German Squad Tactics in World War 2

For late-war German infantry tactics involving the StG44 (MP 44 / MP 43) check out our book:
» The Assault Platoon of the Grenadier-Company November 1944 (StG 44) - sturmzug.com
If Panzers are more your thing, check out our translation of the a 1941 regulation:
» Army Regulation Medium Panzer Company 1941 - www.hdv470-7.com
Video on Panzergrenadier Tactics: uaclips.com/video/DVM6QQuYE3M/відео.html
Infographics poster for this video: www.redbubble.com/people/mhvis/works/31141375-german-infantry-squad-1941-die-gruppe?p=poster&finish=semi_gloss&size=medium

German squad tactics:
1. The machine gun
2. Everyone else

_Are you a German?_
Yes.
_Are you in a German infantry squad?_
Yes.
_Are you using an MG34/MG42?_
No.
_You are an ammo bearer for the Machine Gunner._
But wait, can't I be a regular rifleman or a sniper-
_You are an ammo bearer._
What about a mortar-
_You are an ammo bearer._
But I outra-
_You are an ammo bearer._
But I-
_You are an ammo bearer._

i have read hundreds of books on German WW2 battles and tactics, to try and figure out how they beat superior numbers and enemies over and over again. And not one of them explained the basic principles of a German infantry attack so clearly as this. Good job.

Ein großes Kompliment für die überaus akribische und seriöse Recherche und Darstellung! Sie füllen eine Lücke und das auf großartige Weise. Große Ahnung von der Materie ohne ins naive Schwärmen und gedankenloses Reproduzieren von Wehrmachtsmythen zu verfallen, das ist leider sehr selten (vor allem außerhalb der akademischen Welt. Hier auf UAclips ist es wirklich wertvoll ..Vielen Dank!

As a Cold War Marine, I freaking Loved this vid. All the tactics of a USMC fire team in the offensive are burned into my brain from almost 40 yrs ago, but I enjoy learning more about what the common grunt , regardless of the flag they fought for, was expected to do and how they were utilized.

It's interesting to me that my combat load is nearly the same as the whole of a WWII German squad. As grenadier, I carry 7 30 round mags, a bandolier of another 210 rounds on stripper clips, 12 40mm grenades (smoke and HE-DP), and whatever else my SL designates (7.62 for MG, 60mm for Mortars, TOW, etc.)

German accent for extra authenticity.

Great Video!
The majority of principles of Squad tactics haven't changed to this very day(equipment and armament of course has).
A modern squad(Gruppe) within the Bundeswehr is up to twelve soldiers strong(the actual number depends on the branch, there are differences between the Jäger, Fallschirmjäger, Gebirgsjäger and Panzergrenadiere).
There is of course still a squad leader(an NCO like a Feldwebel or Oberfeldwebel) and a second in command(a junior NCO like a Unteroffizier or a Stabsunteroffizier; or even an experienced enlisted soldier)
Additionaly to the MG-Team(which only consists of two men these days) the squad also uses a Panzerfaust-Team and a soldier carrying a DMR(usually a G3ZF or G28).
Contrary to the US-squad, the german squad acts as one group and only splits up when it has to.
For example during an attack we change the 12-man squad to three 4-man teams which are called Stoßtrupps(and yes, the whole thing is called Stoßtrupptaktik). However there are no designated assault or fireteams right from the start.
The steps within the offensive actions(Development, deployment, advancing, attack and penetration) are still the same as in WWII and are teached at the infantry school like back in the days.
Source: over 10 years of active service as a squad and platoon leader within the Bundeswehr

I just select them all and right click on the enemy base.

Thank you for this. Friend of mine recently talked me into being German in our WWII reenactments, and if I'm going to be the bad guys I may as well be using effective, realistic tactics.

When the STG44 was introduced, this vastly increased German Squad efficiency immensely! Although it was too late to bring any results.
The Assault rifle was able to make advancing much easier, especially when all riflemen equipped with the STG44 could maintain a level of suppressive fire.

I can’t believe it’s taken this long for this channel to finally find its way into my feed. A military-/war-history fanatic’s dream channel. 👏👏👍

This is very cool as a former infantryman, it is pretty awesome to see that the infantry squad tactics have been pulled together from all conflicts and even mimic that of other countries. Thanks for this

"in order to be a leader in the field, a superior must display an exemplary bearing before his men in the moment of danger and be willing to die for them." beautifull text!

