Deutsches Historisches Museum

Painting of Early WW1 battle.

(Deutsches Historisches Museum).

Dear readers, during the last week yours truly have been kidnapped from the hobby table, and taken abroad on business. The upside was, that the impending meeting would be with an Ad Agency - in Berlin! 

Ran into this guy in the middle of the street.

Friedrich is yet again popular - due to his multi-cultural support during his reign,
his enlightenment adherence and supposed homosexuality.

My travel plans offered me a generous 4 hrs extra time in the city, which I enthusiastically spend on visiting two landmarks of particular interest to the history hobbyist. The fantastic Berliner Zinnfiguren Shop next to Savigny Platz, and the monumentally impressive German National History Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum).

The Berliner Stadtschloss anno 2015.

€105.000.000 is being poured into the re-construction.

After a double quick check-in at the hotel, I made my way down to Alexanderplatz for a mandatory Kurrywurst. A short post-lunch walk took me over to the "Museumsinsel" and past the massive construction ground for the re-building of the Berliner Stadtschloss - the palace that housed many kings of Prussia and a few Kaisers of the German Reich. 

The Stadtschloss late 19th Cent.

It was destroyed after WW2 by German Communists, and in its places they build the Volkskammer (DDR Parlament) during the German division into east and west. After the reunification the decision was made to rebuild the old Scholß for its historic and symbolic value - a project of some €105.000.000!

At the entrance of the museum Bismarck carefully examines all the visitors.

Having gazed at the massive Stadtschloss, it was finally time to enter the holy Grail - the German National History Museum. Here follows a series of pictures from my visit:

Medieval German/Teutonic pavisade.

Late medieval maximillian armour.

Samples from the Thirty Years War armoury.

Die Lange - The tall guards of Friedrich's father.

His passion for tall men took him across Europe with bounty hunters searching 

for the next colossus to get enrolled.

Frederick the Great's uniform.

Having read about this king since I was a young teenager, 

it was pretty special to actually see this thing live.

The actual hat Napoleon wore at Waterloo, 

captured as a trophy by the Prussians.

The Prussians storm the Danish position at Als.

The War of 1864.

Captured Danish flags.

The war of 1864.

The extremely effective Needle-gun used against 

the Austrians and the French in 1866 and 1870-71.

The actual uniform of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Note the shorter left sleeve. Wilhelm had an underdeveloped left arm.

WW1 British and French uniforms.

Beautiful and large (1.5 meter) model of the sms Markgraf,

 which fought at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

The nazification period in the 30ies.

Different kinds of Nazi party uniforms.

Nazi Propaganda Poster focusing on the young audience.

"The youth serves the Führer. All 10 year old in the Hitler Jugend".

"Volkshalle."

An original model by Albert Speer.

German infantry uniform of 1944.

"The Liberation Game"

Who can reach Berlin first?

Portraits of  people who were exterminated at Dachau.

Original Newspaper from 1945 announcing Hitler's death.

Germany 1945 - a land in absolute ruins.

Germany divided - a DDR boarder post.

Actual pieces of the Berlin Wall.

For someone who grew up in the 80ies, 

this part of the museum left the greatest impression on me. 

The Deutsches Historisches Museum kept me entranced for several hours.

As I left the building and strolled down Unter den Linden towards The Brandenburger Tor, I was still digesting the impressions I had gathered. What a magnificent, turbulent, terrible but grand history this country has. 

Thank you very much for reading.

German WW1 infantry and their Advance Guard tactical doctrines

Two new sections join the my Early WW1 German collection.

Minis from the new Mutton Chop Early WW1 German infantry blisters.

This week I’ve been adding two new infantry Sections (Korporalschafts) to my Early War German army, using new additions to the Mutton Chop WW1 German range, released at Salute. I couldn’t attend this year, so a big THANK YOU to Jesper for carrying home these minis from the Excel event, where Michael and he hosted a Medieval-themed participation game.

Attacking with colors flying was not uncommon in 1914.

Source: Preussischer Kulturbesitz.

Besides loving to paint greatly sculpted and cast miniatures (like these - Paul Hicks rarely lets one down!), one of my other big passions is German history from 1864 – 1945 and how it impacts European and World history. 

The section with Ensign.

The flag is from GMB's Franco Prussian range.

European history is a complex and bloody affair, and while much can, and have been said, about the atrocities of WW2, I feel it is equally important to highlight and separate the positive dynamics of German Unification in 1871, from what was a tragedy in the 30ies and 40ies.

