At Stalingrad each battle resolved itself between individuals. Soldiers would jeer and curse at their enemy across the street; often they could hear his breathing in the next room while they reloaded; hand-to-hand duels were finished in the dark twilight of smoke and brick dust with knives and pickaxes, with clubs of rubble and twisted steel. The assault group is the fundamental unit in effecting an assault. It is the main organizational unit used for carrying on combat in a city. Success depends entirely on its combat capability and its activities. The group destroys enemy personnel, and captures and holds the object of the attack. The assault group, in turn, is divided into assault sub-groups, the security or reinforcement sub-group, and the reserve. The assault subgroup consists of a section of riflemen or submachine gunners, several flame-thrower operators, engineers, and smoke-generating chemical personnel (chemical troopers). The armament used by the sub-group includes the following: the automatic rifle, submachine gun, rifle, grenades, bottle with inflammable or incendiary liquid, captured "faustpatronen" (Bazookas), flamethrowers, knives, and TNT. The function of the assault sub-group is to rush an objective and wage a combat action within it until the enemy force contained therein is completely destroyed. The security (reinforcing) sub-group consists of the attached means (heavy machine guns, DShK machine guns, cannon, tanks, or self propelled mounts). Its function or purpose is to secure or guarantee the assault group's successful rush upon an object, destroy the most active of the firing positions, and to destroy enemy personnel retreating from the object under attack. The reserve force consists of a section or platoon of riflemen. It is set aside to guarantee an uninterrupted assault by replacing assault sub-groups, or providing replacements for such, and for developing successes and consolidating captured objectives. The assaulting force breaks through the windows and other openings in the sides of the buildings clearing for themselves a path by means of grenades, incendiary bottles, and submachine gun fire. It is important to emphasize that prior to the time when the assault force is thrown into the attack, the artillery and tanks should destroy or neutralize the enemy's firing weapons by firing directly into the windows of the first floors, and into the cellar windows. The movement of assault groups, tanks, and self propelled mounts toward the objectives of the attack is carried out under the protective fire from heavy and DShK machine guns; these are set up in the upper storey windows of buildings which had previously been captured. The fire is directed over the heads of friendly troops. Careful attention should likewise be directed to protecting the tanks and self propelled mounts against enemy tank destroyer action. The combat action waged inside of a house is most difficult. The slightest delay in executing the action, or the manifestation of awkwardness in a given situation may cost a trooper his life. It is important, therefore, for officer personnel to inculcate the following rules into their subordinates. In going to the upper floors on the stairways, use a smoke screen in front of yourself; cut through stair landings with submachine gun fire. Proceed from one landing to another by bounds. As soon as you are on the next floor, make your way into the room immediately. If the door is closed suspend a hand grenade from the doorknob, take shelter, and wait for the grenade to destroy the door. The door will be blasted to bits and the enemy troops seeking shelter there will have been destroyed. Carry on the combat action into the building until the enemy is completely destroyed. If the upper storeys have already been cleared, but enemy personnel still remain in the cellar and cannot be attacked, for one reason or another, by means of grenades or incendiary bottles, open the fire mains or water faucets without further ado; the resisting enemy group will be drowned. Demolish the walls of buildings with TNT when it is necessary to move from one house to another (adjacent one), or from one room to another. Make use of captured "Faustpatronen" for such purpose also. It is to be understood, of course, that the foregoing rules by no means exhaust all of those which should be presented to personnel in training for the assault groups. During intervals between combat the commanders should constantly teach the troopers the different methods of assault under different conditions; they should be taught initiative and skill. Senior officers, in turn, should demand of the commanders of assault groups that during the time of an attack and during combat within a building they should strive to achieve the following: fully isolate a building thereby denying to the enemy the opportunity of bringing up reserves from the outside, and preventing the besieged garrison from withdrawing from the building being stormed; render timely support of men fighting in the building utilizing own reserves and reinforcing means in order that the process of the destruction of the enemy and consolidation of captured buildings proceed apace simultaneously; personally direct the mopping up operation of a given building and prepare the assaulting subgroups and reinforcing weapons for the assault on the next buildings. As we have learned from experience, interruptions in the combat action in a city are to be avoided. Having captured one building, it is essential, even before mopping it up, to commence with the preparations for the next assault of the next building. By so doing, the enemy is denied the opportunity to discern the situation and make preparations to resist. Back to The Gauntlet No. 19 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com