Kradschutzen

[cyberia]

Before the proliferation of armored cars and APCs, the kradschutzen or motorcycle was the reconnaissance and Schnelle Truppen vehicle of the Wehrmacht.

Produced and deployed in large numbers, these fast little machines are an all but forgotten element of Germany's Schnelle Krieg tactics.

A kradschutzen kompanie roadside during prewar maneuvers

Kradschutzen on parade in Vienna in 1938

Kradschutzen leading a column through a destroyed Polish town in 1939

A kradschutzen rifle unit on the move in Poland during the opening days of the invasion

[Commander Waffle]

They look really similar to bokes the Russians used after the war. Were they copies?

[Tom Houlihan]

My understanding is that the Russians took, literally, the entire factory. Plans, drawings, machines, everything except the building's shell. That's why you can get a newly made Chinese bike that is nearly identical to a WWII German bike! The biggest visual difference is the paint color (colour).

[cyberia]

Tom's right on the money. The Soviet version were carbon copies made with same machines and plans used during the war.

[Jim O]

The Russians did that with quite a number of German factories as "reparations".

[cyberia]

Typical kradschutzen deployment:

At speed and three men per bike, a kradschutzen rifle unit moves across the countryside

On the fly, riflemen dismount and take cover

With bikes now placed in the rear by the drivers, the unit then moves as whole into action

[Jim O]

Do you know where those photos were taken?

[cyberia]

Originally Posted by Jim O

Do you know where those photos were taken?

Yes, I really should have included that. France, 1940.

[cyberia]

A krad unit crossing a small Stream in Poland, 1939



Rugged but not tops in all terrain, a krad crew has to push their ride out of a gully



A column of Kradschutzen break along a roadside in France, 1940



A pause in the action for krad crews in Russia, 1942

[Pirate-Drakk]

In Kurt "Panzer" Meyer's book "Grenadiers" (a must read) he started out the war in command of a recon batallion equiped with motorcycles and armored cars. At this time he was called "Schnell Meyer" (Panzer Meyer came later when he got in the tank biz) or "Fast Meyer". He repeats in the book how their training doctrine was "the motor is a weapon". Meyer understood the concept perfectly and you will see it's application in action if you read the book. The kradschutezen truppen were pushed to the limit to take ground as fast as possible.