Its amazing how much of this relates to modern combat tactics

funnily enough my grandfather always told me that he was "Schütze 1" and rockin the MG 42, but never that he was the first one.
When they were in N. Africa Nepalese Gorkha had approached them, and he told us that he wrecked barrel after barrel shooting em because the commander had told them "if you dont shoot at them, theyre gonna throw their tiny knives and hit your fn artery from 50 meters". so in the middle of the desert, unarmed people came assaulting them, and they had no choice but to load the fn MG42 and shoot.He was 20 years old at that time.

I'm Asian but I love zee Germans.. Travelled around Bavaria a few years ago and was so amazed at how clean and efficient it was, even cleaner than Japan (that's really clean) and even though I was getting a lot of looks it was never malicious, just curiosity, which was mutual.
Sorry, this has nothing to do with WWII tactics. Just heard the narrators voice and remembered beer halls and friends.

Great graphics and diagrams. I've often read that German small unit tactics were superior to those of the Allies due to their autonomy in reacting to the battlefield parameters. Many of those tactics evolved from WWI as explained in Indy Neidell's "The Great War" UAclips series. I'll check out your other videos.

now i just need an army

MHV: Weapons are scaled correctly. Ammo isn't
Me: Okay
MHV: *Weapons appear onscreen--they are half a head taller than the troops*
Me: WHAT

I would like to see not only other branches tactics (fallschirmjager, ect), but also these tactics being used in conjunction with armor, paratroopers, ect. This was a well done video, more done like this on a greater scale would be most satisfactory.

that german accent you have talkin in english makes the vid even better...danke

Rate of fire definitely changes the battlefield compared to modern times. Very interesting. This is good squad leader tactics for 'Post Scriptum' - a military sim game based on WWII. I had a go of the public test, which took place in recreated maps of Oosterbeek and Driel (1944). Only difference is when playing the Wehrmacht in game, the MG 34 and MG42 doesn't need assistant squad members. Still has the standard 1x squad leader (with a K98k or MP40) and 9x squad members all get the standard K98k, but each squad can replace standard units with some specialist kits such as a Medic or a LAT using the Panzerfäust 60.

Helped me beat a Men of War Assault Squad 2 mission on heroic difficulty.

I would like to see another video highlighting the major difference between German and Soviet & American squad tactics.

Amazing. Those tactics (line, column, attack pattern...) are still trained and used today in the German army. Even with one weapon remaining the same.

russian tatics:
Squad leader"come on men they have to reload some time!"
"charge!"

A good explanation with good visualizations. As an added bonus, I think that these tactics might have been the progenitor for the squad tactics used by Imperial Guard platoons in Warhammer 40k tabletop. The dividation of 10 infantrymen where one is the squad leader, two operate the heavy bolter, autocannon or lascannon, one is the second in command with a radio set and six riflemen to form the meat of the unit, acting in platoon form with direct or indirect fire support. Time to see if you've made any videos covering German armoured tactics. That's something I still wish to see.

Could you discuss differences on British platoon tactics in comparison to German ones? Or maybe how assault rifles changed platoon dynamics in German ww2 army. Also, good work, keep delivering good stuff.

For those of you who play Bolt action, Use these tactics. they work really well. Also if you don't have a german faction, look at this guy's other videos on ww2 tactics!

Great video again. The clarity and professionalism with all the sources makes it a real pleasure to watch.
Are you planning on doing a video like this on panzer tactics any time soon because that would be amazing?

When I was an artilleryman in the IDF, the only infantry tactics we were taught was to split into two fire teams and immediately advance on the enemy position with one fire team covering and another moving in 3-second bursts, then switching, until both teams are close enough to charge together and overwhelm the position.
Infantry guys do get trained on more varied tactical options, including a lot of urban combat. We have probably the world's biggest urban combat training arena out in the desert.

It might be interesting to do a video contrasting this with another nation or service, for example, comparing to USMC squad tactics, which revolved around the use of three equal "fire teams" compared to the German division into 2 units, one MG team and one rifle team.
Just an idea for a future video if you're so inclined.

Former 11b Infantry Army US and then 5 years Marines. These tactics are simplified compared to what the US currently does now. That said, I have to wonder if our current squad tactics were written originally by the Germans or taught to us by the Germans in the field of combat. Subbed. Thank you.

