Would you believe that the over 2,000 casualties of Omaha beach during the Normandy invasion were inflicted by ONE MAN? That’s right. Heinrich Severloh was manning the MG42 that decimated the American beach landings. Some estimates say he inflicted as many as 2,000 casualties by himself with a single MG42 and taking potshots with his Kar98 while it was being reloaded or awaiting more ammo. What was the rest of his unit doing? Running him ammunition. Upwards of 60 men were running boxes of ammunition all the way up to his position through the trench line.
As others have pointed out, German doctrine was all about supporting the MG. Marching in a column formation, the MG was up front on point. At the first sign of contact, he was to deploy and fire on the spot, while the rear sections of infantry advanced to support both of the gunner’s flanks. It is estimated that the volume of fire that the MG42 could produce was the equivalent of 9 squads of riflemen.
Here is Heinrich Severloh and his MG42, a name that should be synonymous with Omaha beach.
Of course most will recognize this from the movie Saving Private Ryan. I cannot imagine being on the "receiving end" of such hellish fire. My granddaddy was there and he said he'd never forget the sound of "Hitler's buzz saw".
By the way, what would a Feral Irishman post be without a little "eye candy"?
H/T to Ed in Moulton
Would you believe that the over 2,000 casualties of Omaha beach during the Normandy invasion were inflicted by ONE MAN? That’s right. Heinrich Severloh was manning the MG42 that decimated the American beach landings. Some estimates say he inflicted as many as 2,000 casualties by himself with a single MG42 and taking potshots with his Kar98 while it was being reloaded or awaiting more ammo. What was the rest of his unit doing? Running him ammunition. Upwards of 60 men were running boxes of ammunition all the way up to his position through the trench line.
As others have pointed out, German doctrine was all about supporting the MG. Marching in a column formation, the MG was up front on point. At the first sign of contact, he was to deploy and fire on the spot, while the rear sections of infantry advanced to support both of the gunner’s flanks. It is estimated that the volume of fire that the MG42 could produce was the equivalent of 9 squads of riflemen.
Here is Heinrich Severloh and his MG42, a name that should be synonymous with Omaha beach.
Of course most will recognize this from the movie Saving Private Ryan. I cannot imagine being on the "receiving end" of such hellish fire. My granddaddy was there and he said he'd never forget the sound of "Hitler's buzz saw".
By the way, what would a Feral Irishman post be without a little "eye candy"?
Helluva weapon there. Any competent american rifleman should be able to own one or a dozen sans any paperwork, legalities or fees. Ohio Guy
ReplyDeleteGovernment at all levels routinely violates the 2A.
Delete+1. And no more buys on a 4473.
Delete2 local friends 'rent' real MG42s. One is my neighbor, the other on the opposite side of the interstate.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the sound they make is definitely something you'll remember, even from behind one. I can't imagine what it sounds like zipping overhead.
I got to fire a belt of ammo through a vintage MG-42 at a machine gun shoot. Using the burst fire technique I learned on the M-60, that thing was so fast I only got 3 bursts and the 50 round belt was gone. An MG-42 is only eclipsed by an electrically operated Mini-Gun.
ReplyDeleteI got to fire a belt of ammo through a vintage MG-42 at a machine gun shoot. Using the burst fire technique I learned on the M-60, that thing was so fast I only got 3 bursts and the 50 round belt was gone. An MG-42 is only eclipsed by an electrically operated Mini-Gun.
ReplyDeleteGood story but his claims have largely been debunked.
ReplyDeleteLink?
DeleteHow did this guy live to tell the tale? As depicted in the movie, by the time soldiers made it to the top of the cliffs and dunes, after seeing so many of their buddies die, they didn't take many prisoners.
ReplyDeleteNemo
Not buying it.
ReplyDeleteTotal US casualties for Omaha Beach was something like 2,500 men.
Any position that put out that kind of sustained fire for that long would attract some serious counter fire. We had destroyers just outside the surf zone hammering HE with pinpoint accuracy. A well situated MG nest could be quite devastating-for a while.
This guy may have had an exceptional feat of arms and an impact on events far more than one man ought to, but responsible for 80% os US casualties in his sector?
