What "class" of soldiers were these soft targets?
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Soldiers had different specialties, but they were all part of the military
First of all, you need to understand that, similar to all other armies, German WW2 divisions were not composed only on infantry, and German panzer divisions didn't include only panzer units. Instead, they contained their own artillery, anti-tank units, FlaK and of course logistical and communication elements. You could find Table of Organization & Equipment (TO&E) for various German units on Internet, I will put just two sources: this, because it includes TO&E for various types of units, and this because it shows even very small logistical details, parts of German infantry battalion.
While various military specialties trained and were expected to perform different roles in combat (and everyday soldierly life) , all of them were members of Wehrmacht (or Waffen SS) and all of them were armed, i.e. issued rifle, submachine gun, pistol ...etc. This included even lowly cooks, because even them would sometime find themselves in the middle of the combat. For example, this German training film shows that even rear area troops could sometime experience Soviet tank attack, and were expected to stop them .
Considering your question, "soft targets" or soldiers that were not specialized for infantry combat, could be considered easier targets for snipers, simply because they had to move around instead of sitting in trenches or lying down in cover. Of course, training would also influence outcome, although those carrying food and water could simply be riflemen temporarily assigned for the duty.
Upvote:0
It was complicated, particularly at Stalingrad, where the Germans employed a large number of Russian "Hiwis," (willing helpers).
From Beevor's "Stalingrad" (and other sources), a captured Hiwi explained to his Red Army interrogators: "Russians in the German Army can be divided into three categories. Firstly, soldiers mobilized by the Germans, the so-called Cossack sections [from elsewhere in the Soviet Union.] Secondly, local Hilfeswillige made up of local people or prisoners of war who volunteer, or those Red Army soldiers who desert to join the Germans... Thirdly, there are Russian prisoners who do the dirty jobs, kitchen, stables, etc."
All the ethnic Germans in the above "auxiliary" roles were part of the regular German army (and formed part of the "tail," in the "tail to tooth ratio). So, too, were Russians bearing arms in the German service who did the above jobs. But a number of the Hiwis were laborers "in the kitchen, stables, etc." who did not bear arms, and these were NOT part of the regular German army.
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Source: stackoverflow.com
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