EXACTLY the type of explanation I'd been looking for! Until now, I never got how a well-fortified defensive position could be taken without attackers suffering unavoidably high casualties (excepting assaults that permitted easy flanking or encirclement). Although aware of all the individual features of such an attack, particularly helpful for me was sequencing these actions with situational variations. Thanks so much.

I was in the german Gebirgsjäger and we still use very similar tactics plus how the squad is organized and how we move. We usually have two MG3 but thats it and one or two panzer faust

will be interesting to see how this evolves, especially when taking into account Fallschirmjager, grenadier, sturmpioniere/infanterie and a greater preponderence of automatic and semiautomatic weapons.

First time I've seen you pop up and I'm glad I did. It was interesting to see not just the differences but also the similarities these older tactics have to today's. I could see how the use of the rifleman as a "shock" element could become a fatal flaw as fully and semi automatic weapons become more common amongst an enemy. Very interesting. sub'd.

Not terribly different from squad tactics of today. US. Army acts in two different teams. Assault and fire team. Our formation, by doctrine, has us in a staggered column. A straight column is only used on road marches. Light and heavy mgs are designated for the fire team to maintain fire superiority while the assault team takes position. Fire is shifted and the assault comes in from the flank. Battle drill 1 alpha. Every soldier knows it by heart.

Is there any chance that you could do this kind of video for other factions, like the Americans, French, Chinese, and Japanese, etc?
This is one of the best videos you have done to date, and I would love to see the infantry tactics, structure, and doctrine of other nations.
If you could do this for other eras of warfare, such as looking at the Roman Legions or the the Union / Confederate Armies' "squad" structures, that would also be amazing.

Tactics have not changed a lot. That was by in large the same way I got trained with a few minor details. We have 2 lmgs per section, the lmg does not really need an assistant, so it just gets an ammo carrier to go with. Still usually a 10 man section, though if in an armoured personnel carrier three are crew for that (I believe the call to reduce to 7 men on the ground was based on space in vehicles that we bought, as we were recently looking at getting a bigger vehicle that would allow us 10 on the ground again). That and we also have grenade launchers in the sections now, but that is just a tech improvement. Oh, and we roll with 3 sections in a platoon, not 4.

Thanks. I was hoping to learn about defense doctrine too. Seeming the Germans were in retreat for nearly 40 months of the 47 month war in the east and they were often out numbered but managed to employ elastic defense. Perhaps there were no manuals for retreat?

Would be nice to see what the withdrawal/evade phase looked like according to book. I know from personal experience that walking into ambush should be avoided at all costs; however, once it happens its the squad/platoon leader that must get his men out of there and with minimal injuries or the fewest casualties.

One of the best youtube videos I've seen. This video, from the visual standpoint and from the contents, could be used for educational purposes even today, because the basics of squad tactics haven't changed so much since ww2.

Really appreciated that! So different from fireteams within a squad, how I was trained, years ago. Lots of firepower with GPMG's at squad level!

Armies with a winning tradition (regardless of the outcome of individual battles or even wars) generally employ similar sound tactics. The difference between these armies and the less glorious ones is most likely that the former not only have the implacable will to win, but also the unshakable BELIEF that victory is not only possible, it's certain.

The bayonet was mentioned a few times. I took two semesters in Japanese history and my prof told, that at times of WWII the Royal Japanese Army was the only army that was still trained at the bayonet. To what extent was it used in the German Reich?

Can you do one of these on The Red Army? I know there is a lot of misconceptions about their tactics and equipment but I would love to hear it in your wonderful video formats.

This is amazing. Can you do similar for Panzers?

Could you do a video on the effectivness of german and allied infantry tactics? It seems german infantry often was superior to allied infantry if it came to squad/company vs squad/company situations, which the allied infatry countered by excessive use of artillery and air support. Though in direct 1vs1 the US forces for example had the advantage of their self loading rifles.

Outstanding! I love to hear other countries table of organization and equipment, plus tactics. There was a big book I referenced a lot as a sniper instructor(SOTIC) called "THE GERMAN SNIPER 1914-1945. If I remember correctly the sniper(Scharfschütze) was a company or battalion asset. During the interbellum most nations dropped their specialized sniper units, notably the Germans. The only nation that had specially trained sniper units during the 1930s was the Soviet Union.

