WI special forces in 1914?

Linkwerk

Another thread on this board got me thinking....

There really isn't anything stopping anybody from developing special forces units in the early 1900's. It was simply a different tactic. So, what if/how can you get special forces units formed in the 1900's?

Small teams of elite soldiers infiltrated in secret to strike at strategic objectives, etc. Imagine british green beret equivalents in the ottoman empire stirring up trouble, or even infiltrators in the first days of the war, blowing up rail heads and killing generals.

I'm not sure if this would effect the war at all, but it raises some interesting questions. Would they been seen as a way to get around the problem of trench warfare? There seem to be a lot of opportunities (insertion via U-boat of german commandoes into england to destroy crucial cargoes, etc) for special forces to be used in the first world war. There isn't really anything stopping such tactics from being developed. So, what if?
 

carlton_bach

There were Special Forces of long standing in 1914. Check under 'Corps of Guides', for example. They were, however, considered approppriate for colonial conflicts, not European wars.

Also, the prevalent attitudes at the time would limit the usefulness of Commandos.

"Right, squad. We'll land, kill the sentry, firebomb the warehouse to light up the area..."

"You mean,. sneak up? RThat's b***y unmanly"

"Do you realise those warehouses are private property?"

"OK, well, neutralise the sentry, check the warehouses for contraband to destroy, break into the compound, abduct or assassinate the general..."

"WHAT?!"

"OK, we'll land, check the warehouses for contraband, destroy it, then leave. Nobody is to kill the sentry unless necessary. and apologise to any civilian we meet. Move out!" :smile:
 

Linkwerk

actually a really good point. I don't think most of the stuff special forces does these days is very gentlemanly
 

Wiggy

You make a pile of good points about the more "gentlemanly" or structured nature of war prior to WWI. If someone had had the imagination to build and deploy units that were more akin in nature to modern special forces I think it would have made for some interesting twists in history. I like the premise.
 

Linkwerk

Well, maybe the special forces of 1916, then. By then the hunger blockade and attrittion battles had pretty much smashed any illusion of this being a "polite" war.

The German Stormtroopers came pretty close to special ops tactics. What if they decided to use small groups of them as infiltrators in russia? Hm. That's too late in the war...


Okay. What about european troops in the ottoman empire? WI prior to the war (or at the very start) instead of jokers like Lawrence of Arabia, the british government digs up some of the best colonial soldiers and scholars of arab culture they have and sends them into arabia to cause trouble?

At the same time, the germans hit upon the idea of sabotaging either the channel ports or even the grand fleet in scapa flow. Numerous attempts to insert men in boats to attatch limpet mines...

What about a small group of stormtrooper-style soldiers/advisers to help the irish in their rebellion?
 

carlton_bach

Linkwerk said:
Well, maybe the special forces of 1916, then. By then the hunger blockade and attrittion battles had pretty much smashed any illusion of this being a "polite" war.

The German Stormtroopers came pretty close to special ops tactics. What if they decided to use small groups of them as infiltrators in russia? Hm. That's too late in the war...


Okay. What about european troops in the ottoman empire? WI prior to the war (or at the very start) instead of jokers like Lawrence of Arabia, the british government digs up some of the best colonial soldiers and scholars of arab culture they have and sends them into arabia to cause trouble?

At the same time, the germans hit upon the idea of sabotaging either the channel ports or even the grand fleet in scapa flow. Numerous attempts to insert men in boats to attatch limpet mines...

What about a small group of stormtrooper-style soldiers/advisers to help the irish in their rebellion?
Click to expand...

After 1916, people would certainly entertain the thought. It was done, too - vide German U-Boat combat doctrine and the way the Arab insurgents operated. The Royal Marines, IIRC, pulled a very interesting attack on a Belgian Channel port to demolish facilities (can't recall details, military history ain't my forte). Cavalry raids, too, are a traditional feature of war and IIRC occurred on the Eastern front, though not often, and you could call Lettow-Vorbeck's defense an exercise in fluid warfare that should make any Green Beret proud (and any African for miles around run like hell, but that's another story). The Red Army after 1918 used armored cars in that role - or tried to. It looks good in pictures in old GDR history books, but I doubt the efficacy.

However, without parachutes, small power boats, minisubs, scuba gear and lioght aircraft exfiltration, the options of SpecOps are rather more limited. I doubt there'd be too much effect, unless massive resources are put into the idea. Did either side have a real need? The Germans had some interesting ideas when they sent off a specially modified dismantlable Zeppelin made mostly from dual-use materials to Africa to support their troops (it got recalled - Lettow-Vorbeck suirrendered a few days before), but they didn't (couldn't?) follow up. Without the frustrating stalemate on the coasts of Europe, would Britain have developed a SpecOps doctrine? I doubt it. Without specialised technology or vehicle skills to learn, why would you need specialised units. That's what the Marines are for.
 

Melvin Loh

German sabotage activities in US

Hey guys, the Germans did utilise some covert spec ops techniques using intel operatives within the continental US, who secretly infected thousands of horses and mules allocated for shipment to the Western Front, with anthrax and glanders. This covert bio warfare technique was very effective in wiping out large nos. of pack animals needed by the Allies, and was never suspected at the time. Also, in 1916 German saboteurs blew up the Black Tom Island arsenal in NJ. Could such SOF activities have been undertaken on a larger scale by either side during the course of WWI, despite the limited technology at the time ?
 

Linkwerk

I think the raid you mention was one on either zeebrugge or ostend- I forget which. Admittedly, it was very SOF-ish.

I'm thinking the biggest potential for special forces is by the germans in the east, and the british against the ottomans. Of course, this was done by both sides is some way already....


I just have this image in my head of Imperial German Stormtroopers quick-roping from a zepplin behind enemy lines in the St.Michel offensive....
 
NHBL

NHBL

carlton_bach said:
After 1916, people would certainly entertain the thought. It was done, too - vide German U-Boat combat doctrine and the way the Arab insurgents operated. The Royal Marines, IIRC, pulled a very interesting attack on a Belgian Channel port to demolish facilities (can't recall details, military history ain't my forte). Cavalry raids, too, are a traditional feature of war and IIRC occurred on the Eastern front, though not often, and you could call Lettow-Vorbeck's defense an exercise in fluid warfare that should make any Green Beret proud (and any African for miles around run like hell, but that's another story). The Red Army after 1918 used armored cars in that role - or tried to. It looks good in pictures in old GDR history books, but I doubt the efficacy.

However, without parachutes, small power boats, minisubs, scuba gear and lioght aircraft exfiltration, the options of SpecOps are rather more limited. I doubt there'd be too much effect, unless massive resources are put into the idea. Did either side have a real need? The Germans had some interesting ideas when they sent off a specially modified dismantlable Zeppelin made mostly from dual-use materials to Africa to support their troops (it got recalled - Lettow-Vorbeck suirrendered a few days before), but they didn't (couldn't?) follow up. Without the frustrating stalemate on the coasts of Europe, would Britain have developed a SpecOps doctrine? I doubt it. Without specialised technology or vehicle skills to learn, why would you need specialised units. That's what the Marines are for.
Click to expand...

Von Lettow-Vorbeck had not surrendered. He only surrendered after the war was over, still unbeaten. Incidently, Arricans often didn't "run like hell," but provided him and his troops with food and intelligence.
 

Tyr

The arabs operated in quite a special forces way- blowing up railways and the like. I think thats the way to go, I suppose if the British sent more men to help the arabs they could develop into a special forces British desert force.
 
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