Military forces worldwide take assault rifles for granted, as they are the pillar
of infantry forces. However, during World War 2, only bolt-action rifles,
light machine guns, and submachine guns existed. No intermediate cartridge or rifle could fill
the gap between the powerful rifle cartridge and the smaller pistol round used by submachine guns.
It was Hugo Schmeisser, the developer of the MP 18, who came up with a new type of weapon
that combined the high rate of fire of a light machine gun, the power of a bolt action rifle,
and the maneuverability of a submachine gun in one single package: the STG44.
Baptized by Hitler as the Sturmgewehr or Assault Rifle 44,
the STG44 quickly earned its place in military history as the rifle for
close-quarters combat and long-range engagements in a new age of warfare.
Artillery accounted for more than 60% of casualties during World War 1. Next
in the line was the machine gun. The machine gun had a lethal rate of fire of over 400 to
500 rounds per minute and could obliterate an entire regiment relatively quickly as it
approached a defensive line during a charge. Heavy machine guns fired the same cartridges
as infantry rifles but with a faster rate of fire than an entire platoon.
Bolt-action rifles were standard issue for soldiers during the conflict. Although
effective at long ranges, they were cumbersome for trench warfare and close-quarters engagements.
Although soldiers could shoot more than 10 rounds per minute to maintain an elevated volume of fire
against the enemy, the rounds rarely landed on the enemy, especially when charging across
No Man’s Land, while artillery shells and machine gun fire tore apart entire regiments.
Soldiers required a new type of weapon to suppress the enemy, one that was lighter,
shorter, and capable of automatic fire. While the United States had John Browning,
designer of the Colt M1911 .45-caliber pistol, the Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR,
as well as other firearms, the German Empire had Hugo Schmeisser, developer of the world’s
first successful submachine gun: the MP-18. Schmeisser concluded that 7.92-millimeter
rifles were inadequate for storming trenches and developed a compact automatic weapon that
employed 9-millimeter pistol caliber rounds that prioritized maneuverability and recoil at the cost
of accuracy and long-range effectiveness. The Maschinenpistol MP 18 weighed nine
pounds and featured a side-mounted snail-drum magazine. It became an instant favorite among
the sturmtruppen, or stormtroopers trained to seize enemy trenches with overwhelming firepower.
The success of the MP-18 paved the way for post-war designs that sought to develop
a rifle with an intermediate cartridge between pistol and machine gun rounds.
A New Type of Rifle The idea to develop an intermediate round
for use with the German military dates back to the last months of World War 1. Captain Piderit,
a member of the Gewehrprüfungskommission or the Small Arms Proofing Committee, pointed out that
an intermediate round would save powder and brass while allowing troops to carry more ammunition.
In addition, Piderit concluded that firefights occurred at distances lower than 600 meters,
making Gewehr’s cartridge a waste. Although the MP18 was perfect for close-quarters combat,
the captain aimed for a rifle with increased range and firepower for that gap between the
9-millimeter pistol round and the 7.92-millimeter round employed by the machine gun or rifle.
The idea was retaken in 1923 when the German Army sought to replace the Gewehr 98 bolt-action rifle.
To replace the Mauser, the new model had to have a range of at least 400 meters or 440 yards and
a 20 or 30-round magazine capacity with a rate of fire of over 450 rounds per minute.
In 1934, the Heereswaffenamt, or Army Ordnance Bureau, fully commenced the
development of a mid-range cartridge with the specifications mentioned above.
In 1938, the Wehrmacht issued a contract to C.G. Haenel Waffenfrabrik to develop a
machine carbine for the new 7.92x33-millimeter cartridge that would serve as a submachine
gun and a squad automatic rifle or SAW. Once again, Hugo Schmeisser, developer of
the MP18, came up with a ground-breaking design. He set the rifle’s barrel and stock in a straight
line to reduce recoil, used a gas action that drove the piston and actuated the bolt,
chose a V sight aft and hooded sight up front, and implemented a pistol grip for the trigger.
The result was a new type of rifle design that was all-metal except for the buttstock. Accelerated
trials followed in 1939 as the Reich prepared to invade Poland, and the latest version would soon
be put to the test. Volume of Fire
The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 accelerated the new rifle program. Despite
its innovative Blitzkrieg tactics, the German infantry was still equipped with bolt-action
rifles, machine guns, and sub-machine guns, or SMGs, similar to other European armies.
When faced with the Soviets, the Heer realized it lacked mass-production
weapons such as the SVT-40 semi-automatic rifle and the PPSh-41 submachine gun.
German troops were overwhelmed by the elevated volume of fire of Red Army squads
and issued requests for automatic weapons that could even the odds against the enemy.
The MP40 was an excellent SMG, but it was limited to squad leaders, and no design could match the
SVT-40. This need grew exponentially in 1942 when the US joined the war.
American soldiers were also armed with other automatic rifles, such as the BAR,
the M1 Garand, and the M1A1 carbine. While the Heer struggled to mass-produce the so-desired
intermediate cartridge rifle, the FG42 or Paratrooper Rifle 42 was introduced.
Although developed specifically for the elite Fallschirmjägers,
it paved the way for the Gewehr 43 or Karabiner 43, which allowed the army to have a competitor
against the SVT-40 on the Eastern Front. More importantly, the FG42 employed the
7.92×33-millimeter Kurz round and was fully automatic, allowing the new rifle
design by Hugo Schmeisser to be accepted by the army under the designation MKb 42.
More than 11,000 MKb 42s were tested in early 1943. The weapon was reliable and accurate at
ranges of up to 900 feet or 274 meters. Some units at the Eastern Front were even airdropped with the
prototypes developed by the companies Walther and Haenel and were satisfied with their performance.
