Comments by "Shawn R" (@shawnr771) on "France's Final Battle Rifle Iteration: The MAS 49-56" video.

@HaqqAttak The real advantage is standardization. In the Cold War era, NATO was worried about the Soviet invasion of Europe. The thinking was, without resorting to nuclear weapons, that war would at first be fought as a defensive battle. Although NATO forces were being built up at the time. Most forward military units were not capable of rapid response to a large scale invasion. The basic idea for most US troops stationed in Germany at the time was to die in place to allow units farther in the rear to move into pre positioned defensive lines. Think German defense of Italy in WW2. Slow down the enemy until sufficient forces can be brought into the battle. Since no OPLAN ever survived first contact intact, assume chaos. Units from one country could end up serving side by side with another. Standardizing ammunition supply means that anybody should be able to use what the receive or find. Much like Israel who have weapons that accept AK magazines. Allows them to use the enemies ammo.
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