Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany)
Stormtroopers (German: Sturmtruppen[2] or Stoßtruppen[3]) were specialist infantry soldiers of the German Army. In the last years of World War I, Stoßtruppen ("shock troopers" or "shove troopers") were trained to use infiltration tactics – part of the Germans' improved method of attack on enemy trenches.[1] The German Empire entered the war certain that the conflict would be won in the course of great military campaigns, thus relegating results obtained during individual clashes to the background; consequently the best officers, concentrated in the German General Staff, placed their attention on maneuver warfare and the rational exploitation of railways, rather than concentrating on the conduct of battles: this attitude gave a direct contribution to operational victories of Germany in Russia, Romania, Serbia and Italy, but it resulted in failure in the West. Thus the German officers on the Western Front found themselves in need of resolving the static situation caused by trench warfare on the battlefield.
For the Star Wars marines, see Stormtrooper (Star Wars).Sturmtruppen
1916–1918
Intervene when regular infantry fails, clear the way for infantry on the battlefield, special operations
17 battalions (as of 1917)[1]
Green, Grey
Analyzing the events, two concepts can be identified with which an attempt was made to find a solution to the problem. The first was the belief, mainly held by Erich von Falkenhayn, that tactical action alone, the mere killing of enemy soldiers, was a sufficient means to achieve the strategic goal. The second was the idea, emerging from experience of countless "limited target attacks" and forays into the trenches, that combat had become such a difficult task that operational considerations had to be subordinated to tactical ones. Promoter for this last thesis was General der Infanterie Erich Ludendorff who, having become de facto commander of the Imperial German Army after the German defeat at Battle of Verdun, gave decisive support to the development of assault battalions as a solution to resume maneuver warfare.[1]
The creation of these units was the first, and perhaps most innovative, attempt by the German army to break out of the impasse of trench warfare. With the use of well-trained soldiers, commanded by NCOs with autonomous decision-making capacity, an attempt was made to overcome the no man's land and to break through enemy lines in predefined points, in order to allow subsequent waves to liquidate the now confused and isolated opponent, opening large gaps in its defensive systems and then resuming maneuver warfare, which would have allowed Germany to win the conflict.
History[edit]
Prior to World War I[edit]
Ever since the introduction of breechloaders, there had been a growing realization that the days of close-order infantry assault were coming to an end. For a time, up to the turn of the 19th century, armies tried to circumvent the problem by moving into range in dispersed formations and charging only the last metres, as the French did in the Second Italian War of Independence (1859), the Prussians in the Austro-Prussian War (1866), or the Germans against the French in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71).
The advent of the machine gun and the adoption of hydraulic-recoil artillery was a further setback for close order. The showing of the Boers against the British in the Second Boer War (1899-1902) fanned an enthusiasm for "Boer tactics": open order tactics reliant more on achieving fire superiority and moving quickly when enemy fire was ineffective than on positioning oneself for the final bayonet charge.
German stormtroopers[edit]
Calsow Assault Detachment[edit]
The concept of "stormtroopers" first appeared in March 1915, when the Ministry of War directed the Eighth Army to form Sturmabteilung Calsow ("Calsow's Assault Detachment" or SA Calsow). SA Calsow consisted of a headquarters, two pioneer companies and a 37mm gun (Sturmkanone) battery. The unit was to use heavy shields and body armor as protection in attacks.
However, SA Calsow was never employed in its intended role. Instead it was sent into the line in France as emergency reinforcements during heavy Allied attacks. By June, the unit had already lost half its men. Major Calsow was relieved for this, against his protests that it was not his fault that the unit was not used as intended.[1]
Austro-Hungarian assault units[edit]
During the winter of 1914–1915, large parts of the Eastern Front switched to trench warfare. To cope with the new situation many Austro-Hungarian regiments spontaneously formed infantry squads called Jagdkommandos. These squads were named after the specially trained forces of Russian army formed in 1886 and were used to protect against ambushes, to perform reconnaissance and for low intensity fights in no-man's-land.
Austro-Hungarian High army command (Armeeoberkommando, AOK) realised the need for special forces and decided to draw on German experience. Starting in September–October 1916, about 120 officers and 300 NCOs were trained in the German training area in Beuville (near the village of Doncourt) to be the main cadre of the newly raised Austro-Hungarian army assault battalions. The former Jagdkommandos were incorporated into these battalions.
Ottoman stormtroopers[edit]
The formation of a storm battalion was ordered by Enver Pasha, the Ottoman Empire's Minister of War, in 1917. In May of that year, a cadre of officers and NCOs were given introductory training in assault techniques at Dubliany in occupied Ukraine, prior to the establishment of the "Constantinople Assault battalion" on 1 July at Maltepe, close to the capital. The first troops to arrive for training were deemed to be too old and many were barefoot, so more suitable recruits were selected from other units. With the aid of German instructors, the troops were trained in the use of weapons such as flamethrowers, known to the Turks as "hellfire machines", and 7.58 cm Minenwerfer mortars. Ottoman troops had never been issued with steel helmets, so German M1916 helmets were ordered but with the visors and neck-guards removed because they were thought to make it difficult to hear orders in the field.[24]
During the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, especially in Sinai and Palestine Campaign, Ottomans utilized this storm battalion which formed part of the Yıldırım Army Group using the latest Western Front infiltration tactics and close combat gear with concentrated fire of artillery and machine guns.[25] A notable action by this unit was at the Battle of El Burj on 1 December 1917, when they dislodged two squadrons of the 3rd Australian Light Horse from their defensive positions on a ridge, but were halted and isolated when British reinforcements arrived.[26]