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The Sturmabteilung (German: [ˈʃtʊʁmʔapˌtaɪlʊŋ] ⓘ; SA; lit. ' Storm Division ' or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany.
Stormtroopers (German: Sturmtruppen [2] or Stoßtruppen [3]) were the only elite shock troops of the Imperial German Army (Deutsches Heer) that specialized in commando style raids, infiltrating the trenches and wiping out the enemy quickly, maneuver warfare, reconnaissance, and shock tactics.
The uniforms and insignia of the Sturmabteilung were Nazi Party paramilitary ranks and uniforms used by SA stormtroopers from 1921 until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945. The titles and phrases used by the SA were the basis for paramilitary titles used by several other Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Schutzstaffel (SS).
The Companion cavalry of Alexander the Great (356-326 BC) are described as being the first example of shock cavalry being used in Europe. [1]During the Paraguayan War (1864–1870), in which Paraguay fought against Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, the Paraguayans deployed shock troops (composed of a mixture of dismounted cavalry and fit men who could row and swim) armed with sabres, cutlasses ...
The Germans were also fortunate in that the morning of the attack was foggy, allowing the stormtroopers leading the attack to penetrate deep into the British positions undetected. [ citation needed ] By the end of the first day, the British had lost 7,512 dead and 10,000 wounded and the Germans had broken through at several points on the front ...
During the next two years, special Stoßtruppen (stormtrooper) detachments were created in divisions throughout the army; select men were sent to Rohr for training, who became trainers when they returned to their units. These tactics were expanded and refined by many in the German military command, extending the Prussian military doctrine down ...
Bolt-action rifles, when they were used, were typically replaced with their much shorter "carbine" variants originally intended for cavalry or auxiliary troops. Furthermore, towards the end of the war, the stormtroopers of Rohr's battalion were some of the first to be issued the Bergmann MP-18 , a fully-automatic submachine gun which greatly ...
Like many others of his generation, Gerstein and his family were deeply affected by what they saw as the humiliation of Germany by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and so were attracted by the extreme nationalism of the Nazi Party. In July 1933, he enrolled in the SA, the original stormtroopers of the Nazi Party. Friedlander describes the ...