How to survive~World War 2

If you remember what some pages in the past saying, "Nothing has shaken the world, nothing has shaped our world, and nothing stirs this world like World War 2". Well, it's back once again, but this time it knows how to survive these dangerous times.

So how would you survive during World War 2? Well, this is what this page will cover.

## A Soldier's Kit

Let's say it was sometime in 1942; you've enlisted in the military, you've just completed boot camp, and are now heading to the frontlines of the war. You're definitely going to need weapons and supplies; it's called a soldier's kit

A soldier's kit varies depending on which faction you are fighting for. Apart from a standard-issue sidearm and rifle (more on that later), you're going in with your own supply of food, water, and even some medical supplies to treat minor wounds.

Now, let's talk about weapons.

**USA:** The standard issue rifle for American soldiers was the "M-1 Garand". It was a semi-automatic rifle that gave the US soldier an advantage against other factions that used the old Bolt-Action rifles; it can fire at a higher rate and with a higher kill ratio. They will also have an M1911 .45 sidearm when they run out of rifle ammo or if they're in close quarters when rifles are too awkward to use. Some soldiers would also have the Thompson M1A1 Submachine gun (AKA The Tommy Gun) or the Browning Automatic Rifle.

**Britain:**British troops were given the "Lee Enfield SMLE" used by troops in World War 1, it may have been another bolt-action rifle, but it can also hold more ammo in its clip (around 10 rounds opposed to 8 in the German Mauser). As their sidearm was the Webley Revolver, though it would only hold 6 rounds and requires frequent and compacted reloading.

**USSR:**Soviet Soldiers had the "Mosin-Nagant," another rifle from World War 1, and their sidearm was the Tokarev T33, which became a symbol of officers in the Red Army during the war.

**Nazi Germany:**You would be issued with the famous (or infamous, all it if you will) Mauser, but you would have the smaller, easier to handle 98K variant. Your sidearm would be the clumsy Luger P-09, a high maintenance gun, and little stopping power. Still, this gun was considered a prized trophy for Allied officers who accepted a Nazi officer's surrender (as they would give them their Lugers). For melee combat, you may also have a spade-shaped shovel, maybe sharpened to do more damage.

**Japan:**As a Japanese soldier, you would have the "Arisaka," another bolt-action rifle, and a Nambu as your sidearm (a Japanese variant of the Luger). For Japanese officers as well as some soldiers, you could use a Katana as well.

Not all soldiers were fighters; some were medics. If you were a WW2 medic, you would have all kinds of medical supplies to help your "brother" when he's wounded. You would have a large medical rucksack which had heavy-duty bandages, tape, anesthetics, even an especially large canteen to keep the wounded soldier hydrated, as well as smaller pouches full of other medical supplies. Though, your training can be basic as your job (as a medic) is to patch up your wounded comrades and head them back to a makeshift hospital (called a dressing station) behind the front lines to receive the treatment they need. If you fought for the Allies or the Nazis, then you would have to wear the Red Swiss Cross on your uniform as the USA, Britain, and Germany were all subjected to the laws of the "Geneva Convention," and killing an on the field medic was considered a war crime. However, the USSR and Japan were not a part of this convention, and you could shoot medics if you see them.

## Climate

World War 2 was fought on virtually every corner of the world, so everybody who fought in this war was subject to at least one extreme climate, if not a few.

It was quite cold in many places, wherein some places (especially in Russia) where it got below 0° F.

During Stalingrad's battle, Nazi Soldiers had an especially hard time with the Russian Winter as their soldiers weren't given the necessary supplies to get through the winter. This was a fatal mistake for Hitler as he assumed that the war was going to be over. But the red army had access to winter supplies and food, and suitable clothing (being on their home turf and all). The cold weather was also a problem for any mechanized unit, such as tanks and other vehicles. In some cases, gas and oil literally froze inside their vehicles, making them useless. However, the Russian vehicles were built to handle the rough winters better than anything the Germans had. If you were a nazi Soldier and needed supplies for the winter, you either stole some off of a dead Soviet soldier, or the Soviets gave them to you, if you surrendered to them first, that is.

It wasn't just Russia that had rough winters; winters can also be harsh in Europe. In December of 1944 (during the Battle of the Bulge), Allied soldiers were constantly bogged down in the frequent cold weather and snowstorms in the Ardennes, and the area itself was prone to winter fog meant the Allies couldn't have air support. This kind of weather was even more problematic for the Nazis as many of their forces strained too far from their supply lines, and like in Russia a few years earlier, their gas and oil froze inside their tanks and other vehicles.

The deserts were scorching, especially in the summer, where it can get well over 100°F, and because deserts were also dry, you had to make sure you had a good supply of water. Dust storms (unlike in the Old West) were more frequent in deserts such as the Sahara, where it can fill your lungs with potentially deadly dust; this can also be a problem for mechanical units as well as dust can clog up the air filters, fill up the oil and gas tanks and strip the paint off of the metal, and weaken it, and also fill up the tank tracks with dust which makes them hard to move.

When you came under fire in the desert, the only cover you'll have is your own unit's vehicles, which can become dangerous, especially when they're destroyed by enemy tanks as the fire can be dangerous, especially if the gas tank is still full.

