Volksturm And Volksgrenadier
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gavmeister13
- Contributor
- Posts: 290
- Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 7:48 am
- Location: Cornwall, England
Volksturm And Volksgrenadier
Was there a difference between the Volksturm and Volksgrenadier forces?
Geniesset den Krieg, der Frieden wird furchtbar sein
I think Volksturm were ad-hoc conscripts, much like the British Home Guard. Volksgrenadiers actually had some sort of military training and were issued standard (K98, MP-40, etc.) weapons while Volksturm fought with whatever they could scrounge or they had old, outdated weapons which they were issued.
hope this helps
Tony
hope this helps
Tony
"When you dance with death, you wait until the song ends."
- Josef Stalin
- Josef Stalin
When the German Army was attempting to recover from the enormous losses of the summer of '44 (East and West), the newly formed infantry divisions--and almost all of the older ones being refitted--were named Volksgrenadier Divisions for morale purposes. I wonder how "improved" morale would take the place of combat power, as these formations were quite weak compared with their opponents, or with the older type of German infantry divisions. Still, they were "regular", more or less, with uniforms, military weapons and training, etc.
The Volksturm, on the other hand, was composed of home guard units, never larger than a battalion in size, and equipped with whatever was available. Most of them wore armbands identifying them as "soldiers", but those who had some sort of uniform (usually a Nazi Party suit of some kind or other) wore that.
Yours,
Paul
The Volksturm, on the other hand, was composed of home guard units, never larger than a battalion in size, and equipped with whatever was available. Most of them wore armbands identifying them as "soldiers", but those who had some sort of uniform (usually a Nazi Party suit of some kind or other) wore that.
Yours,
Paul
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LukeMiguez
- Member
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2003 4:58 pm
No, Luke, I think the Volkssturm was a "bottom-of-the-barrel" home guard formation, while the Volksgrenadier divisions were made from the best available manpower left.
A lot of sailors without ships to man and airmen without aircraft to crew or service were press-ganged into the Volksgrenadier formations (I hope "press-ganged" isn't too strong a term). These were perfectly good human material, physically fit, but probably lacking in training as infantry troops. The Volkssturm fighters, on the other hand, were old men, crippled veterans, or men who previously had been exempt from military service with some excuse or other.
Yours,
Paul
A lot of sailors without ships to man and airmen without aircraft to crew or service were press-ganged into the Volksgrenadier formations (I hope "press-ganged" isn't too strong a term). These were perfectly good human material, physically fit, but probably lacking in training as infantry troops. The Volkssturm fighters, on the other hand, were old men, crippled veterans, or men who previously had been exempt from military service with some excuse or other.
Yours,
Paul