A check before the movement starts
The sergeant is preparing his MP40, a moment before action rather than the action itself. It is an effective subject for an infantry leader about to move with his men, when readiness could occupy as much attention as the ground ahead.
The MP40 used 9mm pistol ammunition and a straight magazine, quite a different system from the K98k rifles carried by many of his comrades. The contrast explains why a squad's weapons were not interchangeable simply because the men wore similar uniforms. The NCO's compact weapon served its own close-range purpose.
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