Storm Troops - Austro-Hungarian Assault Units and Commandos in the First World War

The assault troops ranked among the elite units of the Austro-Hungarian Army and permanently influenced the image of the soldier in the static and trench warfare of the First World War. Highly trained and capable of enormous physical effort, these "storm troops" were employed in small offensive and raiding groups. In trench warfare, they has the assignment to remove enemy obstacles and to eliminate sentries in had-to-hand combat with handgrenades or with daggers and clubs, thus enabling following attacking troops to reach their objectives. Equiped with steel helmets, shortened rifles and hand grenades, supported by machine guns, submachine guns and infantry guns, the assault trooper of the First World War ultimately epitomised the "modern" soldier of the twentieth century.

This impressive and lavishly illustrated volume comprises 320 pages and shows the operational tactics, battle doctrine, organisation, uniforms and equipment of the Austrian assault troops in the First World War in more than 850 contemporary black and white and current full-colour photographs. Clear views of submachine guns, machine guns, trench mortars, infantry guns, flamethrouwers and signals equipment provide an impressive overview of the arms and equipment of the elite of the k.u.k. army. These rare artefacts were mainly drawn from the inventory of the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Vienna.

The book devotes a long chapter to Austrian assault troop insignia. It shows not only their genesis, but also illustrates more tahn 100 assault troop badges as originals and on photographs of their wearers. This is the largest hitherto published number of such badges.

The book is written entirely in German. A truely GREAT book!