World War I
German Infiltration Tactics

Infiltration in Action

By Rich Barbuto

The battle began with a short artillery bombardment of 4 or 5 hours. This was done for three reasons. First, there was no need to destroy most targets (too costly in ammunition) just to paralyze them, to drive them deeper into the ground with fear so they could not react too quickly. Second, a bombardment of several days not only gave the enemy days to move in reinforcements, it also tore up the ground actually impeding the attack. Remember, the attack was sustained by artillery batteries and truckloads of ammunition moving behind the attacking troops. Third, the Germans couldn’t compete with the Allies for ammunition production. There just wasn’t enough to support a barrage for several days.

The first artillery targets were command posts, infantry positions, and enemy batteries. Many of the rounds were gas: persistent mustard gas along the flanks of the attack corridor (where the assault troops would not go) and non-persistent phosgene inside the attack corridor. Once the stormtroopers advanced, the supporting artillery continued firing at enemy batteries but also formed a creeping barrage two hundred yards beyond the advancing troops. Earlier in the development of the creeping barrage, the artillery advanced the line of fire according to schedule and the infantry had to keep up. The Germans let the stormtroopers control the shifting of fires by the use of signal flares.

The stormtroopers advanced in squad and platoon sized groups. The artillery knocked out some machine gun positions but some inevitably survived. The assaulting parties marked strongpoints with colored panels for supporting troops to surround and eliminate. The stormtroopers had more important fish to fry. Their mission was to use the folds of terrain and the cover of shell holes to avoid strongpoints and to infiltrate deeply into the enemy’s defenses. Their targets were command posts, artillery batteries, ammo dumps - any target who’s elimination would further deplete the enemy’s ability to defend itself.

Each party worked independently as it was too difficult to coordinate the movement of dozens of assault groups. But the effect was a near complete paralysis of the defense. Even if troops along the front trenches survived, targets were small and fleeting. When they called back to the command post, it was likely that the wire was cut or the command post was already captured. Calls for fire to the supporting artillery might not get through and if they did, the battery might be fighting for its life against the storm troopers who were already back in the rear. While this was going on, horse-drawn light guns were advancing on covered routes into the enemy’s lines to help knock out strongpoints.

As the attack corridor is cleared of enemy, regular German infantry, cavalry, and artillery pour in to secure and widen the flanks of the breakthrough and to exploit it by attacking into the open country beyond the defensive zone. Here, they aimed at capturing key terrain and vital transportation nodes such as rail yards, bridges, and junctions of major roads. While several German attacks reached this stage, the Allies were eventually able to move fresh troops to contain the breakthrough. Thus, the lines that had moved so very little since 1914 showed deep bulges.

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