Willy Martin Ernst Rohr (19 May 1877 – 8 March 1930) was a
German Army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
officer who was a major contributor to the development of
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
tactics in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, particularly for the system of Storm Battalions.
Biography
Willy Rohr attended a military school in
Bensberg
Bergisch Gladbach () is a city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district).
Geography
Bergisch Gladbach is located east of the river Rhine, approx. 10 kilometers east of ...
and
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
before he transferred to the Prussian Hauptkadettenanstalt (Central Officer's Training School) in Lichterfelde,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. He joined the 3rd Magdeburg Infantry Regiment No. 66 as a
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in 1896. From 1899 to 1903, Rohr was assigned to NCO School in
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
and became a battalion adjutant and later a regimental adjutant. In 1906, he was promoted as a first lieutenant. After working as a teacher in the infantry shooting school in
Wünsdorf
Zossen (; hsb, Sosny) is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, about south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped together in 2003 to form the cit ...
from 1911-1912, Rohr was transferred to the 10th Rhineland Infantry Regiment No. 161 in Trier and was promoted as a captain. At his request, in 1913, he was transferred to the Guards Rifle Battalion in Gross-Lichterfelde and served as the commander of the 3rd Company.
World War I
![StB5 – Rohr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/StB5_%E2%80%93_Rohr.jpg)
In
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he fought in 3rd Company on the
Aisne
Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.[Champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...]
and on the
Hartmannsweiler Kopf. In 1915, Rohr was transferred to the Major Calsow detachment and formed the Loretto Front with two pioneer companies. These fought unsuccessfully, the battalions were renamed the Sturmabteilung Calsow, and their leadership found other employment in the Armeeabteilung Gaede. The decimated storm detachment was recalled to the ''Kaiserstuhl''. By command of General von Falkenhayn the captain, who had been brought in from the Guards Rifle Battalion, was temporarily entrusted with their command on 30 August 1915. The previously unused ''Kaiserstuhl'' became a training center.
The effectiveness of the detachment was improved by reequipping it with machine guns and flamethrowers. Rohr introduced the steel helmet, already used by the enemy, to his Storm Battalion or Shock Troop. Rohr's newly developed tactics were based on his experience at the front and made a great contribution to the development of assault team tactics. Major Reddemann was the first to designate the existing flamethrower squads as ''shock troops''. They are both regarded as originators of the concept of shock troops.
![LJB9 - Hirzstein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/LJB9_-_Hirzstein.jpg)
Rohr neglected the tactical training of the army up to the
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...
. The successful testing of the new methods was carried out by Infantry Regiment No. 187 west of
Colmar
Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...
in the
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
. The ''Sturmabteilung Rohr'' was committed to the re-conquest of the Hartmannsweiler Kopf in December 1915. When its next deployment, the attack on the Hirzstein, failed, it withdrew to carry out more intensive preparations. After completion of the preparations, the place was captured with the help of two regiments inexperienced in battle, Nos. 188 and 189, in January 1916. By successfully employing the Storm Detachment in various sectors of the front, Army Detachment Gaede trained itself and the stationary troops. In December 1915, the first training course in the technique was held in the general's presence on the Schlossberg at Achkarren As a result of its success the detachment was moved in February 1916 to the
5th Army (
Crown Prince Wilhelm
Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the eldest child of the last ''Kaiser'', the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schles ...
) to take part in the Verdun offensive.
Because of its high losses resulting from the lack of cooperation of the units, the detachment had to be withdrawn after a short time. Captain Rohr spoke at the
command post
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
of General-Commando 3 (GKo 3) in Nouillon-Pont on 13 March 1916, before General
von Lochow, the Chief of Staff, Colonel
Wetzell and
Ia Major
von Stülpnagel. When asked about the failure of the daily attacks, Rohr attributed it primarily to the infantry's inexperience with hand-to-hand fighting.
Hand grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
s had been left lying in the woods; the infantry had not touched these because they had not been trained in their use. Also he considered the cooperation between the infantry and their accompanying weapons, such as machine guns and light mortars, to be insufficient. As a result, he was ordered to repeat his comments as soon as possible to the personnel of the Army High Command (AOK 5). He was then given the task of training the divisions of the army in "modern close combat".
After an inspection by the Crown Prince and by order of the Minister of War, the Storm Detachment was expanded to a battalion and given the name "Storm Battalion". For teaching purposes, the battalion built a practice fort in the forest near the ruined village of Doncourt. Here until the war ended, thousands of German and Austrian officers were trained. Besides its use for a teaching force, the battalion was repeatedly sent to hotspots on the Western Front. Rohr made a report directly to the emperor on the storming of the Souville Gorge on 3 September 1916. The battalion was designated a favorite battalion of the emperor. At the request of the Crown Prince Army Group, on 7 February 1917, the battalion received the designation ''Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr)'' from the War Ministry. At the same time Willy Rohr became chief training officer.
