The Volkssturm

[Kurttis Thomas]

The Volkssturm or peoples national Militia was a German national Militia of the last monthes of WWII. It was founded on Hitlers orders on October 18, 1944 to conscript males between the ages of 16 and 60 years old who were not already serving in some millitary unit as part of the German home guard.

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.

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 WW1-veterans drafted into service themselves. Often Volkssturm members had to familiarize 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 the Germany's desperate state. Armament was equally diverse, while some Karabiner 98ks were on hand, members were also issued Gewehr 98s and Gewehr 71s 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 primitive cheap weapons to supply the Volkssturm, like MP 3008 machine pistols and the Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 submachine rifle. Being armed with leftovers compounded their ineffectiveness; the large number of different ammunition types also put a strain on an already burdened logistics system. also thanks McCoy for giving me that info on the Volkssturmgewehr 1-5.

When units had completed their training and received armament, members took a customary oath to Hitler and were then dispatched into combat.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.

Here are pictures of some of the common older German made wepons used by the Volkssturm.

Rifle_Mauser_M1871.jpg

here's some of the cheap wepons manufactured for the Volkssturm.





Then there's one I didn't metion The MG08



Than there was the Hitler Youth

[Kurttis Thomas]

I couldn't fit two pictures in the same page

the other older rifle notably used by the Volkssturm The Gewehr 98



and the Hitler youth picture of Youth POW's in Berlin



This is a really good picture please if any knows or may know where to find a larger one please let me know or post it your self it's really worth it If you do this just to give you the heads up I have already tried Wikipedia for this photo but it was too large and I have also tried Google Image and MSN Image. They were all too small or too large.

[Jim O]

Originally Posted by Kurttis Thomas

Hitler youth picture of Youth POW's in Berlin



This is a really good picture please if any knows or may know where to find a larger one please let me know or post it your self it's really worth it If you do this just to give you the heads up I have already tried Wikipedia for this photo but it was too large and I have also tried Google Image and MSN Image. They were all too small or too large.

Here ya go!

GermanPOW19452.jpg

[Kurttis Thomas]

Now I shall givee you the basic characteristics of These wepons.

The Gewehr 98 was a WWI vintage bolt action rifle. 5 million were produced. It has a 7.92mm cartridge and a muzzle velocity of 878 meters per seconed and has a feed of a five round clip.It's maximum range was 800 meters and had an efective range of 500 meters.

The Gewehr71 was a replacement for the needle gun. It had a weight of 4.5kg and fired a 11x60mm cartridge. it was asingle shot wepon up until 1884 when it was modified to have an eight round tubular magazine. It was a bolt action rifle and was replaced by the Gewehr88 rifle in 1888 which fired a 7.92mm bullet and had a weight of 3.8kg and had a feed of 5 rounds The Gewehr88 saw very limited service in the Volkssturm.

The Panzerfaust 60 was also widely used by the Volkssturm. It fired a 149mm projectile and had a range of 60 meters 6 million were produced.


The MG08 was a WWI vintage machine gun it had a weight of 62kg. It fired a 7.92mm bullet andwas used up until 1942 on the front linewhen it was totally replaced by the MG34. It had a maximum range of 4000 meters and an effective range of 2,200 meters. It fired from a 250 link fabric belt and had a rate of fire of 400 rounds per minute.

The MP3008 was a substandard German submachine gun produced for the Volkssturm. It fired a 9x19mm cartridge and had a muzzle velocity of 365m/s. It's action ws a blowback open bolt and it's weight was 3.2kg it was produced from January 1945 to The end and about 10,000 were produced. It's feed system was a 32 round detachable box. It had a rate of fire of about 450 rounds per minute.

The Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 was a semi automatic rifle produced from January 1945 till the end. It fired a 7.92mm cartridge and had a range of 300 yards. About 10,000 were built and it had a muzzle velocity of 365m/s. It'd feed was a 30 round detachable box it had a weight of 4.27kg. It's action was a Gas delayed blow back System. Thanks McCoy for the info on this wepon.

Heres a picture of a Gewehr 88

Commisiongewehr_1871.jpg


And thats my two cents cheers Kurt

[Jim O]

Good job Kurt. Thanks.

[Kurttis Thomas]

I'm Going to try and find insignia.

[Jim O]

Some Volkssturm photos:

ib_vs_img2.jpg


ib_vs_img1.jpg


volkssturm2.jpg


volkssturm_3496.JPG

[Kurttis Thomas]

Volkssturm recruiting poster with arm band Insignia


Volkssturmmembers in basic training


Volkssturm ranks


Here's the seconed part to your Hitler Youth picture with Hitler


A member of the Volkssturm firing a remote controlled Panzerfaust weird




Hey Jim the Photo you posted with all the Volkssturm members walking with each other holding there wepons take a look at the guy in the back suporting a large gun with his sholder does that look like a BAR to you or not.

[Jim O]

volksturm21xi.jpg

vsfrauen70he.jpg

volks61nu.jpg

volks1x3vz.jpg

[Kurttis Thomas]

Those are great Jim their very clear and interresting very cool