Background Following the outbreak of hostilities in World War I, the German Army's primary military strategy was what is commonly referred to as the
Schlieffen Plan, which sought to outflank Germany's shared border with the
French Republic, whom they anticipated would be prepared for an invasion, by invading through the
Low Countries. The success of the plan hinged on the ability to transport enough troops and equipment to the front quickly enough so as to end the war immediately with a single massive, decisive operation, consistent with German military theory at the time. The war began with the
Battle of the Frontiers, the implementation of the
French Army's
Plan XVII, which failed disastrously and resulted in an unexpectedly rapid German advance. Despite early successes, however, the German front eventually outran its own supply line, and the German's war plans had grossly underestimated the speed at which the Franco-British forces were able to regroup. The resulting French offensive at the
First Battle of the Marne caught the German Army off-guard and completely halted their advance, resulting in the collapse of the Schileffen Plan. The subsequent
Race to the Sea inaugurated the period of the
Western Front characterized as
trench warfare, a brutal stalemate and
war of attrition with little to no serious material gain for either side until nearing the end of the war.
Sturmabteilung Calsow The 5th Assault Battalion began in 1915 as an experiment of the
VIII Army Corps, originating as a detachment of two
Pionier (
sapper) companies designated
Sturmabteilung Calsow (English: "Calsow's Assault Detachment"). At this time, German forces were increasingly frustrated by their lack of material gain, with much of German High Command growing to believe that a breakthrough was impossible. Consequently, commanders were becoming increasingly desperate for something that could reignite operational success on the Western Front and alleviate the stalemate of trench warfare. The detachment's initial deployment was on the French front line as emergency reinforcements, resulting in a resounding failure. Major Calsow was relieved from command as a result, replaced in September by
Hauptmann Willy Rohr of the
Guards Rifles Battalion's 3rd Company under
Army Detachment B. As commander of the Assault Detachment, Rohr used his previous experience, along with other similar experiments, to refit and retrain the unit for the purpose of
trench raiding and close combat. To save on weight, he quickly abandoned the use of gun shields and
Sappenpanzer body armor, as well as requested the development of a lighter type of field gun that was more practical for offensive maneuvers. These guns were based on captured
76mm Russian fortress guns, which were lightened and modified to be used as a stop-gap until the new cannons could be produced. Rohr's refit also included a
machine gun and
flamethrower platoon to provide support to the infantry. Rohr's most significant change was in tactics and leadership, which were reworked to allow for more versatility in the complex environment of close-quarters trench fighting. Of the utmost importance was communication and leadership; both allowed his soldiers to operate as independent subunits whenever necessary to adapt to the situation. To facilitate this, the unit was broken up into very small
squads of just a few men each, each led by a junior
non-commissioned officer who had close communication with supporting weapons, like machine guns and field guns. The soldiers would charge through
no man's land very quickly, utilizing hand grenades, pistols and flamethrowers to overwhelm enemy forces and secure a foothold in the trenches. Although Rohr developed his tactics for the Assault Detachment, they were first tested in combat by the 187th Infantry Regiment at the
Vosges mountains. The Assault Detachment themselves first utilized these tactics at
Hartmannswillerkopf, which had been lost on December 21, 1915. The Detachment initially encountered heavy resistance, but eventually broke through and captured the position after two days of assaults. Afterwards, the Assault Detachment spent the next two months training other units in Army Detachment B in the hopes of creating a force that could eventually break the stalemate of the Western Front. Following an inspection by
Crown Prince Wilhelm, the unit was expanded to battalion size and renamed the
Sturmbataillon.
Sturm-Bataillon ,
Kaiser Wilhelm II,
Oskar von Chelius,
Adolf Wild von Hohenborn,
Crown Prince Wilhelm and
Hans von Plessen As a battalion, the unit became a driving force in the adoption of
Stoßtrupp tactics among the German Army. A training ground was constructed in the Doncourt forest near the French village of
Doncourt-lès-Longuyon, where the Assault Battalion trained officers and other infantry units in the use of hand grenades, light cannons, machine guns and other new doctrinal elements. In addition to various standard infantry units, several
Jäger battalions were converted into stormtrooper battalions. When not training other soldiers, the Assault Battalion was sent to hotspots on the German front, which came to be the dominant way of deploying assault units in the German Army during World War I. After a successful attack on French positions near the town of
Revest-du-Bion at the Souville Gorge (
French: "Ravin de Fontaine") on September 3, 1916, Rohr sent a report to Kaiser Wilhelm detailing the assault, about which the Kaiser was significantly pleased. Having visited their training grounds in August, he awarded the unit a commendation renamed it
Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr) at the behest of the Crown Prince on February 7, 1917. On March 19, 1918, Captain Rohr went with the 5th Assault Battalion to the 18th Army Headquarters in
Leschelle to prepare for one of Germany's final assaults during the First World War,
Operation Michael. During preparations in April, Captain Rohr was promoted to
major.
Dissolution In October 1918, the 5th Assault Battalion was sent under secret orders to guard Kaiser Wilhelm, who had fled from Berlin due to political unrest to the
Supreme Army Headquarters in
Spa, Belgium. Chancellor of Germany
Prince Max von Baden and Field Marshal
Paul von Hindenburg, threatened by the
SPD and growing
revolutionary movement, demanded that the Kaiser abdicate so the
Reichstag could vote to end the war. Hindenburg eventually convinced Wilhelm to do so, and on November 10 he fled to the
Netherlands to live in
exile. The remaining units in the Supreme Army Headquarters fled the following day to avoid being imprisoned by advancing
Allied forces. The 5th Assault Battalion was demobilized near
Schwelm. Following the end of World War I and the drafting of the
Treaty of Versailles, most units of the German Army, including the assault battalions, were dissolved to comply with the 100,000 man limit on the
Reichswehr. Former stormtroopers found themselves with no military position, including Major Rohr, who was forced to take supply jobs as a
lieutenant colonel, and for which he later resigned. Many stormtroopers would later join the
Black Reichswehr and other paramilitary organizations during the Weimar era. == Tactics ==