Attrition of the drum....??

[G.T.]

You know, usually a couple of different viewpoints widens the discussion greatly, so please jump in here with your thoughts on this, as it is purly conjecture on my part.. But, I was talking with George Fortier today.. and we discussed the survivability of the drum mags, and their loading tools a bit.. ... Well, first off, you would have to think that one loader to a case of five drums as being a sufficient number, as they were in the thick of it, and I'm sure armaments and accessiories were top priority... so we can be pretty sure they didn't run out in THEIR trench... and, I can pretty much assume that when a German offensive trench raid took place, the loaders stayed behind... So, I'm also pretty sure that after awhile.. loaders were hanging on about every hook...But the drums were a different matter... some used with LP.08's were issued as a back up for defensive positions, heavy machine guns and artillery and the like... So even though in all likelyhood only a small percentage were issued to these crews, they had a great chance of being right where they were after the days end...
On the other hand, the ones used in offensive trench raids were probably used up like cord wood.... dropped and left when empty, either going forward, or as is so often shown in the films.. going back! And not strolling along either...I'll bet the vast majority of drum magazines saw about two minutes of time in an MP18 and are now buried deep on some forgotten front... ... Best to all,...til...lat'r....GT

[Vlim]

Well, there was no shortage of small arms (pistols) in 1917. In fact, so many were produced by DWM alone that they were told to stand back and focus on their heavy machine gun production instead.

This accounts for the large number of surviving 1917 dated LP08 pistols. Most never came out of storage and were eventually reissued to the German navy (who had lost their navy lugers). It is not hard to imagine that they also had a good supply of drum magazines available as well. The MP18, as well as the drums, made it into police service (documented), another piece of evidence that large numbers of guns and magazines survived the war. Also, there is still a relatively large amount of surviving 1917 9mm ammunition available on the collector market. Ammunition made in earlier years is much harder to come by.

People were outfitted for a raid, and were expected to bring everything back (or at least offer a darn good explanation for losing their equipment). Also, at the front line, soldiers were paid a bonus for bringing in lost/spent material. It was a good way to enhance the meager payment they got.

Without doubt, a lot of equipment was lost, but a lot of that was also recovered again.

[George Anderson]

Here is an example of how TM08s were used by Stosstruppen. Note that the three Germans in front have TM08s strapped to their belts in carriers. Also most of the Germans appear to have LP08s as is evidenced by the fellows in back who are wearing LP08 straps. The catch of prisoners are either French or Belgian.