Fair enough. There are three components of fighting power: Physical, Conceptual and Moral.I have questions wrote: ↑03 Dec 2019, 05:29that was fast....I was thinking a 12 man squad for the Germans and a 13 man squad for the USMC. As far as weapons are concerned, didn't M1s only become mainstream in 1942? Also, just for clarification, my intent here was to see who would win based on training, tactics, experience, etc. I understand it would be hard (or I dare say impossible) to know exactly what would happen, so this is more of a "best of" training, experience, and field abilities.
The difference between individual squad weapons such as rifles, grenades and sub-machine guns is small. However the majority of the firepower is from the squad automatic weapon. The BAR is far inferior to the MG34 which would balance the firepower in favour of the Germans.
Probably no real difference in minor unit tactics- fire and manoeuvre - use terrain - win the fire fight and close with the enemy. It is mostly common sense and situational awareness.
Moral is an interesting factor. Was the strong USMC comparable to faith in the Fuhrer or the German soldier's destiny? Dunno. Most comments on unit cohesion reckon the soldiers fight for their comrades' respect. USMC might be considered an elite of self motivated soldiers, so perhaps a fair comparison might be with say German parachutists or the Gross Deutchland Regiment.
There is a difference between a 1941 German squad and a USMC squad. A German squad is likely to have experienced combat, while all but a tiny minority of USMC had not. Not every man who shines in peacetime performs well under the severe strain of combat. I don't know the percentage of junior leaders who failed their first test of battle in the USMC, but it was greater than zero.
A German squad which had served in Poland and France is likely to have weeded out those unsuited for combat, particularly from command appointments.
I would bet on a German squad led by a veteran of Poland and France to beat an inexperienced USMC unit. Bets are off if we were comparing 1944 squads.