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76-530: The Volkssturm ( German pronunciation: [ˈfɔlksʃtʊʁm] ; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II . It was set up by the Nazi Party on the orders of Adolf Hitler and established on 25 September 1944. It was staffed by conscripting males between the ages of 16 and 60 years, who were not already serving in some military unit. The Volkssturm comprised one of

152-512: A French De Bange 220mm mortar). The battalion first engaged Soviet troops at Friedrichsfelde on 21 April and saw the heaviest fighting over the following two days. It held out until 2 May, by which time it was down to just 50 rifles and two light machine guns. The survivors fell back to join other Volkssturm units. 26 men from the battalion were awarded the Iron Cross . Allied bombing and Soviet artillery had reduced Berlin to rubble; meanwhile

228-540: A detailed statistical breakdown of the percentage of desertions that flanked that specific department from 1798 to 1804. In hopes of showing that like the previous levées that were proposed by the French government in an attempt to raise the number of troops, there were different reactions depending on region. There were regions where there was little to no resistance to the levée and no large amount of deserters, while other regions had nearly 60 percent deserters. For all

304-445: A fan with overwhelming enthusiasm for a given subject is differentiated from the behavior of a fanatic by the fanatic's violation of prevailing social norms . Though the fan's behavior may be judged as odd or eccentric , it does not violate such norms. A fanatic differs from a crank , in that a crank is defined as a person who holds a position or opinion which is so far from the norm as to appear ludicrous and/or probably wrong, such as

380-468: A few thousand émigrés . Against these paltry forces France decided to mobilize an army of 450,000 men, larger than any army Europe had ever seen.” Depending on the source, the exact number of those conscripted ranges from 750,000 to around 800,000. However, the values cannot be verified and is a reconstructed estimate because the French Government was in no position to give accurate figures at

456-531: A massacre like the one at Katyń forest . Feyerabend even assigned Volkssturm guards to keep watch on the local Nazi party members, but this proved fruitless when Friedrich armed a group of Hitler Youth and likewise summoned the local SD elements, whose leaders then commanded the Volkssturm to help evacuate the prisoners. On 30 January 1945, after the Volkssturm left with Friedrich in charge, Feyerabend committed suicide; then between 30 January and 1 February

532-498: A mixture of what was left of the old professional army and volunteers. This ragtag group was spread thin, and, by February 1793, the new regime needed more men, so the National Convention passed a decree on 24 February allowing for the national levy of about 300,000 with each French département to supply a quota of recruits. By March 1793, France was at war with Austria , Prussia , Spain , Britain , Piedmont , and

608-751: A part in their capitulation, as did self-preservation. Their most extensive use was during the Battle of Berlin , where Volkssturm units fought in many parts of the city. This battle was particularly devastating to its formations; however, many members fought to the death out of fear of being captured by the Soviets. The Volkssturm had a strength of about 60,000 in the Berlin area, formed into 92 battalions, of which about 30 battalions of Volkssturm I (those with some weapons) were sent to forward positions, while those of Volkssturm II (those without weapons) remained in

684-609: A power-struggle over the jurisdictional control over the Volkssturm regarding security and police powers in Germany and the occupied territories; a contest which Himmler and the SS more or less won on one level (police and security), but lost to Bormann on another (mobilising reserve forces). Historian David Yelton described the situation as two ranking officers at the helm of a sinking ship fighting over command. Benito Mussolini suggested, through his son Vittorio , then general secretary of

760-409: A short-term requisition of all able-bodied men to defend the nation and its rise as a military tactic may be viewed in connection with the political events and developing ideology in revolutionary France—particularly the new concept of the democratic citizen as opposed to a royal subject. Central to the understanding that developed (and was promoted by the authorities) of the levée is the idea that

836-651: A soldier and every soldier should be a citizen, if France does not wish to be utterly obliterated". Yet the Committee was not ready to enact conscription, and would not until dire war deficits demanded more men. The progression of the Revolution came to produce friction between France and its European neighbors, who grew determined to invade France to restore the monarchy. War with Prussia and Austria began in April 1792. Decrees such as that of 19 November 1792 reflect

