Page 1 of 1

Online German Army Manuals - NEW LINK

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:05 pm
by Steve 82
[ NOTE : LINK UPDATED - OLD ONE BROKEN]

Hi,

Appologies for repeating this in this section (its under books and media also) but, the link opens several unit and individual level German training manuals - translated by the US Army and thought - given the lack of info in this section it would be useful.

US Army Intelligence prepared a large number of documents on the Germans during WW2, both for general training of officers and preparation of NCO`s about to go into combat. These were based upon captured manuals and interrogation reports and covered most aspects of ground force operations – the ` German Squad in Combat` manual is especially good for small formation tactics.

Publications I have found so far :

WWII Special Series:

The German Armoured Army
German Military Training
The German Motorised Infantry Regiment
German Tactical Doctrine
The German Squad in Combat
German Anti-Aircraft Artillery
German Military Abbreviations
German Infantry Weapons
German Coastal Defences
German Doctrine on the Stabilised Front
German Winter Warfare
German Ski Training and Tactics
German Mountain Warfare
Company Officers Handbook of the German Army
Information Bulletin No 20, German Methods of Warfare in the Lybian Desert

WW2 Technical Manuals:

German Volkswagen (Kubelwagen)
Handbook on German Forces


These are available online (free) through theUS Army Combined Arms Centre Online library :

http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/wwIIspec/


Loads of American ones also (Jeep manual etc)

Enjoy, and, it would be great to have some reports back on their usefulness (the Kubel manual is one of the standard references for restorers these days).

Cheers,

Steve in Kidderminster

Re: Online German Army Manuals - NEW LINK

Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:04 am
by THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER.
To better understand the average infantryman, one must also be familiar with his training. In this section you will find articles concerning such topics as: squad formations, rifle drill, combat tactics, commands, whistle signals, and much more.
i hear these are early war tactics.

http://www.dererstezug.com/CommandsTactics.htm

Re: Online German Army Manuals - NEW LINK

Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 10:06 am
by rednas
Note that the infantery tactics in these books are pre-war, there were some major changes after 1940 when a whole new doctrine was made. Also the well known fail with the mix up of light/dark green waffenfarbe for Panzergrenadier/Gebirgsjäger was because of these books :)

Re: Online German Army Manuals - NEW LINK

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 12:23 pm
by Heini
Iˇve got one question regarding the "Richt euch" command. I´d like to know the war version (ie 1942 and later) because I heard there were some modifications.

If the Zugführer commands "Richt euch", all soldiers except Flügelmann turn their heads to right side. And then

1) after a few seconds, they turn the head back to stay in Grundstellung

or

2) they let their head turned to the right side


So practically when I´m commanding my Gruppe:

1. Abteilung Achtung!
2. In Linie zu einem Gliede Angetreten!
3. Richt Euch!
4. Stillgestanden

Do you command after Richt Euch command Augen Geradeaus command or just simply Stillgestanden?

Re: Online German Army Manuals - NEW LINK

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 6:45 pm
by rednas
I don't know about any modifications in the drill from '42, but the Reibert from '43 says that with 'Angetreten' the soldiers already do the 'richt euch' part shortly within the first seconds (without an order being given.

"Nach 'Angetreten' wird nach kurzem Ausrichten stillgestanden"

I don't know which manual has said it, but there was also the informal command 'antreten' in which people were lining up in 'Rührt euch' instead of already the grundstellung (I use that when we have to wait some time before doing the drill but already need to assemble everyone at a given point). In that case it would be necessary to give the command 'Richt euch' and after that 'Augen gerade - aus'.

Re: Online German Army Manuals - NEW LINK

Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 9:00 am
by Heini
Hi, thanks.

Does any guide says how to use commands (like first - Achtung, second- In linie etc.)? Because I still can´t believe that commands (used from 1939 till 1945) were using Augen geradeaus after Richt euch. I was looking for it a few years ago and I found informations, that the soldiers turn their heads right to "Richt" and than automatically tourn heads back to "geradeaus augen". I´m looking for proof to prove whether it´s the truth or untruth.

Re: Online German Army Manuals - NEW LINK

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 10:33 am
by Gott Mit Uns
After the war the command augen garade aus was still in place (in my experience - it still is now). I'm assuming it either didnt change during the war years, or they werent happy with giving that much "freedom" of decision to the troops. Alot can go wrong when you leave drill commands down to the individual to initiate. I can imagine a parade looking like a Mexican wave if everyone "automatically" did eyes front.

Re: Online German Army Manuals - NEW LINK

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:48 pm
by whatthecrunchyo
Dangit! Last week, I spent $12 buying a CD off of Amazon that had only a quarter of those!