally interesting to know why, at the end of World War II, Germany did not pay reparations to the USSR.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/300921/60715/