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912-609: Is a French term used for a policy of mass national conscription , often in the face of invasion. The concept originated during the French Revolutionary Wars , particularly for the period following 16 August 1793, when able-bodied men aged 18 to 25 were conscripted. The concept of mass conscription was kept in place during the Napoleonic Wars . The term is also applied to other historical examples of mass conscription. The term levée en masse denotes

988-431: Is pointed out; a closed mind, no interest in debating the subject of worship, and over reaction to people who do not believe. In his book Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk , Neil Postman states that "the key to all fanatical beliefs is that they are self-confirming....(some beliefs are) fanatical not because they are 'false', but because they are expressed in such a way that they can never be shown to be false." The behavior of

1064-696: The Wehrmacht and the SS. By the end of January 1945, the Volkssturm had only accumulated 40,500 rifles and 2,900 machine guns amid this mish-mash of foreign and outdated assemblage of weapons. When units had completed their training and received armament, members took a customary oath to Hitler and were then dispatched into combat. Teenagers and middle-aged men were sent to separate training camps, some of whom received as little as ten to fourteen days of training before being sent to fight. Unlike most English-speaking countries, Germany had universal military service for all young men for several generations, so many of

1140-622: The First World War , or their civilian clothing and usually carried with them their own personal rucksacks, blankets, cooking-equipment, etc. The simple paramilitary insignia of the Volkssturm were as follows: Typically, members of the Volkssturm received only very basic military training. It included a brief indoctrination and training on the use of basic weapons such as the Karabiner 98k rifle and Panzerfaust . Because of continuous fighting and weapon shortages, weapon training

1216-642: The Republican Fascist Party 's German branch, that 30,000 Italians should be added to the Volkssturm in the defence of Germany. However, no evidence exists that this offer was implemented. The Volkssturm "uniform" was only a black armband with the German words Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht ("German People's Storm Armed Forces"). The German government tried to issue as many of its members as possible with military uniforms of all sorts, ranging from Feldgrau to camouflage types. An example of

1292-627: The SS or Gaue leaders. The Volkssturm drew inspiration from the Prussian Landsturm of 1813–1815, that fought in the liberation wars against Napoleon , mainly as guerrilla forces. Plans to form a Landsturm national militia in eastern Germany as a last resort to boost fighting strength were first proposed in 1944 by General Heinz Guderian , chief of the German General Staff . The army did not have enough men to resist

1368-649: The United Provinces . The introduction of recruitment for the levy in the Vendée , a politically and religiously conservative region, added to local discontent over other revolutionary directives emanating from Paris, and on 11 March the Vendée erupted into civil war —just days after France declared war on Spain and adding further strains on the French armies' limited manpower. By some accounts, only about half this number appears to have been actually raised, bringing

1444-491: The Volkssturm were killed. At other times along the western front particularly, Volkssturm troops would cast their arms aside and disappear into the chaos. Many units lost their enthusiasm for the fight when it became clear that the Allies had won, prompting them to lay down their weapons and surrender – they also feared being captured by Allied forces and tortured or executed as partisans. Duty to their communities also played

1520-442: The Volkssturm – Battalion 25/235 for instance, started out with 400 men but fought on until there were only 10 men remaining. Fighting at Küstrin between 30 January to 29 March 1945, militia units made up mostly of the Volkssturm resisted for nearly two months. Losses were upwards of 60 percent for the Volkssturm at Kolberg , roughly 1,900 of them died at Breslau , and during the Battle of Königsberg , another 2,400 members of

1596-539: The Volkssturm 's piecemeal outfitting occurred in the Rhineland , where one unit was provided with "pre-war black SS uniforms, brown Organization Todt coats, blue Luftwaffe auxiliary caps, and French Adrian helmets ." Most members of the Volkssturm , especially elderly members, had no uniforms and were not supplied, so they generally wore either work uniforms (including railway workers, policemen, and firemen), Hitler Youth uniforms, old uniforms or parts of uniforms from

