Germany in WWII fought to the last man. For that they established an army of civilians:
the Volkssturm. The men had to turn the tide of the war and save Germany
from annihilation. Would these men have ány chance? Let's take a look.
Welcome to this episode of FORMATIONS, the video series were we look at military
formations from the past. Brought to you by History Hustle. My name is Stefan, history
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It is the Summer of 1944. The allies had landed on Normandy beach and were on a steady advance
towards Germany. Meanwhile the Soviets were closing in from the other side. The German army
was short of manpower. For that they established a people's militia. It was the desperate attempt
of a totalitarian state at wartime to turn the inevitable course of events. The Volkssturm was
formally established on the 18th of October 1944. It consisted of men that where previously deemed
unfit for duty, because of age, occupation or physical status. Men conscripted were between
16 and 60, but since most able bodies men were already under arms most Volkssturm
men were around 16 of 60. They were put under direct party control instead of under control
of the Wehrmacht with Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler responsible for armament and training.
What is so fascinating about this army is that at the moment of their
mobilisation Germany was short in weapons and material. Therefore there were often no
uniforms available and people had to fight in civilian clothes. Only a simple armhand would
do. Some men did got uniforms with insignia like you can see here. There were ranks of:
Battalion leader Battalion Physician
Company leader Platoon leader
Medical Orderly Corporal
Squad leader People's Storm Trooper
Some troops got caps and helmets, either German or captured Russian, British or Czech helmets.
Weapons were of course in short supply. The traditional Mauser K98 was distrubuted as
well as older weapons from WW1 and even before. Also captured foreign weaponry was used. Some
weapons were disigned for the Volkssturm like the Volkssturmgewehr. There were different models of
these. One thing they all had in common was the simplified design because of – you guessed it
– the lack of material. One iconic weapon that was largely produced and distrubuted
was the Panzerfaust. This was a very cheaply and easy manufactured bazooka
that could eleminate an enemy tank. Historian Ian Kershaw wrote about the Volkssturm the following:
July 1944, when the Soviets were near East Prussia, a German people's militia fought in
the Baltic port city of Memel. There they took heavy losses but fought off the initial Soviet
attack. The fight later resumed and of course the Germans were unable to stop the Soviet storm.
Let's take a look what happened at the Western Front. The fighting spirit of the Volkssturm
greatly varried. Some fought till the bitter end. Others threw their weapons away as soon
as the enemy approached. Now do note here that in term of discipline the Volkssturm fell under
the same rules as the regular army. Desertion was punishable by death. Flying courts martial
comdemned deserting men to death by hanging. So is was sticking with your comrades with the
risk of being killed by the enemy or deserting with the risk of being killed by your own side.
Meanwhile in the East Volkssturm man fought ferociously at the Battle of
Königsberg and Breslau and several other cities. As the German army units retreated
concentration camps were mopped up. In some cases the Volkssturm assisted with the killing
of inmates like in Stutthof were Red Army POWs, Poles and Jews were massacred.
Around 40,000 Volkssturm man would take part in the end battle: the
Battle of Berlin. Historian Anthony Beevor wrote:
And so the battle begun. Volkssturm men fought along side with Hitler Youth and SS units behind
barricades from windows and on rooftops where they harassed Soviet troops with their panzerfausts. In
response the Soviets used anti-aircraft guns to clear the rooftops from enemy fire. Many
Volkssturm men perished in the war violence. Some of them delibrately fought themselves
to death. Others killed themselves. They expected family members to do the same:
Many actually surrendered waving a white handkerchief. When interrogated by the Soviets
it turned out that many Wehrmacht units had retreated to surrender to the Americans,
out of fear of reprisals for what they've done in Russia. Yet, some Volkssturm members knew that the
Soviets would perhaps treat them midly since they have never been in Russia and could not have taken
part in atrocities committed there. Reading in Ian Kershaw's book The End the Volkssturm
played its own role in preventing any internal collapse and extended a lost war with some months.
You know, some people like I find the Volkssturm fascinating but why? Is it
because they had such a big variation in uniforms and weaponry. Or is it something
in us that admires the fact that even if you're regime is at the brink of destruction you keep
fight on with everything you have left? And let's zoom in a bit. Let's say you were born at the end
of the 19th century and you fought as a young men in the First World War. Witnessing the horrors of
trench warfare and see many of your comrades fall. But you survive. And then another war
breaks out. At the end you find yourself in the middle of it and then you have to report
for duty. And there you stand, in your 50s with a rifle that brings back memories of
the previous war you fought in. That's what I would call bitter irony. And just plain sad.