[The following takes place during the final months of the Second World War in Germany.]
Lacking serious military training, effective combat experience and adequate weaponry, the Volkssturm contributed to the huge casualty figures. The hopeless condition of the Volkssturm was reflected in the description by one member of a battalion hurriedly thrown onto the Oder front at the beginning of February 1945:
The equipment consists of brown uniforms and coats with Italian steel helmets; snow jackets no longer are available, so that the men stand out against the snow especially clearly. The consequences are losses that could be avoided, also losses due to strafing. In addition, our own troops shot at the battalion, assuming that we were Russians. The footwear – in so far as it is not private property and good – consists of military boots that let in any moisture. There are only two field kitchens for the entire battalion.
The armament consists of rifles. Machine guns and other heavy weapons no longer are available. 1200 oval and stick hand grenades have been sent without fuses, which despite constant efforts could not be obtained. They therefore are useless.
As military action began immediately after we were transported, there was no training whatsoever with any weapon or in the field. 60 per cent of the men are completely untrained, the remainder are old soldiers.
Source:
Bessel, Richard. “A World in Flames.” Germany 1945: From War to Peace. New York, NY, HarperCollins, 2009. 21-22. Print.
Original Source Listed:
”erlebnisbericht eines Angehörigen des Volkssturmbataillons 7/108 Franken über den Einsatz an der Oderfront”, in Richard Lakowski, ‘Das Ende der Naziherrschaft in Brandenburg. Mit einer Dokumentation’, in Dietrich Eichholtz und Almuth Püschel (eds.), Brandenburg in der NS-Zeit. Studien und Dokumente (Berlin, 1993), p. 428.
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