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1672-402: The Volkssturm's creation provided a psychological rallying point for the civilian population. While it had some marginal effect on morale, it was undermined by the recruits' visible lack of uniforms and weaponry. Nazi themes of death, transcendence, and commemoration were given full play to encourage the fight. Many German civilians realised that this was a desperate attempt to turn the course of

1748-503: The cabinet wars (1715–1792), when armies of professional soldiers fought without the general participation of the population. The first modern use of levée en masse occurred during the French Revolutionary Wars . Under the Ancien Régime , there had been some conscription (by ballot) to a militia, milice , to supplement the large standing army in times of war. This was unpopular with the peasant communities on which it fell, and

1824-460: The 5,000 that originally began the journey were lodged in a factory. Mayor and local Nazi party chief, Kurt Friedrichs wanted the SS to send these prisoners on their way since the Red Army was not far away. When local Volkssturm leader Hans Feyerabend was ordered to transport the suffering prisoners out of the town, he refused to carry out the order and was heard exclaiming that he would not permit

1900-584: The Allies—part of an attempt to circumvent the "total destruction" of their home regions—they were tried and "summarily hanged" by party activists. During the spring of 1945, thousands of Volkssturm members were killed like this by Nazi Party fanatics in Franken. Other nations: Lev%C3%A9e en masse Levée en masse ( French pronunciation: [ləve ɑ̃ mɑs] or, in English, mass levy )

1976-657: The Americans and British instead of the Red Army for fear of reprisals related to the atrocities they had committed in the Soviet Union. While Iron Crosses were being handed out in places like Berlin, other cities and towns like Parchim and Mecklenburg witnessed old elites, acting as military commandants over the Hitler Youth and Volkssturm , asserting themselves and demanding that the defensive fighting stop so as to spare lives and property. Despite their efforts,

2052-462: The French Army. “The Commission of Armies alone could not identify the armies, let alone its location or strength.” Also, there were many individuals that deserted the army, but the exact number of individuals that deserted is also an estimation based on the number of individuals that were caught or came back to France due to amnesty laws. When looking at the makeup of the French army overall,

2128-476: The French army to build a strong officer and non-commissioned cadre. Though not a novel idea—see for example thinkers as diverse as Plato , the political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli , and the lawyer and linguist Sir William Jones (who thought every adult male should be armed with a musket at public expense)—the actual practice of a levée en masse was rare before the French Revolution. The levée

2204-620: The Gestapo and Ukrainian Waffen-SS troops in evacuating between 6,000 and 8,000 prisoners—being marched towards Mauthausen —from their region, many of whom were murdered during the journey when they collapsed from exhaustion. Sometime in early April 1945 as Allied forces approached the Mittelwerk facilities—where V2 rockets were being produced—the slave labourers from the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp were force-marched from

2280-496: The Nazis conscripted German women and girls into the auxiliaries of the Volkssturm . Correspondingly, girls as young as 14 years were trained in the use of small arms, Panzerfausts , machine guns , and hand grenades from December 1944 through May 1945. Municipal organisation: Each Gauleiter and Kreisleiter had a Volkssturm Chief of Staff. From the militia's inception until the spring of 1945, Himmler and Bormann engaged in

2356-602: The Reich level, the SS and the Party Chancellery agreed to share responsibility between them. Himmler retained responsibility for military equipment and training while Bormann, head of the Party Chancellery, was charged with oversight of administration and political indoctrination. Aware that a "people's army" would not be able to withstand the onslaught of the modern army wielded by the Allies, Hitler issued

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2432-521: The Soviet onslaught. So, additional categories of men were called into service, including those in non-essential jobs, those previously deemed unfit, over-age, or under-age, and those recovering from wounds. The Volkssturm had existed, on paper, since around 1925, but it was only after Hitler ordered Martin Bormann to recruit six million men for this militia that the group became a physical reality. While

