How many soldiers did carry handguns?

[Marvin]

Hakan,


This is a good question and I have thought about this a lot myself. From my limited understanding, officers were issued handguns, but some of them were required to purchase their own. I don't know what rank would indicate a sef-purchase. All machine gun crews were issued handguns, and the machine gun was the backbone of the infantry.


I have read accounts from German veterans that the regular soldier was not issued a handgun until the were a rank of Feldwebel or higher. I think a Feldwebel was a sergent.


Rear area personel of the command center, medical personel, and others of this type were issued handgins instead of the rifle.


There is a book by Col. Whittington, "German Holsters and Pistols of the Third Reich", vol 4 which list the authorized issue of weapons. It just does not go into the deatail we would like, but is a little help. The German Army was still one of the largest users of handguns at that time.


Marvin