Did you know why Soviet sailors carried so many ammo belts in World War II?

If you’re interested in the Eastern Front of World War II, you must have seen photos of Soviet Naval Infantrymen wearing several shiny ammunition belts over their distinctive uniforms. Naval infantry, the Soviet version of marines, have a proud martial heritage – but why did they festoon themselves with seemingly superfluous hardware?
 
Russian naval infantry traces its history back to the 16th century, but was formally founded by Tsar Peter I in 1705. Like western marines, their original job was to fight in ship boarding actions and amphibious landings.

When the Third Reich invaded the Soviet Union in World War II, the Soviets were caught unprepared, partly due to Stalin’s purge of the officers’ corps, and partly because they ignored warning signs of the upcoming attack. They had to throw everything they had at the inexorably advancing German forces just to buy time for the training of more men and the production of more equipment. Naval infantry, formerly serving on ships and at bases, found itself fighting like regular infantry – but without the equipment.

One piece of gear naval infantry lacked was ammo pouches. Luckily, the standard issue Soviet rifle, the Mosin-Nagant (as well as the semi-automatic SVT-40, which was popular with naval infantry), used the same ubiquitous 7.62×54mmR cartridge as several common Soviet machine guns, including the DP-27/DP-28 Degtyaryov, the Maxim-Tokarev and the aircraft-mounted ShKAS. The solution was simple: get some ammo belts designed for these weapons, fill them up, and use them in lieu of an ammo pouch. And that why there are so many photos of Naval Infantrymen with rifle in hand and ammo belt over the shoulder.