Shock troops

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the 1967 film, see Shock Troops (film).
US Army troops getting on a UH-60 military helicopter preparing for air assault training at Nowa Dęba, Poland, 2015

Shock troopers or assault troopers are formations created to lead an

attack
. They are often better trained and equipped than other infantry and expected to take heavy casualties even in successful operations.

"Shock troop" is a calque, a loose translation of the German word Stoßtrupp (literally "push squad").[1] Assault troopers are typically organized for mobility with the intention that they will penetrate enemy defenses and attack into the enemy's vulnerable rear areas. Any specialized, elite unit formed to fight an engagement via overwhelming assault (usually) would be considered shock troops, as opposed to "special forces" or commando-style units (intended mostly for covert operations). However, both types of units could fight behind enemy lines, by surprise if required.

Although the term "shock troops" became popular in the 20th century, the concept is not new, and Western European armies in past centuries called them the forlorn hope. Presently, the term is rarely used, as the strategic concepts behind it have become standard contemporary military thinking.

Before 1914

In 375 BC, under the command of the younger

Theban Sacred Band
was united as a single unit of shock troops. Their main function was to cripple the enemy by engaging and killing the enemy's best men and leaders in battle.

The Companion cavalry of Alexander the Great (356-326 BC) are described as being the first example of shock cavalry being used in Europe.[2]

Several sources describe how the Vikings used Berserkers as shock troops in organized warfare.

During the Crusader period, the various Catholic military orders such as the Knights Hospitaller, Knights Templar and the Teutonic Order were considered shock troops.

The Shorn Ones were the most prestigious warrior society in the Aztec Empire, serving as its shock troops.

In late-medieval Europe, the

Deli
as shock troops as well.

Grenadiers originated as specialized assault soldiers for siege operations. First established with a distinct role in the mid- to late-17th century, grenadier units would throw grenades and storm breaches, while leading the forefront of a breakthrough. Even after abandoning the use of the original black-powder grenade, armies retained the grenadier companies and regiments as specialist assault troops.

The armies of both the Union and the Confederate States in the

U.S. Civil War each fielded several crack infantry units used as shock troops. The Union's Army of the Potomac utilized the Iron Brigade and the Irish Brigade (Union Army) in the role, and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia used the Texas Brigade and the Stonewall Brigade
much the same. All of the above units suffered high casualties because their prowess lead to them being given dangerous assignments.

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, knives, bayonets, pistols, and hand grenades. They attacked small fortified positions and boarded Brazilian river steamers.[3]

World War I

Main articles: Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany), Arditi, and Yildirim Army Group

During the

Brusilov Offensive of 1916, the Russian general Aleksei Brusilov developed and implemented the idea of shock troops to attack weak points along the Austrian lines to affect a breakthrough, which the main Russian Army could then exploit. The Russian Army had also formed hunter commando units in 1886 and used them in World War I to protect against ambushes, to perform reconnaissance and for low-intensity fights in no-man's-land.[4]

The von Hutier tactics (

fire teams
.

Notwithstanding the postwar status of the Storm Troopers in German service,[clarification needed] the same sort of tactical doctrine was widely espoused in British and French service in late 1917 and 1918, with variable results. The British Army standard training manual for platoon tactics, SS 143, was used from February 1917 onwards and contained much of what was standard for German shock troops.[5] US forces were trained in tactics by surviving French cadre from chasseur units, and were trained to use French Chauchat light machine guns and rifle grenades.[citation needed]

World War II

During the Second World War, the

guards armies
typically enjoyed superior artillery support to that of the shock armies.

Shock armies were instrumental in the execution of deep operation (also known as Soviet deep battle – Russian: Глубокая операция, glubokaya operatsiya). The central composition of the deep operation was the shock army, each acting either in cooperation with each other or independently as part of a strategic front operation. Several shock armies would be subordinated to a strategic front.

Well-known shock armies include the

3rd Shock Army, which played a key role in the Battle of Berlin
.

A Soviet ad hoc combat group was a mixed-arms unit of about 80 men in assault groups of six to eight men, closely supported by field artillery. These tactical units were able to apply the tactics of house-to-house fighting that the Soviets had been forced to develop and refine at each Festungsstadt (fortress city) they had encountered from Stalingrad to Berlin.[6]

The Yugoslav Partisans also established "shock" units during World War II, commencing in February 1942. These initially formed as company- and battalion-sized units, and later grew into brigades.

In or amongst the German armed forces, large armies such as the Waffen-SS received training with the best gear and weapons, primarily used to hit weak points. The Waffen-SS also served as a heavy unit. Used to smash well-armed and -equipped armies on the Eastern Front, the Waffen-SS lost its efficacy after Kursk (1943), but nevertheless later fought in many theaters and played a role in the Battle of the Bulge (1944–1945).

After 1943 (particularly during and after the invasion of Italy), specialist British units, such as the

Commandos and certain detachments of the Special Air Service
were used as shock troops against well dug in or elite German forces. Again, both forces would be used in similar roles after the Allies crossed the Rhine, serving as a vanguard for British forces.

After World War II

The demands of infantry fighting in the Second World War erased much of the romance of shock troops, particularly when any well-trained infantry was capable of the same tactics, especially in a formal assault on a well-defended objective. The Soviets retained the term shock (although the term can also be translated as strike) as a designation for armies involved in assaulting the enemy's operational depth as part of Soviet deep battle doctrine.

See also

References

  1. ^ Although the German word Stoß is occasionally used to translate 'shock' or allude to a shock-like event, as in Erdstoß (seismic wave), in this case stoß derives directly from the verb stoßen (to push), referring to the original task of the Stoßtruppen, known in German as vorstoßen (roughly: to carry the attack forward, to penetrate the enemy lines).
  2. ISBN 978-0-307-42518-8
    .
  3. ^ Armies of the 19th Century: The Americas/The Paraguayan War, Terry Hooker (P. 82)
  4. ^ "World War I". HISTORY. 11 August 2023.
  5. ^ Griffith, Paddy; Battle Tactics of the Western Front; Yale University Press, New Haven, 1994
  6. ISBN 0-670-88695-5
    p. 239

Further reading
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