The paratrooper and the 92 Winchester (Sorry Long)

azlaw · 10-29-2008, 11:55 AM

Sort of an odd choice for combat use, but not impossible. These rifles were exported to Europe, so maybe he found it there.

Airborn forces in Market-Garden were poorly provisioned (the British had the worst of it), and relieving ground forces were very slow to arrive, or didn't arrive at all in the case of the British. Ammunition and everything else was in short supply, so maybe this dude lost his weapon or ran out of ammunition, found the 92 with some ammo and picked it up. Nijmegen is where the US airborn forces were concentrated, so that makes sense.

Only thing that is a bit odd is an American being far enough north to be in an area outside of the "Nijmegen Salient", in an area re-occupied by the Germans, consistent with the "hide the rifle" part of the tale. The British commander did not permit the Americans to advance toward Arnhem once they had secured Nijmegen, but that doesn't mean that a few folks didn't end up outside of their unit areas.

H

10-29-2008, 11:55 AM	#2
azlaw User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 207 Thanks: 1 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Sort of an odd choice for combat use, but not impossible. These rifles were exported to Europe, so maybe he found it there. Airborn forces in Market-Garden were poorly provisioned (the British had the worst of it), and relieving ground forces were very slow to arrive, or didn't arrive at all in the case of the British. Ammunition and everything else was in short supply, so maybe this dude lost his weapon or ran out of ammunition, found the 92 with some ammo and picked it up. Nijmegen is where the US airborn forces were concentrated, so that makes sense. Only thing that is a bit odd is an American being far enough north to be in an area outside of the "Nijmegen Salient", in an area re-occupied by the Germans, consistent with the "hide the rifle" part of the tale. The British commander did not permit the Americans to advance toward Arnhem once they had secured Nijmegen, but that doesn't mean that a few folks didn't end up outside of their unit areas. H