2508-442: The appeal for this last-ditch effort, the intended strength of "six million" members was never attained. Joseph Goebbels and other propagandists depicted the Volkssturm as an outburst of enthusiasm and the will to resist. Historian Daniel Blatman writes that the Volkssturm was portrayed as the "incarnation" of the greater Volksgemeinschaft , whereby "all differences in social status, origin, or age vanish and unite all people on

2584-505: The armies or differentiating between men with similar names, the exact number is unclear. In 1800, the Minister of War (Carnot) reported that there were 175,000 deserters based on the number of individuals that sought the benefits following the amnesty put in place. Similarly to how the proportions of males that were sent varied depending on what region they lived in, the same applied for deserters . The historian Hargenvillier produced

2660-468: The army strength up to about 645,000 in mid-1793, and the military situation continued to deteriorate, particularly when Mainz fell on 23 July 1793 . In response to this desperate situation, at war with European states, and insurrection, Paris petitioners and the fédérés demanded that the Convention enact a levée en masse. In response, Convention member Bertrand Barère asked the convention to "decree

2736-555: The basis of race. It was the service framework for members of the local community, who had been raised together and lived side by side, and now bore arms together in order to defend the community." In some regards, the Volkssturm was the culmination of Goebbels' "total war" speech of February 1943 and its formation was "given a big build-up" in the November 1944 newsreel episode of Die Deutsche Wochenschau . Consistent messages of final victory from various Nazi media outlets accompanying

2812-470: The capital of France, away from the central government troubles. Many individuals who were conscripted by the French deserted , fleeing from their duty of fighting for France without permission, in hopes of never getting caught. There were rough estimates to the number of individuals that deserted during the time of the Levée en Masse, but due to many factors, like the inability to manage and keep track of all

2888-505: The cause of liberty. The National Convention further decrees that the Executive Power shall order the generals to have this decree printed and distributed in all the various languages and in all the various countries of which they have taken possession". Their decree signalled to foreign powers, namely Britain, that France was out for conquest, not just political reformation of its own lands. The French army at that time contained

2964-575: The city, and the diminished remnants of the Wehrmacht were no match for them. Meanwhile, Hitler denounced every perceived "betrayal" to the inhabitants of the Führerbunker . Not eager to die what was thought to be a pointless death, many older members of the Volkssturm looked for places to hide from the approaching Soviet Army. One notable and unusual Volkssturm unit in the Battle for Berlin

3040-606: The early stages of Volkssturm planning, it became apparent that units lacking morale would lack combat effectiveness. To generate fanaticism, Volkssturm units were placed under the direct command of local Nazi Party officials, the Gauleiter and Kreisleiter . The new Volkssturm was also to become a nationwide organisation, with Heinrich Himmler as Replacement Army commander, responsible for armaments and training. Though nominally under party control, Volkssturm units were placed under Heer command when engaged in action. At

3116-459: The end in Berlin "totals" for being part of Germany's total mobilisation effort. On several occasions, members of the Volkssturm participated in atrocities. During January 1945, thousands of prisoners were evacuated and force-marched from several smaller concentration camps —which included Jesau, Seerappen, Schippenbeil, Gerdauen, and Helgenbeil—near Königsberg , many dying along the way. Upon reaching Palmnicken , some 2,500 to 3,000 prisoners of

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3192-461: The fact that "the deputies were in no mood for caution". The convention's decree stated that: " The National Convention declares, in the name of the French nation, that it will grant fraternity and assistance to all peoples who wish to recover their liberty, and instructs the Executive Power to give the necessary orders to generals to grant assistance to these peoples and to defend those citizens who have been—or may be—persecuted for their attachment to

3268-493: The final components of the total war promulgated by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels , part of a Nazi endeavor to overcome their enemies' military strength through force of will. Volkssturm units fought unsuccessful battles against Allied forces at the end of the war. On several occasions, its members participated in atrocities, accompanied by German civilians and the Hitler Youth , which were overseen by members of

3344-407: The final stand in Berlin dwindled to fighting against highly trained, battle-hardened Soviet troops on the brink of final victory, who viewed resistance fighters like the Volkssturm as terrorists in much the same way the Wehrmacht once had viewed potential partisans during Operation Barbarossa . Red Army soldiers called the Hitler Youth formations and members of the Volkssturm still fighting to