Nevertheless, when the Fuhrer became aware of the MKb 42´s program, he ordered all work on
the weapon to be stopped because he believed a new rifle cartridge would strain the already saturated
munition industry and the Army’s logistics. Storm Rifle
To avoid the program’s cancellation, the Heereswaffenamt changed the MKb42 designation to
Machine Pistole 43 or MP43 to make Hitler believe it was an upgraded version of the MP40 SMG.
Still, the Fuhrer figured out the deception and ordered to see the rifle in action to see
if it was suitable for combat operations. The leader was so impressed by the weapon
that he suggested naming it the Sturmgewehr or Assault Rifle, coining the term for a new
class of weapon the world had never seen. Thus, the first assault rifle was born,
and its earliest batches were delivered in late 1943 to Waffen-SS and Heer units stationed at the
Eastern Front. Although these first rifles were prototypes, the STG44 officially began
mass production in the first months of 1944 with a standard 30-round magazine.
With its rate of fire of over 540 rounds per minute, muzzle velocity of 685 meters per second,
and range of 300 to 600 meters, the STG44 became an instant tactical asset for the German soldiers.
The 16-inch barrel allowed for close, medium, and long-range engagements, closing the gap between
submachine guns, rifles, and light machine guns. Soldiers could use full-auto sprays with minimal
recoil or semi-automatic fire for even more accurate shots when fighting Red Army troops
employing Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifles. The STG44 weighed 11 pounds with its curved
magazine and was only 37 inches long, including the barrel, making
it the ideal size for those intermediate ranges. New tactics were soon implemented for units armed
with STG44s. Soldiers would use their assault rifles in automatic fire alongside the squad’s
MG34 or MG42 to suppress the enemy, while others approached with grenades to finish them off.
When close-quarters combat was the only option, soldiers with STGs charged forward alongside their
squad leader armed with an MP40 or stolen Soviet PPShs. The assault rifle versatility was exploited
even more with a wide array of unique attachments. Attachments
Late in the war, the Heer introduced a unique accessory to bolster the STG's effectiveness
at close range. This was the Krummlauf, a curved barrel with a periscope that
allowed soldiers to fire around corners without exposing themselves to the enemy.
It came in two variants, one meant to be used by the infantry and another for
tankers. The curved barrel was delivered in versions with 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° bends.
Although effective, the Krummlauf had a very short lifespan. The 30° version
had a lifecycle of no more than 300 rounds. This number plummeted with each increment in
angle. For example, the 60-degree version had a lifecycle of a few over 200 rounds.
The angle produced great stress on the barrel and the round, sometimes
resulting in the bullets getting shattered and exiting in fragments with a shotgun effect.
Some STGs were also armed with telescopic sights used with the FG42 and Gewehr
43 to maximize the accuracy of soldiers engaging forces at ranges past 200 meters.
Another attachment was the Vampir or the Zielgerät 1229 infra-red aiming device. This unique device
consisted of a large scope and a large infra-red lamp on the top to pick up the infra-red that
human eyes could not see in the darkness. It had a range of over 200 meters and was
powered by a battery the soldier carried in a transformer backpack
that only provided 15 minutes of battery life. When using the Vampir, the soldier had to use
his rifle with a conical flash hider to prevent the muzzle flash from blinding him when firing.
Legacy More than 420,000 STG44 assault
rifles and 822 million rounds were produced by the war’s end. Although the rifle bolstered the
combat effectiveness of the German soldier, it was never produced in large enough numbers to make a
difference against the eventual Allied victory. Still, the first assault rifle ever developed
left a big impression on the victors of World War 2, leading to detailed evaluations
of the STG44 to create improved designs. Such was the case of the Soviet Avtomat
Kalashnikova, or AK-47, introduced in 1949 to the Red Army. Like the STG44, the AK also employed an
intermediate cartridge and featured a similar gas-operation principle and exterior design.
It is no coincidence that Hugo Schmeisser, the STGs designer, and several of his team members
were captured by the Red Army and forced to work with Kalashnikov after the war.
During an interview from 2009 that commemorated Kalashnikov’s 90th birthday, he admitted that
he might have been helped by Hugo Schmeisser and his team when he designed the iconic Soviet rifle.
Another recognizable assault rifle still used today, the M16, developed by Eugene Stoner,
was also inspired by the German STG when he came up with the quintessential American
assault rifle first introduced in the 1960s. Curiously enough, the AK-47 and the M16 served
alongside the STG44 during the Cold War. Thousands of captured STGs were
used by the East German Army until they were gradually replaced by AKs in the late 60s.
Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia also used STG44s until the 1980s. More importantly,
the Sturmgewehr found its way to Vietnam in 1945 when the French military sought
to regain control of its former colony. French troops and units of the Foreign
Legion were armed with STG44s to fight the guerrilla. As the war dragged on until the 1970s,
the Vietnamese communist forces were also supplied by the Soviet Union with German
assault rifles that remained in service until the American troops withdrew from East Asia.
It was not uncommon for American GIs to take STGs as war trophies after defeating the
enemy. Pictures and footage from Vietnam allowed the German assault rifle to earn
its status as a legendary weapon due to its reliability 20 years after its introduction.
Besides Indochina, the STG has also fought in war theaters of the XXI century, such as Iraq,
Afghanistan, Algeria, and Libya, where it has been used by rebel forces since the Cold War ended.
The Sturmgewehr’s legacy lives on to this day with the same name that created a new type of
rifle that has become the cornerstone of every single military force worldwide.