Searching a German antique bookshop site,

I found the actual Exerzier-Reglement in its 1906 edition.

With that said, I look back at one of the things most fascinating to me from the period. The quality and independent ability of the German officers, and how they were supported by a doctrine granting them higher independence and on the ground flexibility – naturally with an imbedded German DNA to attack. Something that I my opinion sets apart the German army from all its adversaries in the wars of this era.

The section with bugler and officer.

The German Advance Guard doctrine fully accepted and integrated two mayor focal points: That wars were wages on the move, and the fact that Post-Napoleonic battles, with their enormous masses of troops, could not be directed centrally. The realization of these two important factors is best shown in the German Officer’s tactical doctrine Handbook – the Exerzier-Reglement.

Naturally the Exerzier-Reglement kicks off with a little greeting 

from Kaiser Willy. 

In the Exerzier-Reglement, officers are urged to take initiative and exercise independent judgment of the situation, often most crucial to a battle, namely the initial engagement between the Advance Guard of two forces. The priorities for the officer were to attack, defend or withdraw, and how best to deploy his troops to meet the required action.

Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Based on the limited information at hand, the Advance Guard commander would be expected to either a) brush aside smaller enemy contingents and allow the advance to continue, or b) when encountering larger enemy contingents, to act as a screen while the main German force formed up behind him, and finally c) while pursuing any of the objectives a or b, to collect as much information on enemy position and strength while securing key strategic points in the surrounding terrain, ensuring that the German army would have the best outset and initiative in the case of a ensuing engagement.

The composition of the German Advance Guard Regiment.

1: Cavalry reconnaissance screen.

2: A point company as spearhead

3: Advance battalion

4: 1st Battalion of the Regiment

5: Artillery Section

6: Rest of the Regiment

Here we must keep in mind that reconnaissance information, even in 1914, often travelled by horseback to the central high command, which had little chance of an overview, and even less time to act on the received intelligence. 

Early WW1 Germans on the march.

In many battles, like Königgrätz (1866), Mars-la-Tour (1870) and the early campaigns of 194, this gave the German doctrine some decisive advantages over their adversaries, who’s doctrines favored the Napoleonic approach.

Thank you very much for stopping by for a read. 

Any comments are welcome!

1914 German Maxim Machine Gun

Early War MG08 position.

Miniatures from "Great War Miniatures" by NorthStar.

It’s hard to imagine what it would have been like to go “Over The Top”. The senseless fight of flesh against bullets and shrapnel, is perhaps most inherent in the mechanical, almost sewing machine-like, sound of the Maxim machine gun grinding its way through the attacking infantry. In the early and more mobile battles of the Great War, machine guns were used with horrific effect, and an integrated part of offensive as well as defensive tactics. It’s therefore a natural addition to my Early War German collection.

The spotter directing fire.

Originally invented in 1883 by the American Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, the Maxim was the first recoil-operated machine gun to go into production at a Vickers subsidized factory in London. The machine gun became highly popular, and was used in the colonial wars of the late 19th century, the Russo-Japanese War and of course it became one of the most feared weapons of the Great War.

By the outbreak of the Great War many of the large European powers had adopted the Maxim, or further developed copies of the 1884 original. The German Maschinengewehr08, named “08” for 1908 – it’s year of adoption, was such an enhanced version. 

Each MG08 team will be based as ZUG-support on ø60mm bases.

The 57kg water-cooled MG08 could fire 500 shots per minute, via 2 x 250-rounds fabric belts fed into the side of the gun by one of the 5-man crew. Another of the crew members would be equipped with binoculars, effectively directing the fire on the enemy. Compare this for a second with the air-cooled French Hotchkiss machine gun, firing strips of 25-rounds, and thus in need of more frequent change.

The German Maschinengewehr08, named after it's adoption in 1908.

A weakness for the MG08 was the water-cooling system, as it produced a small cloud of steam, sometimes giving away the position of the gun. It was also prone to jamming, or for the barrel to overheat in spite of the water-cooling system. In fact, each MG unit would have 6 spare barrels for this purpose.

The MG08 would shoot 500 shots per minute, via 2 x 250-round belts.

A considerable advantage against the 25-round strips fed into the Hotchkiss.

By 1914 the German army fully understood the value and destructive power of the MG08, and tactical doctrine reflected this in detail. In the 1909 Exerzier-Reglement a comprehensive doctrine update was made, to include the MG08 in offensive action by the infantry. A five-man team would be equipped with a four-legged mount, enabling the team to carry forward the gun, as support to the advancing infantry.

