How hard would it be for a modern soldier to fight in World War II with period tactics, weapons, etc

Justice League had a few episodes where Vandal Savage transported the League back in time to WWII and Green Lantern's ring ran out of juice. So he became just another soldier fighting along with troops of that era, donning the uniform and using the weapons of the time.
Of course, it was an alt history since Vandal Savage was the new Hitler and brought with him all his tech. but the soldiers John/Lantern was fighting with had weapons appropriate to the period.


sorry, this just made me think of that.

 

A bit tangential but future tech is not always better. Consider aircraft for a moment, the fuel used has changed, so there would be technical issues fueling a modern jet in WWII. Ordinance would be limited, and beyond the ability to produce back then. Then there is the question of a heat seeking missile, would a prop plane of the time generate enough heat to meet the threshold for a target lock? A line of thought about the limitations of even knowledge being brought back, that may not function as intended.

 

Yes, except the J-20.

Granted, the likelihood of an aerial dogfight nowadays between 5th gen fighters is pretty much nil, but flyboy ace fantasies will never die in the world's top airforces (except, I guess, the PLAAF).

 

If you're able to get that close without getting swatted by SAMs, that tank column has probably been reduced to wreckage by drones and artillery by the time you get there. At least that's what seems to happen whenever someone tries to mass tank formations in Ukraine.

 

He'd probably do pretty well.

Second World War tactics are basically simpler versions of modern tactics in many ways and a properly trained infantryman would have no trouble adapting to the lack of fancy gadgets- infantry fighting in a full-on war still boils down to jumping in a trench and shooting and/or bayoneting someone. It was like that in my day and my grandfather's day. The bells and whistles to get you there just got fancier.

The size and weight of SMLE compared to the L-85A3 may be an unpleasant surprise, though, as well as the slow rate of fire of a bolt action service rifle.

 

Sorry for being late, but the F4 Phantom (1958 or so) was originally designed w/o guns. Practical combat brought them to later versions.

 

Yes. They might have had trouble 40 years ago, but modern IR missiles can track any heat signature, including air friction on the leading edge of the wings. Heck. if the seeker head is dark enough, they can even pick up a small flashlight.