Combat Zone

The stormtroopers (In German Stosstruppen, shock troops) were specialist military troops which were formed in the last years of World War I, as the German army developed new methods of attacking the enemy trenches, called “infiltration tactics”. Men trained in these methods were known in German as Sturmmann (Assault men), but usually referred to as Storm troopers. They formed into companies of stormtroops. Other armies have also used the term assault troops, or shock troops or fire-teams, for specialist soldiers who perform the infiltration tasks of storm troopers.

Victor Odium
The organization and their tactics and trench raiding parties were developed by Victor Odium in the first Canadian division in 1915. The Canadian Corps later instructed officers of the French Army in these new tactics. May 1915 was the same time as the second battle of Ypres (The first major impact made by Canada on the war. The Germans were so impressed by the Canadian resistance they referred to the Canadians as stormtroopers and then used the term for their own infiltration units. The tactics developed by the Germans both on the offensive and defensive in WWI are still in use today, in one form or another.

Calsow Assault Detachment
The concept of “ Stormtroopers” developed from its beginning in March 1915, when a unit known as Sturmabteilung Calsow, under Major Calsow was formed by the Eight army, by orders from the War Ministry, consisting of headquarters, two pioneer companies and a 37mm gun (Sturmkanonne) battery. The unit was to use heavy shields and body armor as protection in attacks.

This unit was however never employed in its intended role, instead used to defend attacks in France. In June, this use of the unit had already cost the unit half of its manpower, and for this, Major Calsow was relieved, against his protests that it was not his fault that the unit was not used as intended.

Rohr Assault Battalion
The new commander of the Sturmabteilung from September 8, 1915, was a Hauptmann, named Rohr, previously commandant of the Guard Rifle Battalion. The detachment was reinforced with a machinegun platoon and a flamethrower platoon. The old infantry guns had been shown to be to difficult to move across the battlefield and a new model was developed based on captured Russian 76.2mm fortress guns and issued to the Sturmabteilung.

Captain Rohr at first experimented with using body armor and shields already in the detachments inventory, but realized that speed was better protection then armor. The only piece of armor that was kept was a model of steel helmet, that would later become the standard in all German Units at the end of WWI and throughout the Second World War.

The new tactics developed by Rohr, building much on his own experiences from the front was based on the use of squad sized stormtroops (Sturmtruppen, Stosstrups) supported by a number of heavy support weapons and artillery that was to be coordinated at the lowest level possible and rolling up enemy trenches, using troops armed with hand grenades. These tactics were tested the first time in October 1915 in successful raids on a French position in the Vosgese Mountains.

In December 1915, the Sturmabteilung started giving courses to officers and soldiers of other German units, training them in the new assault tactics. Around this time the unit also changed some of its equipment to better fit its new requirements. Lighter footwear was issued and uniforms reinforced with leather patches on knees and elbows to protect them when crawling. Special bags designed to carry grenades replaced the old belts and ammunition pouches and the standard rifle was replaced with the lighter carbine previously used by cavalrymen. While continuing to educate other units, the Sturmabteilung also participated in many small trench raids and attacks with limited objectives.

The first major offensive led by the new Sturmabteilung was during the first days of the Battle of Verdun in February 1916. Sturmtruppen from the Sturmabteilung were used in the first wave leading some units into the French trenches, attacking seconds after the artillery barrage had lifted. This worked well, even though it worked much better against the first trenches then against the less known enemy rear assets.

On April 1, 1916, the Sturmabteilung was redesignated “Assault Battalion Rohr”. Around this time it also increased its size from two to four pioneer companies. At the same time, work began on transforming several Jager battalions into new Sturmtruppen Battalions.

Tactics at the end of the war
At a larger scale, the sturm tactics were first used in June 1916, during the Brusilov Offensive, with great

success. But, due to the February Revolution in Russia, no further development of the tactics were carried out, on the Russian side. With the withdrawal of Russia from the war, the Germans were able to reinforce the Western Front with troops from the Eastern Front. This allowed them to take units out of the line and train in Hutier tactics (After Oskar Von Hutier) to infiltrate and take trenches.

On March 21, 1918, Germany launched a major offensive, called “ Operation Micheal”, against Allied forces, using the new methods and tactics. Four successive German offensives followed, that on May 27 and for the first time in four years the stalemate of trench warfare was broken. However, the German advance had stalled by July and the Allies began their Hundred Days Offensive (Which was supported by the fact that fresh troops from the U.S. were rushed in, on the French part of the front.)

The Sturmtruppen of the late part of the war already resembled those of the second World War in some ways, such as being armed with lightweight weapons, stick grenades and some already started to wear Totenkopf badges.

Methods
The methods developed to assault trenches during World War I before 1918, usually started with a lengthy artillery barrage all along the line, followed by an assault from massed lines of infantry. Hutier suggested an alternate approach, which consisted of these basic steps, combining some old and some new attacks in a complex strategy.

A short artillery bombardment, featuring heavy shells mixed with numerous poison gas projectiles would concentrate on neutralizing the enemy front lines, but not to destroy them.
Under a creeping barrage, Stosstruppen would move forward and infiltrate the Allied defenses at previously identified weak points. They would avoid combat whenever possible and attempt to destroy or capture enemy headquarters and artillery strong-points.
After the Stosstruppen had done their job, German army units, heavily equipped with light machineguns, mortars and flamethrowers, would make heavy attacks along narrow fronts against any Allied strong-points the Stosstruppen missed. When the artillery was in place, officers could direct the fire wherever it was needed to accelerate the breakthrough.
In the last stage of the assault, regular infantry would mop up any remaining Allied resistance.

The new assault tactics and methods involved men rushing forwards in small groups using whatever cover was available and laying covering fire for other groups, in the same unit as they move forwards. The new tactics, which were intended to achieve tactical surprise, were to attack the weakest parts of the enemies line, bypass his strong-points and to abandon the futile attempt to have a grand and detailed plan of operations, controlled from afar. Instead, junior officers and NCO’s could exercise initiative on the spot. Any enemy strong points which had not been over run by Sturmtruppen could be attacked by second echelon troops following the Sturmtruppen.

It is essentially the smaller scale tactics that were made famous some years later, by the same German Army. The Blitzkrieg!