No other historical period in modern history has been covered or milked by Hollywood more than World War II. It's said to be one of the most clear-cut conflicts in history, one where everything was supposedly black and white, a stark battle between good and evil. At least, that's what Hollywood films want us to believe.
The reality is that war is a lot more complicated than a handful of heroic characters and their hero's journey. More often than not, Hollywood tends to dilute, censor, and take liberties with information regarding WWII for theatricality or audience appeal. The result was tons of misconceptions about war and WWII. Here are 10 examples of those they've yet to shed off.
It's Efficient To Shoot And Run At The Same Time
Nothing can make a protagonist look more indestructible than beelining for their enemies and firing their automatic guns at the same time. Even certain WWII movies are not exempted from this Rambo-ish trope.
Sadly, it takes more skill to hit an enemy with that method of aiming and firing... or lack thereof. Guns back in WWII had a more stubborn recoil compared to most weapons today, and soldiers would only be wasting their bullets and their lives if they don stay still and aim while shooting.
Completely Mechanized German Army
The German Army is definitely painted as the big bad in WWII movies, and there's no two ways about it. They're portrayed as a fully mechanized group where the only organic things are the soldiers, and everything else is either tanks, jeeps, mechanized troop carriers, and other automotive marvels.
However, factual analysis indicates that, of the all the German divisions used, only 18 percent were fully mechanized. Everything else either depended on foot or are horse-drawn. Misconceptions came from German war propaganda movies and focusing their mechanized divisions on Blitzkriegs.
Bullets Traveling Underwater
Saving Private Ryan was one of the most popular and celebrated WWII movies except even it wasn't immune to war myths. One particular gripe among physicists during the first 30 minutes of the film was how bullets behaved underwater.
Turns out water often stops bullets in their tracks, especially ones that were fired from several hundred meters away. The reality was, anyone who managed to stay underwater during the Normandy invasion had a higher rate of survival.
Class Divide Doesn't Matter During War
When it comes to showing just how much cooperation was ongoing during war, WWII movies tend to resort to propaganda montages. Everyone was supposedly in it together, rich or poor, because they just suffered all the same.
Except they didn't. Apart from unfair conscription advantages, class divide was very much apparent in WWII. Anyone who was richer could easily send their families to safe bunkers and bomb shelters. Meanwhile, the primary targets of bombings were docks and factories, spots with heavy concentrations of blue-collar workers, many of which even bunk up where they work. One can safely bet that most people who died during wartime were poor.
The Red Army Executing Their Own Men
The Eastern Front of WWII was less showcased in films compared to the Western Front. So far, the most popular depiction is Enemy at the Gates, and even that one is loaded with nonsense, especially the part where the Soviet Red Army officers killed their retreating allies.
While it's true that the Soviet Red Army did employ blocking troops to catch deserters or retreaters, their primary goal was to stop panicked retreats. Most of what they did was send men back after recovering, and, while some were imprisoned and some defeatists were indeed executed, summary executions of whole battalions using machine gun fire never happened.
Red Army Soldiers Weren't Sent Into Battle Without Rifles
Another Hollywood myth that Enemy at the Gates shamelessly perpetuated about the Red Army was how they sent their men to the front without any weapon or ammunition. This was largely a result of German impression and propaganda.
Most of it seemed to have stemmed from the early days of Operation Barbarossa back in 1941 where German Blitzkriegs caught the Red Army by surprise. Some of the prisoners they rounded up had no weapons, mostly due to them having escaped from previous encirclements.
Most Casualties of War Are Soldiers
The most popular movies are the ones filled to the brim with action and soldier drama. They unwittingly tend to paint a picture that most sufferings came from the military side. However, there simply were more civilian deaths in WWII than military deaths.
In total, there were marketable side of war.
All Soldiers Sharing A Brotherly Bond
It's quite standard in American war movies for soldiers to develop an unbreakable bond that starts as early as boot camp. It's a heartwarming aspect of military culture, but it's definitely not absolute or as prevalent in WWII.
As it turns out, giving a bunch of random people some guns and power can get a lot more taxing. In the Battle of the Bulge alone, the amount of infighting and executions based on suspicion and prejudice among American forces was disheartening. A lot of them suspected that Germans were infiltrating their encampments to sabotage their assault. Many Americans were killed or imprisoned based on mistrust alone.
It's Safe To Leave Your Squad Behind
It's not just WWII movies that are guilty of this but most modern war films. There's always that one loner protagonist who never shook off his independence back in training and would always wander off both in and out of combat.
That's a good way to either get oneself court-martialled or killed by the enemy. The purpose of being in a squad is to have someone cover individual weaknesses. Not only is it a gross display of a lack of discipline, but it is a disservice to those who died while following orders.
Only The Axis Armies Were Capable Of Evil
If only the world was that simple. Of course, there's no denying that the Axis killed, raped, and murdered innocents, but that isn't to say that the Allies were flawless altruistic saviors. American, British, Canadian, and, most especially, Soviet soldiers committed their fair share of war crimes in their advance to , raping, killing, and pillaging on their way to Berlin.
The Soviets, in particular, were quite vengeful towards Germans. Apparently, their war crimes against the German men and women were considered as some of the most severe in WWII. Hollywood usually prefers to stay away from this aspect of war, and for good reasons.
