Volkssturm
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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.
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[edit] Origins
The Volkssturm had existed, on paper, since approximately 1935, 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.
[edit] Uniforms and insignia
The Volkssturm "uniform" was only a black armband with words Deutscher Volkssturm 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:
| Volkssturm Rank | Translation | Collar Insignia |
| Bataillionsführer | Battalion Leader |  |
| Kompanieführer | Company Leader |  |
| Zugführer | Section Leader |  |
| Gruppenführer | Group Leader |  |
| Volkssturmmann | People's Storm Trooper | No Insignia |
[edit] 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 and the Volkssturmgewehr 1-5.These factors only compounded the ineffectiveness of the Volkssturm. Finally, members took a customary oath to Hitler and were then dispatched to face the enemy. Unlike most English speaking countries, Germany did have 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.
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 what awaited any German combatant who fell into Russian hands.
Most war historians agree that Volkssturm had negligible strategic effect on the outcome of the war.
[edit] Books
- David K. Yelton: Hitler's Volkssturm (2002)