3420-399: The followers into a frenzy. In this case, fanaticism is used as an adjective describing the nature of certain behaviors that people recognize as cult-like. Mead referred to the style of defense used when the followers are approached. The most consistent thing presented is the priming, or preexisting, conditions and mind state needed to induce fanatical behavior. Each behavior is obvious once it

3496-459: The following order towards the end of 1944: Experience in the East has shown that Volkssturm , emergency and reserve units have little fighting value when left to themselves, and can be quickly destroyed. The fighting value of these units, which are for the most part strong in numbers, but weak in the armaments required for modern battle, is immeasurably higher when they go into action with troops of

3572-631: The government. The overall make up of the army was unevenly distributed among the different regions in France. The Levée expected that one male was conscripted for every 138 inhabitants. However, in reality each region did not follow this conscription rule. There were departments that conscribed more individuals like Puy-de-Dôme , the Haute-Loire , and Yonne , located more in central France while other areas that sent less than expected, like Seine , Rhône , and Basses-Pyrénées —all located further from

3648-504: The inner city. One of the few substantive fighting units left to defend Berlin was the LVI Panzer Corps , which occupied the southeastern sector of the town, whereas the remaining parts of the city were being defended by what remained of the SS, the Volkssturm , and the Hitler Youth formations. Nonetheless, a force of over 2.5 million Soviet troops, equipped with 6,250 tanks and over 40,000 artillery pieces were assigned to capture

3724-471: The last four months of the war were an exercise in futility for the Volkssturm , and the Nazi leadership's insistence to continue the fight to the bitter end contributed to an additional 1.23 million (approximated) deaths, half of them German military personnel and the other half from the Volkssturm . In many small towns, when leading members of the Volkssturm refused to fight on against the superior forces of

3800-447: The majority of the individuals in the army consisted of the peasant, farming class in contrast to the rich and urban workers who were given special privileges and exemptions. The rich were able to buy remplaçants, replacements, by paying poorer males who needed the money to take their places. Males that had office jobs in the city were also exempted from serving in the French army as well as males that could read and write and who worked in

3876-483: The new political rights given to the mass of the French people also created new obligations to the state. As the nation now understood itself as a community of all people, its defense also was assumed to become a responsibility of all . Thus, the levée en masse was created and understood as a means to defend the nation by the nation. Historically, the levée en masse heralded the age of national participation in warfare and displaced restricted forms of warfare, such as

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3952-638: The older members would have had at least basic military training from when they served in the German Army and many would have been veterans of the First World War. Volkssturm units were supposed to be used only in their own districts, but many were sent directly to the front lines. Ultimately, it was their charge to confront the overwhelming power of the British, Canadian, Soviet, American, and French armies alongside Wehrmacht forces to either turn

4028-479: The prisoners were murdered by the remaining assemblage of SS guards, Hitler Youth, and the local Volkssturm unit. When prisoners fell sick with typhus in Reichsgau Steiermark during February–March 1945, SS men, Hitler Youth, and Volkssturm units systematically murdered them. Under the orders of Loeben-district Kreisleiter, Otto Christandl, Volkssturm units in nearby Graz and Eisenerz assisted

4104-409: The regime formally established the Volkssturm on 25 September, it was not announced to the public until 16 October 1944. The official launch date was two days later, 18 October 1944 and was chosen by Heinrich Himmler to evoke parallels with the popular uprising which, according to popular legend, ended French rule over Germany and culminated in the Battle of Leipzig on the same date in 1813. Despite

4180-491: The regular army in the field. I, therefore, order: where Volkssturm , emergency, and reserve units are available, together with regular units, in any battle sector, mixed battle-groups (brigades) will be formed under unified command, so as to give the Volkssturm , emergency, and reserve units stiffening and support. With the Nazi Party in charge of organising the Volkssturm , each Gauleiter , or Nazi Party District Leader,

