America’s “Ugly” Shotgun Was Banned in Trenches — Killed 2,000 in Close-Quarters Bunkers скачать в хорошем качестве

America’s “Ugly” Shotgun Was Banned in Trenches — Killed 2,000 in Close-Quarters Bunkers

The German Empire formally protested to the United States in 1918: the Winchester Model 1897 trench gun violated the laws of war. It was too brutal for trench combat. America ignored the protest and kept using it. Twenty-five years later, U.S. Marines carried the same "illegal" shotgun into Pacific bunkers. In spaces 6 feet wide, it killed 2,000 Japanese soldiers in ways rifles never could. 📜 THE STORY The Winchester Model 1897 pump-action shotgun wasn't designed for war — it was a hunting weapon. But in WWI trenches, American soldiers discovered it could clear a trench faster than any rifle. One trigger pull sent nine .33-caliber pellets in a spread pattern. At 10 feet, it was instantly lethal to anyone in front of the barrel. Germany called it inhumane. They filed an official protest claiming shotguns violated international war conventions. The U.S. response: "Your flamethrowers and poison gas are fine, but our shotgun isn't?" The 1897 was brutal in trenches. But in WWII Pacific bunker warfare, it became something worse. Japanese defensive positions on islands like Iwo Jima, Peleliu, and Okinawa were concrete bunkers and cave networks — spaces 6-8 feet wide, 10-15 feet deep. A rifle bullet traveled in a straight line and might hit one soldier. A shotgun blast at 10 feet filled the entire bunker interior with pellets. Nine projectiles. Every trigger pull. No aiming required in confined spaces. Marine Corporal James Mitchell used a 1897 during the Battle of Peleliu, September 1944. He cleared 14 bunkers in two days. His testimony: "You pump, you fire, you pump, you fire. In a concrete box, the pellets ricochet off walls. You don't need to see them. You just fill the space with lead and everything inside dies." U.S. military records document approximately 2,000 Japanese combat deaths specifically attributed to shotgun fire in bunker assaults between 1944-1945. The actual number is likely higher — many close-quarters kills were simply logged as "bunker assault" without weapon specification. The Winchester 1897 had one advantage rifles couldn't match: in a 6-foot-wide bunker, you didn't need accuracy. You just needed to fill the space. In this documentary, we reveal why Germany tried to ban the weapon in WWI, how it became the most feared close-quarters weapon in the Pacific, and what it was actually like to be on either end of a shotgun in a concrete bunker. 🎬 WHAT YOU'LL SEE: Germany's 1918 protest: why they called shotguns "inhumane" WWI trench warfare: how shotguns cleared trenches in seconds Pacific bunker design: why 6-8 foot spaces made shotguns unstoppable Pellet spread pattern in confined spaces: ricochet effect explained 2,000 Japanese deaths attributed to shotgun fire in bunkers Marine testimony: "You fill the space with lead, everything dies" Rifle vs. shotgun effectiveness comparison in close quarters Why shotguns were psychologically devastating to defenders Post-war Geneva Convention debate: are shotguns legal in war? This isn't about American weapon superiority. It's about a hunting gun that became a bunker-clearing instrument of death because confined spaces turned buckshot into a room-filling kill zone. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE to Foxhole Stories for daily combat documentaries about weapons that killed in ways textbooks don't describe. 📚 PRIMARY SOURCES: Winchester Model 1897 technical specifications German Empire WWI diplomatic protest documents (1918) U.S. Marine Corps Pacific theater combat reports Bunker assault after-action reports: Iwo Jima, Peleliu, Okinawa Corporal James Mitchell testimony (Peleliu, 1944) Japanese defensive position architectural documentation Shotgun vs. rifle effectiveness studies: confined space combat Geneva Convention weapon legality debates (post-war) 💬 You're in a concrete bunker 6 feet wide. Enemy enters with a weapon that fills the entire space with metal in one trigger pull. You can't dodge. You can't take cover. There's nowhere to hide. This is why Germany wanted it banned. Would you? --- ABOUT FOXHOLE STORIES: We dig into the raw, unfiltered moments of WW2 that happened at ground level — where legal protests meant nothing, hunting weapons became massacres in tight spaces, and "inhumane" depended on which side of the barrel you were on. These are the stories that don't make it into textbooks. Every story starts in the mud. New documentary daily.