
German Assault Troops of the First World War
Stosstrupptaktik - The First Stormtroopers
Stephen Bull(Author)
The History Press Ltd
Will be published approx. on 1. September 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-0-7509-5837-0 (ISBN)
Description
To many it would later seem as if the rule book of war had been torn up and thrown away. The First World War is usually characterised as a static war of attrition, but by the end of the war a new doctrine of fire and movement emerged with the squad as the key tactical unit, marking a fundamental shift in methods of warfare in the twentieth century. 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: improved machine guns and machine-gun tactics, super-heavy artillery, flamethrowers and gas. The legend of German stormtroopers has proved powerful and enduring. They were central to Blitzkrieg, and Hitler styled them as elite soldiers - living examples of Nietzschean supermen. However, as Bull demonstrates, these tactics did not appear out of nowhere, they represented a general shift in tactical thought during the First World War. Drawing upon German, French and British tactical manuals, German Assault Troops of the First World War considers a watershed in the history of the infantry.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Stroud
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
32 Plates, black and white; 45 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
360 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7509-5837-0 (9780750958370)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2014
The History Press Ltd
€9.99
Available for download
Person
Stephen Bull is a specialist in military history and an expert on World War I. He has is the curator of military history and archaeology for Lancashire County Museums, and has appeared on the TV series Battlefield Detectives and Instruments of Death. He is the author of An Officer's Manual of the Western Front, The Old Front Line, and Trench.