The M1 Garand

Osprey Weapons #16

by Leroy Thompson, Peter Dennis (Illustrator), Alan Gilliland (Illustrator)

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."

Genres: Military History, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Leroy Thompson has trained and advised military and police special operations units around the world, focusing especially on the tactical use of firearms. He has previously had 38 books published. He has also appeared as a weapons expert on documentaries for Discovery, National Geographic and the BBC.

Leroy Thompson served in Vietnam with the U.S. Air Force and was a police officer for several years after leaving the military.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine volume in the Osprey Weapon series. I'm currently in the process of acquiring all the books that cover the models that I have in my collection - with the exceptions of the Browning Automatic Rifle and Thompson Submachine Gun. Those two are way out of my budget. These Osprey books are fast reads, but informative and lavishly (I overuse this word I know) illustrated. I own many a book that provide microscopic forensic histories of models and the many variations that occur throughout the model's production history. Detailed tomes that are smorgasboards of trivia for the anal retentive. I Love those books ,however, there are times when I just want a light fast read with some information and lots of pictures. The Osprey Weapon Series meets this need 'to a T'.

[Mark Luongo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Handy to have around as my M1 is now in working condition thanks to to brother-in-law Rick.

[Julius · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine but a few inaccuracies.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been interested in weapons and also in WW@. This rifle was the reason that the Americans and the Allies won WW2. It shot a .30 caliber bullet inside an 8 round clip. It was semi-automatic which was game changing because the standard issue German and Japanese rifle was bolt action and shot a 5 or 6 round clip. I have read a lot of books about rifles and this one is one of my favorites. General Patton said that this rifle was the best of its time, and decided the war against the Nazis. You would love this book Mrs. Rivers :D

[Robin Halvorson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history of the M1 Garand