There were also the sweltering jungles of Southeast Asia and some of the Pacific Islands too. Not only did it get hot at around 70-90°F, but the humidity was stifling as it made staying in these regions unbearable. The American, British, and Japanese Soldiers dealt with these conditions, and if the heat and humidity didn't get you, then perhaps a dangerous creature such as venomous snakes, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and even mosquitoes which carried a dangerous (perhaps deadly) disease such as Malaria, Chikungunya, and it's relative Dengue. Unlike the desert, however, and if you're good at surviving, you can use the jungle water to re-supply yourself on water, but always sterilize it first. Thunderstorms were also frequent in the jungle, and in some areas, can get torrential rains called "Monsoons," which can occur all season. Though anti-venom did exist but wasn't always readily available, so you still have to be careful when you encounter a venomous creature.

If you were a Japanese soldier stationed on an island, you could find yourself bored, that is, until the enemy comes and tries to take the island from you. Though there's the occasional Hurricane (or Typhoon), you'll find yourself bored, as well as communication being difficult or impossible, so you'll have no idea what is going on, or if somebody was coming to help you, or if the enemy is coming. In the latter part of the war (when Japan was being pushed back by the US), new supplies were coming up short, and it was especially difficult for the Japanese soldiers on the islands because supplies were already hard to come by since they either had to come by ship or by plane.

## Civilians

The dangers of World War 2 weren't just exclusive to soldiers on the battlefield. Even civilians were not safe, especially in major cities. From 1940-1942, the Nazis try to bomb Great Britain to submission (this would be called "The Blitz"), where Nazis would bomb Britain's major cities as well as its industrial centers.

Initially, the people would move underground to avoid the bombings, so places like London's Subway became underground shelters where people would go once they hear the sirens (a sign that a Nazi bombing raid was coming).

Nazi bombers also targeted small British towns as well, where there was no place underground to go. So what you would do is that you can make something called an "Andersen Selter," which is made of dirt bricks and corrugated metal, that is if you had a house with a backyard, but if you don't have a backyard, you can make a cage-like shelter called a "Morrison Shelter." They are good at protecting you from debris and shrapnel, but not from the direct blast of a bomb.

If you were British during the war, you would also have something called a "Ration Book" since the Nazi U-Boat fleets would be destroying British merchant ships at an alarming rate, you need to make sure that you keep a record of what you ate, drank, from what clothes you wore. Because you need to "ration" the supplies that you had or need.

In some towns, they would even intentionally turn off electricity at night to make these towns (and cities) less of a target for Nazi night bombers, but this poses a lot of problems as driving at night with the lights turned off was ill-advised as many car accidents occurred because of this.

If you were a kid growing up during the Blitz, you would have to leave your parents and evacuate to the countryside where the Nazi Bombers would be less likely to target you and ensure your survival.

What about in areas occupied by the Axis powers, like, say, Nazi-Occupied Europe? Well, if you were French, chances are you'll be treated as a second class citizen compared to, say, Germany. You would also have a ration book (like the British), and you would have to reduce your daily caloric intake to 1,200 (from 2,400 calories a day). The nazis would also raid local french stores, taking anything they can get their hands on as they made the Reichsmark more valuable than the Frank. You would also have to abide by a curfew, so no going out anytime between midnight and 6 AM. The Nazis would also make you turn your watches and clocks back to the time the Nazis follow. Disobedience would mean a massive punishment.

If you were of the Jewish faith, then be prepared to be treated lower than the dirt you walk on because the Nazis have the "ethnic cleansing" movement, which is to purge everybody who was Jewish from the face of the Earth; you would be sent to a concentration camp (such as the infamous Auschwitz and Buchenwald). When the guards tell you, it's time to shower, but what they won't say is that you're going to be gassed to death as the guards don't want you to know what's going on. The same for some Slavic people, too, the Nazis would make abortion mandatory for the Jewish and Slavic peoples (except for some Slavic people to make more slaves).

If you were Chinese, like with the French, you'd be mistreated. If the Japanese invade your town (such as Nanking), you'll be beaten to death if you're a man; if you're a woman, you'll probably be raped or even sold to the Japanese military as a prostitute. Aso has your food supply be plundered by the Japanese as well.

On the other side of the coin, if you were Japanese (either an immigrant or an American Citizen), you wouldn't be very liked by the American public due to the horrible atrocities your native (or ancestral) nation is committing. In fact, the US Government would sign a bill that will call for all Japanese people (immigrants and Citizens) to be interned I camps. Though not nearly as horrible as the concentration camps in Nazi-occupied Europe, but you wouldn't be treated with royalties by the guards if you don't behave, despite that you'll be pretty well fed.

If you were Japanese but were living in your native Japan, you would have to be on the lookout for US Bombers flying overhead as they would drop incendiary bombs over your "wooden built" town or city. These bombs themselves did a lot of damage to Japanese towns and cities, especially if you were Tokyo residents. By the very end of the war, you might be recruited to defend the Japanese islands from a possible US invasion as you'll be given a Katana or a bamboo spear and be given some basic training on how to use them. But you'll discover that it's a waste of time because the US Invasion of Japan wouldn't come by land or sea, but the air as 2 Atomic Bombs would be dropped. If you were in either Hiroshima or Nagasaki when the bomb was dropped, you'd be instantly vaporized if you were around 15 miles (within the blast range). Even if you found yourself far from the blast, you could suffer from severe burns or radiation poisoning.

If you were to survive all of this, you should get through the war just fine, and if you lived in a nation or fighting for a nation that would win the war, you would reap all of the awards of victory.

That'll do it for this page. Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis too. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.