Since it was the first and most successful storm battalion, its number of "5" instead of "1" came from the army it served in. In January 1918, Rohr was assigned command of the first ''deutsche Sturm-Panzer-Kraftwagen-Abteilung'' (German Armored Vehicle Detachment), a tank unit. Both the slowness and clumsiness of the vehicles were regarded as defects. Rohr went on 11 March 1918 to
AOK 18, the 18th Army headquarters, in Leschelle to make preparations for a major attack,
Operation Michael
Operation Michael was a major German military offensive during the First World War that began the German Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was to ...
. His battalion arrived during the night of March 19. In April Rohr was promoted to
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
. Under secret marching orders the battalion was sent in mid-October 1918 to
Spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
. It was assigned to guard the ''Große Hauptquartier'' and ''
Oberste Heeresleitung
The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...
'' (Supreme Army Headquarters). When the emperor fled 48 hours later, Major Rohr obtained approval from OHL and left Spa with his battalion in the direction of Germany. A large part of the battalion was demobilized in
Schwelm
Schwelm is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis in the administrative region of Arnsberg within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Geography
Schwelm is situated in the southeast of the "''Ruhrgebiet''", the Ruhr district of Germany, be ...
.
Postwar
![HL Damals - Rohr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/HL_Damals_-_Rohr.jpg)
After the war Rohr was assigned in 1920 to Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 29 of the Provisional Reichswehr. With the formation to the
100,000-man army in 1921, he was dismissed and put at its disposition under the title of a
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
. Since the major received no suitable command in the Reichswehr and had to take supply jobs on the staff, he resigned. Thus the Reichswehr deprived itself of one of its most capable soldiers. Rohr found a new home in
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
, where he died while a director of the
Lübecker Getreidebank.
[From Lübeck towers, No. 12, Lübeck March 15, 1930, article :: ‘‘Obituary ]
Decorations
*
Order of the Crown, 4th class
[''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1914'', ed : ]War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
, Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1914, p. 161
*
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...
, 1st and 2nd Class
*
Knight of Dannebrog
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
[
* Knight of the Order of Isabella the Catholic][
* Spanish Order of Military Merit, 1st Class][
* Knights Cross with Swords of the ]House Order of Hohenzollern
The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...
* Gallipoli Star
The Gallipolli Star is a military decoration awarded by the Ottoman Empire. It was known as the Ottoman War Medal ( tr, Harp Madalyası) or the Iron Crescent (from German ''Eiserner Halbmond'', in allusion to the Iron Cross). It was instituted b ...
Writings
* Anweisung für die Ausbildung beim Sturm-Bataillon. (English: Instructions for Storm Battalion Training).
References
Sources
* Hermann Cron: ''Geschichte des Deutschen Heeres im Weltkriege 1914–1918.'' (History of the German Army in the World War, 1914-1918); Berlin 1937.
* Lübeck General-Anzeiger of 13 March 1930: Obituary, written by Count von Schwerin, editor of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Zeitung in Essen, in the name of the former members of the Crown Prince's ''Sturm-Bataillon No. 5 (Rohr)''
* Bruce Gudmundsson: ''Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918''; Praeger Paperback, 1995,
* Herbert Jäger: ''German Artillery of World War One''; Crowood Press (UK), 2001,
Literature
* Paul Koch: ''Das Niederschlesische Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 5 und seine Kriegsverbände im Weltkrieg 1914/18'' (The Lower Silesian Pioneer Battalion No. 5 and its Involvement in the World War, 1914/18); Sporn, Zeulenroda (Thuringia) 1928
* Pascal Hesse, Jean-Claude Laparra: '' Le Sturmbataillon No. 5 Rohr 1916-1918''; Histoire & Collections (France), 2011,
* Werner Lacoste: ''Deutsche Sturmbataillone 1915-1918''; Helios-Verlag, 2nd edition, Aachen 2010,
* Eberhard Graf von Schwerin: ''Königlich preußisches Sturm-Bataillon Nr 5 (Rohr)'' (from ''Deutschlands großer Zeit'', band 116) according to memories noted down with the help of the diary of the retired Lieutenant Colonel Willi Rohr. Graf v. Schwerin; Sporn, Zeulenroda 1939
* Bernhard Reddemann: ''Geschichte der deutschen Flammenwerfer-Truppe'' (History of the German Flamethrower Troops); Felgentreff, Berlin-Schöneberg c. 1933.
External links
Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 5 (Rohr)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohr, Willy
Prussian Army personnel
German Army personnel of World War I
Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog
Military personnel from Metz
1877 births
1930 deaths
Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic