Shock-troops (Stosstruppen). The continual failure of the German attacks or counter-attacks for more than a year led them to the creation of what they call Stosstruppen. The new recruits of the German army were lacking greatly in quality—the German soldier at best is wanting in initiative. The High Command therefore resorted to a selection of the best elements to be found in some of their divisions, with which to form battalions or companies for assault.
The promise of receiving better and more abundant food than that given to the other troops (so important is the question of food to the German soldier, who has been on somewhat short rations since 1916) has been sufficient to bring forward volunteers for these companies.
These special troops are exempted from work in the trenches, and are brought up to the lines only when needed. On such occasions they are scattered all over the attacking front for the purpose of encouraging by their example the elements which are not so well organized.
The Germans, who, after the Russian revolution, were enabled to withdraw the best elements from their divisions on their Eastern Front, made, in June and July, 1917, a frequent use of their Stosstruppen in counter-attacks in Artois, and in desperate and daily attacks on the Chemin des Dames, but the result was far from expectation.
The Stosstruppen, obliged, like the ordinary troops, to attack in too serried ranks, offer a splendid target to artillery and machine-guns and, nine times out of ten, their rush is stopped before they can engage in a hand-to-hand fight.
La Bovelle
May 5, 1917—10.30 A.M.
We wonder what the German divisions on the Russian Front will be able to accomplish without their best and strongest elements when the Russian Army rallies and re-enters the war in earnest.
3. Mission and use of the infantry in a division. We have stated that a division includes three or four regiments. We will now dwell on the disposition of a division comprising two brigades of two regiments each. It seems certain that this is the type that will be adopted by the American Army, which possesses a sufficient number of men for this normal constitution of a division.