4256-417: The rhetoric, the levée en masse was not popular; desertion and evasion were high. However, the effort was sufficient to turn the tide of the war, and there was no need for any further conscription until 1797, when a more permanent system of annual intakes was instituted. An effect of the levée en masse was the creation of a national army in France, made up of citizens, rather than an all-professional army, as

4332-496: The soil of the Republic, all Frenchmen are in permanent requisition for the services of the armies. The young men shall fight; the married men shall forge arms and transport provisions; the women shall make tents and clothes and shall serve in the hospitals; the children shall turn old linen into lint; the old men shall betake themselves to the public squares in order to arouse the courage of the warriors and preach hatred of kings and

4408-488: The solemn declaration that the French people was going to rise as a whole for the defense of its independence". The Convention fulfilled Barere's request on 16 August, when they stated that the levée en masse would be enacted. The decree was enacted by the National Convention on 23 August 1793, having been penned by Barère in conjunction with Lazare Carnot . The decree read in ringing terms, beginning: "From this moment until such time as its enemies shall have been driven from

4484-427: The term fanaticism as the pursuit or defence of something in an extreme and passionate way that goes beyond normality. Religious fanaticism is defined by blind faith, the persecution of dissidents and the absence of reality. Fanaticism is a result from multiple cultures interacting with one another. Fanaticism occurs most frequently when a leader makes minor variations on already existing beliefs, which then drives

4560-513: The tide of the war or set a shining example for future generations of Germans and expunge the defeat of 1918 by fighting to the last, dying before surrendering. It was an apocalyptic goal which some of those assigned to the Volkssturm took to heart. Unremittingly fanatical members of the Volkssturm refused to abandon the Nazi ethos unto the dying days of Nazi Germany, and in a number of instances took brutal "police actions" against German civilians deemed defeatists or cowards. Losses were high among

4636-761: The time. One source states the official numbers in February 1793, were 361,000 men, in January 1794, were 670,900 men, in April 1794, 842,300, with the maximum reached in September 1794, 1,108,300. “However these figures are worth very little.” The figures “designated all who were on the rolls as being maintained at the expense of the state, including therefore all those disabled by illness, capture or even desertion...The best guess seems to be that about 800,000 were available for active service” in 1794. Other sources give estimates that around 750,000 men were actively serving in

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4712-463: The town of Celle in Lower Saxony around the same time, members of the SS, SA, local police, Hitler Youth, and Volkssturm were aided by locals to "hunt down and shoot" prisoners who had fled into the local woodland after their transport train was bombed. Interrogated members of the Volkssturm —when questioned as to where the regular forces had gone—revealed that German soldiers surrendered to

4788-508: The units looking very ragged and, instead of boosting civilian morale, it often reminded people of Germany's desperate state. Armament was equally haphazard: though some Karabiner 98ks were on hand, members were also issued older Gewehr 98s , Steyr-Mannlicher M1895s , 19th-century Gewehr 71s , and Steyr-Mannlicher M1888s , as well as Dreyse M1907 pistols. In addition there was a plethora of Soviet, British, Belgian, French, Italian, and other weapons that had been captured by German forces during

4864-408: The unity of the Republic." All unmarried able-bodied men between 18 and 25 were requisitioned with immediate effect for military service. This significantly increased the number of men in the army, which reached a peak of about 1,500,000 in September 1794, although the actual fighting strength probably peaked at no more than 800,000. In addition, as the decree suggests, much of the civilian population

4940-596: The war. Sardonic old men would remark, "We old monkeys are the Führer ’s newest weapon" (in German this rhymes: "Wir alten Affen sind des Führers neue Waffen" ). A popular joke about the Volkssturm went "Why is the Volkssturm Germany's most precious resource? Because its members have silver in their hair, gold in their mouths, and lead in their bones." For these militia units to be effective, they needed not only strength in numbers, but also fanaticism . During

5016-426: The war. The Germans had also developed cheap Volkssturm weapons, such as MP 3008 machine pistols and Volkssturmgewehr rifles. These were completely stamped and machine-pressed constructions (in the 1940s, industrial processes were much cruder than today, so a firearm needed great amounts of semi-artisanal work to be actually reliable). The Volkssturm troops were nominally supplied when and where possible by both

