Night Time is the right time for sleep? Are you kidding??

[Marquo]

I am not familiar with the diurnal cycle of WW2 combat. However, I have read of prolific use of amphetamines by soldiers who would go days on end without sleep. Out of curiosity I Googled, "Amphetamines World War Two" and got plenty of hits. It seems like soldiers of both sides were jacked up on uppers.

1. http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2003/02/57434
The U.S. Military Needs Its Speed Elliot Borin 02.10.03 | 2:00 AM
Recalling the American airborne invasion of Normandy during World War II in his 1962 book Night Drop, Army colonel and combat historian S.L.A. Marshall wrote: "The United States Army is indifferent toward common-sense rules by which the energy of men may be conserved in combat."

2. http://amphetamines.com/amphetam.html
Soldiers on both sides in World War Two consumed millions of amphetamine tablets. This practice sometimes caused states of quasi-psychotic aggression in the combatants.

3. http://www.3dchem.com/molecules.asp?id=400
Amphetamine... was used by the militaries of several nations, especially the air forces, to fight fatigue and increase alertness among servicemen. The German military was notorious for their use of methamphetamine (a derivative) in World War Two.

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine
The German military was notorious for their use of methamphetamine in World War Two. The German pharmaceutical Pervitin is an oral pill of 3mg which was made available in 1938, but by mid-1941 it became a controlled substance, reportedly because of the amount of time needed for a soldier to rest and recover after use. Military doctors were then given guidelines on how they should issue it.

5. http://www.newsregister.com/news/story.c..._no=195646
World War II - Amphetamine tablets used by soldiers and pilots to increase alertness and aggression. Armed Forces dispense 200 million tablets to U.S. military personnel.

6. http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:7cB...ar+two&[/size]hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=18&gl=us

The campaign was short, and very bloody. Erwin received the Iron Cross (EK II) for bravery in the Battle of Tomascow. Soldiers were pushed to the limit, and a new amphetamine drug called ‘Pervitin’ was distributed. Dad told me:

“Our troops weren’t fully mechanized yet, and fought to the point of physical exhaustion. "

Marquo :)[/size]