Why didn't the Nazis Have "Special Forces"
gotcha1234
Active member
The SS and their ''prisoner soldiers army''(i can't find the word in english)
were serving them pretty well as special force.
were serving them pretty well as special force.
Balkan-MiG
Active member
I guess the Gestapo was more of a secret service [They had spies all over France, looking to find information on the resistance].
Herr_Alvaro
New Member
Well the term Special Forces was primary used by the allied at first and although Germany didn´t have this so called Special Forces per-se, they had the Paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) which can be consider as Special Forces.
This troops where better than the regular army, better trained and equiped, and they where used not just as the tip of the spear only but also to conduct behind enemy lines operations. This Troopers during operation Merkur (Creta) took the entire island but their loses where so great that Hitler decided not to use them anymore.
This men where feared and respected by all. Most of today Tactics are still based on theirs and specially those used by "Special Forces".
Best Regards
This troops where better than the regular army, better trained and equiped, and they where used not just as the tip of the spear only but also to conduct behind enemy lines operations. This Troopers during operation Merkur (Creta) took the entire island but their loses where so great that Hitler decided not to use them anymore.
This men where feared and respected by all. Most of today Tactics are still based on theirs and specially those used by "Special Forces".
Best Regards
Panzercracker
Active member
The Germans had specialized SS units which were copied down to a button down from British commandos, they had specialized fallshimjager companies for covert insertion and operations and even special Wehrmacht units, they just did not use the name "special forces".
Who do you think captured Eben Emael.
Who do you think captured Eben Emael.
BritinBritain
Per Ardua Ad Astra
Not quite.
Eben Emael was captured before the British Commando's were formed.
Eben Emael captured 11th May 1940
British Commando's formed June 1940
Lepage
New Member
Brandenburger
The Germans special forces or comando equivalent in WWII were "Brandenburger"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburgers
The Germans special forces or comando equivalent in WWII were "Brandenburger"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburgers
Cpl. Jones (SAW)
New Member
i thought the germans had some form of special forces the S.S. crack panzer divition:biggun:.
There seem to be some misunderstandings.
1.st Stormtroopers (german: Stosstruppen") havent been Special Forces in the way we know them Today (and belonged to the german imperial army anyway). These Stormtroopers have been formed to break the trench warfare stalemate (the allies attempted to do so by deploying Tanks). Stormtroopers have been regular army units, trained to work in small units to infiltrate the enemies trenchlines and take important points of defense (eg. command posts) out of action while avoiding to engage points of strong resistance (leaving that to the following u regular infantry. (these so called hutier tactics became art of the regular german tactics after WW I.
Units like Großdeutschland, leibstandarte eg. have ben "regular" SS Units. Elite surely, but not at all SF.
The "Werwolf" is a Myth and far from elite or Special Forces. The Werwolf was supposed to start a guerillia warfare after allied occupation but never did anything worth mentioning. Purely armed and trained the Werwolf movement crumbled imideately (there may have been a handfull of attemps, but nothing coordinated or of any importance).
What can be called Special Forces are: The Brandenburgers, Handpicked small paratrooper and SS Units like Skrzenis and may be some Navy units like the "Kampfschwimmer (formed after their italian predecessors) or the suicide units riding these ridicilous converted torpedos.
The Gestapo was a (secret) Police Unit and is far overrated.
1.st Stormtroopers (german: Stosstruppen") havent been Special Forces in the way we know them Today (and belonged to the german imperial army anyway). These Stormtroopers have been formed to break the trench warfare stalemate (the allies attempted to do so by deploying Tanks). Stormtroopers have been regular army units, trained to work in small units to infiltrate the enemies trenchlines and take important points of defense (eg. command posts) out of action while avoiding to engage points of strong resistance (leaving that to the following u regular infantry. (these so called hutier tactics became art of the regular german tactics after WW I.
Units like Großdeutschland, leibstandarte eg. have ben "regular" SS Units. Elite surely, but not at all SF.
The "Werwolf" is a Myth and far from elite or Special Forces. The Werwolf was supposed to start a guerillia warfare after allied occupation but never did anything worth mentioning. Purely armed and trained the Werwolf movement crumbled imideately (there may have been a handfull of attemps, but nothing coordinated or of any importance).
What can be called Special Forces are: The Brandenburgers, Handpicked small paratrooper and SS Units like Skrzenis and may be some Navy units like the "Kampfschwimmer (formed after their italian predecessors) or the suicide units riding these ridicilous converted torpedos.
The Gestapo was a (secret) Police Unit and is far overrated.