As a prior 0331 of the USMC it’s astounding to see the modern tactics used by Germany at such an early age in the art of war pretty crazy outside looking in

I was (and still am, I guess) a machinegunner during my service. A lot of methods and formations described in the video are still used, because they are effective. Also, gotta love when your squad bitches about having to carry a belt of ammo, while you're trudging along with that cow around your neck. Also, unrelated, but I read memoirs of a machinegunner in Vietnam, he wrote that they were being told, that average lifespan of a machinegunner after opening fire is 10 seconds. Guns up!

This is such excellent, clear content. Thanks so much for making it. I also like the way there is no bullshit - you just explain and illustrate what you said you would.

Great presentation, thanks for putting forth the time and effort.

The Squadleader was always a Officer (maybe not in the End of the War) and was Standart equipped with a Sidearm, at the beginning it was a Luger. It was also allowed that he buys a other Sidearm and used this. So the Squadleader got a Sidearm and a MP !
In defense positions the MG used Ammoboxes with 250 Rounds each. If they attack Positions, or marching to make Ground or did some Spy on Enemy positions they used the Ammo drums with 50 rounds.

I grew up with COD... I thought every soldier had a sidearm but this video smashes that conception! Thank you!

The US Army adopted German Squad tactics almost entirely after Korea. Built around the M60 7.62 machine gun, MTOE for a rifle platoon was typically 2X M60 machine guns. Everyone carried extra 7.62, grenades and a claymore mine.

Great primer. Wish they had been as clear as that in the army. However, walking around in the countryside near Sarajevo, Bosnia, I came upon different sets of bullet holes in buildings concentrated around a curve in a road and I could plainly see that what had happened there was a classic "L shaped" ambush. So I guess some of that training stuck after all. Appreciate the Feldgrau background, by the way...

British squad tactics were similar. The large ammunition pouches on the British soldiers webbing were designed to hold three (I think) Bren gun magazines each side. The riflemen carried their ammunition in canvas bandoliers.

Assistant: awhh I wanted to use the machine gun :(
MG gunner: Yeah sure you can
Assistant: Really? :D
MG gunner: when Im dead...

Thanks for the video that was actually educational, love the different idea's between nations and thoughts on how each squad is to perform certain task.

Great video, seems pretty tight too. ‘My only issue with it is having the squad leader with the sub machine. Today squad and team leaders (US A)are stressed to be a lot more hands off so they could direct action and control movement, having an automatic weapon would put him more in the fight rather than control the assault. But that’s putting modern lens on old tactics. Either way awesome video

Very interesting video. I like learning about military tactics like this, though I always find it chilling to think about.

That Era soldier was a beast! Leadership, discipline, superior tactics and weapons. (and, those uniforms!)

Thank you for this excellent tutorial. It is tge best explanation of German infantry tactics I have ever seen. I am developing a 6mm miniatures game system and your explanation was a large help.

Girlfriends father: what are your plans with my Daughter
Me: 6:27

Ojala todos tus vídeos estuvieran traducidos al español, son muy interesantes.

This is really cool. I'd love to see more videos like this covering other countries, like the US, UK and Russia!

Very good work here with the EARLY WAR squad tactics
Please do late 1943 introduction and change to the 1944nA structure and then the late 1944 Volksgrenadier organizations! Lots of interest in D-Day and beyond.
Smaller squads for the 1944nA KStN tables with 2x SMG (SL and ASL) LMG, 6 riflemen (deletion of the LMG assistant with pistol and ammo makes for a 9-man squad). Nafziger's GERMAN ORDER OF BATTLE shows many Company-sized units with the 8cm mortar, with the remaining 3 mortars and all the HMGs in the Heavy Company. YET, per the organization tables, all the mortars should be in the Heavy Company a section of two HMGs should be delegated to each company.
Also, could you comment from GERMAN sources other changes, real and on paper for the VG units? In the 1 SEP 44 KStN the VG soldiers are authorized MP, the 1 NOV 44 KStN clarifies/specifies STG44.

Very interesting video. Were these tactics basically the same as the one's the German stormtroopers developed in WWI?

Excellent content.
You are easily one of the best Ww2 UAclips channels. Pls don't stop :)

Excellent video, especially as it highlights how central the MG34/42 was to the German infantry doctrine, something which is (too) often downplayed in comparisons of standard infantry weaponry (i.e. focusing too much on the Kar98k), especially when a hefty dose self-congratulatory US praise of the M1 Garand is involved. You could say that the advantage of the semi automatic M1 helped to make up for the fact that the US fielded arguably the worst lmg of any major power in WWII. So, kudos for emphasising the combination of weaponry and tactics.

really great vid. good info as i love ww2 military history . Especially admiring the german gear and uniforms and the stuff they had back then. ive done ww2 reenacting for 10 years and reallt enjoy these. can't understand why this video has so many dislikes.

