WW II U.S. Soldier's Gear

Factual Questions
1

Howdy folks,
I’m writing an adventure for Call of Cthulhu set during the Battle of the Bulge in December of '44. What I need to know is what exactly a squad of US soldiers on patrol would have on their person. Not just what they might be armed with but how many magazines they carried, what kind of gear they carried while on patrol, and any other useful information y’all might have.

Thanks a bunch,

Marc

2

To get you started, a typical Army infantry squad would have:

-A squad leader with a .45 SMG, M1 or M3, or .30 carbine, M1.

-A assistant squad leader, equipped same as above.

-7 riflemen, equipped with God’s own gift to mankind, the M1 Garand :wink:

-1 sharpshooter, with a M1903 Springfield rifle.

-A 3-man BAR section, with one BAR, one carbine or smg, and one rifle. (For gunner, assistant, and ammo bearer, respectively)
I dunno what average American ammo loadouts were back then. Paratrooper units would have a higher proportion of SMG’s.

3

I have asked my bro’, who is in the WW2 Living History Association, for the QT. I will post what if anything he comes back with - or the cite he supplies.

4

Call of Cthulhu- Best RPG Ever. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

5

6

Most…bizzare…post…ever… :confused:

7

beat me to it Bosda.

8

Fantastic.

Whatever he is on, I want some. :smiley:

9

Don’t forget the non-weaponry stuff, which frankly was just as important. A U.S. infanteer would carry webbing (a belt held up by shoulder straps, with buttons onto which you can attach gear parts in any number of combinations) that would include:

  • The unform, which included the M-1941 field jacket, usually khaki; OD green trousers; a wool cap, often worn under the helmet (helmets tend to itch); khaki leggings; brown leather boots; a “coat,” which is actually a tunic, and OD green undershirt. Soldiers usually carried a full change of uniform, and were issued a lot of extra socks, a half dozen or so. Uniforms were adorned with standard divisional and regimental insignia, of course. Note that soldiers usually did not have name tags stitched onto their combat gear.

Standard 1943-1944 loadout would include:

  • A canteen and a cup, plus knife/fork/spoon combo, collectively referred to as a “meat can”
  • a field pack including a water-resistant ground sheet, four or five tent pegs, extendable poles, and some cord for stringing up tents or hooches
  • A first aid pouch with any number of implements of first aid, but usually at least a field dressing or two.
  • A gas mask was normal issue, although I think many soldiers discarded it
  • A small collapsible shovel, which was given the flowery name “entrenching tool.”
  • A waterproof map case with any maps the soldier needed. This was usually worn on the belt.
  • A bayonet
  • A compass
  • Most soldiers would carry a notepad and a pencil, which is more useful than you might think
  • An ammunition bandolier, which could hold 10 magazines
  • A rifle cleaning kit, which included a lot of rifle cleaning parts
  • A small backpack
  • In combat, the soldier would usually carry 2-4 grenades
  • Dog tags
  • Toothbrush, toothpaste, and a hand towel
  • A rubberized rain coat or poncho - the poncho works better

That was the minimum (if it sounds heavy, it was.) Other items carried could include:

  • The soldier’s field manual, FM 21-100
  • A small sewing kit
  • A khaki scarf
  • Woolen gloves
  • M-1926 overcoat, OD green
  • Long sleeve khaki shirt

Soldiers in the field usually carried a day’s hard rations as well.

10

The US was surprised by the Battle of the Buldge. Many of the troops were called up from rear areas and were poorly equipped. Many of them had no winter gear with them.

11

This page may help

http://dansuspage.netfirms.com/

12

Based on what little I know about Call of Cthulu…

What was the typical G.I.'s ammo load, in 1944? NOT ENOUGH for your scenario!! :slight_smile:

13

As Theron Marks used to say: “Sanity is a sawed-off shotgun.”

I suppose a BAR might do in a pinch…

14

**

Actually that’s what I was primarily looking for. Weapons are easy but I needed to know what other things they carried. Thanks a bunch for your help, everyone else to.

Marc

15

In the scenario I’m writing the troops are on their way to loot a mysterious mansion that doesn’t appear on any American or German maps. Of course they only expect to be gone for a few hours so they’re not going to take everything and the kitchen sink.

**

It doesn’t matter, it isn’t as if their ammo can hurt the horrors from beyond.

Marc

16

Well, I said I would ask the World War II Living History Association for you, and this is what my brother (their pyrotechnics/safely officer) has come back with:

"As always with these things, there is no one answer. A patrol which stays out for several days would need packs, food, warm clothing etc. Fighting patrols will need lots of ammo, grenades, 60mm mortar, bazooka if there are tanks around.

Reconnaissance patrols are only gathering information so will
take less of that but might bring the SCR-300 radio if one is available, digging tools, binoculars.

The rifle belt holds 10 x 8-rnd clips for a total of 80 rounds, but most people would have a bandolier of 6 x 8-rnd clips as well. BAR belts hold 12 x 20-rnd magazines.

Add on a canteen, bayonet, entrenching tool, first aid packet, wire cutters (maybe), compass, mapcase, fighting knife, flashlight, grenades to be distributed around the squad, mortar bombs (shells if you’re American), one of the various types of field packs, ammo boxes for the M191A4 machine gun if they take one (though it’s probably too heavy), K-Rations or at least a D-Bar, sweater, gloves, scarf.

Not everyone has got all of these but most of it would be passed around amonst the squad.

The very smallest soldier always seemed to end up carrying the heaviest weapon!"

Good luck from a long retired FRPGer…

17

Well, then they just aren’t using enough of it!! :wink: :stuck_out_tongue: