Shock troops or assault troops are infantry formations and their supporting units, intended to lead an attack. The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists Shock troop is a loose translation[1] of the German word Stoßtruppen. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The units which contain assault troops are typically organized for mobility, with the intention that they will penetrate through enemy defenses and attack into the enemy's vulnerable rear areas.
Although the term shock troop became popular in the 20th century, the concept is not a new one, see for example the use by Napoleonic era armies of the Forlorn hope. Forlorn hope is a military term that comes from the Dutch verloren hoop, literally "lost heap" and adapted as "lost troop" Presently, the term is rarely used explicitly, as the strategic concepts behind it have become standard contemporary military thinking (see section After World War II). Shock troops or assault troops are Infantry formations and their supporting units intended to lead an attack
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Before World War I
Grenadiers (French for "Grenademan") were originally specialized assault soldiers for siege operations, first established as a distinct role in the mid to late 17th century. A grenadier (derived from the word Grenade) was originally a specialized soldier first established as a distinct role in the mid to late 17th century for the throwing of grenades Grenadiers were soldiers who would throw grenades and storm breaches, leading the forefront of such a breakthrough. Even when the original blackpowder grenade was abandoned the grenadier companies and regiments were retained as specialist assault troops.
During the American Civil War, 1861-65, the elite Iron Brigade and Irish Brigade of the Union's Army of the Potomac, and the Texas Brigade, Stonewall Brigade and the Louisiana Tigers of the Confederacy's Army of Northern Virginia were considered to be shock troops. The Iron Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade of the West or the Black Hat Brigade, was an Infantry Brigade in the Union This article is about the unit of the United States Army during the Civil War The Texas Brigade, also often referred to as Hood's Brigade, was an Infantry Brigade in the Confederate States Army that distinguished itself The Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, was one of the most famous combat units in United States history
World War I
During World War I, in response to the deadlock of trench warfare faced by all combatants, the German army developed a new set of infantry tactics known as von Hutier tactics. The Stormtroopers (in German Stoßtruppen, shock troops) were specialist military troops which were formed in the last years of World War I as the German World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Trench warfare is a form of warfare where both combatants have fortified positions and fighting lines are static The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Oskar von Hutier ( August 27, 1857 &ndash December 5, 1934) was one of Germany 's most successful and innovative generals of World The von Hutier tactics (infiltration tactics) called for special infantry assault units to be detached from the main lines and sent to infiltrate enemy lines, supported by shorter and sharper (than usual for WWI) artillery fire missions targeting both the enemy front and rear, bypassing and avoiding what enemy strongpoints they could, and engaging to their best advantage when and where they were forced to, leaving decisive engagement against bypassed units to following heavier infantry. In Warfare infiltration tactics involve small lightly-equipped Infantry forces attacking enemy rear areas while bypassing enemy front-line strongpoints and isolating The primary goal of these detached units was to infiltrate the enemy's lines and break his cohesiveness as much as possible. These formations became known as Stosstruppen, or shock troops, and the tactics which they pioneered would lay the basis of post-WWI infantry tactics, such as the development of fire teams. The Stormtroopers (in German Stoßtruppen, shock troops) were specialist military troops which were formed in the last years of World War I as the German A fireteam is a small Military unit of Infantry. It is the smallest unit in the militaries that use it and is the primary unit upon which infantry organization is
Notwithstanding the postwar status of the Storm Troopers in German service, the same sort of tactical doctrine was widely espoused in British and French service in late 1917 and 1918, with variable results. The British Army standard training manual for platoon tactics, SS 143, was used from February 1917 onwards and contained much of what was standard for German shock troops. According to Ward, the Australian and Canadian divisions deployed amongst British forces in France quickly came to be regarded as the best shock troops in the Allied ranks due to their ferocity in battle, and were employed accordingly. [2][3].
