STG 44: How Games Embraced The World’s First Assault Rifle - Loadout 

Thanks for watching this episode of Loadout! I'm excited to hear what everyone thinks about this look into one of history's most iconic weapons and how it's been portrayed across the last few decades of pop culture. ...Capturing the footage was also a great excuse to revisit some fantastic shooters and get a round of CoH2 in.. We will continue to have more episodes over the next few holiday weekends, so stay tuned, and thank you again for all the support!

The reason the MP44 was in COD4 was because they were found in use in Iraq and Afghanistan, wars which were still very much ‘Modern Warfare’ at the time. They continued to be found in Syria, and they have been spotted in Ukraine this year too. They were a design remarkably ahead of their time.

A few comments have rightly raised the question of the Fedorov Avtomat - the answer is that either this OR the StG can be called "the first assault rifle", which is why Dave said "often called" in his description. However, it's complicated... Fedorov designed and intended a machine rifle (or 'battle rifle' if you like) in 6.5x57mm - most definitely NOT an intermediate cartridge. It only became arguably the first assault rifle (a later term literally taken from the StG's desigation) in a technical sense when it had to be redesigned to accept 6.5 Arisaka due to lack of availability of the intended full power ammunition. It was never intended to be used like the later MkB32(H)/MP43/MP44/StG44 and indeed never was, nor was it manufactured or issued at scale like the StG. Nor did it have the influence on other nations' development that the StG had. The StG was the first intermediate calibre automatic rifle that was designed AND issued for the purpose, and was the first to literally be called 'assault rifle'.

You guys would have loved the historical accuracy in vanguard where Japanese soldiers in the pacific carried them in 1943. I thought it was a weapon randomized glitch at first .

This channel is a blessing, the entire video is packed to the brim with information about both the rifle's role in real life, as well as how it's been depicted in videogames throughout the years. No doubt Jonathan Ferguson, from the Royal Arms Museum in London, is a huge help on these videos, but it's also apparent that the writers at GameSpot are giving it their all. Incredible work as always.

Impressed that Ian managed not to say the phrase "emotional support sturmgewehr" for this whole video.

The clip between the movies "Star wars" and "The Bridge" Was an Estonian movie "1944" (2015) by Elmo Nüganen. It is an extremely good movie. Also relatively historically correct. Can recommend.

Can we take a moment to appreciate that Jonathan has gotta 1 of only a handful of people in the UK who fire automatic firearms regularly, outside of the military and police obviously, like you could probably count people who could honestly claim that in this country on 1 hand

Fun fact: in Soviet cinema and TV up to the early 1990s, inventories of captured (and I assumed deactivated) StG 44, etc., rifles were used as stand-ins for American M16/AR-style rifle when needed (which wouldn't be easily available; only some came from capture from South Vietnam and other American satellite states, and it doesn't seem like these ended up in the motion picture industry). Unsurprising, since 4/5th of the German military fought on the Eastern Front, after the war there were a lot more captured rifles that could be adapted as movie props (they were also used in 1940's-period war cinema too). Apparently, they'd do this by altering the magazines and the furniture on the top of the rifle, changing the stock to look like synthetic furniture, and some repainting. As I understand it, industry censorship made Soviet filmmakers reluctant to directly portray hostile Americans in favor of a vague, western bloc enemy, but it was hardly unknown (consider how many times you see Kalishinikov rifles in films before 1992; the M16 was distributed to a lot of western proxies abroad too). You can see this is a LOT of Soviet films and television, including 1983's "Mirage", 1987's "Island of Lost Ships", 1986's "Interception" and the 1984 miniseries "TASS is permitted to report..." and plenty of other examples. They were much more common than AR15 clones in Eurasian cinema for quite a time.

it would have been so unbelievably funny if COD had released a Jonathan Ferguson operator bundle in Vanguard with an absolutely butchered STG44

All I want for Christmas is an STG44

Both the STG44 and MP18 came out of the "weapons town" of Suhl located in southern Thuringia. Between the 16th and the 20th century, Suhl and its surrounding towns were one of the most important small arms manufacturers in Europe - for military and civillian purposes (like hunting and sports), sometimes called "the german damascus". A lot of well-known weapon manufactures started there like Schmeisser & Haenel (MP18, MP 44), J.P. Sauer, Simson, Merkel (the list goes on) and in it's neighbouring town the famous manufacturer Walther (PPK, P99).

