Membership in the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) for boys who were 14 to 18 years old was made mandatory in 1936. The Deutsches Jungvolk ("German children of the Hitler Youth") was a complementary organization for boys who were 10 to 14 years old; membership was made mandatory in 1939. As a result, many younger males who were not actually a part of the German military in any capacity had received some form of military or military-like training, such as marching and basic rifle marksmanship. Many young boys born from 1926 to 1929 were conscripted as Luftwaffenhelfer, helping to man antiaircraft batteries; a hazardous duty as these were often a favorite target of the tactical US Ninth Air Force. In January 1943, the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was created, its enlisted force made up of Hitler Youth members who were born in 1926. Many of the boys were initially given chocolate in their rations as they were too young for cigarettes or alcohol!
As the German manpower situation became more and more frail towards the end of the war, local police were conscripted into the Wehrmacht (such as during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest) as well as older men who were normally ineligible for military service due to being too old or having ailments. In some cases, these men had fought in World War I and were as old as sixty. These men, as well as boys as young as sixteen, were called on through the Volkssturm (lit. "people's storm"; or "people's army") beginning in October 1944. The Volkssturm was often poorly armed, being forced to use old weapons such as leftover World War I-era rifles and even muskets! During the ending stages of the Battle of Aachen in late October 1944, US troops reported capturing armed Hitler Youth members as young as ten years old, who claimed that they had been forced to fight by their local commanders. During the battle for Aschaffenburg in April 1945, troops of the US 45th Infantry Division's 157th Infantry Regiment reported being pelted with grenades thrown from rooftops, often by civilians (even women and girls!) and Hitler Youth boys. The German commander of the town had tried (presumably for treason) and hanged several soldiers and civilians who had advocated surrender, something that also appears in Fury. The Volkssturm members also played an important role in the Battle of Berlin, with over 40,000 taking part.
Fury in itself was generally quite accurate, although I do have a few nitpicks: mild spoilers incoming
Fictitious bumper code on Fury:
As seen in this picture, the tank that is supposed to be Fury has the bumper code 2Δ-66Δ L-1, representing the 1st tank of Company L, 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division. In the film, Don "Wardaddy" Collier was the platoon sergeant for 3rd platoon (presumably of Company L) before the film began. The platoon was destroyed, leaving Wardaddy and his crew as the sole survivors. He is reassigned as the platoon sergeant of the 1st platoon, commanded by Lt. Parker.
Most tank, tank destroyer, and other types of units numbered their vehicles by their position in the unit; "L-1" would be the company commander's tank in Company L. Using AR 850-5, here is a hypothetical (many units deviated widely) bumper-coding for a tank company, in this case, an "A" company;
| Unit | Bumper code |
|---|---|
| Company Headquarters | |
| Company commander's tank | A-1 |
| Tank | A-2 |
| Howitzer-armed tank | A-3 |
| Jeep | A-4 |
| Maintenance Section: | |
| Tank recovery vehicle | A-5 |
| Half-track | A-6 |
| 1-ton cargo trailer | A-5/6T |
| Jeep | A-7 |
| 1/4-ton cargo trailer | A-7T |
| 1st Platoon: | |
| 1st platoon leader's tank | A-11 (1st platoon, 1st vehicle) |
| No. 2 tank | A-12 |
| No. 3 tank | A-13 |
| 1st platoon sergeant's tank | A-14 |
| No. 5 tank | A-15 |
| 2nd Platoon: | |
| 2nd platoon leader's tank | A-21 |
| No. 2 tank | A-22 |
| No. 3 tank | A-23 (2nd platoon, 3rd vehicle) |
| 2nd platoon sergeant's tank | A-24 |
| No. 5 tank | A-25 |
| 3rd Platoon: | |
| 3rd platoon leader's tank | A-31 |
| No. 2 tank | A-32 |
| No. 3 tank | A-33 |
| 3rd platoon sergeant's tank | A-34 |
| No. 5 tank | A-35 |
There was no "Company L" in the 2nd Armored Division. Like the 3rd Armored Division, the 2nd was "heavy", with two armored regiments each with three battalions of three companies, for a total of nine per regiment, lettered A through I. Originally the 1st battalion of each armored regiment (Companies A-C) was made up of light tanks, and the 2nd (Companies D-F) and 3rd (G-I) battalions were made up of medium tanks. Before D-Day the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions reorganized to give each of their tank battalions one light and two medium companies.
