US vs German Squads (Mid-1944) Who was Superior? | Animated History

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To begin a new series for the channel, we seek to answer this question: between the United States and Germany, who had the superior infantry in World War 2? Using historical analysis to gather data on their weaponry, tactics, training, and other key factors, we have developed a program to simulate thousands of battles under various conditions and determine an answer. Will the American M1 Garand outclass the German Karabiner 98k? Will the United States be outsmarted by German tactics? Cast your vote, enjoy the video, and contribute your own thoughts in the comments below!

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Evening Spies by Sage Oursler
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Which two nations do you want to see covered next? If you guys enjoyed this video, we can release our battle simulator on our website!
**SPOILERS**
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An explanation to the American victory:
You are taking highly trained, freshly equipped, and battle-hardened (Italy & Africa) American troops, against mid-1944 static German infantry in Normandy. These troops don't even have enough supplies to be maneuvered, hence the name static. They were not the disciplined soldiers you would find on the eastern front. Regular infantry in this region comprised of foreign conscripts and wounded Germans. If we were talking about Grenadiers, Waffen SS, Panzergrenadiers, Volksgrenadiers, Fallschirmjaeger, or even just standard German infantry from 1940-1943 we'd probably see a German victory.
Even still, we came to the conclusion these quickly thrown together units would win 46% of the time, which is extremely impressive. In fact, our simulation stated that the Germans would win 55% of the time in rural environments, when the Americans are being engaged at further ranges, negating one of the main advantages of the fast-firing semi-automatic M1 Garand.
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A note about the simulation:
The team did not blindly depend on the simulation to write the script. The battles included were completely made up and animated by hand to serve as a narrative for a video. There was no church tower or storming of the tower in the simulation program. The engagements were constructed to reflect our research about how the two country's squads behaved. The simulation does take into account for morale, suppression, intelligence, training, etc., however, it does not have any visuals, it just provides data and numbers and was calibrated by our researchers. You can look at our sources for this video - even if we hadn't designed our battle simulator, we would have presented the video in the exact same manner and arrived at a similar conclusion.

There was no actual footage, and I doubt my audience wants to see me present code for 10 minutes. That's something I can show on my side channel if there's interest. At no point did we claim we had scientific information, hence the disclaimer, "this is just our opinion" at the beginning of the video.
Lastly, we make these videos to both inform and to entertain. In real life, these types of engagements would have lasted hours, but we've condensed the battles to make them easier and more interesting to watch and understand...

TheArmchairHistorian

So, two things I noticed in all three engagements, which I find curious:
One, the Germans are always passive, being satisfied with pinning down the Americans. Meanwhile the Americans always try to gain the initiative via fire and maneuver.
Two, all German squads have run out of handgrenades.

danielrogge

Fortunately for the Allies, in the later stages of the war, American Sergeants were issued with waterproof matchbooks.

euansmith

The British vs Germans and Japanese vs Americans I would like to see

Ace-swht

I love that everyone here is only mad about the Germans not using grenades, not much else. Just “what about German grenades!!”

owen

The Germans made a key mistake, they forgot Hans with the Flammenwerfer.

ktjmitchell

I think a French 1940 squad v German 1940 squad would be cool

Or a Italy v Britain 1941

kaiserwillhelmthend

The armchair historian: Forgets a weapon to give a small documentary
*cries in kar98k*

zachly

The M1 rifle was a significant improvement in firepower over the Mauser 98 (itself great for a bolt action). I own both... great guns. On the other hand, the MG42 was a much more modern and effective LMG than the old M1919 the US was using at the time. The BAR was reliable but was pretty poor for its intended role as a lighter more portable LMG than the M1919 as it didn't have a quick change barrel and was very heavy for what it was. It also was limited to a 20 round magazine. The Bren gun was a much better gun in a similar role.... or the FN made BAR variant that the Polish adopted... quick-change barrel and pistol grip....truly the peak of BAR development.

marcuscook

Let's hope it doesn't get privated again.

someguy

I can't light my cigarette because the matches are wet,

the war is lost

xcatrockz

"Sir, I'm hit! I'm bleeding from my head!"
"You'll be fine son, just stay down!"
"SIR, I GOT HOLES IN MY STOMACH!"
"Just a flesh wound! You'll be fine!"
*NCO runs out of dry matches for his cigarette
"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE"

joshuatumambo