There is a reason the MG42 was called Hitler's Saw. One weakness of he piece, however, is it wasn't very accurate.
ReplyDeleteAs Stalin opined, quantity has it's own quality, and throwing copious amounts of lead to gain fire superiority and keep troops pinned down was key to the German doctrine of combined arms, which we later copied to this day...
DeleteOn a side note, i had the fun privilege of hauling the "Pig," many times, around back in the day... Decent cyclic rate w out totally destroying barrels and good controlled bursts...
a bitch at 20+ pounds, not including extra barrel and ammo...
I was a young para, dumb and full of @#$...
Don't you have to change out barrels fairly often on those? He must have had one hell of a supply...
ReplyDeleteReal easy to change out barrels. Latch on the right side of the heat shield pops out and the hot barrel can be slid out and a new cold one slid in and popped back into battery in about the amount of time than it takes to write about it.
DeleteIn fixed positions like that in fortifications, it'd be mounted on a Lafette tripod (which I've been reliably informed is superior to anything we've ever fielded), often with telescopic sights, and several spare barrels. It only takes a few seconds to change barrels or load a new belt. You would shoot shorter duration bursts than you would on other machineguns, but pump out the same number of bullets, ideal for fleeting targets. Training and fire discipline is the key.
DeleteYep and estimated 2,400 not buying it either. I thought history was written by the victors.
ReplyDeleteWow! A lot of butt hurt on here.
DeleteGet a spine
ps Firing MG 42 on my bucket list now I need to pursue it. Every thing I have seen or read about it we are lucky more did not die.
ReplyDeleteMy step-father in law was in the first wave at Omaha beach. Out of his platoon of 60 men or so, only 4 were alive at the end of the day. There may be a disconnect on casualties. I believe about 2,500 men were killed at Omaha. The term "Casualties" is not limited to the dead, but includes the wounded, which far exceeded the dead, to my understanding.
ReplyDeleteWonder what the casualty rate was for MG 42 gunners?
ReplyDeleteA fine weapon indeed--a good reason we based the M-60 in part on the 42.
ReplyDelete"...the MG42 that decimated the American beach landings." We took a full 10% casualties on Omaha Beach? I need to check the figures. That's what 'decimated' means--the killing of 10%.
--Tennessee Budd
The cyclic rate of the 42 was much too high. As I recall the 60 had a cyclic rate of around 6-700 rpm.
DeleteNot all the guns were MG-42's. Read an article by the NRA a while back titled "Forgotten Guns of D-Day". According to the article Franz Gockel, assigned to bunker WN 62 overlooking the Fox Green sector of Omaha Beach, was using a Polish wz.30 water-cooled machine gun, a copy of the Browning M-1917. The Germans used a lot of weapons taken from the countries they occupied.
ReplyDeleteThey were still using MG-34s as well.
Deleteconsider the guy driving the boat. just how many times did they drop the front, watch a dozen men die, go back to the ship, get two dozen more, and drop the front again?
ReplyDeleteThere was one well known boat driver who ended up ferrying dead and dying Marines during the landings at Tarawa.
ReplyDeleteYou all might know him from ‘Green Acres’.
Eddie Albert. All those Golden Era Hollywood people who served in WWII were modest and did not boast about their service.
DeletePutting "eye candy" on a story such as this is unbelievably callous! You go from one end of the spectrum of describing how one MG 42 Gunner may be responsible for over 2,000 Casualties at Omaha Beach. Which SHOULD BE SAID IN REVERENCE FOR THEIR SACRIFICE, but then you cannot resist putting in "eye candy" of a sexed up supposedly German woman holding an MG 42?!?!?!? What the heck are you? I will tell you what you are, you are as bad as the liberals that you trash! You are as cold and unfeeling as they are!
ReplyDeletelighten up Fracis
Deletehttps://youtu.be/syV2LkGpQB0
I heard that at an advance screening for Saving Private Ryan for WWII vets, some of them had to leave during the landing scene. It was too much like the actual landing.
ReplyDeleteWitnessed such a thing myself at my local screening. Watched about 4-5 of them walking out with tears streaming down their cheeks and their wives helping them stand to get out... forever etched in my brain.
Delete