World War II
During the interwar period, the fame of 'Shock' troops and tactics commended itself to several totalitarian societies. The Soviet Union embraced the idea, and also introduced 'Shock' Labour Brigades, where they threw manpower at particular construction problems. Inspired, partly, by Ernst Junger's book "Storm of Steel", the Nazis also embraced the idea of shock and storm troops
During World War II the Red Army of the Soviet Union deployed five Shock armies. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The term Army, besides its generalized meaning (see " Army " specifically denotes a major military formation in militaries of various countries including Many of the units which spearheaded the Soviet offensives on the Eastern Front from the Battle of Stalingrad to the Battle of Berlin were Shock Armies. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign The Battle of Stalingrad is a commonly used name in English sources for several large operations by Germany and its allies and Soviet forces conducted with the For the bombing campaign on Berlin by the RAF from November 1943 to March 1944 see Battle of Berlin (air. Shock Armies had high proportions of infantry, engineers and field artillery, but with less emphasis on operational mobility and sustainability. Soviet assaults which were expected to lead to very high casualties were often lead by penal battalions. Penal Battalions, penal companies, etc are military units consisting of convicted persons for which Military service was either the Soviet Shock Armies were characterized by a higher allocation of army-level artillery units to break German defense positions by weight of fire, and often had heavy tank regiments or heavy self-propelled gun regiments to add additional direct fire support. Once a breach in the enemy tactical position was made, more mobile units such as tank and mechanized corps would be inserted through the Shock Army's positions with the mission of penetrating deep into the enemy rear area. By the end of the war, though, Soviet Guards Armies typically enjoyed superior artillery support to that of the shock armies. Guards units are elite units and formations in the armed forces of the former Soviet Union Belarus Russia and Ukraine
Well-known Shock Armies include the 2nd Shock Army, which spearheaded several offensives in the Leningrad area, and the 3rd Shock Army, which played a key role in the Battle of Berlin. The 2nd Shock Army (2 Ударная армия was a Field army of the Red Army during the Second World War. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River The 3rd Shock Army (Третья ударная армия was a Field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. For the bombing campaign on Berlin by the RAF from November 1943 to March 1944 see Battle of Berlin (air.
A Soviet ad hoc combat group was a mixed arms unit of about eighty men in assault groups of six to eight men, closely supported by field artillery. A fireteam is a small Military unit of Infantry. It is the smallest unit in the militaries that use it and is the primary unit upon which infantry organization is These were tactical units which were able to apply the tactics of house to house fighting that the Soviets had been forced to develop and refine at each Festunsgsstadt (fortress city) they had encountered from Stalingrad to Berlin. Urban warfare is modern warfare conducted in Urban areas such as Towns and cities. [4]
After World War II
The demands of infantry fighting in the Second World war erased much of the romance of 'shock' troops, particularly when any well-trained competent infantry had to be capable of the same tactics, particularly in a formal assault on a well-defended objective. The Soviets retained the term 'Shock' for some of their armies (permanent Corps-equivalent formations) that had distinguished themselves during the Second World War; but it remains to be seen how, for instance, 3rd Shock Army was that different in its components from 20th Guards Tank Army in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany during the Cold War years.
See also
References
- ^ Although the German word Stoß is occasionally used to translate shock, as in Stoßwelle (shock wave), or to allude to a shock-like event, as in Erdstoß (seismic wave), in this case stoß derives directly from the verb stoßen (to push), referring to the original task of the Stoßtruppen, known in German as vorstoßen (roughly: to carry the attack forward). Arditi was the name adopted by Italian Army elite Storm troops of World War I. In most countries special forces (SF is a generic term for highly-trained Military teams/units that conduct specialized operations such as Reconnaissance The Stormtroopers (in German Stoßtruppen, shock troops) were specialist military troops which were formed in the last years of World War I as the German For the music album by Converter see Shock Front For the 1977 horror film see Shock Waves A shock wave (also called Seismic waves are Waves that travel through the Earth, most often as the result of a tectonic Earthquake, sometimes from an Explosion
- ^ Ward, R 1992, A Concise History of Australia, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Queensland, p235.
- ^ Griffith, Paddy; "Battle Tactics of the Western Front"; Yale University Press, New Haven, 1994
- ^ Beevor, Antony. Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Penguin Books, 2002, ISBN 0-670-88695-5 p. 239
Further reading
- Grau, Lester W. Russian-Manufactured Armored Vehicle Vulnerability in Urban Combat: The Chechnya Experience — the article originally appeared in Red Thrust Star January 1997 (source not verified) "The Chechen lower-level combat group consists of 15 to 20 personnel subdivided into three or four-man fighting cells. . . . "
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