Many battles in the Second World War saw lots of supplies abandoned or otherwise taken by an opposing army. The British abandoned vast amounts of materiel at Dunkirk, for instance.
Now, some types of supplies (blankets, food, etc.) must have been pretty easy to transfer between armies. But what about vehicles, arms, and ammunition?
Would captured small arms be of significant use to their captors? (1) What about artillery pieces?
Were captured jeeps or trucks placed into motor pools? What about tanks, planes, or other more specialized units?
How compatible were ammunition stockpiles? Could one side's small arms or artillery put the other side's ammunition to any use?
I've done a fair amount of research and reading on the Second World War, but this has always been something I've kind of wondered about, and not been quite sure where to look for answers.
Thanks! :D
(1) beyond special circumstances like covert operations, of course.
The Germans used pretty much anything they could get their hands on. Small arms were typically issued to rear-area troops, where regular supply with ammunition would be less of an issue. The Soviet PPsh submachine gun was a favorite piece of loot for the Germans, they even adapted it for the use of their own 9mm ammunition.
You can find a lot of detailed info about the use of foreign equipment by the Germans here.
The Western Allies, having much better logistics were more reluctant to use enemy equipment, but it did happen on occasion. Fun fact: the British Sten submachine gun was actually designed to be compatible with German MP40 magazines.