The Volkssturm (German pronunciation: [ˈfɔlks.ʃtʊɐ̯m], lit. "storm of the people"; "People's Army" or "National Militia") was a German national militia of the last months of World War II. It was founded on Adolf Hitler's orders on October 18, 1944 and conscripted males between the ages of 16 to 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard.
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The new Volkssturm drew inspiration from the old Prussian Landsturm of 1813–15,[1] that fought in the liberation wars against Napoleon, mainly as guerrilla forces. Plans to form a Landsturm national militia in Eastern Germany as a last resort to boost fighting strength initially came from Oberkommando des Heeres chief General Heinz Guderian in 1944. Because the Wehrmacht was lacking manpower to stop the Soviet advance, men in jobs not deemed necessary or previously deemed unfit for military service were now called under arms. The Volkssturm had existed, on paper, since approximately 1925, however it was only after Hitler ordered Martin Bormann to recruit six million men for this militia that the group became a physical reality. The intended strength of six million was never attained.
Goebbels and other propagandists depicted the Volkssturm as an outburst of enthusiasm and will to resist.[1] It did create some morale, but this was undermined by their visible lack of uniforms and weaponry for the fight.[2] Nazi themes of death, transcendence, and commemoration were given full play to encourage the fight.[3]
In order for these militia units to be effective, Hitler and Bormann counted not only on strength in numbers, but also in fanaticism. During the early stages of Volkssturm planning, it became apparent that if militia units lacked morale they would lack combat effectiveness. To achieve the envisaged fanaticism, Volkssturm units were placed under direct command of the local Nazi party, meaning local Gau- and Kreisleiters. The new Volkssturm was also to become a nation-wide organization, with Heinrich Himmler, as Replacement Army Commander, responsible for armament and training. Though normally under party control, Volkssturm units were placed under Wehrmacht command when engaging in action.
With the Nazi Party in charge of organizing the Volkssturm, each Gauleiter, or Nazi Party District Leader, was charged with the leadership, enrollment, and organization of the Volkssturm in their district. The largest Volkssturm unit seems to have corresponded to the next smaller territorial subdivision of the Nazi Party organization—the Kreis.
The basic unit was a battalion of 642 men. Units were mostly composed of members of the Hitler Youth, invalids, the elderly, or men who had previously been considered unfit for military service.[4]
Municipal organization:
Each Gauleiter and Kreisleiter, had a Volkssturm Chief of Staff to assist in handling militia problems.
The Volkssturm "uniform" was only a black armband with words Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht with a series of silver collar pips pinned to the wearer's collar. These were characteristically derived from the rank insignia of the various paramilitary organizations of the Nazi Party, which had control over them, and not of the regular Wehrmacht. Although the German government tried to issue as many of its members as possible with military uniforms of all sort, ranging from field gray to camouflage, these could not be provided to all its members, thus many 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 were as follows:
| Volkssturm Rank | Translation | Comparative military rank |
| Bataillonsführer | Battalion leader | Major |
| Kompanieführer | Company leader | Captain |
| Zugführer | Platoon leader | Lieutenant |
| Gruppenführer | Squad leader | Corporal |
| Volkssturmmann | People's Storm Trooper | Private |
By January 1945, this lack of official uniform produced considerable worry among the population that the members could be shot if captured, since they were not wearing uniforms as mandated by the Geneva Convention.[3]
Typically, members of the Volkssturm received only very basic military training. It included a brief indoctrination and training on the use of basic weapons such as the Karabiner 98k rifle and Panzerfaust. Because of continuous fighting and weapon shortages, weapon training was often very minimal. There was also a lack of instructors, meaning that weapons training was sometimes done by World War I-veterans drafted into service themselves. Often Volkssturm members had to familiarize themselves with their weapons when in actual combat.
There was no standardization of any kind and units were issued only what equipment was available. This was true of every form of equipment—Volkssturm members were required to bring their own uniforms and culinary equipment etc. This resulted in the units looking very ragged and, instead of boosting civilian morale, it often reminded people of Germany's desperate state.[2] Armament was equally diverse, while some Karabiner 98ks were on hand, members were also issued older Gewehr 98s and 19th-century Gewehr 71s as well as Dreyse M1907 pistols in addition to a plethora of Soviet, Belgian, French, Italian and other weapons that had been captured by German forces during the war. The Germans had also developed cheap but effective Volkssturm-weapons, like MP 3008 machine pistols, Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 rifles and VMG-27 light machine guns. These were completely stamped and machine-pressed constructions (it has to be remembered that in the 1940s industrial processes were much cruder than today, so a firearm needed great amounts of semi-artisanal work to be fine-tuned and be actually reliable). Being armed with leftovers compounded their ineffectiveness; the large number of different ammunition types also put a strain on an already burdened logistics system; the Gewehr 71s used a different type of ammunition than the two 98's rifles. In the last few months of the war, the shortages of modern firearms led to the use of weapons such as shotguns and even muskets and crossbows taken from museums.
When units had completed their training and received armament, members took a customary oath to Hitler and were then dispatched into combat. Unlike most English-speaking countries, Germany had universal military service for all young men for several generations, so many of the older members would have had at least basic military training when they served in the German Army and, as noted before, 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. Their most extensive use was during the Battle of Berlin, during which Volkssturm units fought in many parts of the city. This battle was particularly devastating to its formations, however, since many members fought to the death out of fear of being captured by the Soviets. Another important Volkssturm battle was the Battle of Königsberg.
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