2021-06-28 18:04:07
FRY THE BRAIN CHAPTER 8: THE WEREWOLVES: Unfortunately this chapter is rife with allied propaganda which we are all familiar with, but it still contains some useful information on the German Werewolves; how they operated, their strengths and weaknesses, and why they ultimately failed.
Mode of Operation: The Werewolves were essentially unschooled in the art of guerrilla warfare, which is understandable considering the methodology hadn't really reached many minds at that stage beyond a select few, like Mao and Marion. They based their entire operation on the assumption that an effective guerrilla campaign could be waged entirely from a rural locale which we now know to be a losing strategy, since you need both the rural arm and the urban arm to be successful. They mainly focused on lone sniper attacks (often sacrificial ones, since they didn't always plan for a good escape route and consequently got captured or killed) and acts of sabotage (e.g. landmines and decapitation wires).
The principle failure of the Werewolves was their choice of tactics and their inadequate training. For a good while, they operated off of stolen and translated russian manuals and had no training program of their own, and even once they had that, they placed an undue emphasis on rural sabotage. As we now know, the urban environment is utterly essential to the guerrilla, as the population centers are the source of their power and the pool from which they mostly recruit. While the Germans had a wealth of weapons, explosives, and related tech, they were hamstrung by a massive shortage of manpower, due to the unprecedented-in-scale war raging on several fronts. They were forced to draw on the Hitler Youth (sometimes as young as 8 years old) and elderly or infirm volunteers to fill their ranks. The influx of young men, while admirable, suffered from lack of experience and wisdom that comes with age, while the elders were hamstrung by low mobility and various illnesses.
The urban sniping campaign of the Werewolves was also lacking, with the Germans unfortunately showing their lack of sniper training in their choice of tactics. Their most popular method was to hide in spiderholes while invading enemy troops marched through towns, and once the rear of the formation passed them, they would open fire on the troops' rear, sowing panic and confusion, and slowing the advance. While effective, this was basically the only trick up their sleeves, and once the area was firmly under the enemy's control, the Werewolf units could not blend in with the local environment long term. This proved to be their undoing, and they were quickly rooted out and captured or killed.
Takeaways: Choice of tactics and TRAINING are essential. You cannot succeed if you do not know how to effectively operate as a guerrilla, and if you do not give the urban environment the attention it is due. A poorly armed but skilled tactician will far outpace a exceptionally well armed yet poorly trained soldier.
tl;dr: read nigga
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101 viewsMarvin H, 15:04
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