When Germany attacked the USSR on June 22, 1941, they were confident that blitz krieg tactics would work flawlessly. And at first, the advance of the Wehrmacht troops across Soviet territory did go quite quickly. However, even then they first encountered a force that, along with the courage of the Red Army, made it clear that the enemy would not surrender so easily. We are talking about certain types of weapons, which the Germans paid tribute to, always took as a trophy, but preferred not to encounter them on the battlefield.
1. Tank T-34
Few people know, but the legendary Soviet tank, it turns out, impressed the Wehrmacht soldiers in the first months of the war. The military leaders of the Third Reich recognized that the T-34 in many respects surpassed all types of armored vehicles that at that time were in service with the Germans in 1941. So, it was noted that the heavy equipment of the Wehrmacht was not capable of penetrating the armor of a Soviet tank, and a collision with it in battle required great skill to destroy the T-34.
2. Heavy tanks IS
Another type of heavy equipment of the Soviet army, the strength of which was openly recognized by the Germans, is the IS tank. These vehicles were able to withstand the famous "Tigers", which also belonged to the group of heavy tanks, and the T-34 could no longer give them a worthy rebuff. And so "Joseph Stalin" in various modifications could: according to Novate.ru, the German commanders considered the Soviet machine at least equal in power and technical characteristics to their own models.
3. Shpagin submachine gun
The Shpagin submachine gun (abbr. PPSh), or, as the soldiers called it, "daddy" was very popular among the Red Army, and the Germans were also happy to take it as a trophy. The latter, by the way, had their own nickname for him - "small machine gun". PPSh was appreciated not only because it was automatic - but this technology was then in short supply. The thing is that the soldiers of the Wehrmacht recognized the Shpagin submachine gun was more advanced than their own MP-40, known in the USSR as "Schmeiser".
4. Needle bayonet knife
Interestingly, at first, foreign soldiers did not consider these weapons as weapons at all, believing that they were their own models. However, at the very first encounters with this blade, their opinion changed dramatically. It turned out that the Soviet needle bayonet-knife was not capable of not only cutting bread and opening cans: its design allowed him to inflict wounds that were not just deep, but, in fact, did not heal. Therefore, getting such a bayonet-knife as a trophy quickly became considered a great success.
The Red Army also had a practice of collecting weapons and equipment of the Wehrmacht, and it had its own characteristics: What German trophies were most valued by the Red Army?