The Russians had crap leadership until Zhukov was put in charge, and honestly I think even he is very overrated. Stalin had purged the leadership of the Red Army in the 1930s and it was very evident when the Germans invaded. That’s why they got plowed early on and lost so many men. Then even with Zhukov in charge, they didn’t really follow a tactical style which cared much about casualties. Zhukov was pretty happy to trade blood for victory, which was unlike either the Allies or the Germans.
The Mosin Nagant is really nothing special as rifles go. It’s another bolt action firing a powerful cartridge (quite comparable to the Mauser K-98 or the Springfield 03). Honestly I don’t see that it can be either credited or discredited all that much. It worked for the job at hand. It wasn’t revolutionary like the Garand or STG-43.
That it handles it's rimmed cartridge with a very high level of reliability is a good trick.
It worked for the job at hand. It wasn’t revolutionary like the Garand or STG-43.
Not in this century, nor the last one. But in the year 1891, when it began replacing the Russian single shot Krnka roughly equivalent to the U.S. 45-70 Trapdoor Springfield? Oh yes; revolutionary enough.