Note the number of ammunition boxes. 

Each MG08 unit would carry with it 5 of these boxes.

Engaging enemy infantry effectively at 1.000 meters, the MG08 could lay down a tremendous field of rapid fire, fitting right in with the German philosophy of gaining fire supremacy in parts of the battlefield. It proved a very effective at supressing enemy defensive fire, and ideal for a mobile advance, where the MG08 would often try to take up positions that could pour enfilade fire at any enemy infantry counter charge.

A great little 5 min. documentary on the development of the Maxim,

and it's use in the Great War.

The Maxim gun would undergo further developments during the Great War. LMG versions were developed as well as anti-tank and anti-aircraft models. The Maxim machine gun became one of the icons in the Great War’s gallery of horrific weapons. Feared, respected and deadly beyond understanding, it was part of the arsenal of the new, modern war.

Thank you very much for reading!

German infantry tactics in 1914

1st ZUG (Platoon) finished.

Each ZUG comprising 4 Korporalschafts (Sections)

The Imperial German Infantry tactics used in the first months of the Great War, was based on two important tactical milestones. First the doctrine of fire superiority developed as part of 1888’s “Exerzier-Reglement”, which to a large degree changed German tactics from Shock to Fire, and secondly the 1906 “Exerzier-Reglement”, emphasizing the use of skirmish lines and the individual initiative of squads.

German ZUGs would deploy into open skirmish line,

when advancing under enemy fire.

The result of the innovation was a highly offensive infantry doctrine, prioritizing fast and flexible tic-tac tactics of advance-fire-advance, closing in with the enemy and pouring fire on them, while adopting open formations to suit terrain and the enemy’s defensive fire. The final argument would then be made at the point of the bayonet, as they would press home the charge.

My two latests Korporalschafts - completing my first ZUG.

In effect, most of the German charges during the first battles of WW1 had a similar pattern. Upon reaching the battlefield, the Companies will go from marching order and divide up, advancing in Zugs (Platoons. 3 Platoons per company).

ZUG in marching order. 

Two Zugs to the front, one following behind in support, about 30 paces back.

They would advance closing in on the enemy to a distance of 700 meters before commencing the firefight. If terrain allowed it, they would seek to go even closer. From this distance, the Zugs would open up into skirmisher order with 1-2 meter space between each man. The Zug would then advance in waves, using the terrain for cover best they could. 

The 4 Korporalschafts have split up into "Extended Skirmishers",

offering them flexibility in terrain and protection against enemy fire.

If the terrain was open, and thus offered the enemy a good field of fire, the formation would go from “skirmishers” to “extended skirmishers”, further increasing the distance between each soldier. Again the squads would be the basic tactical attacking unit, as Zug commanders and company commanders would find it increasingly difficult to control the large spread of men.

The "Ausmarsch uniform".

Early 1914 German uniform.

All in all, these dispositions were sound and when used by the superbly drilled German army, and in combination with supporting arms, they would prove effective in the Great War’s early months. The rapid improvement of artillery and automated fire, in combination with German fatigue and French/British Success at stopping the advance on Paris at the Marne, not only threw the Schlieffen Plan out the window, but with it all tactics and doctrines would follow, as the stalemate of trench warfare would force tacticians back to the drawing table to come up with new solutions. 

Organizational chart of a 1914 German Infantry Regiment.

When building my Early War German army, I’m going to go down to company-level rather than battalion. This will offer me a chance to portray the German infantry doctrines actively when playing. My idea is to build two companies, with 3 ZUGs in each – like their historical counterparts. I’ll let the ZUG be my basic unit, with each ZUG being divided into four bases, each representing a “Korporalschaft” (a Section) 

Another beautifully colored picture.

German uniforms 1914.

Here follows a few thoughts on how to play the units in reference to the German Infantry Doctrine used in the great open battles of 1914.

STEP 1: ZUGs advancing.

STEP 2: ZUGs taking light fire, can adopt Skirmish formation,

symbolized by spreading out the bases lightly.

STEP 3: ZUGs advancing under heavy enemy fire, and in need of extra protection can adopt the "Extended Skirmishers" formation, further widening the distance between the bases and breaking up the linear base alignment. This formation will make it harder for enemy automated and artillery fire to target the unit, but also make it increasingly hard for the Company commander to issue effective orders.

I will continue to experiment with rule adaptions, to suit the 1914 tactical situation,

and any suggestions on the matter is much welcome.

Thank you very much for reading!