Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918 [Paperback]

Bruce I. Gudmundsson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0275954013 | ISBN-13: 978-0275954017 | Publication Date: June 30, 1995

Describing the radical transformation in German Infantry tactics that took place during World War I, this book presents the first detailed account of the evolution of stormtroop tactics available in English. It covers areas previously left unexplored: the German Infantry's tactical heritage, the squad's evolution as a tactical unit, the use of new weapons for close combat, the role of the elite assault units in the development of new tactics, and detailed descriptions of offensive battles that provided the inspiration and testing ground for this new way of fighting. Both a historical investigation and a standard of excellence in infantry tactics, Stormtroop Tactics is required reading for professional military officers and historians as well as enthusiasts. Contrary to previous studies, Stormtroop Tactics proposes that the German Infantry adaption to modern warfare was not a straightforward process resulting from the "top down" intervention of reformers but instead a "bottom up" phenomenon. It was an accumulation of improvisations and ways of dealing with pressing situations that were later sewn together to form what we now call "Blitzkrieg." Focusing on action at the company, platoon, and squad level, Stormtroop Tactics provides a detailed description of the evolution of German defensive tactics during World War I--tactics that were the direct forbears of those used in World War II.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Very useful for modern soldiers who must consider how their own doctrine...must be adapted to meet the changes technology and circumstance will impose on their own future battlefield.”–ARMY

“[Stormtroop Tactics] is recommended reading for all military professionals.”–INFANTRY MAGAZINE

“Bruce Gudmundsson has written a useful book on the development of tactics in the German army in World War I, with the emphasis on the evolution of stormtroop tactics....Gudmundsson's book is a good one: well-researched, to the point, and logical in its presentation. It is essential reading for those interested both in tactical innovation and in the German army in World War I.”–The Journal of Military History

“For too long, a curious mystery has enveloped the origin of German stormtroop tactics in World War I. Like Topsy they just growed. But as Bruce Gudmundsson demonstrates in this admirable contribution to the literature of military history, the principles of open-order tactics, which were at the heart of infiltration, go back to the Boer War; even by the end of 1914, German commanders were experimenting with the rudiments of new attack forms. That conventional trench warfare was bound to end, and did so on March 21, 1918, should no longer puzzle us. What Colonel G. C. Wynne once did for the evolution of German defensive tactics in the Great War, Captain Gudmundsson has now done, and remarkably, for their offensive equivalent.”–The Quarterly Journal of Military History

About the Author

BRUCE I. GUDMUNDSSON is a military historian on the faculty of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Virginia. Mr. Gudmundsson is a frequent contributor to the Marine Corps Gazzette.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Paperback (June 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275954013
• ISBN-13: 978-0275954017
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of its kind, April 16, 2000

By 

seydlitz89 "seydlitz89" (Portugal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918 (Paperback)

Origin of the modern Infantry

This is the finest history of German tactical innovation during the First World War I've come across. Bruce Gudmundsson has served as a Marine Corps officer, as did I, and his study provides the answers to those many questions that were floating around in our heads during those cold nights in the woods around Quantico. The German Stosstruppen were the originators of the infantry tactics still used to this day. Even modern special operations forces can trace their linage to these small units that formed after the failure of the great Schlieffen Plan. It was the decentralized character of the German Army, as the author points out, that was the true secret of German combat efficiency and innovation. Company grade officers were given responsibly for their units' training following only broad guidelines dictated from above. Gudmundsson traces the evolution of the German infantry company and battalion, the development of new weapon systems and the coordination of infantry and artillery to maximize offensive operations. He provides and explains the original German terms for the various tactical concepts and organizations. Quotes from the Stosstrupp commander Ernst Jünger and others add an additional perspective. The only flaw I see in this otherwise superior book is the poor quality of the map illustrations, which provide little in the way of supporting information. The line and block charts on the other hand are useful. It's interesting to note that the reputation of the Stosstruppen or Sturmabteilungen was so great in Germany after the war, that the Nazis appropriated the latter term to describe their bands of uniformed thugs; an irony when considering that the original Stosstruppen included young German Jews and Poles who were more than ready to die for their Kaiser. I think a good companion to this book is the Osprey Warrior Series, German Stormtrooper 1914-1918 by Ian Drury and Gerry Embleton. This second volume provides photographs and color drawings of the weapons, troops and equipment discussed along with a bit of supplementary information.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books ever written on WWI infantry, January 29, 2001

By 

Jeffrey L. Guthery (Seoul Korea (South)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918 (Paperback)

I have read this book three or four times since I first purchased it in 1989, and it never fails to impress me with the attention to detail and meticulously researched origins of modern infantry combat. The book covers events leading up to WWI that cause turmoil in the German High Command regarding the use of infantry, and how scrutiny of specific tactical employments in various battles in the early to mid stages of the war led to the first experimental stormtroop unit. The book goes on to document the unit's successes and the eventual adoption of special stormtroop units to spearhead attacks at the division level, and finally how complete divisions were organized in the stormtroop fashion. All the major personalities, weaponry, and tactics involved are described in detail, and while dramatic descriptions of the gory and macabre business of trench warfare are omitted, one can easily infer from the descriptions of sharpened entrenching tools and flame throwers how violent and terrible it was to be on the receiving end of one of those attacks. Author Gudmundsson's work interjects some objective scholarship on this subject in an age where it is not politically correct to acknowledge the German military's pioneering efforts in both world wars in establishing modern combined arms tactics.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars German Innovation, April 4, 2002

By 

Troy A. Lettieri "Professional Warrior" (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918 (Paperback)

This is and excellent text on German Infantry tactics of WWI (1914-1918). The Germans were always innovators when it applied to warfare, in WWI with the trench war at a stale mate the Germans formed these elite infantry "Stormtroop" units to infiltrate and breakthrough the lines to make way for their follow on troops. In this highly detailed account of the tactics employed by these Stormtrooper you will read how they were employed in mountain and fortress warfare, how they were organized and their special assault units. It is amazing to see a lot of these types of tactics are still employed today.