The WW2 German Motorcycle

the German war machine would travel vast distances during the second world war apart from the rail network trucks cars tanks and horses were the main mode of Transport for these troops but one other vehicle which is seen in many German propaganda films would play a vital role during the war motorcycles would ride across Terrain in every campaign Germany fought their durability and speed was unrival to many other forms of Transport in today's video we look at the World War II German motorcycle if you enjoy this video and want to see more hit that subscribe button it's free and really helps the channel reach more history lovers like you Germany would be the largest user of motorcycles during the second world war they found a use from the first days of the war right the way through to the last the invasion of Poland would be their first test and they didn't disappoint manly employed as the role of a scout vehicle they would also see use as cers support for infantry troops and assist tanks identifying their targets their early successes across Poland France and the low countries was down to their design two of the main Brands employed were BMW and zunda although Germany would find its motorcycles supplied by several other manufacturers including dkw NSU Victoria and prior to the wall Triumph together over 200,000 units were produced and shipped throughout the conflict the main advantage using these vehicles over a horse for example was speed and ease of use horses needed a lot of food and rest whereas to keep a motorcycle running these soldiers only needed Fuel and oil this allowed them to cover much greater distances in a shorter period of time for example the BMW r75 had a range of 220 5 m or 360 km and it could carry up to 1,000 lb or 450 kgs the motorcycles also performed exceptionally better over difficult terrain than other vehicles mainly due to their lighter weight and thin tires the addition of a side car was a game Cher for the motorcycle it now allowed for a team of Two Soldiers to perform their requisite role and had the ability for a machine gun to now be mounted on the side car this at least allowed for the Riders to protect themselves but for the most part they were very exposed in the Scout roll they were sent ahead of the main Force to locate the enemy but unlike their comrades in tanks they had no armor plating to protect them they found themselves susceptible to Mine Fields artillery and Small Arms fire this is where Vehicles such as the kubar vargan and half tracks offered much more protection to Scout Troops than the motorcycles did did they began being used in that role more and more as it allowed for more soldiers to be carried along than the two on a motorcycle but perhaps one of their main enemies was the weather Riders on the Eastern Front certainly suffered more than most as come the Russian winter riding through the snow and wind in Sub-Zero temperatures would claim the lives of countless soldiers on the front the Eastern Front would also be the motorcycles undoing they had performed so well in other campaigns but it was the thick mud and eventual snow which defeated them they struggled in this terrain as did so many other vehicles so much so that BMW actually sent employees to the front to identify how improvements could be made this ultimately failed as a stalemate ensued prior to the final Russian push back to Germany but the motorcycles otherwise fulfilled their duties well military police found them as an easy mode of transport and there were the preferred chauffeur for officer vehicles in and around Enemy Lines having such a small and fast vehicle also allowed them to bring supplies food and ammunition to remote Frontline outposts with relative ease also throughout the war many captured enemy motorcycles would be painted and utilized by the German Army the Soviets would in fact create direct copies of a BMW motorcycle as they believe they perform so well this is perhaps a true Testament to the impressive German engineering during World War II do you think motorcycles were better in the Scout roll than their car or half track counterparts let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below as always guys thanks for watching be sure to hit that subscribe button if you want to expand your knowledge and join the growing Premier history community