With torn picture of his Führer beside his clenched fist, a dead Bataillionsführer (general) of the Volkssturm lies on the floor of city hall, Leipzig, Germany. He committed suicide rather than surrender to U.S. Army troops who captured the city on April 19, 1945

The Volkssturm (literally translated as People's Storm in the meaning of National Storm) was a German national militia of the last months of Germany's Third Reich. It was founded on Adolf Hitler's orders on October 18, 1944 and effectively conscripted all males between the ages of 16 to 60 years of age (who did not already serve in some military unit) as part of a German Home Guard. The term 'Sturm' was historically used for militia units, as the reserve forces in Prussia had been called "Landsturm" for many years prior to 1945. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 752 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2100 × 1675 pixel, file size: 716 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 752 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2100 × 1675 pixel, file size: 716 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Hitler redirects here. ... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Lebanese Kataeb militia A Militia is an organization of citizens to provide defense, emergency or paramilitary service, or those engaged in such activity. ...

Origins

The Volkssturm had existed, on paper, since approximately 1925, however it was only after Hitler ordered Martin Bormann to recruit 6 million men for this militia that the group became a physical reality. The basic unit was a battalion of 642 men and the units were mostly composed of members of the Hitler Youth, invalids, the elderly, or men who had previously been considered unfit for military service. The Volkssturm was under the ultimate command of the Home Army which, in late 1944 and early 1945, was commanded by Heinrich Himmler. Martin Bormann Martin Bormann (June 17, 1900 - c. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( ; October 7, 1900–May 23, 1945) was the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany by being second in power to Adolf Hitler in the Nazi hierarchy. ...

Uniforms and insignia

The Volkssturm "uniform" was only a black armband with words Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht with a series of silver collar pips pinned to the wearer's collar. Because the Wehrmacht could not provide uniforms to all its members, some members of the Volkssturm wore makeshift paramilitary uniforms or uniforms from their civilian jobs (such as train conductors of the Reichsbahn). The simple paramilitary insignia of the Volkssturm was as follows: General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Standard atomic weight 107. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... The Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR, literally German Imperial Railway) was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I. It was founded in 1920 as the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen when the Weimar Republic (formally Deutsches... Nazi party paramilitary ranks were pseudo-military titles which were used by the National Socialist German Workers Party between the years of 1920 and 1945. ...

Volkssturm Rank	Translation	Collar Insignia
Bataillionsführer	Battalion Leader
Kompanieführer	Company Leader
Zugführer	Section Leader
Gruppenführer	Group Leader
Volkssturmmann	People's Storm Trooper	No Insignia

SS Major Insignia (Released by US National Archives) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kompanieführer is a German paramilitary title that has existed since the First World War. ... SS 2nd Lieutenant Patch (Released by US National Archives) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... SS Sergeant First Class Patch (Released by US National Archives) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... SS-Gruppenführer collar patch SA-Gruppenführer rank insignia Volkssturm Gruppenführer insignia Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Translated as “Group Leader”, a Gruppenführer was typically in charge of large numbers... SS Sergeant Patch (Released by US National Archives) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Volkssturmmann was a paramiltiary rank of the Volkssturm, the German militia created to defend the German homeland in the last months of World War II. The rank of Volkssturmmann carried no special uniform or insignia and the title was merely held by any person who was drafted to serve in...

Training and Impact

Typically, members of the Volkssturm received only the most basic of military training. This included brief indoctrination training, and then training on the use of basic weapons such as the Karabiner 98k rifle and Panzerfaust. There was no standardization of any kind and units were issued only what equipment was available. And while some Karabiner 98ks were on hand, members were also issued Gewehr 98s and Gewehr 71s in addition to a plethora of Belgian, French, British, Italian and other weapons that had been captured by Germany in her five years of war. Also the Germans had developed primitive cheap weapons to supply the volkssturm, like MP 3008 machine pistols and the Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 submachine rifle. These factors only compounded the ineffectiveness of the Volkssturm. Finally, members took a customary oath to Hitler and were then dispatched toward the enemy. Unlike most English-speaking countries, Germany had universal military service for all young men for several generations, so many of the older members of the Volkssturm would have had at least basic military training when they served in the German army and many would have been veterans of the First World War. The Karabiner 98 Kurz (often abbreviated Kar98k or K98k) was a bolt-action rifle adopted as the standard infantry rifle in 1935 by the Wehrmacht,[3] and was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 4 Panzerfausts in the original casing, displayed in Helsinki Military Museum Panzerfaust. ... The Karabiner 98 Kurz (often abbreviated Kar98k or K98k) was a bolt-action rifle adopted as the standard infantry rifle in 1935 by the Wehrmacht,[3] and was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... The Gewehr 1871 German Mauser was the first of millions of rifles manufactured to the designs of Peter Paul and Wilhelm Mauser. ... The 9 mm MP 3008 was a Nazi German substitute standard submachine gun manufactured toward the end of World War II. The weapon was almost identical to the British Sten, except for its vertical magazine. ... The Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 is a 7. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

Volkssturm units were supposed to be used only in their own districts, but many were sent directly to the front lines. The most extensive use of the Volkssturm was during the Battle of Berlin, during which Volkssturm units fought the best they could. The Battle of Berlin was particularly devastating to the Volkssturm, since many Volkssturm members fought to the death when facing Red Army troops, mostly out of fear of being captured by Soviets. Combatants Soviet Union Communist Poland Nazi Germany Commanders 1st Belorussian Front – Georgiy Zhukov 2nd Belorussian Front – Konstantin Rokossovskiy 1st Ukrainian Front – Ivan Konev Army Group Vistula – Gotthard Heinrici then Kurt von Tippelskirch[2] Army Group Centre – Ferdinand Schörner Berlin Defense Area – Helmuth Reymann then Helmuth Weidling #[3] Strength 2... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ...

Most war historians agree that Volkssturm had negligible strategic effect on the outcome of the war.

Books

• David K. Yelton: Hitler's Volkssturm (2002)

See also

• German Army
• Werwolf Guerrillas
• Wehrmacht
• MP 3008
• Einstossflammenwerfer 46
• Volkssturmgewehr 1-5

The German Army (German: Heer, [IPA: heɐ]  ) is the land component of the Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Forces) of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Werwolf (German for werewolf, the spelling Wehrwolf is incorrect) was a Nazi plan at the end of World War II for a clandestine force which would carry out guerrilla attacks against the Allies in the Allied-occupied regions of Germany. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... The 9 mm MP 3008 was a Nazi German substitute standard submachine gun manufactured toward the end of World War II. The weapon was almost identical to the British Sten, except for its vertical magazine. ... The Einstossflammenwerfer 46 was a Flamethrower designed to be cheap and mass produced at the end half of WW2 since Germany was lacking materials and funds. ... The Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 is a 7. ...

External links

• U.S. Wartime Intelligence Report on German Volkssturm