Members of the III Sturmkreiger prepare to make an assault. Note the distinctive skeletons on their helmets which clearly shows them to be sturmkreigers.
The III Sturmkreiger was one of the most legendary units of the Nazi army in the second world war. It generally takes the credit for the breaking of the French defenses in Paris. By the end of WWII their unit had 1339 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. A 10,000% increase compared with the army average. the units motto was "Tod vor unehre" (Death before Dishonour) or "Gott steh mei bei" (god stand by me) which were also Hitler's last words. They also distinguished themselves in the siege of Cairo and Tripoli
Initial Structure[]
The III Sturmkreiger only consisted of 1500 soldiers in the initial outset of the war. By the time it arrived at Paris it was already down to 1000. It was only a Battalion.
1st Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout/Long Distance recon) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
2nd Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
3rd Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
4th Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
5th Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
Frankreich Korps[]
The most distinguished campaign in which the III Sturmkreiger fought. The Frankreich Korps (French Corps) was collective term for all the units who invaded france. It also gave way to the name of the campaign. In this campaign the III Sturmkreiger gained the most Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross compared to any other campaign, 548. The key areas of distinction was the Siege of Paris and the Assault on the Maginot Line.
The Sturmkreiger were the first unit to outflank the Maginot Line. The disorientated french guarding the line were outflanked so quickly that they were forced to surrender to a unit of artillery as the Sturmkreigers were already gone. While the Sturmkreigers continued around the back. A radio report came in to them that the 3rd Infanterie was pinned down under heavy machine gun post. The entire unit made the 2.5 mile march to save the 3rd in under 20 minutes. They were able to attack the French machine gun nests from the rear and force a surrender in under 10 minutes. For the III Sturmkreiger this was their first combat experience.
At the siege of Paris, it was the III Sturmkreiger who finally routed the French army. Assaults by the I and II Sturmkreiger had been vitiously repulsed. Similar assaults by the I and II Sturmpanzer had failed. By now the Nazi army was getting desperate. Hitler was outraged by the fact that Paris had no surrendered.The Nazi army had until now suffered under 100,000 casualties. But after the four unsuccessful assaults the casualties were up to 400,000. Hitler issued one order to Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt, the Generalfeldmarschall in charge of the Frankreich Korps. "raise paris to the ground from the air". But von Rundstedt refused to do so and persuaded Hitler to allow him one last assault on the French defenses. At 0445 on the morning of the 10th of March 1942. The Sturmkreiger charged into the Paris defences through the light fog that morning. The French machine guns cut swaths through the waves of Sturmkreigs yet the unit kept on advancing. With bayonets fixxed they were able spread panic amongst the french. Having broken the main French line the rest of the Frankreich Korps poured in through the gap in the line. On that day 363 soldiers of the III Sturmkreiger received Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, 248 of them posthumously. The III Sturmkreiger became known as the Forlorn Hope. They suffered a 52% mortality rate losing almost 522 men.
Re-Modelisation and Mechanisation[]
Seeing and praising the efforts made in France by the III Sturmkreiger, Hitler allowed an increase in volume. The unit technically became the III Sturmpanzer but they stuck to their original name of the III Sturmkreiger as to maintain its honour. The III Sturmkreiger now consisted of two battalions:
1st Batalion[]
1st Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout/Long Distance recon) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
2nd Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
3rd Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
4th Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
5th Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (Fire Support) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Heavy Support) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Minor Mechanization) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
2nd Battalion[]
1st Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (King Tiger Tanks) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Super Heavy Tank (Maus)) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
2nd Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (King Tiger Tanks) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Super Heavy Tank (Maus)) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
3rd Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (King Tiger Tanks) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Super Heavy Tank (Maus)) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
4th Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (King Tiger Tanks) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Super Heavy Tank (Maus)) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
5th Company [300]
- 1st Platoon (Scout) [50]
- 2nd Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 3rd Platoon (King Tiger Tanks) [50]
- 4th Platoon (Panther Tanks) [50]
- 5th Platoon (Super Heavy Tank (Maus)) [50]
- 6th Platoon (Logistical Support) [50]
The III Sturmkreiger was the most powerful unit in the German army. It was the first unit to gain as a field tank the Maus, Hitler refused to let it have any form of the original Panzer I, II, III or IV. Only later modelst like the Panzer V (Panther), Panzer VI (Tiger Tank), Panzer VII (King Tiger) and the Panzer VIII (Maus).
Afrika Korps[]
The second key campaign fought with distinction by the III Sturmkreiger. All across North Africa of the many positions that the British and African Alliance had dug in in the III Sturmkreiger pushed them out every time. At Tripoli and Cairo they were successful at assaulting the siege.