Can anybody tell me what type of tactics the germans used during battle in ww2 and how they were different from the us. Also what type of tactics did the ss use in battle infentry and armor

BLITZKRIEG BLITZKRIEG BLITZKRIEG!!!

quote:

Blitzkrieg

Yes they used blitzkrieg at the start of the war(1939-1942 i think)

R u referin to squad tactix like the 4 f's?

wasent blitzkreig division level and up not squad or company level

Tiger, can you read in German?
If so, I can link to some sites with German strategies and tactics, but I have nothing on squad level .

Last year I looked for ages on all kinds of info on German tactics, strategies, hand signals, uniforms, ranks. Tactics on squad level and Hand signals are very, very hard to find, even in German .

i cannot read german sorry

Anyway, I have something here for people wo are able to understand German:

Taktische Grundbegriffe

Thread about tactics (not German)

i guess the germans tactics were a bit like the americans:
each squad carried a light machine gun(usually mg42) to defend their position and maybe even suppress the enemy. THe machine gun team consisted of three men; 2 guys with rifles to defend the mg position plus the machine gunner.
While the mg supresses the enemy position, a five man rifle squad led by a squad leader usually armed with an mp40 tries to maneuver against the ennemy for the kill.
If the enemy squad succesfully kills the five riflemen and their squad leader and find a way around the mg, then the three other men abandon the mg and take their rifle and try to deal with whats left of the enemy unit.

I never heard any of this anywhere, just guessing. and thats what the germans seems to do in the game. tell me what you think about it and if u agree with me.


P.S: these are tactics for regular infantry, i dont know nothin about panzergrenadier tactics.

Most of it is right, but you forget that the German tactics were more offensive. In German tactics the Machine gunner had a bigger role than just supressing. If it was possible, the MG42 would come closer to the enemy untill they're able to hit them with the machine hun itself. If it isn't possible, or the 5-men squad can do it faster than the machine gunner, the machine gunner would stay in a supressive role.

well, there u have it tigertank1983, with what raccoon and i said, u now have a small idea of german ww2 tactics.

actually, U.S. have a 12 men squad w/1 GPMG, while germans use a 9 men squad with 2 GPMG...

i have a book on ww2 infantry tatics on squad and platoon level...i'll double check it again...

I read only Fallschirmjäger had 2 Machineguns, but their squads were bigger: 12 men. In BIA it's the same (except for the MG's). Grenadier and Wehrmacht: 9 ; Fallschirmjäger 12

german squads: Pioneer (combat engineer), sturmgernadier (assault infantry), grenadier (heavy infantry), Aufklarung (recon scouts), Einsatzgruppen ( hit squads/ death squads),Fallschirmjager (paratroop infantry),Jagd-Commando (Commando's), Jager (light infantry) ,Sturmabteilung Heavy assault troops- Hitlers body guards). There are many more groups within the Wermecht and SS. What tactics do each of units use? well it was a tactic which used Tanks, infantry, air and artillery support. The Wermecht used a text book 'Pincher' strategy/tactic that surrounded the enemy then cutoff the enemies supply lines inorder force surrender or starvation.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bangerlot,

Hey guys, I've read through this forum before but I don't don't. Howewver I feel I have something to contribute.

The squad level tactics that the Wermacht and SS used during WW2 were a work in progress so to speak. Germany was very adaptive so the tactics evolved progressively. However the basis of German squad tactics was the Machine Gun. At the beginning of the war the MG34 was the main gun of the reich and was the most important weapon. Tactical theory saw the Machine gun as central because it could bring to bear the most firepower the quickest. Within the german squad there weren't such obvious distinctions made between fire team or assault team. Really it was the Machine gun and the rest of the squad. The machine gun often was placed at the front of the squad as it advanced as it was the primary weapon and so should be the first into action. It could be theorized that the germans didn't adapt a semi-automatic rifle like the Americans did as their primary rifle because they didn't see it as significant. Another thing is that the german squad wasn't usually expected to fight alone. Germany was the first nation to truly adapt the concept of combined arms into it's military policy. The Blitzkrieg is manifestation of this idea. So individual german squads were rarely expected to fight alone and companies and regiments and divisions were expected to fight together and support one another.

However another interesting thing is that germany not only is responsible for the creation of the Assault Rifle (the STG-44) but they also invented the dual fire team squad arrangement which is the standard for all modern western armies. The marines I know use 3 fire teams of 4. Each squad has a Squad Assault Weapon (SAW). The germans added to their squads a second MG and so it doubled the effective firepower of the squad and also made an even distribution of riflemen and the elimination of the assault team a reality. Another thing is that germany also theorized entire squads and platoons made up of STG-44s instead of Rifles. This is also a forerunner of modern standards.

Overall german tactics were highly aggressive. The MG was seen as the ultimate weapon in infantry combat because it was small and moveable while being many times more powerful than all the other rifles in the squad combined. The MG 42 obviously is the result of both wartime realities and the tactical doctrin of germany. The MG 34 was a very good gun, however it was difficult and expensive to manufacture, not good in wartime. The MG42 however was made of pressed steel parts and was cheap to produce. Also it's blistering 1200-1300 rounds per minute was far in excess of any other Machine gun in WW2.

German doctrine called for an immediate counter attack when ground was lost. The idea was that an enemy which has just taken ground is disorganized and hasn't had time to consolodate their positions (notice the high number of counter attacks in BiA).

The Americans and Brits and Canadians all used slightly different tactics. Fire and Maneuver are, however the basis for for all. An interesting exception was the Red Army. Their training and manuals made little reference to suppressing fire or bounded overwatch or even flanking. But then again the Red Army didn't win beacuse of shrewd tactics.

One thing to note is that the BAR was largely an ineffective weapon compared to the .30 cal or MG42 or Bren. It was expected to however fulfill the duties of those guns. So the increased firepower of a squad generated by semi-automatic rifle fire was important. So a slight tactical conceit can be made to say that for the german squad the most important gun was the mg42 or 34 but that for the American squad the most important weapon was the M1 Garand.

Great! I needed that, I definetly found some new facts there

thanks

You make many vaild points, TigerTank. Howver, I slghtly disagree around your theory which was german battle tactics were based around the mg34/ mg 42 machine guns. Maybe during the first world war, but not the WW2. german tactics were based around the Tank, TigerTank

He's asking about small scale infantry tactics, and I think Funkosaur's answer was great. Especially his point about the MG being central to the Germans and the M1 being central to the US.

actely the americans copyed the tactics of german squads and made them perfect

Funkosoar has it right.German infantry tactics were based around the machine gun.The riflemen were considered a supporting element to it..unlike in other armies where the MG was considered a supporting element of the rifleman.

As far as their tactics being based around the Tiger.They would have been in alot of trouble if they had done that.For many reasons.

Mechanical unreliability.
Numbers.There were never thousands of Tigers operating at once.
Allied and Soviet air superiority late war.
Many bridges could not support their weight.They were also overly reliant on road and rail networks.

Though to be fair the US never viewed tanks as tank killers.That was a job fot tank destroyers.Which was a mistake akin to the German reliance on super tanks.

Oh,and hello.