Talks about COD that was released in 2003, ignores BF1942 released 2002 which featured the STG44.

Interesting and overall great video! I just wish I saw more of Jonathan shooting the STG-44. I have seen many STGs firing on RU-vid, but there is something about Jonathan that makes it more interesting.

My first exposure to the StG44 was MoH Underground in about 2001, and it was very nostalgic to see the corresponding footage (and the unnaturally thick fog) in this vid. I'm really enjoying this series, the combination of real weapons and the effect that games have had on their perception and the awareness of them is very interesting - I definitely first heard of many small arms through the games I played in the late Nineties and 2000s.

The G3 and its various progeny are also technically part of the STG's legacy. A few designers at Mauser started working on a cheaper variant of the rifle using a roller-delayed blowback mechanism, the STG 45. The war ended before they could build more than 30 of them, so one of the designers moved to Spain and joined CETME, using the design to build the Model B rifle. West Germany took a liking to it and bought a license to produce it themselves (because Belgium wouldn't let them license the FAL, considering Germany had gained a bad habit of invading them in both World Wars), Heckler & Koch redesigned it to fire the NATO-standard 7.62x51mm, and the rest is history.

0:10 "Die Sturmgewehr" from Medal of honor allied assault. Still my favorite mission!

In the mid to late 30's a lot of countries were experimenting with intermediary cartridges, and the concept is not that different from the US carbine trials, which they called a short automatic rifle and they were successful, the so-called carbine was the most produced gun of the war, the Germans did the same with Volmer in 35, never really abandoned it since they tried again in 42 with the MKzb (automatic carbine) which was open bolt, when they understood that full auto was not the main usage they decided to change it to close bolt which is the STG-43, the doctrine of use is only use full auto to suppress the enemy in evasive maneuvers, on ofensivo maneuvers it was to be used in semi, most of the representations aren't accurate because they fit more the AK and AR first use, which wasn't the right use either.

I've watched quite a lot of the Loadout episodes and this is undoubtedly one of the best, quite possibly the best. So many different aspects tackled and so much interesting history revealed.

By far my favorite assault rifle in fiction and history!

I don't think the Federov can qualify because it uses the 6.5 Arisaka, a full power rifle cartridge. The US M2 could be included, but it was made in response (sort of) to the MP44, so clearly one was actually in production first.

I love how those videos are educational and light hearted at the same time

I think importantly when discussing criteria and history, the StG44 was the first mass produced and issue assault rifle named as such, and more importantly unlike earlier contenders to the title, this one inspired later concepts and designs.

Kinda disappointed that John didn’t dual wield them in this video again.

Ah, my most favourite rifle ever. Great video guys can't wait to see the next one

I greatly enjoy the thoroughness of "every WW2 Call of Duty except for Finest Hour". Thanks as always, Dave!

This has become documentary level film making at this point. This content really deserves a feature length film and a flashy premiere. Dave as host and the ever wonderful Jonathan could be watched for hours.

The A280 in Battlefront is my favorite weapon in those games because of the Stg 44. We love our Emotional Support Sturmgewehr no matter what form she takes.

Very cool historical details about the development!

Dave and Jonathan. Name a more iconic duo. I'll wait.

I remember playing the very first CoD and a German soldier dropping one of these I one of the last missions on the American campaign. I immediately pick it up and its selective fire and capacity was so much more effective than the Garand! I didn’t know about WW2 guns back then and didn’t even now something like this existed. The thought of “how did the Germans lose with this awesome gun” even crossed my teen mind.

