A Thought on Our Reading List...

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Ernst Junger wrote this book telling what he lived in the Great War. He describes it with full passion and impressing style, making you feel like you are being barraged in the the trenches or you are in the middle of an assault. It is interesting to know that, apart from being one of the most important German writers in this century, Junger was awarded with the last "Pour le merite," the Germany's highest medal for valour in action, given in that war. I was strongly suggested by a friend to read this book. I have not been disappointed.

German Assault Troops of WW1--his book covers the organization, tactics, weapons, equipment, orders of battle, and uniforms of official and unofficial units, from early raiding parties to formal assault battalions. Rare photos depict badges and insignia not previously known, while primary documents describing regulations and training are provided in their entirety. New information on the origin of shock tactics is presented, gleaned from German archives and not previously published in English. Specific operations on all fronts are included, along with extracts from German army manuals for shock-troop arms such as flamethrowers, mortars, machine guns, grenade launchers, assault artillery, and tanks.

To many it would later seem as if the rule book of war had been torn up and thrown away. World War I is usually characterized as a static war of attrition, but by its end a new doctrine of fire and movement emerged, with the squad as the key tactical unit, marking a fundamental shift in methods of warfare. As late as March 1918, assault detachments used these tactics to destroy the British 5th Army and take 50,000 prisoners. Stephen Bull traces the development of German storm tactics in the context of trench warfare waged with new technology: vastly improved machine-guns, super-heavy artillery, flamethrowers, and gas. The legend of German stormtroops has proved powerful and enduring. They were central to Blitzkrieg, and Hitler styled them as elite soldiers—living examples of Nietzschean supermen. As demonstrated here, these tactics did not appear out of nowhere.

The first assault units (Sturmtruppen) were formed during the spring and summer of 1916, when the Sturmbataillon Rohr was organized and after General Falkenhayn, head of the OHL, gave orders for the creation of special detachments. These detachments had the mission of spreading the Stosstrupptaktik, a new tactic which decisively transformed the fighting methods of the German Army. But long before this happened, another type of troops had been created within the German infantry during the winter of 1914-1915: the Shock troops (Stosstruppen), fresh infantry groups that were never officially recognized as such and never belonged to any permanent unit, but remained active until the end of the war and contributed to improving the offensive capacity of the German infantry.

This book is a narration of the history of the shock and assault troops and covers their combat methods. Finally, it offers a comprehensive description of their uniforms, equipment, and weapons, along with a large number of illustrations and period photographs rarely seen.

Uneasy lies the countryside beneath the stench of war. Stosstrupp 1917 (Shock Troop 1917) is the story of the steel hurricane known as the Great War, told from the German perspective. Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) had been fiercely pacifistic, and G. W. Pabst’s Westfront 1918 (1930) no less so, but while Hans Zoberlein’s equally lavish Stosstrupp 1917 is also antiwar, it is more sympathetic to Germany’s trench-warfare ordeal.

All Quiet on the Western Front and Westfront 1918 are universally hailed as the two greatest First World War films ever produced, based as much on the astonishingly mobile cinematography of Arthur Edeson and Fritz Arno Wagner as on their masterly direction. Regrettable is the omission of Stosstrupp 1917 from this pantheon, for its cinematography by Karl Hasselmann is as uniformly dazzling. An enormous box-office hit upon its release on 20 February 1934, Stosstrupp 1917 was based on director Zoberlein’s own war memoirs, Der Glaube an Deutschland, to which Adolf Hitler contributed a foreword; was financed by the National Socialist government; and featured Wehrmacht and SA troops in its cast, which make its invisibility since 1945 more readily comprehensible. The picture has been banned in Germany since the end of the Nazi era. Prints that have circulated since then have been heavily censored and run less than 90 minutes, removing militaristic dialogue and diluting the film’s impact and painstaking realism; many of its pyrotechnics, for instance, were produced with real ammunition and explosives. The present release restores 21 minutes of missing footage. Directed by Hans Zöberlein, Franz Adam, Marian Kolb, and L. Schmid-Wildy. Starring Ludwig Schmid-Wildy, Beppo Brem, Max Zankl, Hans Possenbacher.

Directed by Werner Klingler; music by Herbert Windt; featuring Ludwig Kerscher, Franziska Kinz, and Rolf Pinegger. Germany, 1936, B&W, 81 minutes, German dialogue.

Be very, very aware, that the actors are Tirolean and quite often speak in that dialect. So, yes, it's in German, no subtitles--watching this movie allows you to realize just how poor your German really is. Neat scenes of the Alps and German soldiers later-on. Look for the German Army to come in and save the day. Available from IHF or Max Stiebritz.

Auf Deutsch with German subtitles... Available from Max Stiebritz.

The Classic CBS World War I Series
Narrated by Robert Ryan, Over 10¾ Hours.
Now Available on DVD!

The most comprehensive World War 1 documentary series ever made recalls the causes conduct, and aftermath of "The War to End All Wars". Along with the social, political, and economic fabric of the times, the roles of key figures are analyzed in depth. Produced during the Golden Age of CBS TV documentaries, this series, narrated by Robert Ryan, contains some of the highest-quality World War 1 footage known to exist.

Put together in the 1950's using original source film--mostly from old newsreels. Lots of neat stuff on the Kaiser and the German Army. This series has so much good stuff you'll flip. The only real down side to this series is its strong anti-German bias, but otherwise--if you can live with that, it's very good. Just buy it from Amazon...