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Shock troops

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World War I German Stormtroopers trench raiding.

Shock troops or assault troops are infantry formations and their supporting units, intended to lead an attack. Shock troop is a loose translation^[1] of the German word Stoßtrupp. The units which contain assault troops are typically organized for mobility, with the intention that they will penetrate through enemy defenses and attack into the enemy's vulnerable rear areas.

Although the term shock troop became popular in the 20th century, the concept is not a new one, see for example the use by Napoleonic era armies of the Forlorn hope. Presently, the term is rarely used explicitly, as the strategic concepts behind it have become standard contemporary military thinking (see section After World War II).

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[edit] Before World War I

Grenadiers (French for "Grenademan") were originally specialized assault soldiers for siege operations, first established as a distinct role in the mid to late 17th century. Grenadiers were soldiers who would throw grenades and storm breaches, leading the forefront of such a breakthrough. Even when the original blackpowder grenade was abandoned the grenadier companies and regiments were retained as specialist assault troops.

During the American Civil War, 1861-65, the elite Iron Brigade and Irish Brigade of the Union's Army of the Potomac, and the Texas Brigade, Stonewall Brigade and the Louisiana Tigers of the Confederacy's Army of Northern Virginia were considered to be shock troops.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] World War I

Main article: Stormtrooper

During World War I, in response to the deadlock of trench warfare faced by all combatants, the German army developed a new set of infantry tactics known as von Hutier tactics. The von Hutier tactics (infiltration tactics) called for special infantry assault units to be detached from the main lines and sent to infiltrate enemy lines, supported by shorter and sharper (than usual for WWI) artillery fire missions targeting both the enemy front and rear, bypassing and avoiding what enemy strongpoints they could, and engaging to their best advantage when and where they were forced to, leaving decisive engagement against bypassed units to following heavier infantry. The primary goal of these detached units was to infiltrate the enemy's lines and break his cohesiveness as much as possible. These formations became known as Stosstruppen, or shock troops, and the tactics which they pioneered would lay the basis of post-WWI infantry tactics, such as the development of fire teams.

Notwithstanding the postwar status of the Storm Troopers in German service, the same sort of tactical doctrine was widely espoused in British and French service in late 1917 and 1918, with variable results. The British Army standard training manual for platoon tactics, SS 143, was used from February 1917 onwards and contained much of what was standard for German shock troops. According to Ward, the Australian and Canadian divisions deployed amongst British forces in France quickly came to be regarded as the best shock troops in the Allied ranks due to their ferocity in battle, and were employed accordingly

However, the first successful use of this tactics in the battle take a place on Eastern front, in July 1917, applied by Czechoslovak legionaries in the Battle of Zborov. The success in battle resulted from special skills of legionaries, previously used mostly in reconnaissance actions.

Canadian Firsts

Things Canada did before anyone else...

Some people are blatently ignorant of Canadian firsts, so some of us here at CKA have taken it upon ourselves to spread the word about our "firsts". Let's start of with Canadian global firsts. Did you know that:

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Canada. In 1576 Martin Frobrisher and his English sailors gethered on a small island in what would later be the Canadian Arctic. They offered prayers and gave thanks for a hectic but safe voyage across the Atlantic. This was followed by a meal of salt beef, buscuits and peas. The very first Thanksgiving!
The world's first wireless message was received by G. Marconi in 1910 in St. John's (NF).
Canada is the first country in the world to propose an international treaty to ban the use of land mines, a cause later taken up by Princes Diana.
With the launching of ANIK A1 in 1972, Canada became the first country in the world to have a commercial geostationary communications satellite network.
The world's first park north of the Arctic Circle is Auyuittuq (NT). It is also Canada's newest park.
The world's first steam-driven Westminster clock is located in 'Gastown", a downtown Vancouver (BC) tourist shopping area.
Canada has the world's first fully-simulated Mars base. Located in northern Canada, the station was built to study equipment and strategies that would be used during a mission to the Red Planet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashline_Mars_Arctic_Research_Station
A Canadian was the first man in the world to create an artificial heart.
A Canadian was the first in the world to discover light-activated drugs.
Canada trained the worlds first female jet-fighter pilots.
Canada was the first to celebrate Labour Day.

And now for some Firsts in Canada...

Canada's first Train Robbery happened on September 10, 1904. One of the robbers was Bill Miner, a well known U.S. stage-coach amd train robber. He was later captured and jailed.
On February 23, 1909 J.A.D. McCurdy flew the "Silver Dart" off the ice of Baddeck Bay in Cape Breton, NS to become the pilot of the first controlled-power flight in Canada (only 5 years after the Wright brothers first flight).
In 1916 the first trans-Canada telephone call was placed between Vancouver, BC and Montreal, QC on a circuit running 6,763Km through Buffalo, Chicago, Omaha, Salt Lake City and Portland.
In 1921 Agnes Campbell Macphail was the first woman elected to the House of commons.
In 1922 Winifred Blair of St.John, NB became the first 'Miss Canada'.
Manzo Nagano became the first official Japanese immigrant (1877) to Canada.
Prospector, trader and HBC employee Michael Phillips was the first person to traverse the Crowsnest Pass in 1873.
In September 1910, in Victoria, BC, William Wallace Gibson became the first person in Canada to design, build and fly his own aircraft.
Canada's first Christmas tree was erected December 25, 1781 in Sorel, Quebec by German Baroness Riedesel. It was a German tradition to have a tree at Yuletide events, and it soon became a Canadian one as well.
Canada's first Christmas Carol was written in 1643 by Father Saint Jean de Brebeuf (1593-1649). Fr. Brebeuf is the Patron Saint of Canada. It is called "The Huron Carol" and was translated from the Huron Language.
On December 9, 1775 the first Post Office in Canada opened in Halifax, NS
The Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents site is Canada's first marine protected area. The Endeavour vents occur where the Juan de Fuca and Pacific tectonic plates meet 270 Km west of the southern tip of Vancouver Island. They are about 2,250 metres below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
Quebec City (QC) is the first city in North America to be placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List - meaning it is designated as belonging to all humanity and to be preserved as such. It is also the only existing walled city in North America.
John (Jack) Gillis became the first man to walk across Canada when he arrived in Vancouver, BC in 1906.

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