That curved barrel is a crazy idea. No idea if it worked, but it was definitely an idea. Also, isn't firing an STG 44 a rather expensive thing to do these days? I doubt the ammunition for it is very common, or still in production for that matter.

That was great keep up the good work!

Great vid. In 1943-44, seeing an MP44 must have been like seeing a space gun. And it would have been an OP rifle when used in the situations for which it was designed. I want one. I'd settle for a semi-auto version if the copy was faithful otherwise. Take my money!

I think we can all agree that the emotional support Sturmgewehr is the most important Sturmgewehr in history.

Kay Ee aR 98 K? It's not an acronym, it's a contraction. Kar 98 K! Kar(abiner) 98 K(urz)

the swear to god 44

I got an advert for Hugo Boss in the middle of this video...

Wish you can do an episode about the M16, M4 and AR-15 rifles.

I like to think the ''sturm'' part of the STG is meant to mean ''ein sturm aus kugelns'' or ''a storm of bullets''.

Love to see one of these videos on the MG42 or later MG03

One of my favorite guns of all time

In retrospect (at the time of playing I had no concept about the development of firearms), I love how in MoH::AA player obtained the stg in a mission where the goal was to intercept a shipment of Germany's brand new weapons (and the stg being part of that). I may be misremembering the exact plot but the thing is that stg in that game was considered a rare state-of-the-art piece.

Crazy that Day of Defeat got shown off in this video. Now that is an underrated game!

FINALLY…An actual firearms expert who tells the truth about the weapon. And that it WASN’T the inspiration for what would become the AK-47. Thank you Mr. Ferguson.

It's not that other rifles before the STG-44 wouldn't be considered assault rifles by the modern definition, it's just that the definition for the term didn't come about UNTIL the STG-44 and thus, nobody really considered the earlier guns that laid out the groundwork. But too, if you look at the proposed military doctrine of rifles like the Federov or the Ribeyrolles for example, the way they were intended to be used were not 100% the same as the STG. I'd also point out while some of those older rifles had the defining traits like intermediate caliber, select fire, and detachable magazines, the STG shaped the future of rifles to come in such a way none of the others ever did. So, historically it's consider much more significant as being the "first" than the rest.

It does encourage me to rock as squad lead with one of these bad boys in Squad 44

Ill throw out a mention for Hidden and Dangerous 2 too, wasn't my favourite gun to use in that game (because de lisle) but it was my favorite for online play.

Cool vid

we need a series like this but with cars. pop culture impact of certain cars

This is great.

I would say the Fedorov has a stronger argument than the Rigotti. As the Rigotti was in full rifle caliber whereas while the Fedorov was still a rifle caliber most definitely it was made to be intentionally a little bit weaker as to make the system functional and not expload. Still not to the level of a intermediate cartridge it's still a full rifle cartridge it's just a weaker. But you could argue for that war it was more intermediate than anything. I believe there is a possible for a believable alternate history where the federov is called the 1st assault rifle. Although the terminology would be different.

What weakens the argument for the Avtomat being the first true assault rifle is the fact that it shot a full sized rifle cartridge. The StG44 fires an intermediate cartridge and like the Avtomat, has select fire. The StG44 is the first true assault rifle in my eyes.

RE: The StG-44 and Call of Duty 1; the most frustrating and yet fun set of missions as I recall it was the sequence of British missions starting with the assault on Pegasus Bridge. The StG-44 would be dropped by some of the German defenders, but not a heck of a lot of ammo. With that being said, careful use of that ammo would make a large difference; but you'll still want some rockets, for the tanks.

First thought: avalanche in day of defeat on the old hl mod! And there it was!! :D

That first COD entry had the STG44 (MP44) depicted as open bolt.

I think that Battle Rifles first took form when full sized cartridge rifles were converted from single action to semi auto or full auto. Then the Assault Rifle took form when those Battle Rifles were chambered in an intermediate cartridge

I've never seen mr Ferguson shoot a gun, but I've heard him talk about them for probably 24 hours at this point.

