Germans use stormtroopers

With the remarkable success of their stormtrooper units near the back end of the war if the German leadership had taken a more proactive approach to military strategy would they have been able to break the trench stalemate in 1917 or even 1916 at Verdun?
 
With the remarkable success of their stormtrooper units near the back end of the war if the German leadership had taken a more proactive approach to military strategy would they have been able to break the trench stalemate in 1917 or even 1916 at Verdun?

German success of storm trooper attacks is over-rated; their infantry on a battalion for battalion level where superior anyway and inflicted superior body counts throughout the war

They where doing storm trooper type attacks in the Argonne throughout 1915;

Infiltration attacks don't work against an enemy with a well manned, well cited and ruthless defensive front

in answer to your question; if they used their 1918 infantry tactics at verdun and other parts of the front in 1916 they would still not have accomplished much more than otl if only because their strategy was largely idiotic around the battles of that year
 
I largely agree with Blairwitch. The real blunders of Germany were made on a strategical and especially policitcal level. The use of dedicated stormtroopers early on might shift the losses ratio more to the German side, but they won´t be able to break the stalemate.
 

Deleted member 1487

With the remarkable success of their stormtrooper units near the back end of the war if the German leadership had taken a more proactive approach to military strategy would they have been able to break the trench stalemate in 1917 or even 1916 at Verdun?

They did use assault detachments at Verdun, including the elite flammenwerfer troops. The French front cracked wide open, but because of the realities of exploitation in WW1 the gap was closed.

Both sides could reliably breach each others' front by 1917, but the problem was exploitation. Neither side ever solved the problem of being able to advance quicker than an opponent could retreat or reinforce. In 1918 the Allies only were able to advance on a wide front because they outnumbered the Germans 2.5 to 1 in a manpower and much more in everything else. Plus the German army gave up and either deserted or retreated. It was beaten by the time the Allies went on their 100 days offensive, but even then the Germans were still able to fight effectively while the majority of units were deserting or just going home.

Technology just won't allow for a quick end to the war in WW1. Attrition was key. One side or the other needed to be ground down enough to allow the other to put them in a position to allow for peace. Even the German victories in 1918 were predicated on attrition creating weaknesses in the Allied lines that could be exploited.
 
Top