The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - How the Garand En-Bock clip got U.S. soldiers killed

**44 AMP** · September 7, 2008, 01:30 PM

There may have been GIs killed due to the enemy hearing the "ping" of the ejecting M1 clip, but there is no way to make it a verifyable fact. I'm sure any GIs killed that way are balanced out by the number of enemy killed attacking an "out of ammo" GI when is foxhole buddy, or he himself shot them.

Stories about the enemy waiting until they heard the ping and attacking are just that, stories. It probably did happen, at least once, nearly everything you can think of has happened, at least once.

GIs working in pairs (so that one was always loaded), and GIs throwing an empty clip against a rock to fool the enemy into attacking (sometimes it worked) are common knowledge.

The Garand enbloc clip did not get US soldiers killed. Quite the opposite, I would say.

Want another one? Watch the movie "The Longest Day", and see where one of the paratroopers gets killed because he mistakes the sound of the bolt action Mauser for the "cricket" recognition device. Click click, click click. Bang! Click click, click click. Ain't Hollywood somthin'?

September 7, 2008, 01:30 PM	#12
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,871	Myth? most likely There may have been GIs killed due to the enemy hearing the "ping" of the ejecting M1 clip, but there is no way to make it a verifyable fact. I'm sure any GIs killed that way are balanced out by the number of enemy killed attacking an "out of ammo" GI when is foxhole buddy, or he himself shot them. Stories about the enemy waiting until they heard the ping and attacking are just that, stories. It probably did happen, at least once, nearly everything you can think of has happened, at least once. GIs working in pairs (so that one was always loaded), and GIs throwing an empty clip against a rock to fool the enemy into attacking (sometimes it worked) are common knowledge. The Garand enbloc clip did not get US soldiers killed. Quite the opposite, I would say. Want another one? Watch the movie "The Longest Day", and see where one of the paratroopers gets killed because he mistakes the sound of the bolt action Mauser for the "cricket" recognition device. Click click, click click. Bang! Click click, click click. Ain't Hollywood somthin'? __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.