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.

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

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

Describing the radical transformation in German Infantry tactics that took place during World War I, this is the first detailed account of the evolution of stormtroop tactics available in English. It covers 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, and detailed descriptions of offensive battles. Stormtroop Tactics is required reading for professional military officers, military historians, and enthusiasts.

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.

Introduction

Prologue: The Massacre of Innocents

Open Order Tactics

Fortress Warfare

Special Assault Units

Verdun

Expansion

Organization and Technology

The Eastern Front

Mountain Warfare

Cambrai

The Peace Offensive

Conclusion

Appendix A: The Wilhelm Raid

Appendix B: The Jacobsbrunnen Raid

Appendix C: Andre Laffargue

Bibliography

Indexes