History Memes

Yeah, the usage in the Allies was largely amphetamines, usually as "go-pills" for fighter pilots, for air crew on long-distance flights, and for sentries, but during El-Alamein, tankers were issued double the dosage normally issued to pilots for alertness. The Nazis produced about as many methamphetamine tablets in the first year of the war as the Brits did amphetamine tablets through all six years.

One of the big things with amphetamines in general is that it reduces the sensation of physical fatigue more than it reduces the effects. So you can keep going in terms of motivation like nothing is wrong, even as your ACTUAL performance degrades. You feel almost perfectly fine, but your motor skills and situational awareness end up in the trash.

Obviously, this is not fantastic for judging whether you're alert enough to be tangling with enemy armor after an already-long day of fighting.