The 3rd Armored Division reorganized as follows; the 2nd used a different reorganization of companies
| Unit | Companies |
|---|---|
| 1st Battalion, 32nd Armor | A, (light) B, D |
| 2nd Battalion, 32nd Armor | B, (light), E, F |
| 3rd Battalion, 32nd Armor | C, (light) H, I |
| 1st Battalion, 33rd Armor | A, (light) F, I |
| 2nd Battalion, 33rd Armor | B, (light) D, E |
| 3rd Battalion, 33rd Armor | C, (light) G, H |
Per TO&E 17-27, dated 18 November 1944, a medium tank platoon was organized as follows:
No. 1 Tank:
Men:
| Quantity | SSN | Rank | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1c | 1203 | First or Second Lieutenant | Platoon Commander |
| 1 | 2736 | Corporal | Gunner |
| 1 | 2736 | T/4 | Driver, Tank |
| 1 | 2736 | Pvt./Pfc. | Cannoneer |
| 1 | 2736 | Pvt./Pfc. | Gunner, Bow |
Equipment:
| Equipment | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Carbine, cal. .30 | 1 |
| Gun, submachine, cal. .45 | 4 |
| Tank, medium, M4, with armament | 1jk |
No. 4 Tank:
Men:
| Quantity | SSN | Rank | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2736 | Staff Sergeant | Platoon |
| 1 | 2736 | Corporal | Gunner |
| 1 | 2736 | T/4 | Driver, Tank |
| 1 | 2736 | Pvt./Pfc. | Cannoneer |
| 1 | 2736 | Pvt./Pfc. | Gunner, Bow |
Equipment:
| Equipment | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Gun, submachine, cal. .45 | 5 |
| Tank, medium, M4, with armament | 1jm |
Nos. 2, 3, and 5 Tanks:
Men:
| Quantity | SSN | Rank | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2736 | Sergeant | Tank Commander |
| 1 | 2736 | Corporal | Gunner |
| 1 | 2736 | T/4 | Driver, Tank |
| 1 | 2736 | Pvt./Pfc. | Cannoneer |
| 1 | 2736 | Pvt./Pfc. | Gunner, Bow |
Equipment:
| Equipment | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Gun, submachine, cal. .45 | 5 |
| Tank, medium, M4, with armament | 1m |
c: Armed with carbine, cal. .30
j: Equipped with radio set AN/VRC-3 [vehicle-mounted SCR-300 "walkie talkie"]
k: Equipped with radio set SCR-508
m: Equipped with radio set SCR-528
Use of smoke rounds by Fury:
The 76 mm gun M1A2 (as well as the M1, with no muzzle brake and the M1A1C, threaded for one but not so equipped) as seen on Fury was never issued with a white phosphorus or smoke round; armored commanders often kept around several 75 mm gun-armed Sherman tanks that could still fire these rounds (M88 white phosphorus and M89 hexachloroethane smoke)
The engagement with the Tiger:
In the film, the engagement with the Tiger is shown as starting at 700 yards (as yelled by the German tank commander) and getting closer as the opposing sides charge each other. The 76 mm gun M1, using the M62 APC (armor-piercing capped) shot was capable of penetrating 106 to 116 mm of 90-degree angled (i.e. vertical) armor from 1,000 to 500 yards, respectively. As this was a combat situation, Fury was shaking around as it was moving, and the 100 mm frontal armor of the Tiger was not straight-on with Fury a 30-degree measurement could be used, which makes it a little more sketchy; 88 to 93 mm at 1,000 to 500 yards respectively, if the rounds even managed to hit properly. Keeping this in mind, the crew of Fury chose to get into a more favorable position, aiming for the rear of the Tiger. What strikes me as odd about the fight is that they did not simply aim for the side (this was probably eschewed for dramatic effect, to keep Fury in the Tiger's sights longer) The armor here is the same thickness as the rear, 80 mm at 0 degrees. A hit to the side also would have had very harsh words with one or more ammunition racks, potentially completely destroying the enemy tank.
They could have also chosen to engage from the front using one of their precious T4 (M93) HVAP rounds, capable of penetrating 135 to 157 mm of 30-degree angled armor from 1,000 to 500 yards. Fury might not have even had any HVAP rounds to begin with. They were in such short supply that it was estimated that only one-half round per tube per month could be drawn! About half of the 18,000 HVAP rounds that ended up being shipped to Europe before the end of the war weren't even compatible with the 76 mm gun M1, having the same projectile but being cased for use with the 3-inch gun M7 of the M10 tank destroyer! Tank destroyer units equipped with the 76 mm gun M1 (M18 Hellcat) also took the lion's share of the acceptable rounds.
American infantry tactics:
While reading reviews and analyses, I have seen may people criticize the tactics of the American infantry during the end of the scene where Fury and its platoon clear out the antitank guns and rescue the trapped soldiers from the beet field; you hear an American soldier faintly call for marching fire! (presumably to keep the Germans' heads down) as the soldiers fan out behind the tanks and move forward.