The M1 Garand gave US infantrymen a marked edge during World War II. It
shot faster and further than enemy infantry rifles and hit harder. No
less an authority on killing the enemy than General George S. Patton
called the Garand, "The greatest battle implement ever devised." At a
time when opposing forces were armed with bolt action rifles, US troops
had a highly reliable self-loader. It was the US Army's principal
infantry weapon in World War II, beloved of troops for its ability to
withstand hard use and be ready when needed. In most battles the Garands
speed of fire combined with the powerful .30-06 cartridge gave US troops
a distinct advantage. The eight-round clips which were used to load the
M1 Garand were, however, viewed with mixed emotions by the troops on the
ground. Eight rounds was not much magazine capacity for a self-loading
rifle, thus requiring frequent reloading in combat. Some Army and Marine
Corps troops allegedly felt that the distinctive "twang" as the Garand's
clip was ejected when empty alerted the enemy that the soldiers were
reloading and resulted in an attack. But this problem may have been
overstated as experienced troops did not all empty their weapons at the
same time. It was also a particularly heavy weapon in contrast to the
much lighter M1 Carbine. But the Garand became the defining mankiller of
the war, despite its weight and magazine problems, and many US combat
veterans consider it one of the key reasons they survived the war, as
one veteran succinctly commented, "I let my Garand do the talking."