Great one! Loved this. Missed opportunity for Johnathon to wield his emotional support sturmgewer though! 😂

It was one of the best guns in Wolfenstein

It's presence in COD4 isn't even all that weird, as there have been quite a few examples found in the middle east, and specifically a few used in the Syrian conflict recently, and even one photographed in (allegedly) the Ukraine.

I watched the bridge when I was young until this I thought it was a fever dream

My earliest recollection of the STG 44 in pop culture was in the movie "Battle of the Bulge". It's surprising that a vignette focused on history, pop culture, cinema, and videogames wouldn't include that. At least to me it is.

More Jonathan, please!

Oh the nostalgia! From the video games ahem.

This firearm changed the world

My fav

In the words of Huxley from Medal Of Honor: Above And Beyond: “The extreme lethality of this weapon scares me”

not that i really think this holds much water, but the prototype burton LMR technically fits the modern definition of an assault rifle. it feeds from box magazines, is select fire, and shoots what is considered an intermediate cartridge

I mainly remember Brothers in arms not for it's weapons for it's ridiculously long loading times. Tiny trigger corridor loeded a flipping minute. Had a bit of a (very loooong) flashback on seeing it again. Also i think the move to modern scenraios came from a massive over usage of the WW2 setting.

Can you please do a break down of grand theft auto 4's guns?

youve been wearing the same jacket for 3 seasons

Some CoH in here rn.

Where is the 'Emotional Support' STG 44?

day of defeat definitely wasn't made by activision guys

I am curious about the STG’s actual effectiveness in WWII and wether or not Germany being able to produce and distribute them earlier would’ve had much of an impact on the war.

I miss DOD original vanilla 😪

This best and help modern assault rifles like AK and SCAR

It’s weird hearing call of duty and authentic experience in the same sentence

5:30 and that clip were a little too on the nose for me. i've been seen.

Game Dev logic is that any weapon that is a light machine gun or automatic rifle is it top tier and also nerfed in damage and accuracy.

Hate to be that person but Hidden and Dangerous 2 (2002) had the ability to look down Iron Sights before Call of Duty by over a year . Also it is a far better game .

One surprising thing that happens with the Stg44 is a whole bunch of them popping up in recent wars in Africa

Always thought the ak was a copy of the stg but now with a side view I see a m16 aswell

That a variant even made it in to Far Cry 3, where it has absolutely no right to belong kind of says how much influence it has had in games

I remember that MOH mission to steal the stg, good times

DO THE MP40!!

Why does it sound like he's saying "KR" 98?

Me playing any WW2 fps game and picking out German weapons Me: Alright get lost go on scram you're fired get outta here you moochers MP40, Kar98, Gewehr: 😒😠😡 Me: that's right keep moving STG: 😔 Me: Except you, you stay! STG: 🤩

It feels like the BAR in every game I've used it in. I guess that guns too heavy to be considered an assault rifle...

'The Role' of storming a position using a man-portable automatic rifle was done during WW1 with the BAR. The 'criteria' of having a lesser caliber than a full rifle round (and all the other silly specifics) is secondary to its purpose. So I disagree with this.

8:50 Well not really, she had the exact same stats as the AK 47, so she had basically average stats but yeah you couldn't slot any accessories on it.

The u i8n Sturm is like the oo in goose if that helps...

I can guarantee you that there are many Germans cursing you for butchering the names I must know I'm one of them

The STG44 or MP44 is not the first assault rifle ever made, that was the ferorov-avtomat in 1916

Glad to see Jonathan getting to fire his emotional support sturmgewehr

This gun is always good in every game LOL

How about the French Ribeyrolles? You might call that an assault rifle

gj on the britiish armory guy pronouncing it correctly. its STURM not STÜRM

it IS the FIIRST Assault Rifle. Germany has their track record Who invented the first "Assault Weapon" They did with a drum mag luger w/ stock. First submachine gun? They did Mp40 and the likes. Hk to this day is what I would trust