Not your Opa's Wehrmacht.
Posted on 02/19/2019 3:04:10 PM PST by Rummyfan
Fighter jets and helicopters that don’t fly. Ships and submarines that can’t sail. Severe shortages of everything from ammunition to underwear.
If it sounds like an exaggeration to compare Germany’s Bundeswehr to “The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight,” look no further than the army’s standard-issue assault rifle, Heckler & Koch’s G36. The government decided to scrap the weapon after discovering that the gun misses its target if it’s too hot.
“There is neither enough personnel nor materiel, and often one confronts shortage upon shortage,” Hans-Peter Bartels, a Social Democrat MP charged with monitoring the Bundeswehr for parliament, concluded in a report published at the end of January. “The troops are far from being fully-equipped.”
Once one of the fiercest (and most brutal) fighting forces on earth, today’s German army increasingly looks more like a volunteer fire department — last month, mountain troops were dispatched to shovel snow from roofs in Bavaria — than a modern military machine.
On a recent trip to Lithuania, where about 450 German soldiers are stationed as part of a NATO mission to deter Russian aggression, U.S. officials were dismayed to discover Bundeswehr personnel communicating on unsecure mobile phones due to a shortage of secure radio equipment.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.eu ...
Not your Opa's Wehrmacht.
” The government decided to scrap the weapon ( The G36) after discovering that the gun misses its target if it’s too hot.”
But it looks cool. And someone got paid.
Those are cherry looking Mauser 98’s though.
Wonder where they were made...FN?
Those silver and black cuff credits do have a familiar ring to them, however, jah?
Given a couple of minor incidences Germany caused in the first half of the 20th century, its military shouldn’t be too well equipped.
Can’t read the sleevebands. Haven’t seen sleevebands on Germans since 1945.
It's OK just as long as Germany's Muzzie Terrorist "immigrants" are happy in their free housing, with their free healthcare and their dole.
H&K usually makes good products...
Pity about the G36. I'm told the airsoft version works quite well.
I can’t see a reason Germany needs a military these days. Their only threat is moslem immigration. And the hard cold truth is the German military has only brought misery to the world.
They need a border patrol and a coast guard focused on rescue and navigation
“Cuff credits” I think they’re called.
You nailed it. Best Mausers were made in Belgium. Love my vintage Parker-Hale K98 in 30-06.
Yet...kinda strange that modern Bundeswehr soldiers are carrying bolt actions. That was usually reserved for special parade units wearing original Wehrmacht uniforms & coal scuttle helmets.
Look up Chilean National Day. They dig German stuff and have ever since the Kaisers Armee gave up spiked helmets.
Wachbatallion.
the Wachbataillon is the German Bundeswehr’s elite drill unit
The picture is of an honor guard. The silver band serves the same function in the Bundeswehr as it did in the Wehrmacht. It denotes an elite unit. What is not on their uniform nor on public display is their original Regimental designation. Modern Bundeswehr units might be called Panzergrenadier Battalion 152 or similar. But quietly, that battalion might have adopted an old regiment of the Wehrmacht (but not of the Waffen SS) and tucked away except for special occasions are regalia of that old regiment. They don’t have the original colors, most of those are in Moscow. Unfortunately, today’s Bundeswehr can’t fight like the Wehrmacht.
It isn’t just maintenance issues when it comes to the Kriegmarine. Due to design defects by the German engineers, the new Frigate lists to Starboard. The problematic Type 212 submarine is built by the same company.
“...and submarines that can’t sail.”
Eh, this could be one of their problems! Moreover, they need to stock up on backing soda.
I think the best mousers were built in Sweden. But to my knowledge they never built in 98 and stopped at the 96
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