5092-465: The western Harz by a collection of guards drawn from the military, the Hitler Youth, and the Volkssturm . Approximately 40 km (25 mi) north of Magdeburg , in the village of Mieste , this motley assemblage of guards locked a thousand of these prisoners in a barn and burned them alive at the instruction of a local Nazi Party leader; this event came to be known as the Gardelegen massacre . At

5168-498: Was a key development in modern warfare and would lead to steadily larger armies with each successive war, culminating in the enormous conflicts of World War I and World War II during the first half of the 20th century. Hitler proclaimed a levée en masse in early January 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge at a meeting of his "inner circle" of Hitler with Martin Bormann , Joseph Goebbels , Wilhelm Keitel and Albert Speer , after it

5244-571: Was apparent that the "breakthrough" had failed. Only Speer opposed total conscription, saying it would paralyse the weapons factories and effectively kill the war effort. Goebbels sneered: Then, Herr Speer, you bear the historic guilt for the loss of the war for the lack of a few hundred thousand soldiers. Fanaticism Philosopher George Santayana defines fanaticism as "redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim". The fanatic displays very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas or opinions. Tõnu Lehtsaar has defined

5320-640: Was both "a man of the left" and "a military man, having served as a King's Musketeer", spoke to the National Assembly on behalf of its military committee. He called for "a people's army, recruited by universal conscription, from which there could be no escape by purchase of a replacement". He said to the National Convention : "And so I say that in a nation which seeks to be free but which is surrounded by powerful neighbours and riddled with secret, festering factions, every citizen should be

5396-516: Was charged with the leadership, enrollment, and organisation of the Volkssturm in their district. The largest Volkssturm unit seems to have corresponded to the next smaller territorial subdivision of the Nazi Party organisation—the Kreis . The basic unit was a battalion of 642 men. Units were mostly composed of members of the Hitler Youth , invalids, the elderly, or men who had previously been considered unfit for military service. On 12 February 1945,

5472-521: Was often minimal. There was also a lack of instructors, meaning that weapons training was sometimes done by World War I veterans drafted into service themselves. Often Volkssturm members were only able to familiarise themselves with their weapons when in actual combat. There was no standardisation of any kind and units were issued only what equipment was available. This was true of every form of equipment— Volkssturm members were required to bring their own uniforms and culinary equipment etc. This resulted in

5548-610: Was one of their grievances which they expected to be addressed by the French Estates General when it was convened in 1789, to strengthen the French monarchy. When this instead led to the French Revolution , the milice was duly abolished by the National Assembly . As early as 1789, leaders had considered how they would sustain their revolutionary army . In December, Dubois de Crancé , who

5624-451: Was the 3/115 Siemensstadt Battalion. It comprised 770 men, mostly World War I veterans in their 50s who were reasonably fit factory workers, with experienced officers. Unlike most Volkssturm units it was quite well equipped and trained. It was formed into three rifle companies, a support company (with two infantry support guns , four infantry mortars, and heavy machine guns), and a heavy weapons company (with four Soviet M-20 howitzers and

5700-514: Was the standard practice of the time. Its main result, protecting French borders against all enemies, surprised and shocked Europe. The levée en masse was also effective in that by putting on the field many men, even untrained, it required France's opponents to man all fortresses and expand their own standing armies, far beyond their capacity to pay professional soldiers. The levée en masse also offered many opportunities for untrained people who could demonstrate their military proficiency, allowing

5776-551: Was turned towards supporting the armies through armaments production and other war industries as well as supplying food and provisions to the front. As Barère put it, "…all the French, both sexes, all ages are called by the nation to defend liberty". Translated and summarized Levée en Masse According to historian Howard G. Brown, “The French state’s panicky response to a crisis of its own making soon led to an excessive military build-up. Enemy forces consisted of no more than 81,000 Austrians and Prussians, supported by 6,000 Hessians and

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