It was mainly the quantity of SMGs the Soviets fielded that made the difference, not the magazine capacity. It's a little known fact that Soviet soldiers generally preferred the 35-round stick magazines over the 71-round drum, because they were less bulky and more reliable (apparently the drum was somewhat jam-prone, especially if filled to capacity), and would usually only carry one drum mag along with a bunch of sticks.
Anyway, the reason the Soviets won is certainly not as simple as they had bigger mags. SMGs only lent the Soviets a significant advantage in close quarters combat, as the Germans did tend to have a distinct lack of close quarters firepower in comparison. Not all fighting was house-to-house, though, and the Germans were generally better trained and their squad organization focused on the use of light machine guns (first the MG34, later the fearsome MG42) which I shouldn't have to tell you have far more range and accuracy than any SMG. Sure, a platoon of PPSH-wielding Russians might whoop a bunch of German riflemen in some city streets, but try throwing that same platoon of PPSH-wielding Russians at a well-positioned machine gun nest or two at a hundred meters range and see who comes out on top.
The main reason the Soviets defeated the Germans in the end was simply that they had vast resources (both in terms of manpower and raw materials for manufacturing) and could churn out many more guns and tanks than the Germans could, which was a much bigger factor in their victory than the magazine capacity of one of their guns. The Germans must have known that they wouldn't be able to keep it up as long as the Soviets if they got themselves into a protracted war against them. They knew their only realistic chance to defeat the Soviets was with a quick and decisive campaign. They tried that and failed, only just.
|