Gebergsjager with Sten gun

[lithgow]

Hello-I recently saw a DVD of a WW2 German propaganda film made in late 1942 about celebrating Xmas on the homefront and in the field with German forces. One brief segment showed what were described as mountain troops in the Caucasus wearing snow smocks and I noticed that one of them was carrying a Sten gun with wire skeleton stock slung on his back-this surprised me-how did he get hold of it on that front at that time? Also why would he need to use it when other, better weapons were available especially for elite troops like the Gebergsjager? Your opinions please.

[Peter Wells]

The TR armed forces made extensive use of captured weapons as well as later manufacturing a very close copy of the Sten - but with vertical rather than horizontal mag.

May be one of these options.

[lithgow]

It's certainly true the Germans used many captured weapons but how did a Sten gun turn up in the far southern part of the Russian front in the hands of an elite unit?-the Sten was hardly a desirable firearm compared to the variety of German/Axis and Soviet sub machine guns floating about-the German Sten was a very late war 'last ditch'programme to produce exact copies for the Werewolf 'stay behind' Nazi resistance that never actually eventuated-by 1945 almost everyone wanted the war to be over at last.

[Peter Wells]

The first few 100,000s of Stens (mk1, mk1* & mk2) and were produced during 1941 so they existed in the time frame you mentioned, Lithgrow. Not sure if any were captured in North Africa (eg. Tobruk) but by Xmas 1942 all Axis forces were re-deployed from North Africa to Italy & other fronts.
I'm sure you are aware of the international penchant for own forces/individuals to deploy (either officialy or not) captured weapons, especially in a log friendly cal such as 9mmP.
I don't pretend to be providing hard evidence, merely explioring possibilities.
Interesting

[PMKS]

One source of Stens for the Germans was operation "Englandspiel"
Englandspiel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I read in a history book once about how thousands of guns, ammo, and other supplies were dropped to waiting Germans on the ground in the Netherlands from 1941 to 1944 during Operation_Nordpol. There were also pictures of German troops in the book armed with new-looking stens. I'll have to see if I can find that book in the library and scan the pictures. Maybe some of these guns made their way to other units?

[lithgow]

The last time British and Commonwealth troops would have faced German mountain troops was in Crete May 1941-none in North Africa-I had thought it would have been a personal capture example but I can't think of where or when the opportunity would have happened.

[m3bobby]

Which DVD was it?

[lithgow]

I will have to ask the person that owns the disc what the German title was but in English it's called 'Christmas in Germany'.

[Mick]

The TR armed forces made extensive use of captured weapons as well as later manufacturing a very close copy of the Sten - but with vertical rather than horizontal mag.

May be one of these options.

They also made an copy of the MkII. It was exact in every detail.

[kanister]

They also made an copy of the MkII. It was exact in every detail.

Yes, but in 1944/45, not in 1942.
First use of the sten in Europe was in Dieppe, august 1942.