I was wondering if you have ever uncovered any documentation on German building clearing tactics of the Second World War. This is something that most contemporary armies have developed doctrine for but I am wondering if they have their origins in WW2 procedures, yet my friends and I have yet to find any information. Thanks!

Being a retired infantry marine this video is really interesting to me to see other country’s tactics

This is an awesome video, really informative and easy to follow, well done!

It's 2 am and I'm wondering why am I watching this instead of doing my homework.

I'm curious about how small unit tactics changed when they started creating 100% MP44 only squads and keeping the MG42s at platoon and company levels.

Immediately subscribed, I can't wait to watch more of your videos. This was a great overview of German infantry tactics of World War 2!!!!

I just love these videos, these are so useful as reference information and really interesting for my history buff nature. Just rediscovered your channel and I'm probably going to binge

Would you do a video on WW1 German squad/platoon infantry tactics? Regular infantry or stormtrooper? I know you’ve done a video on stormtrooper tactics before but if you are able to do a comprehensive video for those like you did this one of squad/platoon makeup I think it would be awesome.
Thank you for all the amazing videos!

Very similar to modern US infantry squad organization except for a few things: today, we subdivide into 3-man fire teams, which allows for more flexibility. Also the MMG is replaced with an LMG (which doesn't require an assistant gunner) and the squad leader gets a grenade launcher instead of an SMG. All the other basic principles are identical.

This video is GREAT!! I am asked constantly if I can make one of these, but it is an area of knowledge I am still working on. Well done.

#MILITARYHISTORYVISUALIZED
Danke! As always, Great job and excellent documemtary video\ description. 👍
Close to 8 years, I was an infantry medic for the US Army; German squad tactics closely resemble US infantry tactics used today.

Imagine a movie where a group 4 squads go on an extremely hard mission and over time only a couple are left and no one is really the main character until the end so you don't know who will die next. The movie uses the tactics this video mentioned.

Thanks ! Interesting, clear explanations and well illustrated.

What me is interesting, is how the german Sicherheits-Division (standard security/guard/garrison divisions) was organised all over Europe? I know, some had special task and some special or additional units were attached, like the Railway-Gun for example.
Also the organisation of those units would be nice to know. Were there more older personal inside and so on?
Great video tough ;)

I like your videos, the tactics playlist is very good. I'm now curious about other factions tactics, i can't charge nothing, but would be cool to have other factions videos alike this one, i would ask for the Russian first, of course, you don't have to.

Very informative. A must for any military buff or re enactors and RPG players

It's important to note that the MG2 (MG Schütze 2) has to carry one or two spare barrels for use in sustained fire, because the barrel, especially that of the MG42 was of course overheating rather quickly. This tactic is still deployed today with troops that use LMGs/GPMGs and the like.
The barrel itself is not that heavy but take into account that he also has to carry ammo crates, his personal gear, a side arm, a helmet and so on.

This was an amazing video, you should do Spaulding tactics for the other WW2 armies as well.

This was excellent. Even, understandable, concise, and informative. Your delivery was also excellent. Subscribed.

great video as always. I would like to watch one about the tactics for Fallschirmjager. They did have different weapons and tactics i suppose, right?

Sehr gutes Video! Könntest du bitte noch so ein Squad Video zu den Amis im Vietnamkrieg machen? Darüber würde ich mich sehr freuen. Insbesondere wie der Granatwerfer eingebunden wurde (Falls dieser überhaupt in einem normalen Squad vorkommt) und wie die Taktik um ihn aussah.

I knew a U.S Army combat infantry vet who was of the opinion that the semi-automatic M1 rifle gave the Americans a great advantage in combat against the Germans with bolt action rifles, and made up for the advantage the MG 42, being a real machine gun, had over the BAR, which was an automatic rifle pressed into the role of a light machine gun.

thank you for the lesson mate , really enjoyed and being able to visualise it also -
buddy you just got another sub :)
good work, keep it up !!

Good and informative video. Fascinating, most books on military history show the bigger picture and not the nitty gritty that makes war so compelling.

Studying combat strategies throughout history is fascinating. A lot of thought and attention goes into killing other humans.