Osprey Warrior 12 : German Stormtrooper 1914-1918

The first official German stormtrooper unit was authorised on 2 March 1915 when the Supreme Command of the field army ordered the VIII Corps to form a detachment for the testing of experimental weapons and the development of approximate tactics that could break the deadlock on the Western Front. By the summer of 1915 stormtroop units were springing up throughout the German armies in the west, and by the end of 1916 official stormtroop battalions were established throughout the western armies. Ian Drury gives a comprehensive account of the German Strosstruppen in the First World War. He carefully examines the evolution of their equipment, uniform and tactics throughout the conflict and looks at the way their lives and experiences differed from those of their colleagues in regular infantry battalions. Organisation, logistics and medical provision are also investigated. Particular attention is given to the weaponry of the stormtroopers, including such distinctive weapons as the MP18 submachine-gun and the Kleines Flammenwerfer. This in-depth analysis of the different weaponry used by members of the stormtrooper squads provides a useful backdrop for Ian Drury's investigation of how the stormtroopers' new shock-tactics revolutionised warfare on the Western Front, particularly at such battles as Cambrai and the March 1918 offensive. A good sense of the stormtrooper units' esprit de corps is given, and by the end of the book the reader is left in no doubt as to the importance of their innovatory tactics, not only in breaking the deadlock of World War I trench-fighting, but also in influencing the way armies have fought ever since. Illustrations by Gerry Embleton.

Contents

• Historical Background
• Creating an Elite
• Uniforms
• Weapons
• Recruitment
• Training
• Organisation
• Fighting Spirit
• Logistics
• Medical Services
• Combat Tactics